Thank you all for the helpful advice. I will reply to each of you individually, but just to say I took all your advice on board. Moving to an M car is a big step, so if this is a first (and likely last) move to M car ownership, I want to ensure I have done all the due diligence and no doubt exists in my mind about its history or level of cover. I will now stick to cars within the BMW Approved Used network and as tempting and fantastic as the Bedford car is, it’s too much of a risk for me with the running in service being left to 2k miles (instead of 1200) and concerns regarding the quality of warranty cover (Autoguard). Thanks all for your honest and forthright suggestions.
Wise words written - but don’t be fooled into thinking through AUC you will find the perfect car with meticulous presentation. The AUC approved car has the benefit of being corrected should it go faulty! ps look at the wheels on the M5, some appalling touch up - 3 Michelin tyres and a ditch finder on the OS/R
You have made the right decision. A well maintained M with an AUC warranty will give you absolute peace of mind. Also be aware of the costs of extending the warranty if the car has over 60000 miles as it is quite savage. If I remember, my F10 M5 had an annual cost of circa £800 for the full coverage and breakdown recovery with a £250 excess for under 60000. Also make sure you get one with the full multifunction M seats as they are absolutely brilliant, huge improvement over the standard seats the F10 M5 came with, most should have had them spec’d. On the test drive set everything to max other than the steering - leave that in sport as in my experience it was way too heavy in sport+ but put the suspension and engine in sport+ as believe it or not it will feel a bit flat but with these settings it totally changes the car and it turns it in to a missile. I never drove mine without those settings on (had it set on the M1 button). And keep an eye on the speedo as it rises, really really quickly lol!!! Oh and make sure the gearbox is set to its fastest as that makes a difference. As I say, it is probably the most underrated M car as for some reason it was a little unloved and for really no good reason as it does everything so damn well. I guess it might be the lack of noise because of the turbos rather than the howl of it previous incarnations but that is all in the name of progress and mpg - I could eek 30mpg on a run but generally it was around 18mpg. Have fun in your search. There is nothing like getting your first M, it becomes a little addictive and it won’t be your last!!!
If you get an AUC car, then make sure the warranty is renewed as a monthly direct debit before 60,000 miles and then you avoid the price hike when it goes over 60,000 miles. I think I pay about £109 per month for my e61 M5 and over six years have probably had just over £10,000 on warranty claims paid out. I’ve done circa 6,000 miles in that period of time. I am thinking about the self-insure option at the moment and am also thinking about possibly changing the car as well as not really using it. Enjoy your search Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Should you be considering a cover the costs youself no mechanical warranty, should anything transpire know they would be so far from cheap wiht the M5, at 6 years and 2 weeks from bmw aftersales I was informaed that BMW are disinclined to offer goodwill on a car over 6 years old even with full bmw services ... }:-¦ Happy to be corrected on goodwill considerations.
Price has been reduced to £31,750 https://www.bedfordcarsales.co.uk/used-bmw-m5-bedford-bedfordshire-4582118
Sorry for the long delay I’m replying but had a hectic few weeks at work. I am glad I never went for this car in the end. I took the advice on going with a BMW AUC based on the warranty alone. This one has since sold.
Yep I realise M ownership is much more than the initial purchase which e play my hesitancy to jump in blindly. Doing the sums has now sobered me up somewhat. Spending an additional £500 per month in repayments and running costs vs my fully paid for 535d in excellent condition just because I want some drama and noise when driving it seems hard to justify in my mind . But there is the child in me that says you only live once;)
Thank you and I am determined within reason to try extend the warranty if I do land up in an M. I have up until now self insured and it has worked in my favour with the 535d as the only expensive repair being the rear suspension airbags and the pump. On an M the big ticket items are so much bigger and I worry about the eye watering bill for an engine replacement (although unlikely). Sad to see you considering selling your Touring, enjoyed reading your updates and an amazing piece of M history.
Well here is my very late reply although I guess better late than never. I blame work, having dealt with a couple of crisis issues distracted my search significantly. I took interest in a white M5 being sold by Vines of Gatwick and negotiated a good price with the dealer. But perhaps a combo of my work stuff coupled with me digesting the uplift in my monthly costs to run it sobered me up and so decided not to proceed. I do have your voice ringing loudly in my ears to “just do it, you live only once” and I know M ownership will always be expensive. There absolutely is the child in me which would love the experience but I also have this overbearing guilt of spending an additional £500 per month of our household cash just because Dad wants some M noise and drama on his short drive to work . I’m a lost case! How is your M?
You make sense in what you say, sometimes if you have to justify an action or purchase that is telling you not to. When I was looking to upgrade the 440i I did look at new deals for the G82, and they looked attractive in terms of the monthly figures etc. However, even my internal dialogue was wrestling with the upkeep and fuel etc. This helped me decide that the G22 was a semi-sensible compromise. I’ve no doubt the G82 will be epic, but I’m genuinely happy with the M440i, who needs more power and grip that that on the public roads…?? So I’m happy with what I’ve got. For now.
it is brilliant thank you. Loved my F10 M5 but this is another level. It feels as balanced and driveable as my previous E46 M3s and as quick as my F10. Unlike the M5 that is a lazy drive because almost full torque is available from 1500rpm, you have to drive the G80 harder to access the power as it starts coming in at 2000rpm but starts to properly haul from 2500rpm and goes batty from 3000. Grip is prodigious and it feels so nice to drive. Even pops a little on the over run lol Best car I have had. However, the rear 825M wheels are bloomin expensive, like four figure expensive, don’t ask me how I know but I will be getting one in the new year
You should go and drive some. Seriously. Best and worst mistake I ever made. I can remember the day I collected my e39 M5 from the BMW dealer and was just amazed at what I had got my hands on. I remember stopping at a petrol station on the way home and sending Paul (mystic sport) a stupid text message about M power… I can remember every time mine broke, Paul’s e60 M5 would be in the same dealer at the same time, also broken. Ring trips came and went in it and then I decided to sell it after buying a house and not being able to justify keeping it and had fallen out of love with it after a few problems that were disheartening. A few years later I had an itch and ended up in Germany on a Wednesday with another great mate looking at an e34 M5 Touring which didn’t go to plan. Then, the e61 M5 arrived and just over 6 years later it’s still with me. I toy with selling it quite a bit at the moment because I don’t use it enough. Every time I drive it I park it up again and tell myself how I can’t sell it. I’m 40 next year so maybe I’ll grow up a bit and do something sensible…!?! Weirdly, BMW’s are the only cars that I have had extended warranty on. Cheers Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wow that was some time ago eh!!! I actually remember exactly where I was when I got the text and rang you about the E39. And yes, our M5s were regularly busted buddies in the BMW workshop lol. God I miss my E60, that was drama every day damn those repair bills (thank god for warranty) we’re savage. I still very much subscript you only live once and scratch the itch. Had too many mates go unexpectedly or through very tragic circumstances so I don’t let mundane everyday stuff prevent me having the Ms I want lol. Hope you come to a decision, as Alex says drive one - but, only if you are prepared to buy as it will make you really want one. All the little differences that go in to an M make a very different package that can be felt immediately you start driving. Even the way it steers at 30mph feels different, let alone at 130mph. Go get yourself an Xmas pressie
Are you getting commission on these M's? seriously though, everytime i read these threads i think about it, then find myself on the BMW site checking out the AUC's and new car deals
They are doing a good job of pulling us in……I’d told myself I will be having a hybrid/electric car after the G22, but now I’m thinking I must have an M while I can……
The main reason I got my G80 other than a belting trade in and good discount was the fact it will be the last full ICE car before hybrids and battery nonsense starts invading Ms . It is hard to explain the differences but you feel it instantly. All the tweaks, changes, gearbox and engine maps etc make for a big difference. Yes you pay a little more but to me it is worth it. The M tax comes at a price but even if just once it is worth the experience. This sounds daft but the one thing I love about my G80 is the view from the door mirrors as the rear arches are so big and it just fills the mirror nicely. No matter what people say about it’s front end (I love it personally now) the rear end is just spot on.
I see both sides of this. Although not an M car, as a former Porsche owner, I think I can safely confirm similar observations in terms of just how different they are to drive than your more "regular" performance vehicles. There's a DNA which is totally different and takes performance to the next level, at the same time as the overall "feel good" factor - whether it's tied up in the brand (for some that's hugely important) or the overall audible, more visceral sensory experience that such a car has to offer. Only you can be the judge of whether you have the financial capacity to sustain or support the ownership. We all have differing levels of risk appetite and/or willingness to commit large sums of money to something which is considered by many to be extraneous or luxury spend. Some people spend thousands on multiple watches which all tell the time as well as the cheaper one I own. On the other hand, many will ridicule or question why you need a M car (or similar) when you can drive an Astra which will do the same job of taking you from A to B. I personally found running the Macan very comfortable and a lot less expensive than I had feared. I was paying a similar monthly PCP sum to what I had been paying on some of my BMWs (RV's on Porsche are generally better, therefore supporting lower monthlies), the extended warranty was there in place at the outset for 24months and even extending that further was "only" £1.8k for 2years (with no excess ). The only "big" cost was fuel. At 22mpg, it was comfortably thirstier than the 42mpg F11 530d I'd been knocking around in previously. But I remember it being less the cost of fuel that was the bugbear, but the relative frequency of the petrol station visits which irked after a while. That said, fuel was also only 120p per litre when I was running it, so things would be different now. Servicing was less than anticipated/feared - £1.5k sorting a 2yr service, which I didn't think was too bad. The Cayenne was in another league regarding fuel consumption - 18mpg, on a good day. That was costly. Do a regret buying either of them? The Macan - not for a second. In fact, I regret selling it more than I regret buying it. It was, in my view anyway, relatively cost effective performance motoring and my only regret was not having done it sooner. I was scared of the stories of Porsche servicing and running costs. I needn't have worried IMO. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. In my view, providing you are mitigating the risks which really concern you (i.e. the cost of breakdowns/repairs with a cast iron [AUC] warranty), have a pot set aside for conservative estimates of maintenance costs (I would have £1-2k sitting in a bank account somewhere, which should more than cover most things over a couple of years) and you can live with the increased fuel costs..............all the while whilst not having a material impact on family finances (i.e. mortgage, bills, housekeeping and most importantly, holidays) and you're not ignoring putting money aside for savings. Providing you've got all that covered, why not? You can't take it with you. In the worst case scenario, you don't get on with it or you can't stomach the bills over the longer term - trade it on. You may lose a bit, you may lose a lot. But there won't be any regrets and providing you've gone into it financially astute (see above), the loss on a trade on should be bearable and you just have to put it down to experience. Good luck with whatever you decide.
As others have said I would suggest driving some to see what you think. I have driven and been a passenger in several M cars over the years. When I replaced my 2013 640d GC I almost went for a 2016 M6 GC but in all honesty in that case it did not feel that much quicker than the 40d and on anything other than bone dry roads it felt very tail happy and was difficult to get the power down more so even than my old 964 Porsche 911's that I owned many years ago. Certainly there is drama compared to a diesel but you might be surprised by how good your 535d really is. In then end I went for another 2018 640d GC to replace my 2013 640d If I was to go for a new M I would probably seek out a newer X drive version which I know is sacrilege to many M car owners - but then I have just turned 50 so probably just getting too old
