buying a M5 E60, help needed

[Usman]

Hi guys, i've decided once and for all i'm trading in my 911 for a 2005+ M5. I drove my cousins all summer last year and loved it, now its time to get my own.
I've got a budget of £30k, i'm not too educated on the ins and outs of cars (mechanically) so could you guys have a look through

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...

and let me know which few I should go take a look at. or if anyone living in or near Manchester would like to view some with me, lunch, drinks etc all on me

I really dont wanna make any mistakes buying a M5 so any help would be appreciated

[dan101smith]

First thing to do is stop looking on Autotrader, and start looking for a BMW AUC on the BMW website. You REALLY want one with a BMW warranty.

[Usman]

for less than 30k i think the most i'll find is an abused one, i'm after a silverstone ii M5 or Black so i've found these

56 reg silverstone http://www.ashmarques.co.uk/25918/showroom.htm

OR

07 reg black by Dick Lovett Bristol http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...

i'm not going to look at cars too close to £40k as i'm hoping the ones around £37k will come down to at least £35k

[skeeterm5]

I looked at a few before buying mine - my advice and three golden rules:

1) Get an AUC car
2) Get an AUC car
and
3) Get an AUC car

Just because the car is only 30k it is still has 70k car running and repair cost. The car is hellish complicated and the bills for putting anything right will wipe out any saving from buying non AUC.

Things I spotted when looking:

1 - some of the cars had quite worn seat bolsters
2 - two of them had very creaky trim
3 - the wheels are massive so check for kerbing

The other thing to think about is options, in my view the must haves are:

- bluetooth phone prep
- active sports seats

anything else is fluff so dont let the salesman overvalue them.

S

[berry100]

BMW warranty is all important, but if you're lucky enough like me!! You may find one that was a AUC car just a few months ago still under warranty and the owner has had their little play and sells it on far cheaper than the BMW dealer would!!

Got mine sub £26k!! But was looking hard for a while....

[berry100]

And don't forget that if you find one that is in mint condition that has just run out of warranty, you can have the BMW warranty put on it as long as the service history is fully up to date, costs about £1200.

Made this enquiry to BMW when I was initially struggling to find one still under warranty at the price I wanted to pay....

[LittleBro]

berry100 said:

And don't forget that if you find one that is in mint condition that has just run out of warranty, you can have the BMW warranty put on it as long as the service history is fully up to date, costs about £1200.

Made this enquiry to BMW when I was initially struggling to find one still under warranty at the price I wanted to pay....

Are you sure about that? It is commonly believed that if the BMW Warranty is out by just one day, you're out of luck.

[Usman]

thing is guys, youre never 100% secure with anything these days, for example Blackburn Audi currently have an AUC on for sale around £40k which they're showing at 20k miles less than what it was when my mate had it. there u go

[dan101smith]

Brilliant.

So you'd rather buy one without a BMW warranty, then have to cough up several thousand pounds when, say, the gearbox goes wrong, or the HUD stops working? Thought not.

Obviously any car can have a dodgy history but you should be able to check that. The point is that running one of these without the BMW warranty is a massive gamble, and at the price point you're looking at, you should be able to get an AUC car.

[paoloh]

Or buy one that is just under 3 years old and extend the warranty yourself.

[berry100]

LittleBro said:

berry100 said:

And don't forget that if you find one that is in mint condition that has just run out of warranty, you can have the BMW warranty put on it as long as the service history is fully up to date, costs about £1200.

Made this enquiry to BMW when I was initially struggling to find one still under warranty at the price I wanted to pay....

Are you sure about that? It is commonly believed that if the BMW Warranty is out by just one day, you're out of luck.

Absolutely sure about it, ring BMW customer services yourself and check with their warranty department, must have the full BMW service history up to date though...

I just got lucky with mine, because I knew the dealership that had sold it as a AUC car back in May this year, so no worries whatsoever...

[Soovy]

berry100 said:

LittleBro said:

berry100 said:

And don't forget that if you find one that is in mint condition that has just run out of warranty, you can have the BMW warranty put on it as long as the service history is fully up to date, costs about £1200.

Made this enquiry to BMW when I was initially struggling to find one still under warranty at the price I wanted to pay....

Are you sure about that? It is commonly believed that if the BMW Warranty is out by just one day, you're out of luck.

Absolutely sure about it, ring BMW customer services yourself and check with their warranty department, must have the full BMW service history up to date though...

I just got lucky with mine, because I knew the dealership that had sold it as a AUC car back in May this year, so no worries whatsoever...

You CAN buy the warranty if it's expired, but it's £2500.

[berry100]

Soovy said:

berry100 said:

LittleBro said:

berry100 said:

And don't forget that if you find one that is in mint condition that has just run out of warranty, you can have the BMW warranty put on it as long as the service history is fully up to date, costs about £1200.

Made this enquiry to BMW when I was initially struggling to find one still under warranty at the price I wanted to pay....

Are you sure about that? It is commonly believed that if the BMW Warranty is out by just one day, you're out of luck.

Absolutely sure about it, ring BMW customer services yourself and check with their warranty department, must have the full BMW service history up to date though...

I just got lucky with mine, because I knew the dealership that had sold it as a AUC car back in May this year, so no worries whatsoever...

You CAN buy the warranty if it's expired, but it's £2500.

Sorry but no it isn't....rang up BMW Warranty Services about 2 weeks ago before I settled on mine and it's approx £1200...

Best thing I would suggest is for the OP to ring BMW himself rather than take our word for it :-)

Don't even know why I'm debating it, cos I've got it on mine anyway without paying owt!!

[Donut]

Usman said:

thing is guys, youre never 100% secure with anything these days, for example Blackburn Audi currently have an AUC on for sale around £40k which they're showing at 20k miles less than what it was when my mate had it. there u go

You need to phone and tell them that.........

They will have brought it it good faith and are probably waiting for the NMR to be returned where that will show up if true.....

[berry100]

Usman said:

Hi guys, i've decided once and for all i'm trading in my 911 for a 2005+ M5. I drove my cousins all summer last year and loved it, now its time to get my own.
I've got a budget of £30k, i'm not too educated on the ins and outs of cars (mechanically) so could you guys have a look through

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...

and let me know which few I should go take a look at. or if anyone living in or near Manchester would like to view some with me, lunch, drinks etc all on me

I really dont wanna make any mistakes buying a M5 so any help would be appreciated

Usman,

You're welcome to take a look at mine to get a feel for what can be bought...am based 15 min from manchester...PM me if you want.

[L44MBO]

Hi Usman,

Really can't agree more...you need deep pockets or an AUC warranty or lots of luck.

I bought an E60 M5 on an 05 with 23K from a main dealer.

In the first month it had a new clutch and position sensor to try an rectify a harsh gear change, a drivers window motor because the trap warning kept activating, TV tuner (the dealer told me this needed doing), drivers cup holder (silly but heck, it should work properly!) AND a total reprogram (again to try to rectify the harsh gear change)!

It's still not 100% as there still "appears" to be some slack in the drive train. This is particularly noticable at slow speeds.

It's in for an oil service soon so I'm going to get them to look at it again.

All that said, I love the car!

Edited by L44MBO on Thursday 23 October 13:03

Edited by L44MBO on Thursday 23 October 13:03

[jonlwright]

Surely the 56 plate one he is looking at will have about a year of manufacturers warranty anyway???

[Usman]

I'm kinda pushin towards getting the Black 07 reg but i dont wanna go straight into it without having a really good look at others. i like the fact that the black one has the M6 wheels because i was thinking if i do get a black one i wanted to put the M6 wheels on it and then get them sprayed black. obviously, its not to everyones taste its just somethin ive always wanted to do. i'm trying to arrange a test drive in one coz the last time i drove one was over a year ago and even that was for like ten mins, wish me luck fellas

[Schermerhorn]

Just wait till Christmas and the new year. Dealers will have a glut of cars that they can't shift and will offer you so many incentives to buy one, warranty, half price servicing etc etc etc.