2001 E39 M5 - opinions? experience?

[jorian]

Prices have really come down on these and they seem to be a great used car bargain.

Any years to avoid?

What option packages were available?

TIA

[jorian]

Few more pics - these cars just look right. Not too Bangled.

[Oh Haha]

MIght want to head over to Bimmerfest and check out thier forum. Not much activity here for BMW.

BTW-These ARE sweet cars but there are some pitfalls that you can read up on over there.

[onewhippedpuppy]

If I recall correctly, there were some intake issues that lead to carbon build-up and a CEL. Not sure what years had the issue. m5board.com is very good, probably your best source for information.

They are simply awesome cars. With an aftermarket exhaust system, one of the best exhaust notes this side of a Ferrari. If I had the money, buying one would be a no-brainer.

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

They are simply awesome cars. With an aftermarket exhaust system, one of the best exhaust notes this side of a Ferrari. If I had the money, buying one would be a no-brainer.

Why not? You've already had everything else!

[ChkbookMechanic]

www.m5board.com is the best to use.

I have an 01 M5. The year I would avoid is '00 since it doesn't have the widescreen nav system. I had the dreaded carbon build-up issue and at the time it was a $9k repair bill (I got BMW to goodwill almost all of it - I should have just reported them to the EPA since it is an emissions issue that should be covered under warranty). Now you can just pay $1k to PowerChip and have it ignore the secondary air pump that throws the CEL.

(1) Sensors will have to be replaced every 70k or so.
(2) The engines do occasionally eat oil 1q per 1000 miles is considered normal.
(3) The repair bills are that of a 75k car.. not a 19k used car.
(4) Look for rust around the gas cap
(5) If you are going to install performance parts be prepared to pay a whole lot.. they make Porsche parts look cheap.
(6) Some people eat through clutches quickly.. and it is expensive.. 2k for new clutch + flywheel
(7) Get a PPI
(8) Drive as many as possible

I love mine and used it as my daily driver and will track it occasionally. It is a great q-ship and is a blast to drive, if you can do some of your own labor it'll make owning the car a lot cheaper.

If you want to know anything else you can PM me or just ask it here and I'll also post up anything else I can think of

[holtjv]

I had an 02 and sold it after 3 months. It was everything and more--awesomely fast, handsome, understated and...no fun. No kidding--You had to be in triple digits to feel any kind of rush. When I got the SC, that point was at legal speeds. The disconnect from the driving experience is high.

The other odd thing I felt was that it was a sedan and what was I doing shifting? My mind had me convinced it was a sedan, which it is, but I hated the shifting. Odd, but true. My wife thinks BMW drivers are tools, too, which cast that subtle disapproving notion throughout my ownership experience.

Oh yeah--and take chkbook's advice on the clutch and learn how to match revs up and down and launch with minimal slipping. The clutch is the recognized weak point of the drivetrain.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

Why not? You've already had everything else!

Give me $20k and I'll try it.

[rattlsnak]

Originally Posted by Oh Haha

MIght want to head over to Bimmerfest and check out thier forum. Not much activity here for BMW.

BTW-These ARE sweet cars but there are some pitfalls that you can read up on over there.

Good site, I had never heard of that one or the m5board. I always went to the grandaddy, bimmerforums.com

[ChkbookMechanic]

holtjv - you are correct on feeling the rush.. anything below triple digits is just mundane for the car. The only time I got a real 'hell yes' experience was taking the car on some back roads at over 100 (when I was younger and stupider) or on the track. The recirculating ball steering at first is kind of odd when you've come from a r&p setup but the chassis and car give you enough feedback that you don't mind not having the steering wheel feedback.

I still have the original clutch on my car and I have 86k on it. It is all about how you drive the car, be smooth and the car will love you. Be stupid and you'll be paying for it.

I love it because it is has the right balance of performance and comfort and electronics. I wish their traction control was a little less intrusive when it is on (perfect for wet weather, not so much for dry) but with it off you can get yourself in trouble easily.

If you intend to track the car you'll have to watch your fluid temps, power steering fluid and brakes (or do what I did and replace / upgrade the failure points). They might have tested the car on the 'ring, but they did it during the winter.. here in Texas you drive it hard on the track and it'll boil all the fluids.

I have the B&B Triflo exhaust on my car and with it the car has got to have one of the best exhaust notes I have ever heard. At idle and low rpms it rumbles like a muscle car and at higher rpms it wails like an Italian.

Here are a few pics of my car:

[jorian]

I'm looking at an 01' with about 42K miles on it. Has new Vanos kit and Oxygen sensors. Ad says it has a felt (suede?) headliner, premium interior and extended leather package. Don't know what these mean and assume the M5 had different packages available. Anyone know what those are?

I don't plan on tracking it as my 911 is my track car of choice. The 911 started off as a totally stock rig and has morphed into a filling-rattling money pit with R compounds.

My commute to work is under 10 minutes and I rarely drive further than 10 miles but I live in a very soggy climate. I long for creature comforts of a sedan but can't do a Buick Regal if you know what I mean. I do most of my own maintenance on the 911 and would be happy to try working on the Bimmer.

I drive my cars hard but maintain to a high standard. Sounds like rev-matching and soft launches will preserve the expensive clutch.

Thanks for the replies, I will check out m5board.com

I prefer to get my info from Pelican because I know you guys but a Porsche board does have its' limitations.

[ChkbookMechanic]

Originally Posted by jorian

I'm looking at an 01' with about 42K miles on it. Has new Vanos kit and Oxygen sensors. Ad says it has a felt (suede?) headliner, premium interior and extended leather package. Don't know what these mean and assume the M5 had different packages available. Anyone know what those are?

The headline is Alcantara (synthetic suede) and is standard in all US cars. I don't remember there being a 'premium interior' there was an extended leather package called the luxury interior (I have it in mine) and think it is damn nice. The only other options on the car were: back up sensors and m-audio.

I don't plan on tracking it as my 911 is my track car of choice. The 911 started off as a totally stock rig and has morphed into a filling-rattling money pit with R compounds.

My commute to work is under 10 minutes and I rarely drive further than 10 miles but I live in a very soggy climate. I long for creature comforts of a sedan but can't do a Buick Regal if you know what I mean. I do most of my own maintenance on the 911 and would be happy to try working on the Bimmer.

If you want to do your own maintenance you'll want to pick up a Peake code reader so you can at least pull OBD2 codes to figure out what is going on. There will be something you just can't repair yourself - so at least become familiar with independent shops in your area.

I drive my cars hard but maintain to a high standard. Sounds like rev-matching and soft launches will preserve the expensive clutch.

I really don't give the car soft launches - just be smart and not side step the clutch. As long as you shift the car correctly: all the way off the gas, clutch all the way in, shift gear, etc... you'll be fine. I've tracked mine and abused it and it loves every minute of it.

Thanks for the replies, I will check out m5board.com

I prefer to get my info from Pelican because I know you guys but a Porsche board does have its' limitations.

m5board is the best resource for the m5 in my opinion.

Just remember like a 911 get a PPI. Good luck in your search.

[krichard]

Chkbookmechanic, what part of Austin are you located? That neighborhood looks a lot like my old diggs. I am also very interested in an e39 M5. My wife has an '03 530i but it just doesn't quite do it for me.

[89911]

I was very hot for this same model M5 a year ago. It was going to be a 4th car that doesn't get driven very much, just when I needed 2 extra doors and needed more room then the 911. My biggest issue was that for my driving, I just couldn't justify the car. I only live 10 minutes from work and its all through residential property. I would have to take side trips to run the car and feel its 400 hp. Chkbookmechanic is giving very good advice and it is similar to what I have heard. Just don't be fooled by the initial starting price with these cars. You are buying an bona fide supercar without any warranty. Hopefully nothing major will happen (but it does occasionally), but the minor maintenance on the car (brakes, clutch, tires, radiator) can also be pricey. I ended up buying a 2003 BMW 540i with the "M" package. It looks almost identical to the M5 (I debadged it and added the small spoiler).

Here is my old post:

Used car buying advice needed.

[MFAFF]

Originally Posted by jorian

...

I don't plan on tracking it as my 911 is my track car of choice. The 911 started off as a totally stock rig and has morphed into a filling-rattling money pit with R compounds.

My commute to work is under 10 minutes and I rarely drive further than 10 miles but I live in a very soggy climate. I long for creature comforts of a sedan but can't do a Buick Regal if you know what I mean. .

Sorry to 'selectively' quote.. but if this is the type of driving you are going to be doing why an M5 (I know 'because you can')...

I went thro this last year...and concluded that an M5 was the best and worse possible solution...yup it was fast, sounded great and carried us as a family...great... and its really fun to have your kids and better half 'enjoying' the fast driving....right....isn't that why I have a 911?

Then why keep the 911? Its slower. less able and more expensive...

So looking very hard at the reality of the reason for having a family car a 530d Touring made much more sense...just as 'real world' (ie policed roads) fast, more economical and less expensive.

If I were to have only one car it would be an M5..

I also spoke at length to one of my colleagues here who has one; average cost during his ownership £1000 per month....for a car that did have a BMW Warranty when purchased. For instance the Sat Nav screen died and the replacement unit (in 2007) was a 'full system'...at somehting like £2.5K (approx 20% of the car's value at the time) and this for a system that a £100 Tom Tom out performs.. but without it the car lost 40% of its value...

So.. its great car and yet it is one of the worse possible transport solutions you can think of...and from what you are saying its transport you want.. shame you guys didn't get the 530d.....thats' a great car and great transport.

[jorian]

Don't be sorry. I selectively quote all the time.

A little more info would be helpful I think. In addition to the daily commute, I often (at least once per month) take 2 hour+ trips to Vancouver Island, Whistler, Seattle, Portland etc. with the family, so the 911 is out. In the winter I like to ski the local mountains. I have the 911, an F150 and a tired Volvo wagon. The Volvo doesn't inspire confidence on longer trips and is starting to look a little too ratty for clients. I don't care too much about fuel economy but do worry about costly repairs that might be over my head.

The car I'm looking at has had the O2 sensors replaced and a new vanos kit.

[ChkbookMechanic]

Originally Posted by jorian

A little more info would be helpful I think. In addition to the daily commute, I often (at least once per month) take 2 hour+ trips to Vancouver Island, Whistler, Seattle, Portland etc. with the family, so the 911 is out. In the winter I like to ski the local mountains. I have the 911, an F150 and a tired Volvo wagon. The Volvo doesn't inspire confidence on longer trips and is starting to look a little too ratty for clients. I don't care too much about fuel economy but do worry about costly repairs that might be over my head.

I love the M5 for taking long trips.. even with the track-ready suspension setup I have on the car. It is smooth, quiet and fast. You'll look down and realize you are doing 110 instead of 70. It is effortless for it to cruise at high speeds for extended amounts of time.

My rule of thumb is that if the car has to go into the shop expect a $1k repair bill. When I first got my car, it had a lot more issues than the PPI picked up - in fact it was things that a PPI wouldn't even pick up (carbon build-up, a rear shock installed wrong at one point in time that weakened the rear shock mount, random electric motors going out).

All the E39s have window regulator issues. They'll fail randomly - the regulator is ~$300 and you could probably do it yourself. If it is at a shop expect it to run $500 or so. You could do this yourself - just don't set off the side airbags!

The Camshaft Position Sensors like to die. The sensor is cheap (relatively speaking) but the labor is a lot. This is something you could do yourself.

The thermostat is another thing that bites the dust often. Again, you can install this yourself too.

Inside the car I wouldn't expect much to go wrong. The ICE has been rock solid and other than window regulators and a door lock go bad (all of these seem to be due to the plastic gear inside the motors that contacts a metal gear loosing its plastic teeth).

The car I'm looking at has had the O2 sensors replaced and a new vanos kit.

If you can, get a full list of the repair work on the car (BMW can look up work done at the dealerships by VIN). It is always helpful to know what to expect and what has been done to the car already. Vanos occasionally goes out but it only seems to happen once (at least I haven't heard of many people having to get multiple vanos units).

I know I'm sounding really negative about the car but, I've seen a lot of people buy them because they are cheap and then complain that everything is expensive and they can't fix it themselves. It helps to know exactly what you're getting into. If someone had told me all this I still would have bought the car but I would have probably looked longer and harder for the right one.

I love driving the car, it is an amazing vehicle and you really have to drive one to see just how great it really is.

[matt911]

I'll support much of what has been written. I have an 01 with about 85k miles. The 2000 model has the smaller nav screen and seems to be more prone to the carbon issue. Nobody knows the true cause of the carbon build up but it is believed that pampered cars are more likely to experience it. The basic thought is that the cars like to be driven. If this is true then your commute is not ideal.

The clutch isn't the smoothest in the world.

I as well have a B&B exhaust and it is tantalizing.

I fear these cars will go the way of the 944. Anyone can buy them but few of the owners can maintain them.

Brakes are expensive @ $250 per rotor. Fortunately an aftermarket option recently became available. Oil MUST be purchased from BMW or Castrol TWS 10w-60 can be found vial mail order, no other options. Rear sway bar brackets are aluminum and prone to crack, $10 part.

Mixed driving averages 17.5 MPG.

In my three years of ownership the car has seen no major problems. Oil and filter charges only. The thing is built like a tank. They don't build them like this anymore.

[ChkbookMechanic]

Originally Posted by matt911

I'll support much of what has been written. I have an 01 with about 85k miles. The 2000 model has the smaller nav screen and seems to be more prone to the carbon issue. Nobody knows the true cause of the carbon build up but it is believed that pampered cars are more likely to experience it. The basic thought is that the cars like to be driven. If this is true then your commute is not ideal.

Carbon build-up seems to be hit or miss. I drive my car hard and I still got it. The issue with the carbon build up is that it isn't in the cylinders it is in the secondary air passages that help emissions on cold start. The fix (other than programming the ECU to ignore it) is to take what is basically a pipe cleaner to the passages in the head and clean them out. And it isn't just an M5 issue, it can happen to any of the m62 / s62 v8 engines.

The clutch isn't the smoothest in the world.

I as well have a B&B exhaust and it is tantalizing.

I fear these cars will go the way of the 944. Anyone can buy them but few of the owners can maintain them.

Brakes are expensive @ $250 per rotor. Fortunately an aftermarket option recently became available. Oil MUST be purchased from BMW or Castrol TWS 10w-60 can be found vial mail order, no other options. Rear sway bar brackets are aluminum and prone to crack, $10 part.

I've found the clutch to be smooth but it isn't light and takes some muscle to use. If you've ever driven a WRX or STi it is pretty close to that sort of effort.

For the rear sway bar brackets I'd just spring for the TC Design billet brackets and never worry about it again.

Mixed driving averages 17.5 MPG.

That must be nice.. the most I can average is about 14.5 mpg in town and a little highway. On a road trip I average about 24 mpg but have seen as high as 27 mpg.

In my three years of ownership the car has seen no major problems. Oil and filter charges only. The thing is built like a tank. They don't build them like this anymore.

Now that mine has all the fixes on it, I've only done oil changes on it. It really is a tank. If it is rainy, foggy or whatever the M5 is the car I'll be taking out on the road. Also, since it is a sleeper you never get the ricers trying to race you and the cops don't look for you too much either.

And if anyone tells you a 540i/6 with sport package is close - they are lying. My father owned a 540i/6 w/ sport package and they feel completely different when you drive them.

[89911]

And if anyone tells you a 540i/6 with sport package is close - they are lying. My father owned a 540i/6 w/ sport package and they feel completely different when you drive them.

I've driven both, an M5 for the day and the 540i and for my needs, they actually were too close for me to buy the M5. I'm sure the extra 100 hp and the ability to drive 180 mph comes into play. I could always use this at the track with my 911. But beyond the "M" badge and to those it impressed, it seemed just a very limited appeal. If you can live with the new designed M5, these are arriving on the used car lots which may explain the price dropping of the older ones. The design isn't for everyone, but if 400 hp is good, 500 must be better.