BMW M5 E60 (2005)

[Rommies]

Hi fellow fanatics!:=):

I'm looking at a 2005 BMW M5 E60 (5.0L v10) for about R350 000 and 70 000km on the clock.

I know the fuel consumption is high but is it really a high maintenance car? I also know it uses some sort of special oil? Is it a reliable car etc.? (All the normal questions you know)

And after some reviews, they give the car an average 8/10.
Most luxury ride with brutal performance and enough technology with buttons to keep you busy for the next 10 years! (What I like though!)

Thanks in advance

 

[Whacko]

Hi fellow fanatics!:=):

I'm looking at a 2005 BMW M5 E60 (5.0L v10) for about R350 000 and 70 000km on the clock.

I know the fuel consumption is high but is it really a high maintenance car? I also know it uses some sort of special oil? Is it a reliable car etc.? (All the normal questions you know)

And after some reviews, they give the car an average 8/10.
Most luxury ride with brutal performance and enough technology with buttons to keep you busy for the next 10 years! (What I like though!)

Thanks in advance

Addictive, my 5c worth. Very very addictive.

 

[Rommies]

:rollsmile: I'm sure.

Is it a good/reasonable price for the year model?

 

[ASH M]

One of the best cars I've ever driven, the same goes for Jeremy Clarkson when he tested one.

So go out there and get yourself one. If it was well maintained and you do the same, expect to have a well behaved car. Then again you could always get a decent after market warranty to cover the major components :thumbs:

 

[Rommies]

Oh and it is the SMG gearbox.

 

[SP33DYV]

Do yourself a favour and go price some parts, like the front discs, pads and a new clutch. If you can afford these wear and tear items... Just do it.

Awesome car with awesome noise. I was toying with getting one as well, but I just don't like the SMG 'box. It's only an excellent car when driven like you stole it. This is just my opinion. I have only driven two examples and they were worlds apart - one a 2006 and one a 2005. The 2006 car was way better.

And these motors are prone to run bearings if not looked after properly. Apparently the oil level sensor dies and then there's no way to check the oil level. These motors tend to use oil. You then end up with too little oil in the motor without knowing it. And at 9000 rpm that might not be such a good idea.

But still an awesome car for the money.:thumbs: Considering what they cost when they were new.

 

[Raybimmer]

Go for a test drive and get a seat of the pants feeling .
If it is a daily drive .....ouch it will be expensive on wear and tear items .
The gearbox does not like too many launch control starts either !!
Can a dealer do a diagnostics test and pick up if the launch control feature has been used ?
Good luck .

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

If all checks out well, and car is well maintained it will reward you very well. Just check out prices for wear and tear items first, as M parts costs a fortune at times.

 

[Rommies]

Awesome car with awesome noise. I was toying with getting one as well, but I just don't like the SMG 'box. It's only an excellent car when driven like you stole it. This is just my opinion. I have only driven two examples and they were worlds apart - one a 2006 and one a 2005. The 2006 car was way better.

What was the difference between 2005 & 2006 model?
manual vs auto?

I'm also fully aware that this car is high maintenance. And yes my Supra is also high maintenance, but damn...I'm a petrol head and I love performance at the cost of stupid fuel.

Unfortunately I will be trading in my daily (to make it affordable) but in the same breath, I think I do plus/minus 10 000km in a year.

Where would I take this car for a diagnostics? And do I just take the VIN number to BMW dealer so that they can give me history of the car?

Thanks :joy:

 

[Philip Foglar]

They are all SMG (except in the States they had a manual version, detuned or something though), and have active diffs as far as I know - unfortunately these gearboxes and diffs are known to give problems and are of course costly to replace! But, how much of this is due to abuse and a life of heavy launches, I don't know.

Being an M, parts are of course going to be pretty costly, but otherwise I cannot believe that these aren't solid cars! :thumbs:

 

[SP33DYV]

Awesome car with awesome noise. I was toying with getting one as well, but I just don't like the SMG 'box. It's only an excellent car when driven like you stole it. This is just my opinion. I have only driven two examples and they were worlds apart - one a 2006 and one a 2005. The 2006 car was way better.

What was the difference between 2005 & 2006 model?
manual vs auto?

I'm also fully aware that this car is high maintenance. And yes my Supra is also high maintenance, but damn...I'm a petrol head and I love performance at the cost of stupid fuel.

Unfortunately I will be trading in my daily (to make it affordable) but in the same breath, I think I do plus/minus 10 000km in a year.

Where would I take this car for a diagnostics? And do I just take the VIN number to BMW dealer so that they can give me history of the car?

Thanks :joy:

All e60 M5's has the SMG 'box.
The difference between the 2005 and 2006, the key and a start button, appearance wise. The 2006 felt smoother on gear changes and the throttle more responsive and it felt like it had more power even though I did not enable the "M" button on the 2006. There's just too many settings to play with in a normal test drive. I just switch it to manual mode with the quickest gear changes and let rip once the oil temp is up to 80+ deg C. Most fun I had in a long time. I am just too scared to get one. My right foot will get me into trouble with a car like this.

The worst was getting back into the 330i. It felt like I was driving a 1.3 Citi Golf.

 

[Rommies]

Hmmm I see! thanks for the advice.

After I red this:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1076816&d=0&nmt=

I'm really worried. As I really like this car.

 

[Whacko]

Hmmm I see! thanks for the advice.

After I red this:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1076816&d=0&nmt=

I'm really worried. As I really like this car.

Don't be spooked by a lot of BS going around, like any M car, maintenance will be costly. Its a LOT of car for that money, and bear in mind that it is not your ordinary drive around, it is a special car, epic and will pull you into its realm of excitement. If you drive to break it, you will, so will any car.
If you don't have the budget, rather don't do it, she is thirsty. Every time you start her from cold, expect about 2 liters of fuel gone to get the engine up to temperature quickly. Between the M3 and the M5, I will choose the M5, as I did.

 

[SP33DYV]

@Rommies - The e60 M5 is not a daily driver. Especially not in heavy traffic. It's the car you take out to have fun with and that's where I'll get in trouble with the authorities. Hence why I'm scared. It is a great car! And at R340k - R500k a lot of car for the money.:thumbs:

 

[Whacko]

To elaborate, the E60 M5 is definitively NOT for pussy's :thumbs:

 

[Philip Foglar]

Hmmm I see! thanks for the advice.

After I red this:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1076816&d=0&nmt=

I'm really worried. As I really like this car.

Don't be spooked by a lot of BS going around, like any M car, maintenance will be costly. Its a LOT of car for that money, and bear in mind that it is not your ordinary drive around, it is a special car, epic and will pull you into its realm of excitement. If you drive to break it, you will, so will any car.
If you don't have the budget, rather don't do it, she is thirsty. Every time you start her from cold, expect about 2 liters of fuel gone to get the engine up to temperature quickly. Between the M3 and the M5, I will choose the M5, as I did.

Yep, if you are looking for an economical car, then an M5 is not going to check that tick box, and pretty much all M cars are not intended to be anyway - performance is the key! But then if I was to buy an E60 M5 it would not be for daily driving, that's insane I would think. So then wear and tear can be easier to control since you're not sitting in traffic and the typical things that punish a car.

 

[Rommies]

haha thanks people for all the heads up.

Yes if I wanted a economical car, I would have go for a tata indica,toyota yaris, i10, polo 1.6 tdi or whatever haha

But damn people, R350k for this car sounds like a good deal.

Yes yes it's high maintenance, but after reading some reviews (from trusted automotive sites) it all depends actually how the car was driven:

Before I would purchase, I will check a few things out: (common or known issues)

Front Discs (Wabbling when turning etc.)
SMG Pump (a must)
Check if the launch control were abused?
Maybe a software update?
Clutch + Flywheel

To see if I can get extended warranty + exactly what it includes...apparently clucthes + flywheel etc. is not included?

Thanks
Any other recommendations?

 

[George Smooth]

haha thanks people for all the heads up.

Yes if I wanted a economical car, I would have go for a tata indica,toyota yaris, i10, polo 1.6 tdi or whatever haha

But damn people, R350k for this car sounds like a good deal.

Yes yes it's high maintenance, but after reading some reviews (from trusted automotive sites) it all depends actually how the car was driven:

Before I would purchase, I will check a few things out: (common or known issues)

Front Discs (Wabbling when turning etc.)
SMG Pump (a must)
Check if the launch control were abused?
Maybe a software update?
Clutch + Flywheel

To see if I can get extended warranty + exactly what it includes...apparently clucthes + flywheel etc. is not included?

Thanks
Any other recommendations?

I sold my 2005 with 60,000km for R280,000. Motorplan was coming to a end with no room for extension. Claims on the vehicle where in the region of R450,000. I can turn a spanner myself and was weary of the running costs after the plan expired. The new owner in three months of ownership went through another R50,000 of claims. The car is really not for the faint hearted and you gotta have deep pocket reserves in the event something does go wrong.

 

[Whacko]

haha thanks people for all the heads up.

Yes if I wanted a economical car, I would have go for a tata indica,toyota yaris, i10, polo 1.6 tdi or whatever haha

But damn people, R350k for this car sounds like a good deal.

Yes yes it's high maintenance, but after reading some reviews (from trusted automotive sites) it all depends actually how the car was driven:

Before I would purchase, I will check a few things out: (common or known issues)

Front Discs (Wabbling when turning etc.)
SMG Pump (a must)
Check if the launch control were abused?
Maybe a software update?
Clutch + Flywheel

To see if I can get extended warranty + exactly what it includes...apparently clucthes + flywheel etc. is not included?

Thanks
Any other recommendations?

I sold my 2005 with 60,000km for R280,000. Motorplan was coming to a end with no room for extension. Claims on the vehicle where in the region of R450,000. I can turn a spanner myself and was weary of the running costs after the plan expired. The new owner in three months of ownership went through another R50,000 of claims. The car is really not for the faint hearted and you gotta have deep pocket reserves in the event something does go wrong.

George, you weren't smooth on the car man, admit it :biglol:

 

[Sith]

:roflol: