Le Mans Blue E39 M5

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Love this colour

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-762623845.htm

[MISS BM 712]

Seen this car in the flesh.. Love it.

[RobD 41]

Frustrating that you can buy one of these in the UK for £8,000.

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Frustrating that you can buy one of these in the UK for £8,000.

With a good chance it may have rust the owner is not even aware of. It hides in the lower sills, under the plastic covers and jacking points.

[qube 3568]

most accurately described.... by one word....

[RobD 41]

The UK rust thing is a bit exaggerated in many respects. It's a way of non UK car owners to justify higher prices. Not all of the UK grits its roads - that is more an issue in the north. The UK cars are usually higher specified and often more well maintained as there are more specialist workshops there too.

Edited August 4, 2014 by RobD

[KwS 2378]

Looks great in that colour, and appears pretty tidy. Certainly wouldnt be scared off by the KM if an inspection went well. Facelift is a big win.

Being a member on a couple of BMW UK forums has REALLY put me off ever owning a UK import, almost EVERY car on any Uk forum has rust. It may be worse on the forums than it really is, but hell, not worth the risk IMO.

[RobD 41]

I really don't see the risk. The southern half of England doesn't get gritted or salted roads, and, believe it or not most of the UK gets a lot less rain that the bulk of NZ. UK roads are also a lot better than they are here. I lived there for 10 years and the difference is night and day. The concept that UK cars are all rust addled is just nuts. M5s and the like here are under specced and over priced and have been subjected to years of driving of nasty roads. No comparison in my book.

[KwS 2378]

Rust is serious business. wear and tear can be sorted without too much issue (worn shocks, bushes etc from "nasty" roads), but once rust takes hold its an uphill battle to keep it under control.

Even parts imported from Uk cars are riddled with rust. Do a search for "rust" on any BMW forum in the UK and itll be pretty obvious its a serious issue.

I understand not all Uk cars will have rust, and the newer the better in terms of rust treatment and time spent on the roads, but an E39 has been on the roads for 14 odd years.

How big is "the southern half" of england? are we talking mostly unpopulated or public transport users (hence less imports than from the north)?

I totally agree on NZ specs though, NZers are so cheap when buying new and tick the least boxes possible >_<

[RobD 41]

I guarantee that most 14 year old cars will have some form of rust. Metal oxidises no matter where in the world it is unless humidity is near zero. I lived there for quite some time. Really, the way people speak here it is as though all cars in the UK are rust heaps at the age of 10, which is rubbish. Cars there are, by and large, in a better state of repair than most of the stuff here. I for one can say that through experience. Not through what I read on a forum, of which I have read plenty. Remember that forum are a place for people to talk about problems as much as they are to talk positives. For every rust story you read about there are 20 stories out there that would suggest the opposite.

[RobD 41]

I'm not sure what you mean by querying how big the southern half of England is either. It is where most people live in England, and where most cars are. In my 10 years in London I never saw any roads get treated with grit or salt. The same applies throughout all the home counties and the south and south west, which is where the bulk of the population and cars are based. You can tell through DVLA where a car has spent most of its life, if you happen to look at importing. Saying things like "riddled" with rust is just silly.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2915]

I'm not sure where in London you were living to not see gritted roads in 10 years, must have been either lucky or in the area of a council that had run out of money and couldn't afford to grit the roads.

All of England gets cold enough for snow and ice and all areas get gritted - including the south.

It's not just the gritting of the roads that are the issue, it's also the marine environment and salty sea air. Just look inside a heat pump from a Bach to see what I mean!

But you are right, not every car in England is a rust bucket and the issues are greatly exaggerated.

[KwS 2378]

i genuinely know little about the size/population of the UK, didnt know if the southern half is highly populated or not. Im not trying to imply anything, i actually want to know more about the topic.

[RobD 41]

NZ has the same marine environment and salty air that any island has - UK or otherwise, so our cars should theoretically suffer the same fate. I really don't get the whole concept that UK cars are more rusty than those from any other country that exports cars to NZ. Japan receives plenty of snow too - and has gritted roads, but no one comments on rust affecting Japanese imports. The South Island receives plenty of snow too, and also gets gritted in parts. So do cars from those areas also suffer the same issue? Honestly, this really seems to be one of those old arguments where people are just repeating what they've heard with no anecdotal evidence to back it up. Much of the US, most of Europe, Korea, Japan - they get snow, and people import cars from all those places, but for some bizarre reason people focus on the UK. But that said, if you'd rather have a NZ car then by all means go for it. There are less to choose from, they are often poorly specified, and have often been serviced and maintained by people who don't specialise in Euros. The owners then sell at crazy prices because of low supply here. It's just a bugbear. A 2002 M5 is fundamentally the same car whether here or in the UK, but people here have to pay way over the odds because they feel they have to.

Edited August 4, 2014 by RobD

[KwS 2378]

Some japanese imports have horrific rust, just look at half the R32 GTRs coming into the country. Sills, and rear guards are like swiss cheese.

The difference is in NZ we dont grit with Salt, we grit with, gravel. UK and japan grits with salt. Salt + water = corrosion.

For most people importing from overseas is a massive risk, because we dont have friends/family over there that can check it out for us, and have to rely on the seller/agent over there. Thats why people prefer cars already in NZ.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2915]

Plus GBP8k is not far off NZ$24k landed anyways.

[KwS 2378]

8K GBP = 16K NZD (near enough), so once you factor in compliance, shipping etc..... good point.

For 8K GBP though, better options and possibly lower milage? Enough to make it worth it?

[jeffbebe 1559]

Having recently gone through the process of (attempting) to bring in a late model (97+) 840i I can tell you that you need to spend a lot more than $8K to get one that will be easily complied here - regardless of rust.

Plenty of cheapies in the UK, but they're cheap because they have problems and the good ones still fetch a reasonable price.

PS There's about 40 million people living in southern England so one or two bimmers to be had but as Jon says, it all gets snow from time to time... Just less frequently the further south you get. An M5 that's lived south of the Watford Gap and been garaged all its life should be fairly rust free though but expect to be GBP10K+ for one in good nick with low mileage.

PPS The TM auction looks well priced and a great car. If the engine is looked after it'll do another 200K kms easily... That's a lot of motoring, even if used daily!

[RobD 41]

I agree but I guess my point is exactly that. £8K is $16K. Not $24K. I was simply trying to say that here, you pay over the odds, car for car, irrespective of shipping.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2915]

That's true, it's all driven by Supply v demand. not many E39 M5s in NZ and lots of people that would love to own one. Many more E39 M5s in UK but most people put off running costs (mostly petrol and insurance).

Cost of diverting the supply to the demand then comes into play when the differences are big enough.

[turbolizard 38]

I already have one of these cars and even I am tempted to buy it.

I don't know this exact car but a tidy one of these for $24k is a pretty good car for the money I reckon. They are just awesome everyday cars. Drive it till it dies - you will be old when it happens.

[Golfboy666GTI 68]

Back in 2008 in the Drivers Republic days Chris Harris had a facelift E39 M5, it had rust on the outside of the boot. That car would have been lucky if it was 7 years old at that point.

I love the UK rust debate. I know of 6 month old UK imports than have been pinged for rust. What a Pom calls rust and what a NZer calls rust are to very different things.

Do you guys ever look at english DIY threads and ask yourself "whats with all the surface rust thats even on nuts and bolts?"

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2915]

There are brand new cars that are arriving from China that have been denied certification due to rust issues as well.

Yes, there are lots of rusty cars in the UK, just as there are lots of rusty, poorly maintained cars in NZ. The point is that not ALL UK cars are rusty, which most people seem to think is the case. Nuts and bolts are usually only given a zinc passivate, or chemi-black finish, which doesn't last long in most conditions. Easy enough to replace if you have to take them off for any reason.

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Have seen a few examples of rusty M5's from the UK....

If I was importing one from the UK, I would definitley be asking the owner to have the lower sill covering panels removed...

[BreakMyWindow 1870]

Gone for 23k. good price.