Bonus beneficiary believes buying broken BMW brings beneficent lifestyle benefits.
It seems like there has been a deluge of E39 related posts lately, so now that my torture of the "B" key has grabbed your attention allow me to introduce my latest bad decision.
After telling myself that I needed an E92 M3 because "one must own a v8 at least once in one's lifetime" I soon found myself thinking that BMW M had really short-changed me on displacement. The S65 was meant to be an upgrade from the S54, but something about only 25% more engine capacity for 33% more cylinders just doesn't feel right. Thus started the search for something more in keeping with expectations. A few years, and a house purchase, later I was introduced to a gentleman in September 2023 who was looking for a good home for a family heirloom M5. When I first viewed the car I wasn't certain I needed a project in my life and the owner wasn't certain he was ready to let go of fond memories. Fast forward to February 2024 and I got a call from the owner to tell me that he'd decided to sell. The timing was good, see bonus beneficiary alliteration above, and I was in a position to make an offer. The owner did a lot of deliberating and I did some negotiating before we shook hands. Funds were moved, a work afternoon was bunked, and just like that I was sat looking at a white facelift M5 in my driveway.
Well, technically not my driveway. While the car was loved, it certainly wasn't maintained beyond semi-regular oil changes. This almost certainly meant that I was going to need to do some major surgery and I'm not sure my neighbours would appreciate seeing another BMW leaking oil onto the driveway, let alone one in pieces, so the car was taken straight to my father's workshop.
With north of 250 000km on the odometer it was a given that the suspension and engine would need a refresh, but neither the mileage nor the required repairs put me off the car. She came with a fat stack of invoices for maintenance and repairs, a straight chasis, honest paintwork and the interior still smelled like I remember them smelling when they were new. Couple that with only 2 previous owners, a distinct lack of alternatives for sale, and a bargain price and I think I made a good decision.
After a thorough inspection the major items needing attention were:
- Rough idle coupled with a vanos and cam timing error code
- Cracked windshield
- Knackered suspension and I mean knackered. Jacking the car up and lowering it too quickly resulted in the suspension bottoming out. I knew that the ride was less than perfect after the test drive, but at this point it was safe to assume that the car was riding on springs only
- The rear window blind is broken and needs replacing
- Driver's side doorlock is broken, getting in and out of the car involves climbing over the centre console to get to the passenger door. I'm still young and fit, but I think vehicular parkour isn't about to take off as a new sport so this will need to be fixed
- Tyres are balder than Vin Diesel and the rims are in a similar condition to Paul Walker
- There is enough oil and gunk in the engine bay to trigger an aneurism in Greta Thunberg so it's likely that power steering hoses are going to need to be replaced
- The car has been sitting and the battery has a few dead cells
More things were bound to pop up as I got stuck in but the initial project plan was as follows:
- Big end bearing refresh
- Timing chain guiderail replacement
- Vanos overhaul
- Power steering hose replacement
- Full front and rear suspension refresh
- Replace engine oil, diff and gearbox oil, brake fluid and all coolant
- Driver's side door lock replacement
- Source and replace rear window blind
- Rim refurbishment along with new rubber
- New battery
The local BMW dealership was most pleased to receive my parts order...
***EDIT***
It's been so long since I did my initial inspection that I forgot another important fault. The dreaded trifecta lights are illuminated on the cluster. I'm hoping that this is just the result of the dead battery or a faulty sensor. Time will tell, but safe to say that the worst case is a rather expensive exercise in replacing the DSC module.
It seems like there has been a deluge of E39 related posts lately, so now that my torture of the "B" key has grabbed your attention allow me to introduce my latest bad decision.
After telling myself that I needed an E92 M3 because "one must own a v8 at least once in one's lifetime" I soon found myself thinking that BMW M had really short-changed me on displacement. The S65 was meant to be an upgrade from the S54, but something about only 25% more engine capacity for 33% more cylinders just doesn't feel right. Thus started the search for something more in keeping with expectations. A few years, and a house purchase, later I was introduced to a gentleman in September 2023 who was looking for a good home for a family heirloom M5. When I first viewed the car I wasn't certain I needed a project in my life and the owner wasn't certain he was ready to let go of fond memories. Fast forward to February 2024 and I got a call from the owner to tell me that he'd decided to sell. The timing was good, see bonus beneficiary alliteration above, and I was in a position to make an offer. The owner did a lot of deliberating and I did some negotiating before we shook hands. Funds were moved, a work afternoon was bunked, and just like that I was sat looking at a white facelift M5 in my driveway.
Well, technically not my driveway. While the car was loved, it certainly wasn't maintained beyond semi-regular oil changes. This almost certainly meant that I was going to need to do some major surgery and I'm not sure my neighbours would appreciate seeing another BMW leaking oil onto the driveway, let alone one in pieces, so the car was taken straight to my father's workshop.
With north of 250 000km on the odometer it was a given that the suspension and engine would need a refresh, but neither the mileage nor the required repairs put me off the car. She came with a fat stack of invoices for maintenance and repairs, a straight chasis, honest paintwork and the interior still smelled like I remember them smelling when they were new. Couple that with only 2 previous owners, a distinct lack of alternatives for sale, and a bargain price and I think I made a good decision.
After a thorough inspection the major items needing attention were:
- Rough idle coupled with a vanos and cam timing error code
- Cracked windshield
- Knackered suspension and I mean knackered. Jacking the car up and lowering it too quickly resulted in the suspension bottoming out. I knew that the ride was less than perfect after the test drive, but at this point it was safe to assume that the car was riding on springs only
- The rear window blind is broken and needs replacing
- Driver's side doorlock is broken, getting in and out of the car involves climbing over the centre console to get to the passenger door. I'm still young and fit, but I think vehicular parkour isn't about to take off as a new sport so this will need to be fixed
- Tyres are balder than Vin Diesel and the rims are in a similar condition to Paul Walker
- There is enough oil and gunk in the engine bay to trigger an aneurism in Greta Thunberg so it's likely that power steering hoses are going to need to be replaced
- The car has been sitting and the battery has a few dead cells
More things were bound to pop up as I got stuck in but the initial project plan was as follows:
- Big end bearing refresh
- Timing chain guiderail replacement
- Vanos overhaul
- Power steering hose replacement
- Full front and rear suspension refresh
- Replace engine oil, diff and gearbox oil, brake fluid and all coolant
- Driver's side door lock replacement
- Source and replace rear window blind
- Rim refurbishment along with new rubber
- New battery
The local BMW dealership was most pleased to receive my parts order...
***EDIT***
It's been so long since I did my initial inspection that I forgot another important fault. The dreaded trifecta lights are illuminated on the cluster. I'm hoping that this is just the result of the dead battery or a faulty sensor. Time will tell, but safe to say that the worst case is a rather expensive exercise in replacing the DSC module.
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