BMW M5 1999 Silverstone Blue - First sold in NZ apparently

[TermiPeteNZ 1318]

$30K ono with 205kms and looks to be in very tidy condition - and I must say I do like the 2-tone interior   But not sure if anything but Avus blue would do.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1165130233.htm

Still toying with the idea of picking up one of these in the near future - tho E60 M5s are the same price or less but really not sure which makes more sense ...

Also pondering E55 (blasphemy!) as an alternative ... hmmm.

[treone 648]

I'd seen this car earlier in the year and got to chat to the owner. Despite the kms I think this is a very good example and has been well maintained (well what the owner said anyway). They guy who owns this was a 'Holden' fan until he got an e39 540 and was impressed by it. Then he got this - and it just blew his mind and any holden/ford/pretty much anything out there! I'm surprised that he is selling this tbh.

Oh - I think the 540 was given to his son so they have both!

Anyone interested in an e60 M5 so I can buy this!!??

Edited September 20, 2016 by treone

[TermiPeteNZ 1318]

Hey Treone - what has your experience been with the E60 M5?

[treone 648]

Interesting question. In short - good and bad.

The bad: Had rough running and warning light issues from day one. These were inter-related. Over the first 3-4 months replaced the battery, positive power cable, air intake hoses and charcoal canister. This has made all the difference and the garage who work on it say it is running smoothly. I highly recommend MPE in Paraparaumu!

Next issue was water ingress to the rear footwell's (both sides) - sounds familiar :-). Culprit - blocked sunroof drain plugs from 10 years of gunk, grit and s#%^. Interior out, carpets dried, control units checked and all ok. Thanks again to MPE!

The good: Performance! Power! Handling! and all in a 4-door executive car! All of this in a comfortable cabin with multi adjustable seating positions and vehicle setup.  

In general I find the e60 to be well rounded and comfortable with a higher than typical build quality. In M5 form it is absolutely brutal (in every sense o the word) in performance and drivability.

The V10 is an absolute beast - the pull and the noise! There is nothing better to put a smile on your face!

The SMGIII - the M5's biggest Achilles heel. In automatic form it is horrible, yes what you've read and heard is all true. But in 'manual mode' is where it comes alive. IMO the M5 will be the ultimate driving machine with the V10 matched to a manual box. 

My caveat - I'm not interested in performance enhancements nor racing. I'm not interested in taking it to the track to thrash it. I have no desire to 'drive it like I stole it' so I can prove my tail pipes (yip all 4 of them) are bigger than yours. In fact it is usually driven in a 'grand-dad' manner. But as I said to the dealer when I got it its all about the knowing'. So its a 'daily'. Sure it drinks the 98, but it is liveable as an everyday driver.

But I know what I've got. it is a performance machine which requires performance like servicing. An M5 is not a Swift so don't expect Swift like servicing costs. MPE have said that to do a full inspection service will be in the region of $2k but that's the price you pay right?

Get a good one and you won't regret it !

Yes mine is up for sale. Why? I have now owned an M5 so I can tick that one off.

Hope that's sums up my ownership experience!

 

[qube 3570]

reminds me of an experience where my friend borrowed his uncles e60 m5 to show a client around town and left $40 on the dashboard so his uncle could fill up petrol. the txt msg from his uncle said something like "either leave me $140 or nothing at all.. $40 is absolutely meaningless". hahaha

[TermiPeteNZ 1318]

@Treone - so it was your silver M5 I saw for sale on TM. :) I got my E60 545i from Euroland too - back in October last year - and I've just recently crossed the $5K threshold on maintenance/fix/excesses despite having an Autosure Extreme on it. This does include radio re-code, Nav change (since lost from comp replacement), trim replacement and repair which weren't essential but necessary from my perspective to get it 'sorted'.

I feel at this point I need to keep it for a decent period or I'm just kissing the $5K goodbye to the benefit of someone other than myself. Same goes for my X5. Otherwise I would be serious about switching to an M5.

[TermiPeteNZ 1318]

5 hours ago, treone said:

The V10 is an absolute beast - the pull and the noise! There is nothing better to put a smile on your face!

Get a good one and you won't regret it

 

Thanks heaps for sharing your experience - maybe I shouldn't drive one or temptation might get the better of me

[Michael. 2313]

E39 M5 > E55 / E60 M5

I think the E39 is a no brainer

E60 M5 doesn't strike me as a good investment. 

Nor the E55, while I like them, their a bit iffy inside and do suffer from some of MB quality issues of the period. 

The E39 offers a proper manual gearbox and has a V8 engine sound that soothes the ear, rather than that headache inducing racket the M5 V10 makes. 

I suspect the E39 M5 will hold value, if not increase from this point on in, high teens is as low as I've seen them go on average, but most are well into the 20s. 

 

 

[treone 648]

If you're looking for a car to invest in then that sadly wont be an E60 M5

But an E39 M5... the owner of this example told me what he paid for it several years ago - again I take him on face value, for what he's asking he is going to get a reasonable return. However what is unknown is the maintenance cost over the ownership period. I suspect tho that he is still coming out on top.

Peter - go drive an M5 it would be interesting how it compares to the 545. But be warned, you may be tempted

My neighbour has a MB E55 AMG, 5.4 supercharged. Having had a drive it is comparable to the M5 and the supercharger whine is very entertaining! For me the M5 has it over the MB both in performance and looks - IMO the MB is butt-ugggly! 

[TermiPeteNZ 1318]

Agree the E39 is a classic now and likely to appreciate. Should have bought my friend's Avus Blue when he was selling it. He put up some artistic but not very useful pictures on TM and it took a while to sell!

I drove an E55 from Euroland before buying my 545i - the supercharger whine is great and the power awesome - but the interior does not feel as modern as an E60 and the 'Mr Sensible' side of me decided <half the price and 245KW would be sufficient. Personally I like the overall aesthetic of the E60 whether in highline, MSport or M configuration - E55s I am partial to in white or black but not so fond of silver. Still hanker to add 'owned a mental vehicle with supercar performance' to the job done list  But after burning wads of cash on sorting my 2 current BMWs I'm a bit chicken about AMG/M .....

Must be time to organize another Welly coffee catch up.

[KwS 2425]

Is this the same E39 im thinking it is? Sold a few years ago in the low 20s, and i seem to recall it had had a mild shunt in the front on a track at some point? Theres not many in this color scheme.

[treone 648]

Not sure but the owner bought this from Dunedin - sound familiar?

And Peter - I think my neighbour owns the E55 you test drove - Euroland did great business from us three :-)

[TermiPeteNZ 1318]

Euroland does have the most interesting collection of vehicles in Wellington

Very nearly bought the E55...

[Palazzo 477]

16 hours ago, KwS said:

Is this the same E39 im thinking it is? Sold a few years ago in the low 20s, and i seem to recall it had had a mild shunt in the front on a track at some point? Theres not many in this color scheme.

Yes

[KwS 2425]

On 9/24/2016 at 2:15 PM, Palazzo said:

Yes

Its weird what i remember. Cant remember how to do math, but can remember a random E39 that was sold years ago 

[SmithyInWelly 212]

Euroland is always a good place for a wee stroll/perve... 

Treone, your old black e39 has been re-homed in Newlands. I felt bad about using it solely for commuting and downsized to an Accord Euro... have since changed jobs and my commute is now 2 kms here in the Hutt lol.

Will be moving to Whitby next year which will require a suitably comfortable/cruisy form of transport to get over the Haywards every day!

[TermiPeteNZ 1318]

Accord Euro? +100 sensible points!

[SmithyInWelly 212]

Yeah Pete - I know... it was a very sensible time unfortunately - though luckily not a life sentence 

[KwS 2425]

Very nice, and reliable cars though Euros. Had two myself in the past.