Hey guys - I ended up buying the '01 Silverstone Blue M5 from Ignition Auto. Final price was R140,000 including a warranty.
I did ask other forum members if they knew this car and a few people replied saying that it needed vanos repairs, paintwork and a general cleanup.
I drove up to look at the car and found the following. The VANOS units had been rebuilt and the timing chain and guides replaced. The motor sounds fantastic. There is no knocks on startup and it idles quietly. I spoke with the independent technician who worked on the car and was told that the dealership spent R45k on the repairs. The interior is in excellent condition for its age (the DSP amp had to be sent to be repaired) otherwise everything is in good order. The car has had a complete respray (I would rate it 7/10) and it presents very well - the colour is stunning.
As with any older car there are issues. The DSC light will not cancel and a scan with my X431 revealed a suspect steering angle sensor. The headlights need to be removed, cleaned and refurbished. Somebody has had a go at refinishing the shadow chrome on the wheels but I am not happy with the quality and will have this sorted.
The plastic belly pan is missing (anybody out there that can help?) and the front shock top mounts are past there prime. The power steering pipes are weeping (a documented e39 issue) so will have new ones made up.
All in all a nice car - its never going to be a concours vehicle but it will clean up ok and besides I didn't want a garage queen - cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed and are obviously going to encounter a few battle scars along the way
Check out the pics
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/4kl5i4ehu73i7xw/AACN8dC5l1hriqlTVxhGIA3Qa
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/ncgj7ivs2enxn7g/AAArZgWd2q0HtEUzwcyycXp3a
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/9e5hca00ycs7btu/AAAkfyUS0zYEB712booXJh38a
I did ask other forum members if they knew this car and a few people replied saying that it needed vanos repairs, paintwork and a general cleanup.
I drove up to look at the car and found the following. The VANOS units had been rebuilt and the timing chain and guides replaced. The motor sounds fantastic. There is no knocks on startup and it idles quietly. I spoke with the independent technician who worked on the car and was told that the dealership spent R45k on the repairs. The interior is in excellent condition for its age (the DSP amp had to be sent to be repaired) otherwise everything is in good order. The car has had a complete respray (I would rate it 7/10) and it presents very well - the colour is stunning.
As with any older car there are issues. The DSC light will not cancel and a scan with my X431 revealed a suspect steering angle sensor. The headlights need to be removed, cleaned and refurbished. Somebody has had a go at refinishing the shadow chrome on the wheels but I am not happy with the quality and will have this sorted.
The plastic belly pan is missing (anybody out there that can help?) and the front shock top mounts are past there prime. The power steering pipes are weeping (a documented e39 issue) so will have new ones made up.
All in all a nice car - its never going to be a concours vehicle but it will clean up ok and besides I didn't want a garage queen - cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed and are obviously going to encounter a few battle scars along the way
Check out the pics
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/4kl5i4ehu73i7xw/AACN8dC5l1hriqlTVxhGIA3Qa
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/ncgj7ivs2enxn7g/AAArZgWd2q0HtEUzwcyycXp3a
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/9e5hca00ycs7btu/AAAkfyUS0zYEB712booXJh38a
raise:
