BMW E39 M5 Owners... Running costs please?

[RWD_cossie_wil]

As title, any useful info you can think if please

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[JTECH James]

not cheap, fuel wise i was averaging at 22 on a weekly basis, did manage 33 on a run at light cruise,

tyres are uber expensive, as are discs etc,

but ace cars, i miss mine everyday
DO IT!

[RWD_cossie_wil]

How much you looking for tyres/discs?

[JTECH James]

about 900 ish for a set of pilots

discs are bmw only, around 150 per side on the front iirc,

things like a mirror glass is over 300 quid lol

[JTECH James]

if you get one, poly bush the front end, fit k +n filters. and iridium plugs,
and some good funky pads,

the rest is already perfect!

[RWD_cossie_wil]

you on MSN mate?

[Stu @ M Developments]

Compared against the Skyline, the various cosworths and the Makka, the M5 is the cheapest car I have ever run. Period.

Yes fuel is expensive, but its easily paid for by the fact it doesnt use oil or need its oil changeing every few thousand miles.

Tyres are expensive initially yes, but my backs are just about ready for replacement now after nearly 15000 miles, lots of them at the Nurburgring too. The fronts have probably got the same again left in them. So expensive initially, but they wear 100% evenly so last a long time.

Brakes, same again, I put some pads in when i bought her. They are still all in there. The cossie needed new ones after every fooking ring trip. LOL

[JTECH James]

na im not mate

stu is right, once they are up to standard you just abuse them, and they love it...

i hsrdly ever had to open the bonnet lol

[Stu @ M Developments]

Originally Posted by James @ M Developments

if you get one, poly bush the front end, fit k +n filters. and iridium plugs, and some good funky pads, the rest is already perfect!

Agreed. And we sell all the bits you need.

[RWD_cossie_wil]

I'm getting hacked off with bangers to run around in, getting very close to saying fuck it and getting an M5 .. Just don't know if I can really justify one alongside 2 cossies?

[JTECH James]

you dont have to justfy an m5, just buy one!

[RWD_cossie_wil]

Are they generally bulletproof?, as I need reliability... Would 120k put you off?

[Stu @ M Developments]

Originally Posted by RWD_cossie_wil

I'm getting hacked off with bangers

just don't know if I can really justify one alongside 2 cossies?

Erm... so sell those two bangers... job done.

[RWD_cossie_wil]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/211245.htm

or

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1287881.htm

or

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1277543.htm

Would prefer a blue one, but could be swayed by black, just not sure about the red leather?

[JTECH James]

i let out a little whine every morning when stu arrives in his M5,


i just dont think motoring gets much better tbh...JOY

[JTECH James]

mines was carbon black, which is blue really lol

[JTECH James]

[simonc]

make sure you look at & drive a few 1st, they can differ a lot, i opted for a facelift one as i did look at one pre facelift & it looked quite dated compared with the facelift. I have just bought a set of 4 Goodyear eagle asymmetric's £673 fitted. It is heavy on fuel mine seems to average about 21mpg. The noise is fantastic !

Simon.

[Mrs Jtechsaff]

Sabine!!!!!!! I loved her she was sooooo comfy

[RS Grant]

I really like these cars too, but make sure you get a facelift model since the pre-facelifts are known to burn a bit of oil.


Cheers,
Grant

[JTECH James]

the handbook states a litre in 1k miles is normal, mine used a bit but not that much lol

but mine was a facelift one

[RWD_cossie_wil]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1287881.htm

Would the milage put you off this or not?

[Alan_D]

What about the Vanos issue? I've never had an M5 and I'm not being a cock, but how common a problem is it?

[Rhys]

If you go for the one in first link give me shout as that garage is about 1 mile from my house lol.

[JTECH James]

not if its been looked after, mine had done over 100k, and you would never know it

[simonc]

No the mileage would not put me off. I travelled 500 mile round trip to look at a 67000 mile example that rattled its tits off !

Check for rust, they seems to suffer very badly inside the petrol flap as the water collects there. Also seem to rust on boot lid, 3 out of 5 i saw had quite bad rust in these areas & its common.

[simonc]

Can i just say sell your Cosworth's & buy an M5, i've had 4 Cossie's over a 10yr period & been out of them for over 2yrs now, i have no desire whatsoever to own another Cosworth as much as i like them. Get an E39 M5 you won't regret it & it will probably work out cheaper than owning/running a Cossie in the long run !

Simon.

[James]

with the digital switch-over crap will the tv still work in these?

[DooerEvo1]

No the TV won't work in these when the digital comes but same as any other non digital car TV................saying that my M5 has'nt got TV so i'll have to make do with watching the onboard computer instead drinking all my fuel like a petroleum version of "Ollie Reed"...................lol.

If you fancy buying a very rare oxford green one with full black nappa leather and the sport/winter pack mines up for sale ..........wink wink.

And yes they are an awesome machine,best standard machine i have ever owned straight out the box.

[BigErn]

I have 2 Sapph Cosworths, 1 is shell now, more or less forgotten about and the other hasnt turned a wheel since July. My M5 is the best thing I have bought and I love it. It had 128k on it with 3 previous owners, one of which was a BMW director, and full BMWSH from the same dealership from day 1. It had just had a service, new discs and pads all round and new Conti Sport rear tyres 12 miles before I bought it. I have the BMW reciept for it, it wasnt cheap either

I was talking to a friend of mine who is a senior tech for the local main dealers and he told me that pre facelift E39 M5's didnt have a one way valve in the VANOS oil feeds and it was not uncommon when they were a couple of years old for them to rattle for 20 seconds or so. Some have even been known to rattle up to 40 seconds on cold start . The revised models have the valve fitted so if they rattle for longer than 3-5 seconds it suggests VANOS problems. Mine is pre facelift and rattles for 3 seconds occasionally on cold startup.

I was talking to him because I suspected my timing chain tensioner was a tad noisy. Again he listened to it and said its normal for these motors to have a very very light chatter on idle. He then went into detail about the technical journals BMW sent out about these engines and their "quirks" like these.

His words were "keep it serviced and run it on good oil and they are bombproof, the only other thing they do is MAF's"

[RWD_cossie_wil]

What year is the facelift crossover? And what are the differences?

[JTECH James]

the easy to spot change is the facelifts have a widescreen tv

[cfoster]

How would the running cost of an M5 be in relation to an E46 M3? Interested as perhaps next year when i get bored of the truck i may step into one or the other!

[simonc]

The main facelift differences are, widescreen sat nav display, LED rear lights, angel eye front lights, newer design steering wheel. Facelift came in around 09/2000. Generally anything upto & including W reg pre facelift, X reg onwards facelift. I think the piston ring design was changed from 02/2000 to help with oil consumption.

The only running cost difference between the E46 M3 & E39 M5 is petrol ! Servicing & parts are about the same.

[bud-weis]

I miss mine like crazy, and i will probably get another next year....as im struggling to think of anything for the same money thats as good! The drive was always a pleasure and the little things that bothered me (mentioned above by others) were just things i learnt to live with, but annoying all the same.

[RWD_cossie_wil]

I can't stop looking at these now

[C4llyT]

Originally Posted by James @ M Developments

not cheap, fuel wise i was averaging at 22 on a weekly basis, did manage 33 on a run at light cruise,

tyres are uber expensive, as are discs etc,

but ace cars, i miss mine everyday
DO IT!

MPG has just shot up from 21.9 to 22, so spot on with that lol.

Had management light come on at weekend, couldn't believe it
£15 for diagnostic and £15 for CTS

Stu - You say everything, what about a DSSR?
Regal were all I could find in UK that do them, but not anymore...


Will - Just do it, 20-165mph in the same gear, not many cars can do that.

[Twellsie]

mine is only the 540i, so is 100bhp shy of the M5, but is pretty much th same in every other respect (including fuel consumption) and I am so pleased with it, never really been a fan of BMW's but I am now deffinatelly converted as I love driving it and can imagine with a bit more power the M5 must be awesome

[Ebonycossie4x4]

I miss mine...

Best car ive ever owned, By a million Miles!