1990 M5

[ringle]

HELP......
Can anyone give me some advice or info on purchasing a '90 M5 Euro spec.....
I've got one located and need to know what to look for before buying it!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

[Gayle]

Help us help you. Tell us where you are, where the car is, and what you know about it. How many miles, price, known problems, how you found it. If it is on Craigs list or something like that post the link. Tell us if you have ever owned a BMW before and what your mechanical skills are.


Here is an e34 buying guide but it does not address M5s

e34 buying guide

What will break

m5 have a lot more stuff to break and it is more expensive to repair. One new board member bought a fabulous m5 recently only to have it blow the head gasket the first week. No matter how great the car is, make sure you have reserve $ in case of the worst.

dcr's 90 m5

You will want to get a car fax on it. If you post the vin # someone here can probably run it for you.

You will want to get it inspected.

International Assoc of Independent BMW Service Professionals

[ringle]

What is Craig's list???

[ringle]

Thanxs for the info Gayle.

The car I'm looking at is a 1990 M5 in Toronto. (Any mechanics in Toronto who I could take the car to for an inspection???) It has approx. 155,000 Km on it and looks as if it just rolled off the showroom floor. I'm a little concerned about the costs of maintenance and repairs so if there are any E34 M5 owners out there that can fill me in on what to expect, please let me know before i get in over my head.

Thanks

[ringle]

As a side note.....Toronto seems to home to quite a few E34 M5's. As well I know of at least two of the very rare (total of 32 built) Canadian Spec M540's that are currently for sale if anyone is interested.

[Traian]

Are you looking at that $10K M5 in the Trader with the Azev wheels? Saw it too, pretty cheap money...

[Gayle]

I'm a little concerned about the costs of maintenance and repairs so if there are any E34 M5 owners out there that can fill me in on what to expect, please let me know before i get in over my head.

Thanks

Maybe there are more, but I can only think of 2 M5 owners on this board. The mechanics can probably tell you what to expect.

If the M5 doesn't work out, you might take a second consideration of the 540s. I seem to remember some pretty favorable comments about them in recent threads.

Good luck.

[Paul in NZ]

if you are concerned about maintenance and running costs i would suggest an M5 aint for you.....get the M540 There are specific M5 boards....

[Anthony (M5 in Calgary)]

From my experience running an M5 for the last 5 years, repair costs vary greatly depending on how good the car is to begin. All of the repairs I've made in this time are common to other E34s and with the exception of slightly more expensive parts the cost has been reasonable. The car has not proven finicky in any way and I use it as a daily driver. (edit: said used, meant use)

Get a cylinder leak-down and compression test before buying. Join the Yahoo E34 M5 group and search the archives there for more info.

For the record, the M5 is an absolute pig on gas. My OBC lies that I get 15L/100km but I only get ~400km/tank in town. Of course, whenever the tach passes 6500 and you're pinned in the seat, all memories of the consumption costs vanish.

[Springfield1952]

I use www.m5board.com for my M5 message board. There is qiute a bit of information there if you search around. The board is more Euro centered that North American.

In addition to Anthony's suggestions, the self leveling suspension is a problem. Take a look at the rear shocks, if they leak enough to blow fluid back onto the fender liner they are probably shot. A little leaking is ok according to BMW.

And yes, the gas mileage is terrible but ohh so much fun.

Curt.