Discussion
Yeesh 
Would love to know how much the owner is having to pump into this restoration... Amazing how bad some of that rust has gotten, the rear jacking points were fubar!
This is why when folk contact me about buying an E39 (not M5s albeit) I say that I'd never buy a UK car again; if you've the budget & can find the E39 you're after, get it from Japan!
Would love to know how much the owner is having to pump into this restoration... Amazing how bad some of that rust has gotten, the rear jacking points were fubar!
This is why when folk contact me about buying an E39 (not M5s albeit) I say that I'd never buy a UK car again; if you've the budget & can find the E39 you're after, get it from Japan!
Mine wasn't as bad as that but I reckon most uk cars look like that underneath by now, anyone who says their E39 is rust free probably hasn't looked properly!
Oddly it was all really localised and the rest of the car is fine. On the rear jacking points the horizontal bottom of the sill was well gone but the internal structure was as-new once I'd cut the sill open.
Welded mine back up on the drive, wasn't actually that hard just time consuming. The sill closing panel is still available from BMW and the sills are quite easy to fabricate as they only curve in one direction. Did the brake lines at the same time while the subframe was off- they had actually already been done but really badly by a garage under a previous owner- so remade and routed them properly.
Oddly it was all really localised and the rest of the car is fine. On the rear jacking points the horizontal bottom of the sill was well gone but the internal structure was as-new once I'd cut the sill open.
Welded mine back up on the drive, wasn't actually that hard just time consuming. The sill closing panel is still available from BMW and the sills are quite easy to fabricate as they only curve in one direction. Did the brake lines at the same time while the subframe was off- they had actually already been done but really badly by a garage under a previous owner- so remade and routed them properly.
Edited by lufbramatt on Monday 3rd April 14:34
You've got to love a bit of German quality. 
Most E39's and E46's were getting a bit frilly 10 years ago. I don't know which was worse but they were all rot boxes. In 2012 I had a ten year old Megane (shakin' that ass) as a banger and like 99.9998% of Renaults it was completely unrusty. It was still unrusty when I scrapped it in 2017. Most E46's were just knackered, wings, arches, sills just rotten. Ditto Audi and VW crap.
Later BMW's (E60 etc) had properly made bodies suitable for harsh climates but then the mechanicals turned to s
t. 
Most E39's and E46's were getting a bit frilly 10 years ago. I don't know which was worse but they were all rot boxes. In 2012 I had a ten year old Megane (shakin' that ass) as a banger and like 99.9998% of Renaults it was completely unrusty. It was still unrusty when I scrapped it in 2017. Most E46's were just knackered, wings, arches, sills just rotten. Ditto Audi and VW crap.
Later BMW's (E60 etc) had properly made bodies suitable for harsh climates but then the mechanicals turned to s
t. Well I'm the owner 
Was pointed here by another forum where I spend more of my time.
I'd like to think it's a good one too. While I've only owned it a year, I've known the car since about 2013 and know the previous two owners, so I suspect the first of those bought it from the previous poster? I think it has most options bar double glazing, and AP brake upgrade too. Redish did a pre purchase inspection, so the work wasn't entirely unexpected, although once we started digging it was a bit more than hoped.
I guess I could have spent the money on a PCP over 3 years for a dullbox and have nothing to show for it after 3 years?
Was pointed here by another forum where I spend more of my time.I'd like to think it's a good one too. While I've only owned it a year, I've known the car since about 2013 and know the previous two owners, so I suspect the first of those bought it from the previous poster? I think it has most options bar double glazing, and AP brake upgrade too. Redish did a pre purchase inspection, so the work wasn't entirely unexpected, although once we started digging it was a bit more than hoped.
I guess I could have spent the money on a PCP over 3 years for a dullbox and have nothing to show for it after 3 years?
Jont, are you happy to recommend Redish? They come across well on their YouTube vids. I might send my car their way for an inspection.
Over the last 10 years of M5 ownership I have drowned the underside in Bilt Hamber and ACF50 products but the car had 7 owners over 10 years before it came to me.
Over the last 10 years of M5 ownership I have drowned the underside in Bilt Hamber and ACF50 products but the car had 7 owners over 10 years before it came to me.
Yes, I'd definitely recommend them and will be going back for any future work. Once you get hold of them, their communication was very good and almost daily whatsapp videos during the work which also made it easier to understand any areas we needed to discuss. There was a bit of a wait to get it booked in though. It did help they'd done the pre purchase inspection so they had an idea of what might need doing.
Hopefully with your regular care regime it won't be quite so bad!
Hopefully with your regular care regime it won't be quite so bad!
definitely a good car - I am the last owner - the the owner I bought it from looked after it beautifully, I had it professionally valeted every few weeks, and serviced before every long journey but it was also used (as it should be) - 50,000 miles in 5 years - including honeymoon trip down through France & Spain, and several week long trips to Scotland - a phenomenal car which had zero mechanical issues in that time.
Both jont- and I knew that it had some rust - some surface and some underneath, though as above it can be difficult to know how much until work starts, but Redish did a pre-sale inspection and were incredibly thorough - with a long list of basically everything you might need to do to bring the car back to as new, from that small contact with them I would use them, though they are very busy...
At the point of sale I had two choices - do the rust work and keep the car, or sell it - the driving factor was not the work (car is worth investing in), but the fact that Bristol brought in a ULEZ charge which would have fined me every week for using it. It is one of the last models and as jont- mentions has virtually every extra ticked. I knew that in selling it to jont- it would have a fantastic home - it deserves it, one of the last great cars...
Both jont- and I knew that it had some rust - some surface and some underneath, though as above it can be difficult to know how much until work starts, but Redish did a pre-sale inspection and were incredibly thorough - with a long list of basically everything you might need to do to bring the car back to as new, from that small contact with them I would use them, though they are very busy...
At the point of sale I had two choices - do the rust work and keep the car, or sell it - the driving factor was not the work (car is worth investing in), but the fact that Bristol brought in a ULEZ charge which would have fined me every week for using it. It is one of the last models and as jont- mentions has virtually every extra ticked. I knew that in selling it to jont- it would have a fantastic home - it deserves it, one of the last great cars...
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