Hey guys.....i will be looking to get into a 2001-2003 E39 M5 come early spring but have already started looking around. Based on your experiences, what should I be looking for as far as items that would may end up costing me down the road and things to watch out for?

I plan on getting an aftermarket warranty and regular maintenance items of course are no biggie. Just wanted some input from guys that have/have had one of these beasts. Thanks!

 

150,000+ miles on my 2000.

At some point, the Vanos will go. dealership will charge about 3500 bucks per side. You can source units from Dr Vanos for a couple hundred bucks though.

The clutch, some people seem to only get 25,000 miles out of theres. I got over 100,000 out of my first one, and only replaced it because I had an RMS leak and since everything was apart, it only cost another few hundred bucks.

Some cars eat MAF's and CPS' like popcorn. Get used to replacing them yourself, only takes 30 minutes. This is not a universal thing. However, you should be familiar with it because the codes that it will throw for these could indicate serious problems, when its just a cheap sense (I.e., shady dealer will tell you its the whole Vanos)

The M5board should have everything else you need. Most everything on the car is DIY with threads from there.

A decent exhaust really wakes up the sound, though they aren't worth much in the way of power. ESS has an awesome supercharger out for it now as well.

 

Your biggest issue will be Vanos. Another issue maybe a slipping clutch.

 

How much of that $3500 is labor? If one got parts from Dr. Vanos, the whole job would cost approx..? I've also secretly harbored a desire for one of these babies..

 

I wanna say its about 10 hours labor. The part being a little over 2 grand. Keep in mind, thats 3500 per side on retail prices.

Check out Dr. Vanos though and get familiar with the Vanos system, its really the only weak link in the car IMHO, however, once you understand it, its not that bad at all. I think it wouldn't be reported as such a problem if people actually diagnosed them properly in the first place. I suspect a significant chunk of them are replaced, when its really just a CPS or other minor issue. The problem is the codes they throw are very similar and the dealer simply doesn't care and would rather hit you with a big job.

 

6 yrs 54k miles on my '03. the only problems i've had are rock chips on my front bumper/hood and the flimpsy cup holders.

 

and found them to be quite reliable. Never experienced the Vanos issue, I know some have. Clutches are strange, I suppose it's based on the treatment, but my current car has 94k and works better and smoother than the last one I had with 60k. My RMS has a very small seepage, but I'm not going to do that until I do another clutch. No one has mentioned the MID board, which will certainly need replacing (pixels out, that's not tough at all) and vdo repair has the price down now to about $300 plus labor (easy). I have owned just about every BMW there is including three E60 M5, and this car is just a pleasure to drive.

 

guys...thanks so much for the input - i feel so much more educated now : ) it sounds like these are quite reliable cars and DIY will save some of the bigger dealer bills.

 

Saw your query while I was searching for something else and decided to create a profile to join in on the conversation... Anyway, I just bought (this summer) a 2001 m5 and am very happy with it. I've wanted one for a while and am coming from a 540i. Not sure if this will help you or not, but there's a guy out there who put a buyers guide together called the m5 video guide which addresses all the responses on this page. I bought it and it's actually pretty good (just ignore his shirt on the home page video! LOL!)

Good luck - they're awesome cars.

 

I had a 2000 M5 for 7 years and 68k on the odo with never a real issue....and the best thing I did was join the M5messageboard.
There is NO DOUBT that the affectionados there are the final word on all things M5.

The usual suspects on the E39 however would be the following:
1: Oil Consumption....1/2 qts not uncommon in these cars between oil changes
2: O2 sensors....they tend to crap out more often than not and are the usual culprits to any SES light you may get.
3: Clutches...these cars tend to go through them from as little as 36k to 55k....really depends on how the privious owner drove it...I had 68k on my car before I had slipping.
4: MAF's these are the notorious CARBON BUILD UP issue that many E39's have had...on the M5board is a detailed DYI to check your MAF's and how to clean them.
5: Minor but the pixels tend to go on the instrum. cluster......used to be an unwritten "fix"....if you called BMWNA they did a goodwill replacement depending on year and mileage though I doubt that still applies.
6: Front Thrust Arms: Most guys changed these out for the ones on the X5....they lasted longer and were just better....go figure.

Anyway....like I mentioned before the M5board is the finite knowledge base for all things M5...from the E28 to today....
Enjoy the Beast!
S

 

I know these cars very well, have been servicing them for years. VANOS units aren't necessarilly common, but they do fail at times. If the previous owner is doing 10-15k mile oil change intervals, than yes, they will fail.

Oil change with synth. every 5k and you won't see the problems other cars have. Brown/black goo does nothing for high pressure VANOS systems....

Most of the stuff outlined above is the normal stuff, along with camshaft sensors. But they fail on all BMWs.

Prices are cheap nowadays, but the good lower mileage '03 cars are still pulling $25k+. But again, depending upon mileage, anywhere in the 40k area (+/-) and you'll be doing a clutch.

I use mine as my daily driver (store it in the winter and run my E30 iX) and of course enjoy it very much. There are much faster cars out there for the money, but it's decently quick enough, and can't be beat as a daily.

 

I have an 03 with dinan mods and 54xxx miles
if anyone is interested, send me a pm
I have full service history on a spreadsheet that I can email with pics
clean carfax, title in hand, etc

 

6 years and 49k on our 03. still goin strong. i told my dad i dont care how many miles it had but in a million years when teh stubborn bastard finally decides he wants something else i want it. theres nothing like an e39 M5. its like driving a range rover, it just feels special.

 

I had pixels go out on the dash, both seats had electric motors go out on me. The worse feeling leather I've ever had in any car, it gets hard easy. The car handles well and I never had an issue with the paint, it was very hard paint.

 

Absolutely the best all around car for the money in the world.