What would you do?

"djmt1" (djmt1) 07/26/2015 at 18:10 • Filed to: None

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So I’m watching Wheeler Dealers and it’s the E39 M5 episode and as you do after every episode of Wheeler Dealers, you immediately jump on Autotrader to look at the prices for cars you can’t afford. Today’s browse showed up something interesting.

E60 V10 M5s ain’t worth shit. Seriously I know M Cars depreciate harder than anything else in the UK but £11,000? £11,000 for a 500HP M car, I need to get my arse to work and start saving. No heat, water or Peri Peri chicken. But wait, could I continue to eat Peri Peri chicken if I were to set my sights to the older M5?

Nope. They are going for around £7,500 which brings up this whole discussion. If you were in the market for an M5, which one would you go for considering the prices I’ve listed?

Also for fun, what would you have to give up to afford one?

Also Also are Wheeler Dealers episodes shown in clumps of brands. Yesterday it was all Land Rovers. Today, BMWs.

Schaefft > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 18:16

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I’d definitely go for the E39. Cheaper to own, I know a thing or two about them by now (even though there are plenty of M5 specific things to watch out for) and the interior of the pre-facelift E60 seems to be rather cheap for such a premium car.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 18:17

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I’d get an E60, because V10.

and I would have to give up my current car, and possibly a kidney if I get a car with DCT/VANOS issues

Decay buys too many beaters > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 18:18

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The E60 M5 is a blast, one of the few cars I’ve test driven that actually scared me. That said assuming the E39 M5 is a faster tighter version of my 540i, I can’t think of a better all around car so that would be my choice. Also on an e39 you can do the work yourself, not so sure about the e60.

I’d eat ramen and limit beer to yuengling for a year for a super clean E39 M5.

LeadfootYT > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 18:20

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The E60 had a great engine when new, but it’s an absolute disaster to own at the mileages that most are at now (particularly your “cheapest of cheap” example). Your 500 horsepower car isn’t going to make anything when half the engine is disassembled.

The E39 M5 is expensive to maintain too, of course, but at least it’s somewhat conventional. Plus the E39 is a classic and will appreciate soon, while the E60 is kind of a whale.

Parth985 > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 18:23

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I bought the e39 a more pure m car that will hold value well 6spd +rwd+nav8 is defineatly a good investment to hold on too people will really want one soon

Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 18:24

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I love Wheeler Dealers, Peri Peri Chicken, and E39s. What are 540i prices like in the UK?

djmt1 > Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed 07/26/2015 at 18:27

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£2K-£4K

x87172 > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 18:28

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E60 M5: looks newer now, but will cost a lot more in the long run & soon look pretty outdated.

E39 M5: is closer to becoming a classic. Simpler to repair, and prices will eventually go up.

djmt1 > x87172 07/26/2015 at 18:29

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So which one? No pussyfooting here!

Schaefft > Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed 07/26/2015 at 18:30

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You can get automatic 540is in very decent condition from one grand. Manuals are probably somewhere from 2-3k if one shows up.

x87172 > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 18:31

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I’d definitely go E39.

Conan > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 18:38

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I feel like ‘a nice manual 540i and mods’ is the answer here but E39. I regret not getting one.

AthomSfere > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 18:46

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E60!

I mean, raw numbers here.

I guess I’d have to give up the 2015 FR-s... Not sure I could do it!

djmt1 > Conan 07/26/2015 at 18:49

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What mods though?

GhostZ > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 18:58

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E28 or nothing. No other M5 excites me.

If I buy any M5, it’s a pleasure expense or collectible.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 19:37

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E60. Because V10>V8.

Conan > djmt1 07/26/2015 at 21:01

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Depends on how much you want to put in and who you have locally. Is something like Dinan available over there? I’d do an ECU remap at minimum.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > LeadfootYT 07/26/2015 at 21:06

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I have a 540iT and a 550i, after owning both together for close to a year, I don’t get the excitement over the e39. Don’t get me wrong, its a great car, but the 550i is way better in every sport aspect - performance, handling, etc. My friend drives both frequently and said the 540 feels like a whale vs the 550 (she drives a JCW mini for reference)

LeadfootYT > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 07/27/2015 at 11:53

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Oh, the E60 is better from a technical standpoint. Absolutely. And I wouldn’t say the E39 is a nimble sports car. But a manual with sport suspension is still a very enjoyable daily driver. I’ve owned two—both 530is, one auto, one manual (the manual is the current one, with the sport package bumpers and M Pars for perfect proportions). I love the 540iT (and if it weren’t for the timing chain guide issue or oil leaks even worse than those I’ve been chasing in my 3.0-liter, I would probably own one), but I’m not sure the auto-wagon embodies the same appeal as the E39 M5 sedan.

And that’s a suitable return to your point about the E60 being the better car—I feel like that’s almost the appeal of E39 (at least in M5 guise). You can still feel the car and feel the world through it. The 550i is involving too, of course, but it’s slightly more censored. It’s more controlled. The E39 has elements of modernity that make it easier to use every day than an E34 without rattles and the “thin-walled” feeling of classic vehicles, but it has enough authentic mechanical sensation and imperfection to remind you that it’s real.

At least that’s my justification for the appeal of the chassis.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > LeadfootYT 07/27/2015 at 21:54

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I love the thin-walled aspect, I ride motorcycles too and so I strive for that mechanical feel. I am in the process of taking the power steering off my e30...

The timing chain and oil leaks aren’t that bad if you just budget $$$$$$ =p The 540i is about to roll over 150k, I am praying to the jalop gods for the transmission to shit the bed so I can manual swap it. Long term I want to super charge it too, there are some badass ones out there with that setup

LeadfootYT > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 07/28/2015 at 16:35

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So do I! That’s why I’ve owned two E24s (and currently still own one), and why I peruse Craigslist for old cafe-racer-modified Honda bikes. But I was just trying to take a stab at justifying why people appreciate the E39 M5 over subsequent M5s (which is just that it’s a balance between isolated modernity and mechanical history, without being too far in one direction or the other).

The E39 platform is the least mechanical daily driver I would consider though, and I’d really like to go back to an E34 (which is what I was looking for when I bought my car, literally—I was searching “53oi” on Craigslist in search of an E34 V8, and my Topaz E39 530i showed up).

Since you mention that though, you’d get a kick out of this guy on Reddit. He has an E39 M5 and a supercharged 540iT with a 6-speed swap, and following his build updates is incredible (it’s basically everything we lust after in the V8 BMW world). Here’s one of the threads on his 540iTSC/6 , as he refers to it.

66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash > djmt1 07/28/2015 at 18:33

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Aren’t there much cheaper non-M alternatives that still have a lot of power for both generations (maybe either-or but probably both TBH), besides, maintenance on an M car is higher too, apparently.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > LeadfootYT 07/28/2015 at 21:53

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yep, that right there is the dream. I just don’t know when I’ll be able to do/afford it.

Funny enough, I never paid a second glance at e34s, then after I got the e39 (and right before that, e30) I really started liking them. I told my wife that my next purchase will either something older than the e30 or an e34.