Why are these cars so cheap? £15k gets you a clean excellent example with approx. 80k miles - just run in!
Mines a carbon black late 2001 with angel eye xenons, cd mk4 sat nav, miltek cat back system (lovely noise) 3 screens and 10 disc dvd changer with an Infinity powered sub in the boot which transforms the weedy tinny std stereo. Built in car phone is brilliant and the full black leather is gorgeous and comfy. Everything is electric and nothing has stopped working in 60k miles!
Power is fantastic from the 5 litre V8 - 400 bhp has to be carefully applied and IMHO the Traction Control is essential in wet orrible weather. Just find a wet car park with old tyres and play - power slides should not be this easy! This thing plays with other cars and until you've been pinned back in yer seat you've missed a real addictive hit. Every ride feels special and in 3 years I have never not enjoyed driving it - even though it gets stuck in heavy snow really easy due to the wide sports tyres (goodyear F1's recommended at £550 a set fitted and 15K miles per set.)
Hit the sport button (steering, suspension and engine response are put into sport mode) and switch off the DSC on a nice sunny day and just enjoy fantastic responsive handling and HUGE power.
I use it every day, 12 months a year for the school & work run, business, pleasure, european trips (sorry the flights were far too expensive missus!) and it gets hand cleaned only by the local polish buffing centre. It comes up a treat, looks great and I honestly cannot thibk of any other car I'd want to change it for at ANY price (well small lie there... I'd take a Veyron and ...sell it for my old M5 back and a wad of cash)
Four doors, totally practical (well 23mpg if I really try down to 11 mpg on "sunny days") wife and kids love it, makes every trip a pleasure, great stereo (see above) gush gush gush
I have had superb reliability and only the expected items needing replacement such as brake pads, tyres once a yearish, I service the car myself - REALLY easy with everything dead simple to get at . Oil is costly (Castrol Edge Sport 10w40 every 5 thousand miles with filter) at £70 a change but is real insurance against any engine wear. The green lights are easy to reset and I change my oil much more frequently. The only issue are the MAF x 2 air flow meters which last prob 2/3 years - BMW charge huge money but join one of the excellent M5 forums and you'll find such gems as that the VW bosch MAF for the jetta etc has EXACTLY the same part no - and cost me £50 for the pair from the USA. Just for safety's sake I get my car checked over fully by BMW every year at approx. £200 and so far apart from a faulty cam position sensor (£160 fullly fitted) I've had no nasty surprises.
Mention M cars and someone dwon the pub will cringe round his pint and say "VANOS" in a slightly mystical all knowing voice. The M5 has 2 vanos units, one for each bank of cylinders and they give variable valve timing...result is HUGE torque at low revs (only 20lb/ft less than the new M5) and high power at high revs. The truth is that some early units had problems but that they were resolved by mods that went in for 2000 on models. A non retun valve was placed into the high pressure oil feeds to the Vanos units so that they never drain out and suffer dry start ups. Anyway a noisy vanos is easy to hear and therefore avoid. I have never had any of my mates who have M5's suffer failure and most have 100k miles + cars.
The only other things to watch for (please read in detail on M5 Mtorque Forum) are the same as any other fast car, worn steering, bearings, brakes (which need decent pads and braided lines badly) Tyre condition, electrics are working, and condition. Condition and service schedule is more important than mileage. Some cars do drink some oil but any more than 1000 miles a litre walk away. Mine doesn't touch the oil level between services.
Anyway, totally recommended and under valued classic car which still really has no peer - the new M5 is just TOO MUCH and drinks vast vats of oil, does crazy MPG, eats gearboxs, clutches and is just not that much fun to drive - it doen't feel particularly special.
I am sitting here sincerely doubting my sanity in writing this as I'm just putting up the price of my next M5 in 5 years time....
400bhp, Huge torque, huge fun and comfort, amazing value and reliability, totally affordable.
23mpg average cost of driving somewhere just for fun.
Reviewing a 2001 model.
see above
Owned for 3 years.
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