by "CB" (jrcb)
Published 10/03/2017 at 22:31
by "CB" (jrcb)
Published 10/03/2017 at 22:31
Tags: Opinions are like Assholes
STARS: 2
The E39 M5 is an awesome car, but I don’t think I’d ever like to own one, unless it was a third vehicle and I had enough money to pay for upkeep.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
10/03/2017 at 22:36, STARS: 4
I wanted an E39 M5 pretty bad until I realized I could afford an E90 M3. A ten year newer V8 M sedan with a 6MT? Yes please.
"CB" (jrcb)
10/03/2017 at 22:41, STARS: 0
I think my opinion might be the same for the E90 M3, although I’d probably prefer the E90.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
10/03/2017 at 22:45, STARS: 0
I really wanted an E39 M5 , but when it came down to crunch time I got an E90 M3 because I didn’t want a car with 80k miles on it, and I could afford the E90.
"marshknute" (marshknute)
10/03/2017 at 22:55, STARS: 4
Unpopular opinion: The E39 M5 has aged terribly and never looked particularly good in the first place. It’s just a boring brick of a sedan with zero design flair. It easily looks 20 years older than the E60 that replaced it (a once-ugly car that ironically become extremely handsome by 2017 standards). Plus BMW’s interiors from that era looked and felt cheap.
I suppose if someone gave one to me, I’d drive it, but I’d probably still list it for sale immediately (and replace it with something I find desirable as soon as it sells).
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
10/03/2017 at 23:34, STARS: 1
Between the cost to buy and cost to own for a 15+ year old car, they’re not suitable as DDs any more, so you’re not wrong.
"RyanFrew" (ryanfrew)
10/04/2017 at 01:22, STARS: 0
Get out.
"Nauraushaun" (nauraushaun12)
10/04/2017 at 07:48, STARS: 1
I think we’re trained this days to expect fussy, over-done designs. The E60 is from the brink of that era and was considered over-done in its day (in a bad way). Being 1 generation apart doesn’t tell the full story - things changed in 10 years and the E60 was lucky enough to be ahead of its time.
The E39 is from an era of subtle designs particularly in luxury cars.
Lexus are a prime example of this. Check out the LS of the same era - get an E39, take away anything interesting in the front end, the subtle wheel arch bulges, the gaping lower bumper intake, the style line down the side of the car, take away any semblance of a sporting roofline, remove the small side skirt and the sporty alloys, the little spoiler and the quad pipes. Now you have a Lexus LS. It’s an E39 without (most of!) the flair.
You say there’s no zero design flair, comparison tells us otherwise.
And to come full circle...look at today’s Lexus. There’s plenty of flair - they’re absolutely hideous. But we’re used to them. Does that mean they’re better? No. But they make old cars look very old.
"Vicente Esteve" (vicente-esteve)
10/04/2017 at 13:45, STARS: 0
I’m also in the camp that prefer the styling of the E60, but I can’t disregard what a great car the E39 is.
"pizzaman09" (pizzaman09)
10/04/2017 at 21:33, STARS: 1
I daily drove a 2002 e39 M5 in Lemans Blue just like the picture for three years. It was a phenomenal experience. Put 45k miles on it, drove it year round in the lake effect snow, it was just brilliant. Mine had the extended leather caramel interior which was beautiful.
It was expensive to maintain to a level of perfection and drive it as much as I did. It ate tires and I averaged 16mpg over those 45k miles. I won’t get into the maintenance costs but it was high to keep perfect.
I Autocrossed the M5 as well, it did surprisingly well, it was a 4000 sedan in the corners but had so much torque that it could make up for it between the corners. Loved it, but sold it when I drove an e36 328is and realized that using the lower powered and beautifully balanced I6 to its fullest was far more fun than having all the power anytime. You never needed to downshift in the M5, it had torque for days.
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
10/04/2017 at 22:18, STARS: 0
A friend of mine had one as a daily (same color) for a couple years a couple years ago, it wasn’t that bad. I think the clutch was the only major expense as long as you do basic maintenance yourself, the rest was just paint touchups and other non-essentials.