Feelers
 

Ok so I had the master mechanic at my local BMW dealer do a full once over on my car to tell me anything that's wrong before I go to sell it. The final bill came out to $3,900.

New power steering pump
New rear bushings
New value cover gaskets
New power steering lines
New washer fluid reservoir
New vanos sensors

I've have bills for another 8k worth of work in the last year. Needs nothing right now.

Got it back today. After almost 9y she is ready to go. Just posting here first. I plan on getting a full detail in two weeks hopefully when it stops raining then it's autotrader time.

May 2003 build E39 M5 currently 99k miles. Based on my autotrader search starting at $22k but definitely willing to deal.

Carbon Black / Silverstone

Cheers and happy Friday.

Put it on m5board and be ready to sell. It will go in less than a month. Be firm on price, it is fair for mileage / condition. I got $18,500 for mine w. 115k miles in 2013

Edit: here was my for sale post over there:
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/car...aramel-pa.html

Thanks for the helpful feedback Josh.

I never thought of that site. Good call.

Nice. :thumbup: Good luck with the sale; you've got a sweet machine there.

Thanks B!

Good luck with the sale but why are you getting rid of the m5 vs the E55? Edit: I see that is a C55 not E55

That's not mine to sell. =p

It's the others. =)

It's a pretty fun car to. Only made in 05, 06. 370 hp V8 in a little C. I know they did the monster C63 after this but it was heaverier also.

Where pretty dead even from a roll.

Pics a few years old but the only one on my iPad.

Ummm....

Not thinking I want to get into a black car, but....???

Pics?

Perfect. Kevin, buy it. :)

How are there no pics of this car in this thread. Shame!

From our car thread.

Someone on this board has to buy it.

If you people don't, I will. :lol:

Because, you know... I need another early 2000's 4-door BMW.

e39 M5 is arguably the best car BMW ever produced. I think it would be a great car for Kevin to move from his E38.

I miss mine a lot.

Maybe with three of them, you'd stand a chance of one of them being in running condition. :lol:

Why don't they sell for more? Cost of maintenance I assume.

:D

So far just two seems to be doing the trick there. :bustingup *knocks on wood*

Am I remembering correctly that they were forced to use recirculating ball steering in the E39 M5? (Due to space issues, maybe?)

Ouch! lol

Seriously though -
I've not 'wanted' a black car - but then again - I have bought two red cars now and I swore I'd never have done that either.


Maybe we should talk.

If you'd been on the east coast, we'd be talking... Are you sure you want to go through with this, Theo?

Sure we can chat. It's still at the shop and I want to get it detailed next.

It's not black per say. It's a reallllllly dark blue. I can pos more pics after the detail.

You do need to set aside a yearly maintenance budget. It's always something with these.

I'll try and pull my receipts for the last say 2y and list what's been done here.

Yep (if I'm remembering correctly also :))

Yep. Looked it up. Some differences in the rack vs. the 540, supposedly.

East/west coast is no problem . . . I am still unemployed, I'd be more than happy to fly out and bring it home for anyone!

Kevin, I swore back in the 80's I'd never own a black car again . . . . I miss my black S4

It's not black!!! Lol

I think the maintenance thing is overblown. My M5 was very reliable, never left me stranded. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't out of normal w/ my other BMWs.

Both my e39 540 wagon and my e60 535xiT cost a lot more to maintain. I've read the regular 540 v8 is less reliable and needs more then the S62 in the M5.

If Kevin is comfortable with the maintenance requirements of his e38s, He should be fine with an M5 (especially w/ the maintenance Theo has already done.

Low mileage ones are starting to sell for a lot. They haven't depreciated at all in the last few years from what I've seen.

Lol

But why does your add say Carbon Black?

Because "Carbon Black" is German for "Really Dark Metallic Blue." :dunno:

Man, I love those wheels. They'd look pretty weird on a non-E39, but they're easily the best wheels you can get for that platform.

Items that have been addressed in the last 2-3 years. Some of which was covered by the extended warranty until it ran out.

In the shop now:

- New power steering pump
- New rear bushings
- New value cover gaskets
- New power steering lines
- New washer fluid reservoir
- New vanos sensors

Older:

- New radiator
- New AC compressor
- 3 new window regulators - Waiting for the 4th to act up - Driver rear door
- New brakes - Rotors, Pads Sensors
- New driver’s door mirror - The folding motor went south and you can ONLY get the entire mirror as one piece and not just the folding motor - Do not ask how much GRRRR
- New throttle bank position sensors
- New throttle actuator
- New fuel tank breather
- New Thermostat
- New front control arms
- New front control arms bushings
- New Guibo
- Had all 4 rims professionally refinished
- New driveshaft center support - The noise coming from this was SO annoying
- New airbag control unit - Not because they ever deployed - This module buried in the center counsel just decided to go south - =\
- Also had both front and rear bumpers repainted - Front bumper got a full clear bra - The rear was done because of slow impact damage from the prior owner that finally got to me enough to have it re-sprayed.
- Fixed the leaky rear view mirror issue that plagues all of the M cars.
- Two new OEM fog lights - I had aftermarket Xenon items in there and I wanted to return to stock for the sale


Also to note but not done within the last 3y. There are other repair items older than 3y but maybe not as relevant at this point.

- New clutch and pressure plate at about 68K miles.
- The prior owner had the dash panel replaced for some dead pixels. They are all in working order still at this point
- I also just got the very last DVD maps BMW is going to make for this series nav. 2015
- Installed an Aux out cord in the glove box. 2003 was the first year this was possible with the stock head unit.
- Also added this custom cup holder as the stock ones are useless - I replaced the entire stock unit around 2010 when they broke and stayed permanently open - After I replaced the unit I never opened them again.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/1223848...&ul_noapp=true

If I remember more I will add to the list later.

Near term concerns if any (These were on my near term list if I kept the car)

- Still has the original water pump
- Still running the original struts and shocks
- The fourth window regulator as mentioned above - It's working fine but based on replacing the other three in the last 11 months it sounds like a ticking time bomb

This car sounds like a total disaster. That is not to say that I wouldn't buy it in a heartbeat if it fit my needs in any way.

I mean, what could go wrong. Everything has been fixed. :speechle:

Bren I keep telling myself the EXACT same thing then something else comes up.

Yep, same way I rationalize with my '89 vette. I mentioned the engine is currently at a machine shop right? But hey, at least they still make parts for your car. :ack:

The V8 cars had a steering box (540i / M5) whereas the I6 cars had a rack and pinion.

This sounds like an amazing deal with all the work done. Someone here should buy it.

Just emailed my cousin who might be interested and he is in LA. Only issue is he is tall 6'4 or 6'6 and has trouble fitting into cars so not sure if he fits comfortably.

I'm a little bit over 6'4", I fit comfortably. Unless there is a difference in dimension between an 540i and the M5 (I doubt it, but, BMW . . .)

yeah you would think so but he must have odd dimensions since he has mentioned other 5 series/sized cars not fitting him, Has the same issue with mountain bikes, large people problems that I do not have:D

yeah, bikes, clothes, the list goes on and on.

I was looking at a nice, 2004 540i a few years ago. test drove it about 10 miles. Lupinsea knows the road I drove it on, same road I let him drive my S4 on.

I really liked the fit, this car that was for sale had the light brown/saddle interior, and although it was clean I wanted a darker interior

I meant I read there were some differences betwwen the RB steering in the 540 vs M5.