BMW

Date Acquired:

21 Apr 2007

Year:

2001

Cost:

£13,500

Fuel consumption:

21mpg

Odometer:

101,000 miles

Servicing:

see text

Annual Insurance:

£440

Other costs:

Fuel

Although driving a new Jaguar XF 3.0 S and it did feel modern, taut and as quick in gear as the M5. Well it does have 440lb of torque, so it should!!

Since my last entry, I've done the following:

- Had the front discs and pads changed

- Serviced the old girl myself - Oil found at £8 per litre not the £18 BMW wanted

- Replaced the air filters

It needs two new rear tyres but I'm looking out for part worns at the moment as on Surrey's roads it seems silly to risk new tyres with pot holes the size of Christmas...

Power still seems pretty much there but it could do with new MAFs.

So 27k miles of ownership and still it's an amazing machine. The wife still has her E46 M3, but ultimately I choose to use the E39 M5 most of the time. Apart from the ten days when snow descended upon my drive making both Ms unusable. We were rescued by a 78 year old neighbour in his Honda Jazz when we required a nappy top up.

The car is great (the M5 not the Jazz), but I am thinking of changing - a 730d at the moment seems to be a good one to move to.....big cruiser and good mpg.

Problems with the M5 - only one really: the stereo pixels have gone a bit odd, although a reverse bulb is intermittent, but that's it.

During this cold spell the Powerflex bushes haven't felt their best, I suppose the best way to describe it is like an ice cold garden hose - it doesn't flex! So the suspension feels lifeless and out of sorts.

Personally I've had a few job issues in the last six months and having an M5 as a car plays on your mind, but those misgivings only surface whenever you are not driving it.

When you're driving it, nothing stops the M enjoyment.

BOOKMARK THIS