E34 M5

[Touring Whore]

Just been having a quick look at E34 M5's, they seem like a lot of car for not much money (this one for example). Are they the money pit I imagine them to be, or are running costs not that bad?

I'm not planning to get one anytime soon, I was just looking for an E34 daily and started to get distracted...

[harry_p]

A good one is an awesome car, but there are plenty of knackered old dogs put there now which whilst they look attractive, can very quick and easily turn into a money pit. Saying that I know people who have managed to find decent ones for not much money and often say they're the best cars they've ever owned!

[Falkster]

A friend of mine is very tempted but all the ones he's been to see were polished turds - very patchy history is the worry on most. It's as if it's got to a certain age (10 years old) then they stop looking after it. There was a H plate white one and it had done 180k but not had a stamp or reciept since 95k. He said he'd done all the servicing himself but no reciepts for oil, filters etc??

[320ise]

i think at the age they are at and history does get lost and with some sales the history is "invented!" to keep the cars value, its better to buy on condition and i would advise buying a non ///M e34 first and learn all the money pit issues on the standard models (as i have had a few now and they have all needed money spending on them!) things that are very bad or expensive on the e34 m5 are the normal e34 problems like:

they love to eat bushes when driven hard, the front has 11 arms that may well need doing and in my experiance its better to do a complete front bush arm renew to remove all sloppy problems.

the steering boxes when worn feel awfull and the m5 uses a different box setup to non m's and i know a std new steering box from bmw (non m) is around 1200 with your old box! and am pretty sure that euros will not get one for the m.

the edc shocks can be around 1k per corner if dead, better imo that they have been replaced with some billys or good coilovers etc.

engines are very strong but after 10 years of abuse may need looking into.

if i was looking to buy one now i would be after the main money pit issues to be in good health or not long been fixed etc, as all the other small e34 niggles are not very hard to sort out its just if you buy one and it needs new edc dampers, a front end re-bush, and a recon steering box you could pay 4k for the car and the very easy another 4-5k sorting the problems out!

the e34 is a great car ///M or other i love my 525i sport and know the car that well that rather than take the plunge for an ///M (thatmay have some of the above issues!) i'd rather convert mine into one as i know the car is in great condition and for me will work out cheaper in the long run as i am never going to sell the car anyway lol!

hope the above may help with your search!

[Touring Whore]

Thanks for the info chaps - I think it's better to know a fair bit about them before diving in at the M end.

320iSe - Lovely car BTW

[pacerpete]

A nice one is a great car, alas there are very few nice ones left and the cost of bringing a dog back from the dead is why they are disappearing of the roads at an alarming rate

I have had loads but due to the low values / aggro involved in selling them and the potential for huge bills when refurbishing , I doubt I will ever have another

[jonny323i]

there is a nice one for sale near me at a garage called streben have a look they might have a website