PompeyP1

From previous threads I know there are current and former M5 drivers on here. Could someone give me an idea of servicing/tyre costs on one. My old man had a 5 series about 10 years ago and he says I'll have to remortgage the house to run one (grumpy b@stard makes Victor Meldrew look like fun time Frankie though )

Any worse than Scooby costs???

Cheers

Paul

TopBanana

That's weird, I was going to post something on here along the same lines

I guess the servicing costs are much higher than a Scoob's. How much to fill on up, and what sort of range do you get touring in one?

RRH

servicing costs are now remarkably sensible. tyres, however, are not.

the rears on mine, 265 35 18s, were in the £200 each bracket (can't remember exactly as it got stolen two years ago and never replaced it), and it would do rears every 6000 miles or so.

it also had a healthy appetite for taking the shoulders off the fronts when driven hard.

fuel consupmtion can be rather heavy too- you may get 30ish if taking it easy on the motorway, around town you're unlikely to get much better than 19-20, pressing on you'll get closer to 14.

massive fun though, although you need to be cautious in the damp.

what would scooby do

..bottom line is if you are worried about servicing costs you should not be looking at performance cars.. how about a nice Focus TDCI ??

RB5_180

If I didnt have to worry about service costs I'd drive to work in the morning in my Enzo - Theres no point buying something you cant afford to run... Im still interested in these runnng costs too...Curious as to how it would compare to an M Coupe with vanos bills factored in...

RRH

Always fancied an M Coupe- drove one once and it was loopy!

Lust4Life

Tyres can be had for around £650 for 4 if you do them all and phone round but the life is between 6k and 12k miles depending on where most of your driving is. Point about the shoulders on the fronts is well made, I've had a few blats lately and mine are well gone.

Servicing is not too bad really but I would make sure you have the extended BMW warranty (essential on an M5 IMO) for any niggly and not so niggly bits. They are worth less without this.

I do a mix of motorway and town driving and average around 21mpg giving an effective range of around 300 miles before you are looking for a petrol station from a 70l tank - should put in Optimax or SUL if possible as well although a tank of 95 won't hurt it like in a turbo car if you are stuck.

They do like a bit of oil as well and you can only really use Castrol TWS which you can buy from BMW dealers at around £14 per litre bottle.

You don't get any type of spare wheel either, just the M Mobility system which is a compressor and tyre gunk so you need to have some sort of breakdown cover.

Breakdown cover is included in the extended BMW warranty but if you don't have that then The RAC or something is wise.

Fabulous cars in the right spec and fairly rare, I think only about 1400 were ever imported.

If you want to know anything more specific, just let me know.

Cheers!

Phil

TopBanana

That's a bit daft. Reminds me of people who say 'if you have to ask, you can't afford it'. Load of cobblers.

PompeyP1

TopBanana - well said. One way or another we are all (well most of us) on a budget. I have a P1 and previously had 2 TVRs with servicing costs at £700 a pop every 6000 miles. Times change - my mortgage is 4 times the size as it was, as is my missus who is expecting our first kid. An M5 would be great but not if it is going to cost me significantly more than the Scoob. I'll have enough to spend the spare pennies on soon enough!!

RRH

tbh running costs don't differ massively between the Impreza and the M5- and just cos we moan don't mean we can't afford it

i'll get me coat...............................

MattOz

Paul,

I ran an E39 M5 for about a year. Did 15k miles in it, and it had one service. The car was superb. Way better than my STI5 I had before. Sure it was heavier and wider, but it was beautifully made and sounded fantastic.

Average mpg was about 21 and a full tank of Optimax would cost £55 and last for 300 miles. Maybe more on a motorway run. Tyres were not a problem as it had a new set on when I picked it up. Still had plenty of tread on the rears when I sold it.

Get one with SatNav and go for a dark colour such as Avus Blue, Anthracite or Carbon Black. Get black extended nappa if possible. Try and avoid the Imola or blue leather!

It will cost you less than the Impreza as service intervals are twice as long and mpg is the same. Insurance is likely to be less than a Scoob and owning one is so much nicer!



Matt

PompeyP1

Matt

I'm sure you have posted the pic of your car before. It looks fantastic but I never see any in anthracite for sale which is a shame. Must have been very rare. Just out of interest why did you flog it??

Cheers

Paul

TopBanana

I have to agree that does look great. I quite like Le Mans blue too

chris's scooby

I like the Avus blue.

Lust4Life

Le Mans blue was the replacement for Avus and they are very similar.

I have Le Mans

Phil

MattOz

Paul,

I sold it because I was doing too many private miles that were not being funded by work! The servicing was relatively cheap, because I supplied my own oil, and intervals were large compared to a Scoob. A warranty is a must with the M5, and make sure that it has one or has been extended.

I'd love another when my big mileage days are over. It was the best car I've owned and I was genuinely gutted to see it go.

Matt