E61 M5 Touring, mileage vs clutch

[Dammit]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a fast estate at the moment and the M5 Touring certainly fits the bill.

This is one I've spotted: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

It's on 76,100 miles at the moment.

I emailed the seller to ask when the clutch was last changed, to which he responded that he'd never changed the clutch/it had never been changed.

Now I'm going purely on "read on the Internet" here, but am I correct in thinking that (on average) this car would have usually had at least one clutch?

[Bodie390]

Mines on 56k and it's never been replaced.

[Dammit]

Great - thanks for that info. Be interested when others have first replaced their clutch?

[cosworth330]

Mine was changed at 39,000 miles.

[Dammit]

Thanks!

Current owner did 20,000 miles 2016-2017, which suggests plenty of motorway, before that it looks (MOT history) to have been doing 5,000 miles/year.

If I got the car checked at a dealer can they tell roughly what's left of the clutch, or is it "fine' or "failed"?

[ant123456]

I would say at that mileage it certainly won't be long.

Current Tourer was done at 30k and my last Tourer was 44k.

You checked with BMW customer services? They can tell you which dealers the car has visited, give them a call and check. The dealer selling the car won't bother.

[Dammit]

It's a private sale, so I'd want to take the car to place that knows these cars to get an inspection done.

If the car needs a clutch what's the going rate these days? (Most posts I found were on this were from a few years ago).

[ant123456]

I think it would be hard for anyone to know for sure what life is left. Jerking on takeoff would be a indication, thump in the rear sensation also when pulling away. It's not like a clutch pedal sadly where you can get a feel for it.

[stevesingo]

BUy it and when the clutch fails, convert it to manual.

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e60-m5-e61-m5-tou...

[rassi]

Mine was done at 47000 miles (75000 km) under my ownership, whether it had one before I don't know.

Not sure an inspection will help you determine the life left in the clutch or clutch release bearing, mine manifested itself by shuddering at low speed/in traffic.

As it is a private buy, I would factor in the cost of a new clutch/flywheel.

[MarcelM6]

Probably worth asking what the motorway mix is. My M6 (same mechanicals) is on original clutch at 65K miles but 50K of that is motorway so far less stress on the clutch.

[Cactussed]

I sold mine on 97k on the original clutch and it was fine FWIW.

[DannyB2007]

Sold mine on around 75000 and it was still on original, and showing no signs of needing to be replaced

Cheers

Danny

[Shaoxter]

Mine was replaced at 56k miles.
Totally depends on how it's been driven - a town car which crawls along in traffic or someone who reverses up steep hills a lot will kill the clutch very quickly.

[pvogue]

Recent deals from Eurocarparts was around 1200 for cluch/flywheel

[Dammit]

So at at BMW garage we're looking at what, £2,500 for a clutch change?

Thanks for the mileage/clutch change data everyone, keep it coming.

[wolfracesonic]

Previous owner of mine had it done at 52000 miles; got it done under warranty as well it seems, which I thought was pretty generous of Mondial.

[ant123456]

£2-£2500 parts from BMW with another 1k labour.

[Cactussed]

So not hugely different in cost to any other comparable car then...

[ss1977]

The clutch, flywheel and SMG release bearing were all replaced on mine just shy of the 50k miles mark. I've read on M5Board.com that the SMG release bearing was redesigned in around 2014 to help prevent sticking and improve longevity of the clutch components. I've now driven over 20k miles on the new clutch and it continues to shift really well.

The redesigned bearing is on the left