Talk me out of buying a f10 M5
Discussion
It’s car change time and I really have a hankering for a f10 M5….already have a couple of classics but it would be great to have a 4/5 door special car for the odd family trip and commute…c8k a year
I’m aware of the rod bearings issue….many I’ve looked at had this done already it seems..
Against the grain I quite like the pre face lift wheel, odds on it will be a 2012 varian or thereabouts.
I need it both barrels, please….whats good and bad?!
I’m aware of the rod bearings issue….many I’ve looked at had this done already it seems..
Against the grain I quite like the pre face lift wheel, odds on it will be a 2012 varian or thereabouts.
I need it both barrels, please….whats good and bad?!
They are great until you have engine trouble, and there is a lot to go wrong: coolant leaks, stuck injectors leading to bore washing, turbos, rod bearings, etc.
I really enjoyed ours for the two years we had it, then it just threw up an enormous bill that meant we had to get rid. I know a guy who runs a small BMW indie shop, and he says he generally refuses to work on S63s unless it's a customer he knows well, because they just generate massive bills that people then don't want to pay.
I have had one for about 8/9 years - a LCI and I have enjoyed it tremendously. I have always interim serviced it in between the BMW recommended intervals and have had the DCT box/diff serviced twice in that time too. The engine/turbos/gearbox have generally been rock solid but I have had a couple of coolant leaks which weren't too expensive to fix.
Comfort access handles are prone to failure, well on mine anyway and I have had a couple of broken front springs, a failed AC compressor and condenser all of which was covered under warranty (I still have the BMW warranty that I pay circa £130 per month for peace of mind but rather annoyingly it doesn't cover pipes/hoses so the coolant pipe repairs were out of my own pocket!).
Both my brothers in law have a F90 M5 and while it's more polished I don't believe its worth the jump in price (for me anyway - others may beg to differ) and the F10 has more power than you will ever need on our roads.
Comfort access handles are prone to failure, well on mine anyway and I have had a couple of broken front springs, a failed AC compressor and condenser all of which was covered under warranty (I still have the BMW warranty that I pay circa £130 per month for peace of mind but rather annoyingly it doesn't cover pipes/hoses so the coolant pipe repairs were out of my own pocket!).
Both my brothers in law have a F90 M5 and while it's more polished I don't believe its worth the jump in price (for me anyway - others may beg to differ) and the F10 has more power than you will ever need on our roads.
My brother just got rid of one. Incredible car and I'd agree with the previous post that it's quicker than you'd ever need as standard, it's just the deep pockets required to run them. On the whole they don't seem to be awful for reliability but when they do need work it's always a big bill. My brothers needed valve stem seals I think it might have been, luckily covered by the supplying dealer but that twinned with the diff giving up and the fuel costs meant he moved it on after a short while.
I also felt when I drove it, while it was very quick, it didn't feel it. So you'd end up going very fast very easily with out much feel. It's a big old unit too, super for continental cruising but felt a bit big on a UK back road.
I also felt when I drove it, while it was very quick, it didn't feel it. So you'd end up going very fast very easily with out much feel. It's a big old unit too, super for continental cruising but felt a bit big on a UK back road.
2015 M6 owner here with the same S63TU engine 
have a read of these threads which cover your questions in more detail:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
According to my ///M car Specialist who looks after my car, the Rod Bearings on these cars aren’t an issue in isolation – they're improved from the E60 M5 and E9* M3. The issues arise from Injector Failure and/or BMW’s hideously long manufacturer service intervals. These cars need oil changes every 5,000 miles at the latest (the oil filters are a mess by then too).
As purely preventative maintenance on my 37,000-mile car when I took delivery, I got fitted: 8x new EU5 Fuel Injectors, 8x new OEM spark plugs, 8x new OEM coil packs, fresh new Liqui Moly 5W-40 oil & filter. I will get 2x new High-Pressure-Fuel-Pumps at its next service in December. I also run a Liqui Moly Mos2 additive just after every oil change/service every 5,000 miles, and I run a high-quality PEA-based Fuel Injector Cleaner like the Liqui Moly DI Jectron every 2,000-3,000 miles to keep the fuel system in good condition and keep the carbon deposits at bay (which can set off an LSPI super-knock event and detonate the engine). Run minimum 98 RON Octane fuel only too; they need high quality fuel at all times.
Some people scoff at using Fuel Injector cleaners, but these Direct Injection engines do need them. It’s not just marketing guff. They are highly-strung proper ///M car engines after all and when well-looked after they can do big miles. They’re just Naomi Campbell cars at the end of the day; you take them out to dinner at Frankie & Benny's and they will throw a tantrum, but wine & dine them at The Ivy and all is well…
Oh, and go for the newest car you can in the best possible condition/best history; the pre-LCI cars are now 12-14 years old now, are more prone to issues and have the older iDrive system.
These are VERY fast cars in standard form and BMW under-quote their power figures; see my Readers Cars thread where I got my completely stock-standard car dyno’d and it was 532bhp at the wheels and 620bhp at the engine… hope this helps and best of luck with your search, they are indeed epic ///M cars and sometimes misunderstood. One of the last truly great M5s.
have a read of these threads which cover your questions in more detail:https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
According to my ///M car Specialist who looks after my car, the Rod Bearings on these cars aren’t an issue in isolation – they're improved from the E60 M5 and E9* M3. The issues arise from Injector Failure and/or BMW’s hideously long manufacturer service intervals. These cars need oil changes every 5,000 miles at the latest (the oil filters are a mess by then too).
As purely preventative maintenance on my 37,000-mile car when I took delivery, I got fitted: 8x new EU5 Fuel Injectors, 8x new OEM spark plugs, 8x new OEM coil packs, fresh new Liqui Moly 5W-40 oil & filter. I will get 2x new High-Pressure-Fuel-Pumps at its next service in December. I also run a Liqui Moly Mos2 additive just after every oil change/service every 5,000 miles, and I run a high-quality PEA-based Fuel Injector Cleaner like the Liqui Moly DI Jectron every 2,000-3,000 miles to keep the fuel system in good condition and keep the carbon deposits at bay (which can set off an LSPI super-knock event and detonate the engine). Run minimum 98 RON Octane fuel only too; they need high quality fuel at all times.
Some people scoff at using Fuel Injector cleaners, but these Direct Injection engines do need them. It’s not just marketing guff. They are highly-strung proper ///M car engines after all and when well-looked after they can do big miles. They’re just Naomi Campbell cars at the end of the day; you take them out to dinner at Frankie & Benny's and they will throw a tantrum, but wine & dine them at The Ivy and all is well…
Oh, and go for the newest car you can in the best possible condition/best history; the pre-LCI cars are now 12-14 years old now, are more prone to issues and have the older iDrive system.
These are VERY fast cars in standard form and BMW under-quote their power figures; see my Readers Cars thread where I got my completely stock-standard car dyno’d and it was 532bhp at the wheels and 620bhp at the engine… hope this helps and best of luck with your search, they are indeed epic ///M cars and sometimes misunderstood. One of the last truly great M5s.
I looked at them almost 3 years ago because I have always wanted an M5 of some sort since I had a ride in an e39 M5 as a kid but the list of possible faults and the repair bills associated scared me off and I couldn't stretch to an F90.
I ended up buying an F82 M4 instead which also have their faults associated but not compared to an F10 M5
I ended up buying an F82 M4 instead which also have their faults associated but not compared to an F10 M5
I bought a 2013 one with 54000 miles about 3 months ago without any research (needed to replace a dead Ecoboost Focus and get a sensible family car with Isofix to go with the TVR). After looking at a Civic Type R, a Mazda MX-5 and a Bentley Flying Spur, I spotted the M5 in the classifieds and went to take a look at it was nearby. After test driving it I have to say I was sold - big heavy car, but lots of power, brilliant gearbox and really impressive interior despite its age.
Unfortunately after putting about 1500 miles on it, I got the dreaded 'dead injector' just as I was getting home (drivetrain fault and strong smell of fuel in the exhaust). Switched it off and towed it to a specialist nearby. They had to replace all 8 injectors and one DME (the engine computer that died at same time as injector, I guess one fault probably caused the other). Fortunately engine internals otherwise fine. Hopefully getting it back next week but with a bill for approx £5k.
Despite this, I'm still not put off the car - it is a brilliant motorway cruiser and fun car on an A road. It's the first BMW I've owned, and lives up to the hype. It is a bit too big and powerful for UK roads really, but can play the luxury motorway cruiser at almost decent mpg (24-26 ish) and then go bananas when you want.
It's too big, heavy, stable and powerful to be that much fun on a B road - you'd want something smaller and lighter - and you need to be careful not to get too carried away because it is happiest above 70mph... But so far despite the semi expected reliability doom, it's a great all rounder!
Unfortunately after putting about 1500 miles on it, I got the dreaded 'dead injector' just as I was getting home (drivetrain fault and strong smell of fuel in the exhaust). Switched it off and towed it to a specialist nearby. They had to replace all 8 injectors and one DME (the engine computer that died at same time as injector, I guess one fault probably caused the other). Fortunately engine internals otherwise fine. Hopefully getting it back next week but with a bill for approx £5k.
Despite this, I'm still not put off the car - it is a brilliant motorway cruiser and fun car on an A road. It's the first BMW I've owned, and lives up to the hype. It is a bit too big and powerful for UK roads really, but can play the luxury motorway cruiser at almost decent mpg (24-26 ish) and then go bananas when you want.
It's too big, heavy, stable and powerful to be that much fun on a B road - you'd want something smaller and lighter - and you need to be careful not to get too carried away because it is happiest above 70mph... But so far despite the semi expected reliability doom, it's a great all rounder!
Matt99man said:
Is the e92 m3 more reliable?
I have a 2012 E92 M3 so here's my opinion: there's three things that can destroy a E92 M3's engine. If you buy wisely, you can purchase a car that's had all of them done. If it hasn't, you can get them sorted for reasonably modest outlay, and can factor that outlay into the purchase price..First (no surprise) is rod bearings. My local specialist will change them for £1350 and that includes new engine mounts, oil & filter and power steering fluid.
Second is the vanos caps - they are plastic and might break causing bits of plastic to be ingested into the engine. Billet replacements from the likes of Ventrax or Evolve cost £400 and you're looking at between 2 and 4 hours of labour to replace.
Third is fuel injectors which can stick open and hydrolock the engine. A new set costs £450 and labour is 2 hours or so, less if you're in there anyway replacing the vanos caps.
So that's around £3000 tops. A E92 M3 that's had these jobs done, perhaps with a DCT 'box service and regular servicing, is a pretty reliable thing, in my opinion.. It'll also sound a million times better than a F10 M5 but is a rather different beast, obviously.
Hi,
Ive had my 2014 LCI F10 M5 for 7 years now and haven't *touches copious amounts of wood* had much in the way of trouble from it. Nor do I do any more than the recommended servicing, though it is lightly used despite being my daily - around 4.5-5k miles/year.
If I was doing any more miles it would definitely be getting annual oil services. But despite this when I first got it it was consuming oil at a minimal rate and no longer does this, perhaps because I am careful about warming it up and down.
Only issue ive had is a bank of injectors failing and BMW had this covered by the warranty, thankfully no major harm done by that incident and its been a good few years.
Overall I love the car, its now 11 years old and I keep thinking I should upgrade it but nothing I look at seems worth spending the extra on...£40k is a lot of money to spend on something not noticeably faster, no more comfortable but has apple play...
Ive had my 2014 LCI F10 M5 for 7 years now and haven't *touches copious amounts of wood* had much in the way of trouble from it. Nor do I do any more than the recommended servicing, though it is lightly used despite being my daily - around 4.5-5k miles/year.
If I was doing any more miles it would definitely be getting annual oil services. But despite this when I first got it it was consuming oil at a minimal rate and no longer does this, perhaps because I am careful about warming it up and down.
Only issue ive had is a bank of injectors failing and BMW had this covered by the warranty, thankfully no major harm done by that incident and its been a good few years.
Overall I love the car, its now 11 years old and I keep thinking I should upgrade it but nothing I look at seems worth spending the extra on...£40k is a lot of money to spend on something not noticeably faster, no more comfortable but has apple play...
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