Yahoo Autos My $10,500 V10 BMW M5 Is Simultaneously Glorious and Awful
It’s been just three months since I last wrote about my $10,500 V10 M5 I bought off Craigslist. I took it to Watkins Glen for a day of lapping, and returned from 800 miles of driving without so much as a delaminated hood roundel. A lot has happened since then, good and bad. So here’s the latest.
It Finally Happened
Let's address the above image first. Honestly, I’m surprised it took this long for me to have to call a flatbed on this car. It wasn’t anything serious-a failed alternator that died on the highway-but the sad part is, it was totally preventable. There was a warning light on the dash the day before that I simply ignored. If I had paid attention to the “charging malfunction!” fault message that the car was giving me, I would’ve parked and diagnosed it. But since this car throws miscellaneous error messages all the time, I decided to ignore it. Like an idiot. It finally bit me, and I was left stranded. A hefty repair bill later, and the car works as well as ever. As I suspected, the alternator was the cause for all the dash and gauge cluster-related malfunctions, as well as the idle issues (though it does still hunt around a bit at startup).
The Engine Seems... Fine?
Remember how every time I would get to the very top of third gear, my car would throw a check engine light for low fuel pressure? Well, I finally found the root of the problem. I narrowed it down to either the fuel pump or fuel filter. Since the pump is a lot more expensive and annoying to replace, I decided to purchase a new filter and replace it myself to see if it would fix issue. Unlike most fuel filters, which sit under the car or in the engine bay, the E60 M5’s fuel filter resides inside the tank opposite the fuel pump under the rear seats. It’s about the most complex-looking filter I’ve ever seen, with three hose connections and a cradle for the fuel level sensor module. It took a few hours to finagle the piece in and out of the fuel tank without snapping any of the delicate plastic pieces or the level sensor. But after I installed it-boom, no more low fuel pressure at high loads.
Also, ever since I started using Liqui Moly oil in place of the OEM Castrol stuff, the chain noise coming from the front of the motor seems to be a lot less pronounced. It’s still there though, so that’s something I have to keep in mind. It burns a bit less oil with the Liqui Moly, too, which is nice. I have a Blackstone oil test kit sitting in the trunk for the next time I do a flush, should be soon considering the car now has over 162,000 miles on it.
Livability Is Still an Issue
Though I’ve mostly gotten rid of the disgusting smell and stains inside, there’s still a couple of glaring issues that make this car pretty bothersome to use. The most annoying thing is the lack of air conditioning. It’s the middle of summer and hot as hell here in New York, so having to drive around in a black leather interior while being cooked by the sun is a real problem. I’m still not sure what’s actually broken-it could just need to be recharged. But I’m betting it’s something a lot more expensive.
The other thing is the rear-view mirror. I was at an autocross last weekend and it just delaminated from the windshield mid-run without warning, forcing me to hold it with one hand while I steered with the other. After my run was over I unplugged it from the wire it was hanging from and threw it in the trunk, where it sits today. I plan on getting some double-sided tape or other adhesive to see if I can fix it. For now, the side-view mirrors will have to do.
Everything Else
I got an alignment, which made the car drive worlds better than it did before. It no longer pulls hard to the right on acceleration, which is nice. And because I got my car serviced at a dealership, Sirius XM gave me two free months of satellite radio-a welcome addition considering I don’t have bluetooth audio or Apple CarPlay. Though, since I only drive the car about once a week, I probably won’t get as much use out of it as I could.
I finally got around to flushing the brake fluid (long after I should have), and boy was it disgusting. As you can see from the picture above, it was pitch black, like it hadn't been changed in years (or ever). The brakes feel a lot better now.
I’m finally at a point where I’m happy with how the car looks. All of the cosmetic mods have been removed in favor of OEM pieces (reflectors, wheels, kidney grilles, etc.). It’s totally stock, which is how I prefer it. I’d consider debadging the trunk, but I’m actually a fan of the faded M stripe colors. It shows character, or something.
The Future
I plan on getting the A/C fixed, one way or another. It's the difference between making the car bearable in warm weather compared to how it is right now. That's the biggest thing, for sure. I may also perform some preventative engine maintenance depending on what the Blackstone report says-hopefully nothing truly terrible makes itself known.
Otherwise, there really isn't anything major that needs attention. Suspension bushings could use a refresh, but they're not critically in need of replacement. I'd like to delete the mufflers and resonators (currently there's a janky muffler bypass on the car), just because I want it to sound as offensive as possible. But that's not terribly important right now, either.
I plan to continue driving and enjoying this M5 to the fullest. I know I sound a little repetitive at this point, but despite the mileage, it's a truly fun car to drive, and I still haven't gotten over that magnificent exhaust note. I have a feeling I won't ever get tired of hearing it. Stay tuned.
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