Took a V8 brave pill

[Wilmslowboy]

2006 BMW 550i touring. Manual

Collect tomorrow, a 400 mile round trip.
Bought unseen, listed on a private forum, took me less than a minute to put my hand up.
I had to pay close to 10 times the WBAC valuation

Dogs are going to love it.

[Robertb]

Looks great! Good find.

[Mr Tidy]

Never mind the dogs, I hope you are going to enjoy it!

But that shouldn't be a problem with a manual 550i.

[cerb4.5lee]

Fantastic!

What a rarity that is, great stuff!

That engine mated to a manual will be heaven I'd imagine.

[MarkJS]

That looks lovely. Look forward to reading more about your ownership.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Following. My mantra is if you don't try you'll never know.

[eliot]

valve stem oil seals is the common issue with those. Leave it idling 1 minute then give it a hard rev - massive cloud of smoke means they are shot.

I diy fixed mine but there are specialists that can get it done quickly too.

[Alex Z]

Didn’t even know they existed. Hope it works out.

[Wilmslowboy]

Early start - 6:13 train - nice and quite.

[junglie]

Come on, you can’t keep us waiting this long!

Let’s have the details.

Love a ‘live’ car buying story.

[Wilmslowboy]

eliot said:

valve stem oil seals is the common issue with those. Leave it idling 1 minute then give it a hard rev - massive cloud of smoke means they are shot.

I diy fixed mine but there are specialists that can get it done quickly too.

Yes - Finding a knowledgeable specialist is going to important.
It has had £3k of bits done recently at a BMW specialist and I don’t mind spending money going forward on maintenance (along as it’s done well).

[Wilmslowboy]

junglie said:

Come on, you can’t keep us waiting this long!

Let’s have the details.

Love a ‘live’ car buying story.

Not much to add yet - that is the only photo I have, pick it up at mid-day, then 200 mile drive home.
Seller’s car history has included several ‘hyper cars’ and he and one his other cars stared in an episode of Harry’s garage.

A case of buying the owner as well as the car.

[NDA]

I have that engine in my Morgan - it makes a very cheerful sound.

[BlindedByTheLights]

Great purchase, look forward to the readers ride

[Jon_Bmw]

That will be excellent. I had a manual e39 540i touring 15 years ago and I maintain its the best all round car I have ever had.

I currently have a late manual e61 530d touring. It definitely has more gremlins than the e39 did but it munches the miles well enough.

Enjoy!

[Wilmslowboy]

NDA said:

I have that engine in my Morgan - it makes a very cheerful sound.

By all accounts its fast and lively in a 5 meter estate car (and powers the X5 SUV equally well).

Must be a laugh out loud experience in a light old school sports car.

[Gad-Westy]

Fantastic. On-board for this journey!

[danb79]

Superb! What a find too; as you said, rare as hens teeth, 550i, manual, touring... What more can you need

[scz4]

Wow, blast from the past. Mine was a 2007, so not this one, same colour though. Owned in 2011 or 2012 I think before a PH member contacted me and made an offer for it.

I understand at the time it was only 1 of 7 M Sport tourings with a manual box in the UK.

How many miles has yours done?

I fitted an Eisenmann exhaust, sounded fantastic, but not too loud. Loved the Spyder wheels.

Was reliable, only issue I had with it was the rear hatch opening when starting the car, common problem I believe.

Edited by scz4 on Saturday 24th May 09:46

[AC43]

Wilmslowboy said:

Not much to add yet - that is the only photo I have, pick it up at mid-day, then 200 mile drive home.
Seller’s car history has included several ‘hyper cars’ and he and one his other cars stared in an episode of Harry’s garage.

A case of buying the owner as well as the car.

Always a good plan.