Picked up one of my bucket list cars today

offroadkarter

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Well this all started as a joke 2 weeks ago and now I own one of my 3 bucket list cars.

I bought this E39 M5 off a friend of mine who is moving very soon, essentially after mechanically sorting this car and getting half of the car repainted (as well as a full wet sanding) he made the car so cosmetically nice he was having nightmares over swirls in the paint and decided he should sell it and maybe buy another one down the road in a color that hides most sins (like white). I proposed the idea that I trade my bmw + my parts car bmw and all the parts I've amassed over the past 3 years as well as cash for his M5.

Well, I now own a M5.

Build date 12/99, Model year 2000 was the first for the US. It's a Carbon Black on Silverstone sport interior car with DSP audio (someone added the ///M subs). The only mods I know of off hand are the Evolve tune and UUC short throw shifter.

I had a 6 hour (traffic!) drive home today from southern maryland which gave me plenty of time to try and learn the car more. I know I've learned why this car is called "the beast", everything every magazine and TV review has said is true. The way this car pulls in any gear and at 80 feels like you're doing 50 is unlike anything I've ever owned before. It's very clear how this car was engineered to push the limits of that 186mph top speed on the autobahn.


I have some simple cosmetic things I want to clean up as well as a few mods I want to install but overall the car is very clean (only 112k miles) and I have a full service history going back to day 1. Had no problems on the trip home, smooth sailing all the way up the NJTP.

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Fuel stop in DE

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Back home, hiding from the impending rain storm tomorrow.

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I need to put the M5 badge back on once I have it detailed but I'm going to leave the spoiler off for now. Aside from refinishing the style 65 wheels, I'd like to get the real euro pre facelift lenses since the depo ones fit poor and have a shit ton of text on the front. Aside from that I don't see much changing on the exterior until I put an axle back on at some point.

Now that my friend is buying the 745i back I'll have one less major restoration project to deal with which means I can focus on fixing the Bronco up and watching the resale value climb in real time.
 
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TBCobra

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Congrats! Always loved the E39 M5's. The Lemans Blue? color is probably my favorite. It's crazy what these cars still sell for especially when you see the E60's selling for the same or less.
 

offroadkarter

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Congrats! Always loved the E39 M5's. The Lemans Blue? color is probably my favorite. It's crazy what these cars still sell for especially when you see the E60's selling for the same or less.


LeMans blue is my favorite color but that only came on the facelift cars (01-03) which are going for stupid money in comparison to the pre-facelift cars (MY00). I looked at a 55k mile avus blue car 3 years ago for 15 grand but it had multiple resprays over it's life and it still needed body work since the paint on the hood was cracked as well as the front bumper being cracked. Took a hard pass on that car.

The E60's are just too expensive to maintain, everyone at this point knows about the rod bearing issues as well as the ITB actuators. They sound amazing and go like hell, but they are supercar levels of maintenance costs. The E39 is the last analog M5 and the last one that owners can really work on themselves. I got priced out of the market back in 2015 but I was able to make a "now or never" deal on this car.
 

72SBC

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Sigh- don’t wait on matianance on this car.. see above..

Where to start...

Check your coolant reservoir, if it’s dark, or has deformity, change it! Make sure you run 10w60 oil, they do consume it so check regularly.

Check the guibo because it’s a bitch to change yourself. See above.

Check your wheels. The paint is impossible to match, so you have to either chrome or powder coat them If they start to flake.

Check the vanos, and start stocking parts for later. You will need spares for the oil lines, they like to leak. Also look into a oil cooler, they run hot and don’t like it.

M5’s are also tire killers. You will eat them quick.

Get a good battery! If you can find some 135 brembos they are a good swap for the car. If you maintain it, you can go 230k + easy. Aftermarket parts are retarded expensive for not much gain. Get a intake and call it a day.
 

IamRacerX

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One of the best performance sedans ever made!
Congrats!
 

PaxtonShelby

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I always loved those cars. So sexy. I’m sure they are wonderful to drive. I have to admit the pricey repairs scared me away when I was looking for a used DD.
 

offroadkarter

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View attachment 1480934 Sigh- don’t wait on matianance on this car.. see above..

Where to start...

Check your coolant reservoir, if it’s dark, or has deformity, change it! Make sure you run 10w60 oil, they do consume it so check regularly.

Check the guibo because it’s a bitch to change yourself. See above.

Check your wheels. The paint is impossible to match, so you have to either chrome or powder coat them If they start to flake.

Check the vanos, and start stocking parts for later. You will need spares for the oil lines, they like to leak. Also look into a oil cooler, they run hot and don’t like it.

M5’s are also tire killers. You will eat them quick.

Get a good battery! If you can find some 135 brembos they are a good swap for the car. If you maintain it, you can go 230k + easy. Aftermarket parts are retarded expensive for not much gain. Get a intake and call it a day.

I plan on getting a new coolant reservoir, this one is just aged and yellow but I'm going to replace it regardless

Guibo is fine

Prince wheel services in NC knows how to do a hyper silver refinish that is 95% correct to OE, Most M5 owners send wheels to them and I will do the same

Vanos has already been serviced with the Dr Vanos kit. I will most likely look into an oil cooler at some point but I don't plan on open tracking this car or anything

My marauders already eat thru rear tires every 25-30k miles so eh, I will probably only put at most 10k a year on this car

Battery has already been replaced with a proper size/spec 950cca battery.

I have all the service history going back to day one and my friend who I bought it off of already did a lot of major servicing including suspension components, brand new tires, resealing the diff, front/rear brakes and so on. Part of the reason I bought this car is because I knew it was so mechanically sorted and I've driven it many times before.

I always loved those cars. So sexy. I’m sure they are wonderful to drive. I have to admit the pricey repairs scared me away when I was looking for a used DD.

It's all in perspective I guess, I didn't buy a e90 m3 because of repair costs (1300 dollar throttle actuators, consumable rod bearings). This car parts wise was cheaper to maintain than my friends Porsche 928. Hell he said when he did the brakes, buying good components and doing it himself was no more expensive than his ford taurus at the time.

The nice thing is since these cars are so old, every common problem has been talked about and DIY'd.

Looks sharp.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks good.

Thanks!
 

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