ssbmw 223 Report post Posted September 1, 2018 (edited) Hi guys, I have been a Bimmersporter for a long time but not a regular contributor. I have a long history of BMW ownership - but despite a stint with a E34 535is and a joint ownership of a X3 with my wife, all of my BMW's have been coupes. 10 years ago two of my close friends concurrently owned E39 M5's in Lemans Blue. Their ownership piqued my interest. Currently living in the USA, I decided I'd finally pull the trigger on a E39 M5 purchase. I have been looking for 6 months - seeking ideally a face-lifted Lemans Blue example. Despite 10,000 E39 M5's being sold here (versus 30-35 in NZ), and a 1,000 sold in that hue, I couldn't find one that fulfilled my criteria. The market has gone a little crazy for these cars, and believe me there are ample, baggy examples with inter-galactic mileage that are struggling to find new homes. Decent ones are getting expensive. I finally did a deal on a very rare car - a July 2002 example in Bluewater Metallic - the 2nd rarest colour for the E39 M5 (83 made for the USA and 160 global) (they sold nearly 7,000 global in carbon black). It was delivered with black Ostrich sports leather (05SW) and Titanium trim. it was sold new with Dinan S1 modifications. It is a very quick car - and has a sensational Dinan exhaust note. Probably one of a handful in this colour with Dinan S1 specifications. Edited September 1, 2018 by ssbmw missed a word 20 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssbmw 223 Report post Posted September 4, 2018 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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qube 3570 Report post Posted September 4, 2018 are the wheels.. chrome? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssbmw 223 Report post Posted September 4, 2018 Well spotted... they were done by the original owner - a wealthy financier with a fleet of cars - all with chrome wheels. I will recondition them in the factory spec, shadow chrome one day. However, believe it or not, they are ok in the flesh...work well with the Bluewater metallic. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted September 4, 2018 also looks to be missing the rear diffuser but im sure it will be sorted soon chrome wheels though... haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssbmw 223 Report post Posted September 4, 2018 (edited) ? I know!!! Like I said - M5 USA style!!! Moon roofs as standard too.. The rear diffuser is factory - unless different to Euro spec cars... but mine is the same as others here... a mate of mine has a Silverstone example here (Bluewater was the replacement colour) and the diffusers are identical... apart from the Dinan parts and the chromies - the rest is factory Edited September 4, 2018 by ssbmw Added an image 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted September 4, 2018 Ahh i see. It almost looks like it needs a black diffuser fitted over the body color indent. Moonroofs are great! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
treone 649 Report post Posted September 5, 2018 What a gorgeous M5! Love that colour too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssbmw 223 Report post Posted September 6, 2018 Cheers man! I really wanted Lemans blue as that to me is the ultimate colour in this car. However, this came along and I was intrigued by the colour. I had seen a few in Silverstone before but despite this being the replacement colour in 2002, it is different. Kind of blue in dull weather, grey in bright weather, and sometimes silver. Quite frankly, I think they would have sold more in this colour if people saw it in the flesh. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted September 6, 2018 the colour looks different in almost every one of your photos. (not a bad thing too!) I think its nice indeed. well done Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssbmw 223 Report post Posted September 6, 2018 Cheers buddy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kulgan 1042 Report post Posted September 6, 2018 Thats awesome. Love the colour. Dinan M5. Thats a combo I'd like to drive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 2093 Report post Posted September 7, 2018 I thought about getting one here in the US when I first got here. But as you said there are many rough ones that need time and money. The ones I thought were average to good were double the price. The prices are all over the place at the moment. Especially on the East coast. Ended up with a cheap E46 to runabout in. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssbmw 223 Report post Posted September 8, 2018 I think what happened here was that plenty of higher mileage or poorly maintained examples dropped to around $8k, 5-6 years ago and they got into a state where they never really recovered as they needed big money spent on them. Funnily enough, lots of these cars are now on Craiglist for $11-$15k with everything else going upwards as well. A really nice, 40k mile example popped up for sale recently for $45k. A friend of mine mentioned that 4 years ago a similar blue example with 30k Miles was available for $23k..! i looked closely at a couple of examples on the east coast. Didn’t work out as I was nervous of rust and the cost of transport to the west made it prohibitive. It was around $2k to get a car transported. As you say the prices are all over the place...obviously the time warp, like new example sold for $176k, but there are still examples commanding big dollars here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssbmw 223 Report post Posted September 10, 2018 Some more photos 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NUSTAD 243 Report post Posted September 29, 2018 Mmmmm lovely - Bluewater is my fav - shows the lines so well. Cool car. A keeper...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssbmw 223 Report post Posted September 29, 2018 Thanks man!!! As you know these cars are addictive. Goes incredibly well too. The BMW factory exhaust is great but I thoroughly recommend Dinan pipes. The sound is incredible- not super loud, but creates a lovely, deep burble! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssbmw 223 Report post Posted May 20, 2019 (edited) Hello there, it's been awhile since I provided any commentary on the acquisition of Bluewater. I have owned her for nigh on 10 months now, and as one may suspect, my enjoyment of the car never ceases to amaze me . I live in Northern California - in the San Francisco Bay area where there are ample places to enjoy the features of a very practical, tactile M car. As many owners have found, what would you purchase to replace it that provides the power, handling, and charisma of a 6 -speed M powered brute? Possibly a E90 M3? There have been the age-related pro-active maintenance that I have embarked on such as the replacement of various hosing, power steering pump, and thermostat. The next step is the replacement of the suspension components such as control arms / bushes. Being a nice -day -driver only though - will probably get that going later in the year. As mentioned before, the 'Los Angeles' style chrome style 65 wheels will eventually get refurbished. However, there is one thing that bothers me about that I need to sort out too - from an aesthetic view that I really like about the Euro (including the Australasian market) style E39 M5 that the US market never got. Something external- visually obvious. Can anyone work it out? Edited May 20, 2019 by ssbmw typo 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted May 20, 2019 euro bootlid? (supports longer plates) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssbmw 223 Report post Posted May 20, 2019 No. Good try. If you quickly look at an Euro E39 M5 you’ll get it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted May 20, 2019 brake duct (or lack of) on the front bumper grille? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1878 Report post Posted May 20, 2019 The orange indicator lenses. Euro versions also got the better floating 2 piece brake discs. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssbmw 223 Report post Posted May 20, 2019 (edited) Yep!!!! Well done... those amber indicator lenses bother me... will be getting that done soon. well done Martin! I hear that you are a Mr E39 M5 in Nz. Would love to catch up someday. Edited May 20, 2019 by ssbmw typo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted May 20, 2019 that is disappointing.. the orange indicator lenses were so obvious I assumed that couldnt be it.. Also, a lot of people actually prefer to go amber indicators in certain cases. If they were PFL and amber I would have pointed it out but they were the FL xenon headlights which is miles better than the older versions.. o well Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
