Jun

M5 at sunset

Went to visit Mike Page today (thanks to Greg for the info - unsure if I recall correctly, previous owner of Pete's E60 M5), Page European in the city was already sold a few years back. Mike has a shop at Kapiti, Mike Page European. He checked out the M5, also test driven it. Error code was shift selector, that was the error I encountered about 1,000+ kms before. He has reset and checked it, it looks to be no issues. Mike also said our M5 actually drives well compared to most E60 M5 he has serviced. He also said it is clean as a whistle, no signs of fluid leaks, very clean underneath the car. The clutch shudder I encountered when it was a hot day and was really shifting on the high revs is a probably sign of clutch wear. Mike said it is an unusual circumstance he recommends to leave it for now, there is very little shudder on normal conditions. So I guess for now until I change the clutch, no hard driving on hot days and then using the car on slow speed immediately after. Greg (sorry if I didn't recall your name correctly) also measured my M5 to be 10 cm lower on the rear compared to 2 M5 at Southward museum meetup. Mike had a look at the shocks and springs. He said they are definitely BMW shocks, springs may have been changed though. As we can see the bolt on the shocks have some marks on it, so the shocks had definitely been worked on, Mike said it is too early for the any shock work to be done on the car with my milage so it might be the springs where changed and the springs had paint markings. I do like the look of the lower rear, wheel arch is nice and flush on the wheel. So keeping it as is. Oh there is a 850i on Mike's shop, V12. I guess only a few people can repair these old cars, Mike will be one of them. Cleaned up the interior this weekend, finally got some time to actually detail the interior. We also drove out the south coast to enjoy the sunset. 3,000+ kms now and so far it has been ok. Need to prepare for those repairs, I hope it would be just preventive maintenance bills.

Yup Daniel, I will be at southward as long as the car gets us there. Using it now just to get some of the cobwebs out.

Here are the options of the car. Maybe someone can grok over it. https://www.mdecoder.com/ For us what we really liked the original purchaser optioned: Rear seat warmers S496A (my daughter's requirement), SilverStone II extended leather X2A9 (item that made my wife tell me to get this particular car) and Red interior lights S563A (we did not know until we driven it at night time... pleasant surprise).

Thanks for the suggestion. Yes I am hoping it is just the clutch, possibly ours still have the original clutch as it only has done 56k kms. Not sure if the dealer is pulling our leg, but I asked several times and got it even on email that clutch on a SMG is covered under MBI. He said and written on email that it is still considered as an auto and not manual which doesn't get cover clutch on MBI. How much did your clutch job cost? Also did you do other stuff as well like release bearing, bushes, etc? Is there a way for me to know if the SMG pump has been replaced as well? Car is an import, so no real service records. Got one of those online reports, but I am not sure I can trust it.

Some photos on our first 2 weeks with the E60 M5 while we where traveling about 2,500+ kms on both South Island and North Island. Oddly enough it was reliable, clutch was getting sketchy when it was doing its bridal car duty for my friends, possibly due to 30c heat and I did downshift it a bit. We also encountered 1 red cog error after going down slowly on a 200 meter driveway, I think the computer panicked or got confused... it was a really stop and go moment for the tranny. Turn off and on the car seems to have sorted it. I then did it again a few more times but just set to neutral and coasted it down. Overall it is a great touring car on the country side (V10 sound is really different), just avoid the city and it is a very fun car. Hopefully with proper maintenance and luck we get to a keeper and we could use every now and then going around NZ. Our R34 has now retired of its road trip duties, now it's only used for cruising on nearby places until it gets upgraded. We saw a few BMWs along the way, not sure if they are here on this forums including a 650i F06. Thread that started this adventure: New here, seriously thinking about E60 M5 - New Member Introductions - bimmersport.co.nz

I agree with your disagreement. You are right, they are a different experience. This is why I got an M5, I was thinking a lot because of this... what if they are similar. Eventually I decided the experience is different enough and worth a try to get one. Thank you for the comment, it is very correct. Btw my daily commute goes through a short tunnel.... woohoo! Inline 6 turbo smooth rev... V6 rough roar... V8 burble... V10 screamer! Life is complete!

Olaf, I have done more than a decade of ownership on the Nissan (Datsun) R34 Skyline. Over a dozen years now, so I can clearly say the car has been with us longer than any owner including those at Japan. Here it is on "Crown Range Road", driving RWD on uphill and ice was interesting. I did it as slow and safe as possible. On the same trip, we clocked in 4,007 kms about the average yearly kms we do on the R34. We hope the M5 will do us just as well, R34 is clearly retired from its NZ cruising days. Need to save up to eventually make it a nice project car.... remember 3 meals a day first before the car expenses!

We drove the M5 up a few days ago, clocked about 400kms now. So far it has been great, aside from getting used to the SMG on Wellington hills when I have to stop and go again. I have already done 3 things on it already. the circle dance to remove the diff binding, gladly it seems to have been fixed by the 6th counter clockwise circle. reset SMG, the SMG is ok but it slightly lags every so slightly from other M5 I have driven. Or possibly I only driven the other M5 in better conditions, only a few times on slow stop and go situations. So far after the reset it is better, but I would imagine our M5 may still have original clutch and pump only has done 53k kms when we got it. SMG is probably the big item to be planned for if it does get significantly worse, but yesterdays driving after the reset we are pretty happy with it. wheel alignment, it drove pretty ok from down south. However once in Wellington I put in the right tire pressure and was more critical about it. I had some special deal with Tony's for my old cars so I used one of my alignment for the M5. Much much better with wheels realigned, not that it was bad before, actually it was the best M5 I have driven in terms of steering feel. It certainly feels less worn down and straight than the other M5 I have test driven. The car also came with almost new S001 tires, new front disc and pads, still pretty think rear disk and pads. So I guess those items won't be needed to look after for the near term. My first impressions M5 is definitely a lot more comfortable on long drives than I thought. It is pretty smooth and comfortable despite being in low profile tires. Definitely not a city car, or hilly city car. SMG on stop and go traffic hills or busy roundabouts can be weird and nerve racking at times. However I had expected it to be like this, in Wellington on the streets I drive on none rush hour it is still definitely a nice car to drive. Love the twisty roads of Wellington on the M5. Rear passenger is a lot bigger than I expected, comfy and my daughter loves the seat warmers Car is smaller and not as wide as I expected it to be, which is great. I have seen normal E60, driven an M5 but it is only clocking more than 100kms I get to understand how big it is. Easier to drive on Wellington narrow streets and easier to clean. Although it is not M5 related, now I understand why people are getting crazy over Skylines. I had already an affinity on Skylines even before it become Godzilla status, C110 and R30 etc was known to be when I was younger. Definitely the M5 is better in almost every department (not Reliability or city driving), the R34 in almost stock form is not far behind. No wonder these R32-34 Skylines are now appreciating in value. I can say that with a small amount of mods it would be on par with the M5. These Skylines are not a bargain anymore today, prices have gone 2-3 times from a decade ago. The Skyline experience is much more raw, even it is slower at its almost stock form. That said the V10 howl is truly unique, S85 and RB engines are definitely engines that defined their era. Thank you for all the useful information, it has been valuable. I hope to see you on the roads and/or speak to you personally, feel free to approach us if you see us. If a lady is driving it, it is probably my wife after all it is her car.

I was looking at this as well, we passed by last month when I wasn't serious about it. The dealer said it was on the warehouse, etc. I will do my final inspection as car enthusiast before handing in the remaining balance for the car. I thought both issues are easily resolved by just stepping on the accelerator more? ?

Yes I could imagine you are detailed oriented as well on the tech sector side of things. It's my wife that actually picked the interior, I showed her the photos above and she instantly said... "get this one". I asked her why, she said "I don't know but this one has better interior". She has very fast intuition. I then asked her if she likes the extra white leather. She said "yes definitely". We don't have a lot of money so we budget best as we can, all of our cars we got 2nd hand. However despite that we try to make the most out of the options we get. Case in point: R34 GTT - Our had lots of options including Xenon light (same as GTR), harder factory springs, bigger disc, better factory sound system, auto on light, etc. Options that I am aware not with the car is sun roof, skirts and rear spoiler. LC90 - Factory leather (I didn't know it exists before, but I guess it does), sunroof, emu springs, etc. Not aware of any option that is not with the car. 955 Cayenne S - Not a turbo but options make its like a Turbo, Staggered Sport Techno wheels, Full leather interior (e.g. dashboard, sides are full wrapped), Eisenmann exhaust tips, Xenon, etc. Option that I know not in the car are sunroom and auto on light. I think the M5 will be fun to discover which option it has when we get it. For us who can't afford the check the tick box options to include when we buy a new car, so our fun bit is discovering which tick box was ticked when the 2nd hand car was new ? Good night and Merry Christmas!

So far from the photos, the different wearing items seems to be consistent. I hope this is a car that wasn't used because the owner had other cars, not no milage because it's a lemon. You are an M5 nut, I didn't even know the real color and interior names. Its Christmas eve not sure if I would lookup the VIN... hmmm... can't stop ?

Just checked the ad, it's 53,900kms.. I hope it's genuine. Photos of pedal, seats, etc do suggest it was hardly used. Yes cool too see another M5. No PPI, I thought I only had to that for private sale. I did get a report from dealer all the worked that was done. Even has new front disks and pads. That the biggest item on the list where the worn out brakes, others are cosmetics and fluids. Also codes was scanned and cleared. So I assume this is essentially as PPI and fix at the same time? Or is my assumption wrong? We didn't have an issue with our previous PPI from a dealer. Btw dealer is Paul Kelly, they have 4 M5 listed and I guess you which M5 we took.

Ok finally got a deal. We went for an older 2005 car but lower milage 55k from a dealer, we where able to also get 2 years MBI. We actually chose that particular car for the all chalk white interior, something we just recently wanted as a different thing from our other old cars. Going to fly down and drive it up after Christmas, hopefully an enjoyable and safe little road trip. Any M5 or BMW specific tips for me to check/know? I have my own generic 2nd hand car checklist, but appreciate specific thinks like: M5 no dip stick, but can check reading on computer. Also you can force it to refresh the data as long as engine is warm Avoid stepping the gas while its cold, not a M5 specific but more important if its a S85 engine SMG doesn't excessively lurch, etc. I have driven 1 M5 so I have a baseline to go

She doesn't like to the clutch anymore. I have driven an M5 SMG and its fine, a bit clunky but it's acceptable and tolerable. Yes that is not much difference from our Cayenne (possibly M5 is even more efficient... yup we use about 20-30L/100km). If I don't spool the turbo on our R34, the Skyline it's our most economical car (10L/100km), but that never happens and (20L/100km) is achievable. The local BP petrol station attendants calls me as their most valuable customer. I don't see any issues with the SMG, aside from the usual maintenance cost. My wife actually likes to drive these cars, minus the clutch. She hates driving cars like: Camry or Corolla, etc. She does appreciate our eclectic clunky old cars. I think the SMG is actually appealing to us. I am no stranger to 3 and 4. I can work those out, worst case just park the old broken car until the other old cars all breakdown. So far I haven't got a case where all the old cars had major issues the same time. The S6 and E63 was suggested to me, but for me the engines doesn't have enough different character from a V8 Cayenne, yes they are not the same but the S85 V10 NA high rpm and clunky SMG is much more different experience. I am trying to trick my brain the reliability issues of the E60 M5 is just part of the character! Or I can just think logically and never buy a M5.... however it is also logical to have a V10 and SMG experience w/o the exotic car capital and running cost. Thanks for the info they are all helpful, I am lucky enough to have a wife and kids than understands the insanity of these cars. Even my young daughter likes our old cars. I just need to make sure we can eat 3x a day and still enjoy life.

Yes I have actually driven that particular M5. He lives nearby, and he was kind enough to let me drive the car. I also let him show me the M button, and you know the story after. I guess after driving it I started to consider it more seriously. I was just researching and lurking around forums and understanding the car more a few months back. The MBI and being part of the club sounds good to me. As our Cayenne's MBI is about to expire, although I have most issues already sorted out on the car after 2 years. It might be good to catch up, I believe Daniel G. (my friend) told me we are actually in the same industry.

Thanks. I will keep that in mind. I am looking at private sale more now, as I can possibly get a MBI after purchase of the car. Most of the MBI I have seen requires 10 year or newer and 150k or less. Also most excluded M cars, Porsche, etc. Can you point me to policy or insurer that you guys use?

Sorry I think we are having a slight misunderstanding here. What I mean about "Less Probable" is: I buy a private sale M5. I get a MBI either through agent or direct. The insurance company does a lot of checks, it turns out there are defects that the PPI (Pre Purchase Inspection) didn't pickup. Now I end a private sale M5 w/o MBI. As opposed to going to a dealer, telling them include the MBI as part of the purchase, I drive with the M5 from a dealer with MBI. This is what I meant "Less Probable" for me in getting a MBI on a private sale. I hope I understood you correctly. What is great about your answer, my initial thinking was the probability was 0 chance. Because I have read the policy of a few MBI, someone via word of mouth didn't get a M5 because they couldn't obtain a MBI. Since I wasn't sure, hence I asked the question. I hope to removes any confusion, and also thank your initial answer as it changed my assumption for MBI on a private sale. Thank you for the list of shops you listed. Seems Page European have come up a few times, good to hear. Yes I am also aware of the nuances about the care, that is why I used 2 indy shops for our cars currently. 1 for the Skyline and Land Cruiser and another shop for the Cayenne. So I think if I do get a M5, I need to figure out which shops to try. Thank you for putting a list of shops I can use in Wellington.

Thanks that is useful. So a dealer BMW can do it for $5-10k, that seems to be similar to prices I have seen outside of NZ. I can factor out that price if I end up getting a higher mileage car.

I am looking get a E60 M5 and doing some research to how much should I budget for the first few years of the car. I am looking to get the bearings replaced early in the ownership if the car turns out to be good on the aspects. Total bill included labour, parts and extra stuff (mentioned above) is all in $6.3k? And you used Taylor Auto for the job? Thanks and appreciate the information.

I see, I guess it is still possible although as you said it maybe less probable. Thanks for this info, this is useful Certainly this is useful info as well. I haven't bought any MBI, my thinking is get the dealer to do the MBI. Or if I did get a private sale, I set aside a budget for big breakdowns. Yes this certainly helps a lot. Unfortunately I haven't seen any sellers claiming or have claimed the rod bearings are done by them. I am sure any shop will do it, but for practical reasons here in Wellington I would only trust the indy shops I have history with. 1 shop is geared towards Skyline and JDM cars, he has serviced my R34 for over a decade. He frequently does some my the jobs free or no fee to me. Another shop is the Porsche specialist here in Wellington, they do a good job but their rates and waiting list is on the high side. I have used them a few times to do the tricky jobs for our Cayenne. A friend of my is a member here, told me someone in Wellington has an E60 M5 is an active member here. He may have some info I could ask, I am trying to find the user that my friend mentioned to me.

I am looking seriously in getting a E60 M5, no its not because of Hoovie and Doug just got a video of it recently. I was looking at the M5 a few months ago, I was looking at S2000 but it seems the M5 is much more practical and my wife will not re-learn and want to drive a stick shift anymore. I would like to ask some help regarding NZ specific things: Is it true that I will not be able to get mechanical insurance from a private sale M5 (a friend of friend tried this before, he abandon the E60 M5 acquisition because of this)? E.g. I approach an insurance company after I buy an M5. I know the pros and cons of mechanical insurance, I don't need convincing using or not using one. I have used them and also not used them on our cars. I am leaning towards using insurance for a E60 M5, or factor in the cost of self-insuring a cheaper private sale M5. Rod bearing replacement in NZ, I am aware the parts are not astronomic expensive (a good sign). I can't do this myself, not enough skills and equipment. I do have 2 good indy shops that does my other cars. They are willing to do it, but neither has done this job specifically for a S85 engine. I have seen 1 post here that said Taylor Auto AKL did it for $6.8k, is this true? Any other M5 owners have done theirs and how much for both parts and labor and which shop? I will try to read more in the forums, but appreciate any links that would help me. I am looking more for NZ specific information, there are lots of E60 info outside NZ. Again thanks, maybe I will try to get a E60 M5 if everything works out.