Mercedes E55 are quite tempting too.

20mpg

A friend bought one of these new a few years back and it was absolutley stunning. A gorgeous mid blue metallic with dark grey buffalo hide interior.

Trouble was it averaged about 18 mpg unless driven like a nun and could quite easily get into single figures with prodigious use of the right boot, plus it lost about £20K in 18 months :eek:.

I'd love one and they're so much nicer than the new ones (imho).

A friend bought one of these new a few years back and it was absolutley stunning. A gorgeous mid blue metallic with dark grey buffalo hide interior.

Trouble was it averaged about 18 mpg unless driven like a nun and could quite easily get into single figures with prodigious use of the right boot, plus it lost about £20K in 18 months :eek:.

I'd love one and they're so much nicer than the new ones (imho).

Sounds like toms kinda car

Get a pheaton Tom.. you know it makes sense :P

double glazing.. on a car.. beat that

Edited 4 January, 200917 yr by apinner

From someone thats done some miles in an e39 M5 Im afraid Im totally unable to talk you out of it Tom. Its probably the single most memorable all round car Ive ever driven - comfy motorway cruiser and b road blaster perfectly combined. Sublime handling, great stopping power and superb straight line grunt! Ohhhh, that engine

If I was looking for a 10k car, with the market as it currently is; this would be it.

Did I manage to put you off one then? :P

Lee

As an owner of a '99 M5 for the last 3 years I can only praise them. The only reason to buy one though is if you want an M5, there are faster, cheaper cars out there if its just perfomance your after. The E39 M5 is now at the age that it is moving into enthusiast territory, meaning the good ones are owned and maintained by those with the time, money, technical know-how (I'd recommend a degree in engineering sciences as a minimum) and love of this particular model to keep it going. I bought mine with the BMW extended warranty (which is not available to me now mine is at 116k) and it was useful initially, replacing a few tired bits I did renew with Warranty Direct for a year but I never used it so didn't bother renewing for the third year. With the warranty I always got main dealer servicing but I have now located an independent M specialist in N London who has given me much better value for money and will probably talk me into induction, remap, exhaust, springs upgrades etc. The most expense I've had with it is renewing the discs all round, apart from that its been trouble free, so it seems I got a good one. I'd be reluctant to move on to another car as a. its always a risk an b. no other car feels as solid and planted and yet spritly and eager to rev. For me its an ideal compromise, a family bus that I can still take out for a blast around the country roads after a stressful days work and drive just for the fun of it comming home with the adrenaline pumping and a grin that wont go away (even after 3 years of doing it!).

24mpg on a run 16mpg round town I average 19 o/a. 1 litre of Castrol TRX every 1000 miles (ONLY ever use that oil if you want the engine to live long and prosper, £16 to 18 per litre bottle from main dealer or a few specialist tuners) Yes there is a "diesel" start-up sound, its the oil acumulator scavenging and would cost in the region of £800 upwards to "fix" (the BMW retro-fit doen't stop it, just makes it quieter) most consider that too much money just to stop a rattle, if it goes on for longer than 8 seconds it could be VANOS probs leave well alone! If someones says theirs doesn't do it watch to see if they start it warmed up or on an incline, if they are trying to fool you what else could they be hiding? The achilles heal of the car is all the electrickery, check all the displays display, and the menu items all work, CD changer, sat nav upgrade?

I hope there is some help in all the above waffle. In conclusion I'd say. Its cost me some serious wedge but I've not regretted a penny of it.

Peter

Sorry that should of read Castrol TWS oil, dont know where TRX came from only noticed the typo when re-reading the thread.

So everyone agrees its a great car and we'd all love one but you want to spend a load of money you don't have whilst you still owe more than twice as much at the same time as you exploit the 'hospitality' of your gracious parents at far less than it would cost to live privately?

Have you not learnt anything?

If you enjoy paying back debt then fill yer boots.

Have you thought of what you may get after the M5?

Tom,

If i were you i would wait until i was debt free and then consider buying a car like that. If its that cheap you got to ask yourself why. Also knowing what BMW servicing is like (and with an M5 i'd only take it to BMW to get it done personally) it will cost a fortune in upkeep. a lot of people think that the crisis is now over with global economy but it will get worse before it gets better. Stick with what you have now get yourself debt free, save your extra £400 P/M and put it towards a house and in 5 years or so when your insurance will be a damn sight cheaper then think about owning a car like that

HTH

Carl:thumbup:

Test drove a couple of these a few years back when I was deciding on getting a new E46 M3 and I must say that I fell in love with the M5. It was absolutely fantastic to drive and doesn't feel that big either! In fact i would say that it's probably my best drive to date and that includes many cars inc. Rice rockets, M3's and 911's!!

That engine is amazing, better than the E46 M3's straight 6 IMO but £40k was a lot for a used car then so I opted for a new M3.

Now that the price of gas guzzlers have hit the floor, it would be a great bargain to pick up but only if you can afford to run it!! Yes 20mpg and thats if not driven the way intended!! 17-18 mpg is more realistic if you use the power and 20-22 mpg if driving like a nanny!

Then there's the group 20 ins, Max car tax band (£400+ per year), mammoth inspection 1 & 2 service costs (even using a specialist) and if something goes wrong.........

My advice...... get one only if you can afford to run it... good luck

You sir have a point. However a bit of recent refinancing and a nice whacking great lump off the debt due to my gritter driving etc have freed up around £400/month.

So use the £400 a month to clear the debt sooner and then buy yourself a nice tidy example of an M5 when you've paid it off.

The more you pay off sooner the less interest you pay the bank. That saved interest is a car fund.

Can't really talk you out of an E39 M5 as long as you can live with the running costs both fuelling it and keeping it in tiptop condition.

But don't get that one, get one that's been loved and is in better condition.

An M5 that needs any money spending on it will be neglected and then sold when the costs get too much.

Oh and it has to be a facelift e39.

I can't afford it, end of. :cry:

Maybe when I'm debt free though

Wouldn't have been a patch on the Gritter Tom.Only a disappointment.

You would even have had to buy a yellow light for the top of the M5.Standard on the Gritter

I can't afford it, end of. :cry:

Maybe when I'm debt free though

Better you realise now than 3 months time when its on your drive

Wouldn't have been a patch on the Gritter Tom.Only a disappointment.

You would even have had to buy a yellow light for the top of the M5.Standard on the Gritter

Reminds me of the Top Gear where Jezza compares driving the BMW Z8 to a skip lorry.