...my new to me 2000 E39 M5. Lemans Blue with black sport extended leather interior, one owner car with 83k miles and no previous accidents. I picked this up just over a month ago at the local Manheim auction with the intent of selling it for a small profit. However, little did I know (because the dealer selling it did not disclose it, and you can't drive them before you buy them) that the clutch was badly slipping, the flex disc was turning into a ball of yarn, the input shaft seal on the differential was leaking, and the gear oil in turn destroyed the front differential bushing and the extra movement cracked the two rear diff bushings. Not to mention scratches/scuffs on the front and rear bumpers, and a very slight dent that ran along a small portion of the driver's side doors right above the door moldings. Whew!
As soon as I got it home, up on jackstands it went. I replaced the flywheel, clutch disc and all related parts, flex disc, rear main seal, diff input seal, all three diff bushings, and a new set of Sumitomo tires all around. Then last weekend, I had a buddy that does excellent paint and bodywork repair the dent in the doors, fix the bumpers, repaint the hood due to normal rock chips over 8 years, and basically re-clearcoat a good portion of the car. She now runs beautifully and looks the same to boot! So after a month of working on it, here are a few pics I took today after a quick detail:
I spent at least 30 minutes cleaning 8 years of crud from the tailpipes, so they get their own picture!
All told, I now have around $5000 in parts, tires, and bodywork invested...so, I do believe I will be keeping this one for a while. I hate to give up my '02 X5 4.4i, but the power of the M5 is VERY addictive-the only car I have ever driven that was quicker was a '03 Z06. I can see why they nickname these cars 'Beast'.
Oh yeah-my '88 M3 is still here, but it mostly just sits and hardly ever gets driven. I gotta keep at least one E30 around at all times!
As soon as I got it home, up on jackstands it went. I replaced the flywheel, clutch disc and all related parts, flex disc, rear main seal, diff input seal, all three diff bushings, and a new set of Sumitomo tires all around. Then last weekend, I had a buddy that does excellent paint and bodywork repair the dent in the doors, fix the bumpers, repaint the hood due to normal rock chips over 8 years, and basically re-clearcoat a good portion of the car. She now runs beautifully and looks the same to boot! So after a month of working on it, here are a few pics I took today after a quick detail:
I spent at least 30 minutes cleaning 8 years of crud from the tailpipes, so they get their own picture!
All told, I now have around $5000 in parts, tires, and bodywork invested...so, I do believe I will be keeping this one for a while. I hate to give up my '02 X5 4.4i, but the power of the M5 is VERY addictive-the only car I have ever driven that was quicker was a '03 Z06. I can see why they nickname these cars 'Beast'.
Oh yeah-my '88 M3 is still here, but it mostly just sits and hardly ever gets driven. I gotta keep at least one E30 around at all times!
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