New E60 M5 Owner - Hello & Which Dealer/Garage in NW?
Discussion
Hello All,
After many years of being put off by the horror stories all over the internet, I have finally decided that life is too short and made the choice to buy an E60 M5.
I'd like to think I have made this decision with my eyes wide open, doing a fair bit of research on the common issues, and being prepared to spend a reasonable amount to keep one going and in good condition. The car is not my daily, it will only be used when I get a dry day or just fancy going for a drive.
The car I have purchased is completely standard, has <60k miles, is an 05 plate and comes with full BMW service history with receipts to back up each service and any other works done. No rod bearing, SMG pump, clutch or throttle actuator work has been done in its life. I spoke to BMW's warranty provider and they gave the thumbs up that a warranty can be taken out on this vehicle and a monthly payment is now being made as this appears to be the sensible approach if the car does cross the 60k mile mark.
I had budgeted to get the rod bearing and throttle actuator work done as a precaution however, since I have been able to find a car that is covered under warranty with full dealer history, I am thinking of sticking to the maintenance work (following the on board service schedule with interim oil and filter changes) and if anything does go wrong the warranty should hopefully pick any work required if these components fail.
Browsing the forum, I came across a thread where a dealer appeared to do all that they could to ensure a warranty would not cover an engine rebuild/replacement when a rod bearing failed. This made me wonder that if the unfortunate soul had landed at a dealer who was a little more knowledgeable of the vehicle/competent, then the outcome would have been very different as the report sent to the warranty company would have been worded very differently.
I am based in the North West. I intend to use the likes of Darren Wood or BN Dynamix for the maintenance and servicing of my car as the warranty provider said any VAT registered garage can look after the car so long as they use BMW approved parts.
So my query is which dealer would anyone recommend in the area if I ever needed to have any warranty work done? This was never a concern for me until I read the below thread yesterday - I thought it was pretty much a straight forward claim process if anything failed/needed repairing that was not a wear and tear item.
Also I have seen many good things regarding Darren Wood, however due to where I work, it will be very convenient to use BN Dynamix also - does anyone have any experiences to share with BN Dynamix on the e60 M5, or equivalent M6? Before I do any miles in the car, I would like one of these garages to perform an inspection and give me either a clean bill of health, or a shopping list of what needs to be done so I can enjoy it without worrying too much.
Sorry for the long post. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thread mentioned above:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
After many years of being put off by the horror stories all over the internet, I have finally decided that life is too short and made the choice to buy an E60 M5.
I'd like to think I have made this decision with my eyes wide open, doing a fair bit of research on the common issues, and being prepared to spend a reasonable amount to keep one going and in good condition. The car is not my daily, it will only be used when I get a dry day or just fancy going for a drive.
The car I have purchased is completely standard, has <60k miles, is an 05 plate and comes with full BMW service history with receipts to back up each service and any other works done. No rod bearing, SMG pump, clutch or throttle actuator work has been done in its life. I spoke to BMW's warranty provider and they gave the thumbs up that a warranty can be taken out on this vehicle and a monthly payment is now being made as this appears to be the sensible approach if the car does cross the 60k mile mark.
I had budgeted to get the rod bearing and throttle actuator work done as a precaution however, since I have been able to find a car that is covered under warranty with full dealer history, I am thinking of sticking to the maintenance work (following the on board service schedule with interim oil and filter changes) and if anything does go wrong the warranty should hopefully pick any work required if these components fail.
Browsing the forum, I came across a thread where a dealer appeared to do all that they could to ensure a warranty would not cover an engine rebuild/replacement when a rod bearing failed. This made me wonder that if the unfortunate soul had landed at a dealer who was a little more knowledgeable of the vehicle/competent, then the outcome would have been very different as the report sent to the warranty company would have been worded very differently.
I am based in the North West. I intend to use the likes of Darren Wood or BN Dynamix for the maintenance and servicing of my car as the warranty provider said any VAT registered garage can look after the car so long as they use BMW approved parts.
So my query is which dealer would anyone recommend in the area if I ever needed to have any warranty work done? This was never a concern for me until I read the below thread yesterday - I thought it was pretty much a straight forward claim process if anything failed/needed repairing that was not a wear and tear item.
Also I have seen many good things regarding Darren Wood, however due to where I work, it will be very convenient to use BN Dynamix also - does anyone have any experiences to share with BN Dynamix on the e60 M5, or equivalent M6? Before I do any miles in the car, I would like one of these garages to perform an inspection and give me either a clean bill of health, or a shopping list of what needs to be done so I can enjoy it without worrying too much.
Sorry for the long post. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thread mentioned above:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Thank you for the reply. If you're referring to a warranty via the below link, then this is what I have already signed up to. Paying monthly. Easily missed in the sea of text in the OP.
https://www.bmw-warranty.co.uk/Login/Index
https://www.bmw-warranty.co.uk/Login/Index
Thank you for the heads up on that Angry. I will get it booked in for the rod bearings ASAP.
Is there anything else I should be doing that the warranty won't cover? Will the rod bearings void the warranty if not being done by BMW or will any VAT approved garage using BMW approved parts be ok?
Is there anything else I should be doing that the warranty won't cover? Will the rod bearings void the warranty if not being done by BMW or will any VAT approved garage using BMW approved parts be ok?
Warranty will be fine, a guy I know has had warranty work since the bearings were done, just get a good company to do them for you.
The Vanos pump can fail but it is rare. The warranty will cover a lot of stuff so I wouldn't worry about much else, just get the bearings done and enjoy.
The Vanos pump can fail but it is rare. The warranty will cover a lot of stuff so I wouldn't worry about much else, just get the bearings done and enjoy.
Ver.4 said:
Hello All,
After many years of being put off by the horror stories all over the internet, I have finally decided that life is too short and made the choice to buy an E60 M5.
I'd like to think I have made this decision with my eyes wide open, doing a fair bit of research on the common issues, and being prepared to spend a reasonable amount to keep one going and in good condition. The car is not my daily, it will only be used when I get a dry day or just fancy going for a drive.
The car I have purchased is completely standard, has <60k miles, is an 05 plate and comes with full BMW service history with receipts to back up each service and any other works done. No rod bearing, SMG pump, clutch or throttle actuator work has been done in its life. I spoke to BMW's warranty provider and they gave the thumbs up that a warranty can be taken out on this vehicle and a monthly payment is now being made as this appears to be the sensible approach if the car does cross the 60k mile mark.
I had budgeted to get the rod bearing and throttle actuator work done as a precaution however, since I have been able to find a car that is covered under warranty with full dealer history, I am thinking of sticking to the maintenance work (following the on board service schedule with interim oil and filter changes) and if anything does go wrong the warranty should hopefully pick any work required if these components fail.
Browsing the forum, I came across a thread where a dealer appeared to do all that they could to ensure a warranty would not cover an engine rebuild/replacement when a rod bearing failed. This made me wonder that if the unfortunate soul had landed at a dealer who was a little more knowledgeable of the vehicle/competent, then the outcome would have been very different as the report sent to the warranty company would have been worded very differently.
I am based in the North West. I intend to use the likes of Darren Wood or BN Dynamix for the maintenance and servicing of my car as the warranty provider said any VAT registered garage can look after the car so long as they use BMW approved parts.
So my query is which dealer would anyone recommend in the area if I ever needed to have any warranty work done? This was never a concern for me until I read the below thread yesterday - I thought it was pretty much a straight forward claim process if anything failed/needed repairing that was not a wear and tear item.
Also I have seen many good things regarding Darren Wood, however due to where I work, it will be very convenient to use BN Dynamix also - does anyone have any experiences to share with BN Dynamix on the e60 M5, or equivalent M6? Before I do any miles in the car, I would like one of these garages to perform an inspection and give me either a clean bill of health, or a shopping list of what needs to be done so I can enjoy it without worrying too much.
Sorry for the long post. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thread mentioned above:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
After many years of being put off by the horror stories all over the internet, I have finally decided that life is too short and made the choice to buy an E60 M5.
I'd like to think I have made this decision with my eyes wide open, doing a fair bit of research on the common issues, and being prepared to spend a reasonable amount to keep one going and in good condition. The car is not my daily, it will only be used when I get a dry day or just fancy going for a drive.
The car I have purchased is completely standard, has <60k miles, is an 05 plate and comes with full BMW service history with receipts to back up each service and any other works done. No rod bearing, SMG pump, clutch or throttle actuator work has been done in its life. I spoke to BMW's warranty provider and they gave the thumbs up that a warranty can be taken out on this vehicle and a monthly payment is now being made as this appears to be the sensible approach if the car does cross the 60k mile mark.
I had budgeted to get the rod bearing and throttle actuator work done as a precaution however, since I have been able to find a car that is covered under warranty with full dealer history, I am thinking of sticking to the maintenance work (following the on board service schedule with interim oil and filter changes) and if anything does go wrong the warranty should hopefully pick any work required if these components fail.
Browsing the forum, I came across a thread where a dealer appeared to do all that they could to ensure a warranty would not cover an engine rebuild/replacement when a rod bearing failed. This made me wonder that if the unfortunate soul had landed at a dealer who was a little more knowledgeable of the vehicle/competent, then the outcome would have been very different as the report sent to the warranty company would have been worded very differently.
I am based in the North West. I intend to use the likes of Darren Wood or BN Dynamix for the maintenance and servicing of my car as the warranty provider said any VAT registered garage can look after the car so long as they use BMW approved parts.
So my query is which dealer would anyone recommend in the area if I ever needed to have any warranty work done? This was never a concern for me until I read the below thread yesterday - I thought it was pretty much a straight forward claim process if anything failed/needed repairing that was not a wear and tear item.
Also I have seen many good things regarding Darren Wood, however due to where I work, it will be very convenient to use BN Dynamix also - does anyone have any experiences to share with BN Dynamix on the e60 M5, or equivalent M6? Before I do any miles in the car, I would like one of these garages to perform an inspection and give me either a clean bill of health, or a shopping list of what needs to be done so I can enjoy it without worrying too much.
Sorry for the long post. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thread mentioned above:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Personally for open engine work , reddish is the only company I would use , or mr vanos . Worth the wait and the drive
Appreciate the assistance gents. Any reason I should not be using Darren Wood? If you don't feel comfortable saying in this forum feel free to PM me.
Only went with Darren Wood as they appear to be highly recommended in the NW.
Angry, I have been reading through the thread regarding the nightmare you went through with your car. I hope that it has been/is on the way to being resolved so you can get what is owed to you. I notice you looked at changing the CCC unit - did you go ahead with this? (Apologies if it is mentioned, I have only managed to get through the first few pages so far).
Only went with Darren Wood as they appear to be highly recommended in the NW.
Angry, I have been reading through the thread regarding the nightmare you went through with your car. I hope that it has been/is on the way to being resolved so you can get what is owed to you. I notice you looked at changing the CCC unit - did you go ahead with this? (Apologies if it is mentioned, I have only managed to get through the first few pages so far).
I've never heard of Darren Wood so I have no good or bad things to say. If your research has shown that he does good work then there is no reason to doubt this. If the work is warrantied then you have no worries either.
Re my car, it's fairly behaved at the moment. Has a niggling issue that I can't get to the bottom of at the moment, but otherwise fine.
I haven't changed the stereo yet. My options are CIC or Android.
Re my car, it's fairly behaved at the moment. Has a niggling issue that I can't get to the bottom of at the moment, but otherwise fine.
I haven't changed the stereo yet. My options are CIC or Android.
Ver.4 said:
Appreciate the assistance gents. Any reason I should not be using Darren Wood? If you don't feel comfortable saying in this forum feel free to PM me.
Only went with Darren Wood as they appear to be highly recommended in the NW.
Angry, I have been reading through the thread regarding the nightmare you went through with your car. I hope that it has been/is on the way to being resolved so you can get what is owed to you. I notice you looked at changing the CCC unit - did you go ahead with this? (Apologies if it is mentioned, I have only managed to get through the first few pages so far).
Redish or Evolve (in Bedfordshire) come highly recommendedOnly went with Darren Wood as they appear to be highly recommended in the NW.
Angry, I have been reading through the thread regarding the nightmare you went through with your car. I hope that it has been/is on the way to being resolved so you can get what is owed to you. I notice you looked at changing the CCC unit - did you go ahead with this? (Apologies if it is mentioned, I have only managed to get through the first few pages so far).
Weekendrebuild said:
Why waste your money 3,5k will do every job
They’re very reliable.
Very reliable and E60 M5 are rarely in the same sentence...They’re very reliable.
Rod bearings, Vanos, clutch and flywheel + throwout bearing, throttle actuators, just to name the most common issues. 3.5k will not cover that
rassi said:
Very reliable and E60 M5 are rarely in the same sentence...
Rod bearings, Vanos, clutch and flywheel + throwout bearing, throttle actuators, just to name the most common issues. 3.5k will not cover that
Rod bearings, Vanos, clutch and flywheel + throwout bearing, throttle actuators, just to name the most common issues. 3.5k will not cover that
It will if you do the work yourself, that will upgrade the catastrophic areas.
A clutch flywheel isn’t expensive ! It’s a standard wear part on any high performance car.
We charge 300 labour to install with all adaptations done 5 hour job.
Thanks for the feedback all. There's a pot to the side for clutch/brakes etc so they'll be done as soon as needed.
Anybody ever needed warranty work doing by a BMW dealer around the North West? Should the unfortunate happen, it'd be good to have it taken to a friendly dealership who will be helpful, rather than hamper any warranty work.
Anybody ever needed warranty work doing by a BMW dealer around the North West? Should the unfortunate happen, it'd be good to have it taken to a friendly dealership who will be helpful, rather than hamper any warranty work.
Another vote for getting the bearings done. My M6 is under 60k miles and the bearings were showing quite a bit of copper. Previous owner had it for 8 years and seemed to look after it etc etc, so you never know. I'd advocate keeping revs below 3k rpm when cold.
BMW dealers will not do the job, so Mr Vanos, BMR Performance, Reddish or Evolve seem to be the best choices. Budget between £1500-£2500 depending on where you go, if you do the vanos line etc. Ask to keep the bearings afterwards so you can see the condition of them.
Change the oil every year or 5k miles. Dealer may be expensive, but if you do some of them there you can build up a relationship with them to smooth warranty claims out a little, but you could do most of them yourself / at an independent. If keeping under warranty then use 10w60 oil, if not most recommend a lighter oil. Keep a litre in the boot, it can drink oil.
If not using it much, I'd get a battery tender to keep it in good nick. Low battery can cause all sorts of issues. Ctek mx5 is decent and cheap enough, also used to be (maybe still is?) What BMW themselves sold, but with BMW stickers on it.
These are not very reliable, no 15year old BMW is going to be that reliable, but looked after well they are not that problematic and nowhere near as bad as the internet would have you believe. Warranty will help cover most things, but a new engine will exceed the claim limit.
Warranty is good, I've had mine pay out for a CCC drive so far no quibbles.
Most of all enjoy it, there is nothing quite like it!
BMW dealers will not do the job, so Mr Vanos, BMR Performance, Reddish or Evolve seem to be the best choices. Budget between £1500-£2500 depending on where you go, if you do the vanos line etc. Ask to keep the bearings afterwards so you can see the condition of them.
Change the oil every year or 5k miles. Dealer may be expensive, but if you do some of them there you can build up a relationship with them to smooth warranty claims out a little, but you could do most of them yourself / at an independent. If keeping under warranty then use 10w60 oil, if not most recommend a lighter oil. Keep a litre in the boot, it can drink oil.
If not using it much, I'd get a battery tender to keep it in good nick. Low battery can cause all sorts of issues. Ctek mx5 is decent and cheap enough, also used to be (maybe still is?) What BMW themselves sold, but with BMW stickers on it.
These are not very reliable, no 15year old BMW is going to be that reliable, but looked after well they are not that problematic and nowhere near as bad as the internet would have you believe. Warranty will help cover most things, but a new engine will exceed the claim limit.
Warranty is good, I've had mine pay out for a CCC drive so far no quibbles.
Most of all enjoy it, there is nothing quite like it!
MikeM6, thank you for the informative post.
Car is booked in this week for rod bearing work at Darren Wood in Bredbury, Stockport. They appear to have a very good reputation so should be in safe hands as my local independant.
Thanks for the tip regarding getting the dealer to do the main oil changes as per the OBC. Would be a good way to build up some rapport should I ever need any warranty work or advice from them. I will get Darren Wood to do intermediate oil changes every 5k.
Did you have the entire CCC replaced (constant re-starting and then nothing issue) or did the Nav DVD drive fail?
Car is booked in this week for rod bearing work at Darren Wood in Bredbury, Stockport. They appear to have a very good reputation so should be in safe hands as my local independant.
Thanks for the tip regarding getting the dealer to do the main oil changes as per the OBC. Would be a good way to build up some rapport should I ever need any warranty work or advice from them. I will get Darren Wood to do intermediate oil changes every 5k.
Did you have the entire CCC replaced (constant re-starting and then nothing issue) or did the Nav DVD drive fail?
Ver.4 said:
MikeM6, thank you for the informative post.
Car is booked in this week for rod bearing work at Darren Wood in Bredbury, Stockport. They appear to have a very good reputation so should be in safe hands as my local independant.
Thanks for the tip regarding getting the dealer to do the main oil changes as per the OBC. Would be a good way to build up some rapport should I ever need any warranty work or advice from them. I will get Darren Wood to do intermediate oil changes every 5k.
Did you have the entire CCC replaced (constant re-starting and then nothing issue) or did the Nav DVD drive fail?
DVD drive only this time. Wouldn't read any discs, but booted fine..Car is booked in this week for rod bearing work at Darren Wood in Bredbury, Stockport. They appear to have a very good reputation so should be in safe hands as my local independant.
Thanks for the tip regarding getting the dealer to do the main oil changes as per the OBC. Would be a good way to build up some rapport should I ever need any warranty work or advice from them. I will get Darren Wood to do intermediate oil changes every 5k.
Did you have the entire CCC replaced (constant re-starting and then nothing issue) or did the Nav DVD drive fail?
Well, the e60 m5 I had was for a very short period, but continued to follow the topic and found the holy grail of knowledge on who and how to make these cars run without any problem and how to fix pretty much for good every main problem, is a guy called troy jeup on IG , give a follow, read his descriptions, his comments, take notes, he is a bit of hell (time wise) to deal with, but if you pay (he has some sorted bits and bobs, vanos for example) rest assured he will deliver, eventually.
I talked with some guys that had his builds, the nyc ones are mental on how they mistreat the bloody things, a guy had 50k miles of pretty much pure abuse 0 problems.
To my knowledge the main things are redline oil 5w50, to be fair is a fantastic oil, detergency (removes all the gunk that eventually ruins every pump), ester based so it will take care of every seal, gaskets, rings and anything rubbery that it touches, zddp to prevent wear (bearings being the main ones), sticks pretty well to avoid dried startups, good viscosity and low shear rates, thru and thru great oil. Helps with vanos problems as well.
Then the thermostat. Don't really understand it, but he does make a constant point about it.
These are the two main ones, he doesn't sell either by the way, just free easy preventive measures. Oh and the petrol cap as well, seems to solve a myriad of startup issues and shody running issues and is pretty cheap to change.
But go give him a follow, a read and take notes, he leaves some great golden nuggets on the comments.
And yes, do change the bearings, BE or ACL +0.025 seem to be the ones to get, but there are plenty of shops in the UK that I assume know exactly the setup to run, because from what i gathered the best setup is to run oem size on top and 0.025 on the lower part in order to not loose too much oil pressure.
Hope you find his stuff helpful.
I talked with some guys that had his builds, the nyc ones are mental on how they mistreat the bloody things, a guy had 50k miles of pretty much pure abuse 0 problems.
To my knowledge the main things are redline oil 5w50, to be fair is a fantastic oil, detergency (removes all the gunk that eventually ruins every pump), ester based so it will take care of every seal, gaskets, rings and anything rubbery that it touches, zddp to prevent wear (bearings being the main ones), sticks pretty well to avoid dried startups, good viscosity and low shear rates, thru and thru great oil. Helps with vanos problems as well.
Then the thermostat. Don't really understand it, but he does make a constant point about it.
These are the two main ones, he doesn't sell either by the way, just free easy preventive measures. Oh and the petrol cap as well, seems to solve a myriad of startup issues and shody running issues and is pretty cheap to change.
But go give him a follow, a read and take notes, he leaves some great golden nuggets on the comments.
And yes, do change the bearings, BE or ACL +0.025 seem to be the ones to get, but there are plenty of shops in the UK that I assume know exactly the setup to run, because from what i gathered the best setup is to run oem size on top and 0.025 on the lower part in order to not loose too much oil pressure.
Hope you find his stuff helpful.
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