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Hi John, Welcome along, I had a close look at your car as well (I trust they fixed the boot latch...). The colour combination is just great. Hope you get much enjoyment out of it. I'm 3 months into my m5 ownership after being around other e39's for a while. Don't hesitate to contact for any help on these. Others here of course have a wealth of knowledge. Cheers.

Some more (better) photos...

Price is up there for sure... Amuses me when people claim they "...arguably have the best XX in NZ.." How TF can they qualify that? For what I paid for mine late December, I have a very healthy price differential to work with...

The new clutch for the M5 arrived from Europe today, now awaiting the flywheel from the US... Planning the work and a bunch of other stuff like fuel filter, hoses, drive belts, door seal... Also fixed the noisy air con air sensor motor in the dash, just needed a clean. The poor FM reception has me stuffed despite all the info on the net, may need to start taking the boxes in the boot apart....

Well done! I sense the need for an e39 M5 park and meet at some point....

Yes in my opinion the greatest feature built into any BMW is how they get to the bottom of the bathtub curve so quick... the trick is to have one that will eventually climb out the other end...

I had the e39 03 530 MS steering wheel airbag replaced on 28th December. The e39 03 M5 is also due and will be done sometime this month. Steering wheel only it seems. At Coombes.

Hey Colin, actually haven't driven the M5 that much yet. Waiting on a fan clutch before driving in earnest as I'd hate to get stuck in hot holiday traffic knowing my fan was doing zipp and only relying on the ac pusher fan. But there doesn't feel much in it so far. I'm really enjoying the 530 at the moment and off the line and around town it feels more "nimble" being an auto and lighter in the front. Spotted its topas twin today at Mt Maunganui when I was over there.

Hmm, well all mine have just been free wheeling at any temp, cold or hot, and can stop fan with hand easily anytime. I suspect a lot of owners have never noticed, all present company excluded of course When cold a fan can move but there is resistance and stops quick. If dodgy then it will spin easily forward or backwards. Unless as you say it's gone the other way and locked up completely.

Thanks Dave, (where do you get the stats from?) It never fails to surprise me as to how unpresented some cars are for sale. I'm sure if the previous owner had thrown just a little bit of attention and coin at it, then someone as stupid as me would have paid much more for something like this...

It's interesting that every BMW I've owned has had a failed fan clutch when purchased. How many are running around during summer with only the air con electric fan providing any air during hot and heavy traffic? BMW had them designed in for a reason...

Merry Christmas to me... After 2 visits to view car, I made the offer and it is mine... a 3rd trip on the buses and trains to Auckland to drive it south.. I'm essentially the 3rd private owner, last owner 10 years, with a pile of receipts... So far it's had a damn good clean (wasn't even vacuumed), 2 oils leaks fixed (filler cap and sump drain plug), the lights sanded and polished, the interior mirror glass replaced, and more parts on the way... and more and more cleaning and detailing.... Drives good... mostly everything works... but got a big list of things to do.... wheels, emblems, windscreen trim, fan clutch, filters etc etc.

When I bought a new key for my e39, I had to "pair" it to the car with a button sequence etc. Talk to dealer..

Wow, fascinating... there's a whole different world out there...

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1217823659

Hello, Has anyone any experiences / information on the potential issue of carbon build up in e39 M5 engines? In both the secondary air system and in general? I've been reading it can be a problem on US Spec LHD cars, but unsure as to Euro spec RHD's (ours). Also related to fuel quality and how often the big jandel is utilized... more nana driving accelerates carbon build up? Has this caused any problems here and solution?

Good to know though that's there a few out there and will probably turn over again in due course, hopefully at a time when I can pounce...

Yes I'm wondering what's up with that 03 M5 @240km and seemingly a pretty good price? In Auckland next week so may look at kicking its tyres. I would have thought a facelift at that price would vapourise...

The Schmeidmann stuff came via DHL, kept NZ post out of it.

Yes Schmeidmann are good on shipping price and speed. Website perhaps not as good as Pelican but shipping cheaper. Ordered on Thursday - had it Tuesday the next week incl GST payment as it was expensive front underbody shields...

OK it's gone...

Hi All, Some latest shots of the e39 coming out of the end of a 5 month mid life refurb... latest was paint-less dent removal, saying goodbye to about 15 small indiscretions was best two hundy ever spent... Cheers.

There's an 03 black one up now for 23k.... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1189539142 Anyone know anything about it? High km but seems well priced for a 2003 year.

Yeah I think for most of us we'd pitch it in the early/mid 30's but e39 nuts like myself could get desperate...

AAAAHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....!!!