Hey everyone, first timer here, how's everyone doing? I have been driving a 2012 535i M-Sport for a few years and have recently had an urge to finally get a E60 M5, which I've had on my bucket list for some time. I read a lot about the SMG Pumps and Vanos issues, also bearings... Can anyone shed some light, or helpful guidance or experience when looking to buy a preowned E60 with 85k-100k miles... The one I am looking at isn't SMG but Manual transmission... or should I stick to SMG? What should I look for specifically when asking for the service history before buying an E60? OR should I just not buy? Thanks in advance everyone!
I'm not an expert and haven't owned one, but, the repair or replacement costs seem to be so steep for the SMG trans on M3's that had them, I'd have to guess most would wish a plague of locusts on their closest loved ones before opting for the kinda-cool-but-hopelessly-expensive-to-fix-when-it-breaks SMG. Google a few things and see what comes up, such as "E60 BMW M5 buyers guide" or "BMW E60 M5 problems" or substitute 'weaknesses' for 'problems' and/or "BMW E60 M5 what to look for", and anything else you might think of. German plastics since the 90's don't seem to be proving themselves to be particularly long-lived - not sure to what degree E60's may be plagued with the same radiator/expansion tank leaking/failure so common on earlier bimmers. If it has a sunroof that works, there are many stories of broken sunroof trays & inop sunroofs, facing something like $800 just for the replacement part. Of course, the internet side of things is somewhat biased, you tend to hear about the negatives, there's some logic to a notion that for every failure you hear about there's another 1000 out there working fine. Still, some of the plastic-failure sunroof stories can yield the impression the sunroof is it's own game of Russian roulette with every button push to open once over yeah-so-many-years old. I wouldn't get scared just off of what you find via internet, main thing is to be an informed buyer so you know what you may be in for. Every so often there comes around the situation where someone with high expectations but little in-depth familiarity gets a car, has a problem happen, and then throws the whole idea of any and all BMW's under the bus because of one issue or model-specific problem. M-cars are generally more expensive maintenance-wise, and, parts can be more expensive, particularly parts unique to the model. Once you get into upper mileages, things just wearing out and needing replacement should be no surprise - unless you happen to luck into some car that someone's done fanatic-level no-expense-spared maintenance, then be prepared to put money into it above purchase price.
The E60 M5 is a amazing vehicle but is also one of the most expensive powertrains BMW has put into a vehicle especially if a SMG. First I would avoid any SMG's because the pumps all fail especially at the mileage your looking at. The pumps are about 3,000 just for the pump, you could also need the shift valves and clutch with labor normally runs around 10k. The bearing issue doesn't happen to often unless you don't do often enough oil changes with proper oil or upgrading the power quite a bit. The catalytic converters do have a high chance of failure because that engine runs them so hot all the time. The S85 engine is basically a race engine with emissions on it. The high pressure vanos pump on the early cars was a issue but since your looking at 08 and up shouldn't be a issue. The M cars are expensive to maintain and repair. If you are interested in getting one make sure you get this inspected by some one who know's BMW's
