Looking for an M5
Discussion
That link will give you more than you need to know, but in a nutshell (having had & sold a 2000 M5),
Go for the facelift (widescreen TV & Angel Eyes) if you can afford it, and the highest spec you can find (Nav, TV, Voice, Phone etc..)
Check oil consumption - some can drink 1 litre every 600 miles.
Only buy with BMW (extended) warranty, regardless of what non-warranty bargains there may be about.
Check the last bit of the chassis number with a BMW dealer (eg : BJ10559) who can print you a full history.
Good luck - a great car.
Go for the facelift (widescreen TV & Angel Eyes) if you can afford it, and the highest spec you can find (Nav, TV, Voice, Phone etc..)
Check oil consumption - some can drink 1 litre every 600 miles.
Only buy with BMW (extended) warranty, regardless of what non-warranty bargains there may be about.
Check the last bit of the chassis number with a BMW dealer (eg : BJ10559) who can print you a full history.
Good luck - a great car.
www.bmw.co.uk for the better examples. One in stafford for about £20k last time I looked, on an X plate
E-mail Scoobyzoom, I owe him everything! 
My car has two gremlins.
1/ The brakes have been changed, checked and double-checked by everyone including Juan Pablo's personal hygenist and they're still only ok. Ring West Tuning or someone like and get the whole damn system replaced to 911-spec.
2/ 'The Sutcliffe Shudder;' when the well known journo-cum-editor of Autocar ran his car not so long ago, he reported on a software upgrade that apparently cured (and cures) the low revs-from dead cold jerkiness that ruins an otherwise impeccable performance...if yours eventually drives like a 3 legged sow of a morn, get it sorted accordingly.
Other than that, warm it up and enjoy the legend. It's in the region of 85-90% as good as the reports suggest.
Happy hunting,
DeR.
My car has two gremlins.
1/ The brakes have been changed, checked and double-checked by everyone including Juan Pablo's personal hygenist and they're still only ok. Ring West Tuning or someone like and get the whole damn system replaced to 911-spec.
2/ 'The Sutcliffe Shudder;' when the well known journo-cum-editor of Autocar ran his car not so long ago, he reported on a software upgrade that apparently cured (and cures) the low revs-from dead cold jerkiness that ruins an otherwise impeccable performance...if yours eventually drives like a 3 legged sow of a morn, get it sorted accordingly.
Other than that, warm it up and enjoy the legend. It's in the region of 85-90% as good as the reports suggest.
Happy hunting,
DeR.
juliann said:
That link will give you more than you need to know, but in a nutshell (having had & sold a 2000 M5),
Go for the facelift (widescreen TV & Angel Eyes) if you can afford it, and the highest spec you can find (Nav, TV, Voice, Phone etc..)
Check oil consumption - some can drink 1 litre every 600 miles.
Only buy with BMW (extended) warranty, regardless of what non-warranty bargains there may be about.
Check the last bit of the chassis number with a BMW dealer (eg : BJ10559) who can print you a full history.
Good luck - a great car.
When did the angel eyes and the widescreen come in ??
Late 20000 onward had the later lights and screen, lights are a must they look tops at dusk, had them fitted to my '99' by main dealer at a cost of £700 
fantastic car, beats all the hype, check Vanos at BMW dealer (if buying private) as I did when I bought mine, quite a costly repair if they do go wrong, one of the best cars i've owned, good luck with the find.
Nick
ps - just in case your interested
www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=30505&s=273
fantastic car, beats all the hype, check Vanos at BMW dealer (if buying private) as I did when I bought mine, quite a costly repair if they do go wrong, one of the best cars i've owned, good luck with the find. Nick
ps - just in case your interested
www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=30505&s=273Also, try and get one that had the warranty renewed. Would agree a later facelift model with widescreen / angel eyes / steering wheel update would be good.
Check if the clutch is near the top as they can wear out quite early. Get one with Sat nav, it was never standard and can be hard to sell without it. The first facelift E39 M5s have gen 3 sat nav, still cd based.
Check if the clutch is near the top as they can wear out quite early. Get one with Sat nav, it was never standard and can be hard to sell without it. The first facelift E39 M5s have gen 3 sat nav, still cd based.
Obviously I know very little about these cars.
Angel eyes are the circular dip beam rather than the wrap around headlight cluster.
The TV system in the cars I've seen pictures of all look the same size. An approx six inch screen to the left of the console.
Stupid question I know but what MPG are people finding. Internet seems to suggest anything between 15 and 30 with oil consmuptions up to a litre every 600 miles !!
Angel eyes are the circular dip beam rather than the wrap around headlight cluster.
The TV system in the cars I've seen pictures of all look the same size. An approx six inch screen to the left of the console.
Stupid question I know but what MPG are people finding. Internet seems to suggest anything between 15 and 30 with oil consmuptions up to a litre every 600 miles !!
Julian64 said:
Obviously I know very little about these cars.
Angel eyes are the circular dip beam rather than the wrap around headlight cluster.
The TV system in the cars I've seen pictures of all look the same size. An approx six inch screen to the left of the console.
Stupid question I know but what MPG are people finding. Internet seems to suggest anything between 15 and 30 with oil consmuptions up to a litre every 600 miles !!
Angel Eyes give the outer ring of light round the lamp
The older (model yr 2000 which ended in August/early Sept 2000) monitor was 4:3 and looked square, the newer one looks like a 16:9 screen and is what you'd see if you looked at a new 3 series with a monitor.
I averaged 23mpg over 60,000 mainly motorway miles using std 95 fuel, not Optimax or Ultimate. Mine was a heavy oil consumer (as was common on some of the earlier cars, many weren't.
There is a good Example for sale at a Norwich Dealership at the moment. It is the Pre facelift model (although the pictures look like the lights have been upgraded) but it only has 20,000 miles on it. Avus Blue and the Spec looks great at a reasonable price. It even has the though load. It is on the bmw.co.uk site
>> Edited by tuscanboy on Friday 15th October 23:59
>> Edited by tuscanboy on Friday 15th October 23:59
tuscanboy said:
It even has the though load. It is on the bmw.co.uk site
>> Edited by tuscanboy on Friday 15th October 23:59
Pardon my ignorance but whats a 'though load'. Still learning but starting to get a buzz. I want it all now. I want the later type 16:9 screen. Am going to see a few 20-21K models over the weekend which are about may june 2000, all of which have the old screen, and all are reputed to have about 60K on the clock.
Does anyone know how to get the reputed secret access diagnostic stuff on the screen? Does the five pumps on the throttle stuff still work with the newer cars?
ScoobyZoom said:
Through Load is folding rear seats.
off topic Scoobyzoom, but do you have any technical knowledge of this car at all?
cuz......
I had the warning light come on, 'check brakre linings' having recently replaced the front pads with no problems it had to be the rears, so when I checked it was indeed the rear brake pads. Changed the pads conected the sensor back up to the pad (cleaning all contacts whilst there), great, job done.
Started the car back up, but the warning light is still on. Do you have to clear this fault from memory somehow once the pads are replaced? if so, how? or is there something i've done wrong?
cheers Nick
don't know about M5's, but on my 8, once you'd done the sensors you had to switch off the ignition and open and close the driver door, as if you had got out of the car.
Then getting back in the light would be gone when the ignition was turned back on.
That way because 'latching' the light looked a hell of a lot more professional than the light flickering on and off as it was cut, especially in the rain.
A lot of the electrics used this principal.
Then getting back in the light would be gone when the ignition was turned back on.
That way because 'latching' the light looked a hell of a lot more professional than the light flickering on and off as it was cut, especially in the rain.
A lot of the electrics used this principal.
tuscanboy said:
There is a good Example for sale at a Norwich Dealership at the moment. It is the Pre facelift model (although the pictures look like the lights have been upgraded) but it only has 20,000 miles on it. Avus Blue and the Spec looks great at a reasonable price. It even has the though load. It is on the bmw.co.uk site
>> Edited by tuscanboy on Friday 15th October 23:59
Oi!! Hands off!!!
Julian64 said:
don't know about M5's, but on my 8, once you'd done the sensors you had to switch off the ignition and open and close the driver door, as if you had got out of the car.
Then getting back in the light would be gone when the ignition was turned back on.
That way because 'latching' the light looked a hell of a lot more professional than the light flickering on and off as it was cut, especially in the rain.
A lot of the electrics used this principal.
thx, it is sorted, the sensors need replacing once they have come into contact with the disc (this is how it knows the pads have worn)
Only £9 and 15mins to fit, so very
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