School me on: E39 M5's

[London]

Alright before this turns into a giant flame off :???:

One. Lambo, I see what you're saying and yeah in hindsight probably should have hit up google and some m5 forums. BUT my experience on r3v tends to be that the people have a more realistic approach to handling things. So for example, when I was looking at e46's e46fanatics was generally useless when I was asking around for info. Maybe I just had shitty luck. But when it comes to BMW I tend to trust the opinions of the guys on here. Thats all. And I did do research before this, I'm not asking to be spoon fed anything. More looking for peoples experience owning and maintaining these cars.

And secondly. Thanks for the info guys. I'm strongly considering one of these as my next car once I get my finances squared up.

[firefirefire90]

If we have a fucking flashlight thread then we can have a thread asking about another bmw for christ's sake.

rofl

[chadthestampede]

Honestly. Is r3v the first place you come to ask questions when buying something that isn't an E30 (or now an E28 or E34)? Seriously, I would expect the common issues and things to look for when buying any car (especially an enthusiast oriented E39 M5) has been covered to death SOMEWHERE. Hell, they have a whole website dedicated to people who own M5's, ya think there might be SOMETHING there? Maybe I live on some fantasy planet where things make sense.

If we have a fucking flashlight thread then we can have a thread asking about another bmw for christ's sake.

[cramer]

what james is saying is that if you DRIVE IT HARD during its life you wont have much carbon build up VS. an owner who baby's his long period of time.

not saying to just jump into your car rev/drive hard for a day or 2 and problem solved.

in other words "depends on how good you maintain your car right?" <--- will determine your carbon build up

You're missing the specific carbon build up issue we are talking about. It's not the typical buildup you'd find on a motor. The gasses are getting by the check valves for the secondary air system, cooling ,then clogging the passage way to the air pumps with carbon deposits. Driving hard constantly, sometimes, never will have no affect on this build up. There is no way to "blow it out" so to speak. It's due to a leaky valve.

You can read more on it here: http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39...q-summary.html

[lambo]

I think you missed the sarcasm in his post. He was referring to people like lambo who post stupid shit in the vague hope that someone will think it's funny and put it in their sig.

Honestly. Is r3v the first place you come to ask questions when buying something that isn't an E30 (or now an E28 or E34)? Seriously, I would expect the common issues and things to look for when buying any car (especially an enthusiast oriented E39 M5) has been covered to death SOMEWHERE. Hell, they have a whole website dedicated to people who own M5's, ya think there might be SOMETHING there? Maybe I live on some fantasy planet where things make sense.

Maybe I'm the only one left in the world that doesn't mind researching things myself and not relying on members of a forum to spoon-feed me things that take, literally, 10 seconds (or 0.28 seconds by Google's clock) to find on the internet?

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHMO_enUS468US468&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=e39+buyer's+guide#hl=en&rlz=1C1CHMO_enUS468US468&sclient=psy-ab&q=e39+m5+buyer's+guide&pbx=1&oq=e39+m5+buyer's+guide&aq=f&aqi=g-l1g-lm1&aql=&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=2865l4723l0l4875l5l4l1l0l0l1l231l730l0.2.2l5l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=580d903cc5acc20c&biw=1366&bih=643

[firefirefire90]

I apologize for the 16 year old who has no people skills whatsoever.

Why are you mirin my aesthetics? As much of a reputation as this forum has, you guys should be used to this. I didn't mean to cause such a ruckus ;)

[100sFakeSupreme]

The carbon build up can affect all S62s regardless of how it's driven. It's well documented on M5board but the short of it is this: the passage ways through the head to the secondary air pumps get clogged with carbon buildup. Driving it hard can't clean out these areas. This throws a check engine light as the pumps now are not functioning. This isn't an issue on Euro spec S62s without the air pumps so you can reflash the ECU. If you are in a county that doesn't require emissions testing, it's a non-issue really :)

what james is saying is that if you DRIVE IT HARD during its life you wont have much carbon build up VS. an owner who baby's his long period of time.

not saying to just jump into your car rev/drive hard for a day or 2 and problem solved.

in other words "depends on how good you maintain your car right?" <--- will determine your carbon build up

maintaining is way different than upgrading your car. anyone can upgrade but to keep it there is the difference.

& yes there is a difference between driving a car hard & driving it like an idiot.

e39 m5 is a great machine very comfortable & if you want 2 kick in power/spirited driving its there for your pleasure.
reminds me of a panther, can go around town very suave/relaxing/sleeper, but can be very aggressive when needed.

cooling/sensors/abs unit/afm/oil are the $$$ problems my father ran into owning an m5.

[chadthestampede]

Grow up, not everyone wants to hop around the internet and register on other forums just to ask a specific question. We have a large amount of E39 owners here (especially M5) who would be more than happy to comment on how the cars are.

I'd rather have an enthusiast community who actually works on cars answer my questions, rather then some boards where the owners simply talk about how many golf clubs / bodies they can fit in the trunk.

I think you missed the sarcasm in his post. He was referring to people like lambo who post stupid shit in the vague hope that someone will think it's funny and put it in their sig.

[priapism]

Loved mine. Each car came with a school that may or may not have been used. Mine was fun. If the motor goes they used to go for $15k. The valves can get tappety and unlike an E30 that's not a good sign. Get a later model one, the interior is so much better. That gen 1 nav system is worthless. I had an 03 and it gave me exactly zero problems.

[cramer]

Early models had some emissions crap in the head(s) (I'm sure cramer can comment more on them) which caused a CEL due to owners not driving the cars hard enough, carbon would build up and throw a light. It does not harm performance at all and from what I've heard many have just had a company such as AA or Dinan flash the ECU to remove that check and clear the light.

The carbon build up can affect all S62s regardless of how it's driven. It's well documented on M5board but the short of it is this: the passage ways through the head to the secondary air pumps get clogged with carbon buildup. Driving it hard can't clean out these areas. This throws a check engine light as the pumps now are not functioning. This isn't an issue on Euro spec S62s without the air pumps so you can reflash the ECU. If you are in a county that doesn't require emissions testing, it's a non-issue really :)

[James Crivellone]

I feel like this statement sums up most of R3v

I apologize for the 16 year old who has no people skills whatsoever.

E39 m5's, where to start. Many parts are M5 specific and can certainly cost a penny or two more as they get up there in age, fuel pumps, etc.

From a reliability standpoint the TPS can go bad and cause EML lights, the cooling system is typical BMW and should be checked over at 100k (if not replaced)

Clutches I've seen last up to 150k but those cars are rarely driven hard at all. I have found that S62's that are taken up to redline and driven like an ///M car tend to burn less oil than those which have been shifted at 3 - 4k rpm during ownership.

The 2001+ had a steeper rear differential, 16:9 navigation, and I believe automatic headlights (although that may be a 2002/2003 thing)

Early models had some emissions crap in the head(s) (I'm sure cramer can comment more on them) which caused a CEL due to owners not driving the cars hard enough, carbon would build up and throw a light. It does not harm performance at all and from what I've heard many have just had a company such as AA or Dinan flash the ECU to remove that check and clear the light.

They are awesome cars, just like any ///M car they do require additional care to ensure they run properly.. Oh and enjoy purchasing 10W60 Motorsport oil.. its the price of gold lol

[James Crivellone]

I have nothing to add to the conversation, so I will ridicule OP for being an idiot.

Grow up, not everyone wants to hop around the internet and register on other forums just to ask a specific question. We have a large amount of E39 owners here (especially M5) who would be more than happy to comment on how the cars are.

I'd rather have an enthusiast community who actually works on cars answer my questions, rather then some boards where the owners simply talk about how many golf clubs / bodies they can fit in the trunk.

[London]

I have nothing to add to the conversation, so I will ridicule OP for being an idiot.

I feel like this statement sums up most of R3v

[firefirefire90]

I have nothing to add to the conversation, so I will ridicule OP for being an idiot.

[kalib0y]

I hear the early models burn oil like a quart every month or so. And just removing the resonators makes the exhaust sound like sex