7 Reasons Why Owning an E39 BMW M5 Sucks
The E39 M5 is probably the best M5 ever. It has a naturally aspirated 4.9 liter V8 that produces 400 hp and combine that with 4 doors, a Getrag 6 speed manual, and a rear wheel drive shaft, you’ll have a perfect car for both daily driving and track days, and now you can get them for around $25,000 so it’s pretty damn affordable to most of us. However, as an owner of an E39 M5, I would like to tell you that it’s not a great car to actually own..
VANOS Problems..
The S62 is an awesome engine, full of power, full of torque, and it makes a beautiful note. However, because the E39 generation is about 12-16 years old, the engine tends to be quite fragile, especially the engine’s double-VANOS. The VANOS use oil pressure to change intake and exhaust cam timing. If it does break, the solution is to swap the entire unit which could cost you up to more than $4000. Although, it is cheaper to just replace the seals instead of swapping the entire unit. Well, why not just do that instead of replacing the entire unit? You’ll have to use an independent shop because it’s not a BMW-approved procedure, and with that being an unapproved procedure, the risks are high for a long term run. My E39 is still pretty smooth engine wise so, I haven’t got the VANOS issues and I hope I won’t.
Chassis Issues...
This is quite nasty, and especially on the suspensions. My M5 has some nasty wear and tear on the bushings. The M5’s drivetrain is very robust. One of these shocks can come with the rear differential seals, which can leak and it will cost $1500 to have them sorted. It’s also best to have the side seals replaced at the same time.
Suspension arms, bushes, links and ball joints will all need replacing at some point, depending on the type of use the car gets but 100,000 miles is the point where most need work. Rattles, steering shimmy and sloppy handling are all indications this work is needed immediately. Thrust arm bushes usually cure any steering wobble.
Fuel Consumption
The car has a 4.9 liter engine which means that…well…when it comes to filling it up, it will cost you a lot. I averaged 14 mpg on this thing and I am very frustrated with its fuel consumption. And to make things worse, this car runs on premium fuel. And another thing to make things even worse, this car is on the gas guzzler tax.
Underrated
This could be rather controversial but, in my experience, this car is pretty underrated. People just don’t understand what an E39 M5 is. “395 hp from a big V8? Hahaaha..lol OMG E39s are crap..”, “OMG that thing looks so boring, that’s not a sports sedan”, “Look at this a-hole in his M5”, “What kind of M BMW is that? Hahaha, so slow” “0-60 in 4.5 seconds? Lol, my Camry can do that too”. Those are the words that I get from other people who don’t know what an E39 is. Meanwhile the JDMs get tons of respect even though it’s worse than an M5 (not hating on JDM). Every time I hear someone making fun of the E39 M5, I’d just chuckle.
It’s Not Really a Good Every Day Driver..
You can’t really use this every day. The traction control is absolutely useless. I haven’t driven this thing through a winter conditions because every December to January I go back to Indonesia where snow doesn’t happen. However, I’ve driven this thing in the wet and it is completely unstable. Combine that with its faulty engine and its drinking habit, you’re in for a delightful treat!
It Will Attract Attention
Another thing that is pretty controversial. It could be underrated and completely ignored and insulted, it could be rated and get some attention, or it could be waaayyy overhyped and gets too many attention. I was at a car meet and everybody looks at it. Even an F430 got less attention than my M5 did at that car meet. Being ignored can be frustrating, but getting unwanted attentions can be frustrating too.
The Infotainment System
Really outdated, especially the GPS. The GPS doesn’t even show my address and some areas are un mapped which could be really frustrating. I use Waze every time and I wanted to change it with an Avin Avant 2 system. I still have the original car phone (that doesn’t work).
This content was originally posted by a Car Throttle user on our Community platform and was not commissioned or created by the CT editorial team.
Comments
I thought premium fuel was for turbo cars :/ or is it different In the US (assume you are in the US as you prices stuff in $)
You only use whatever fuel your handbook says you need.
If your handbook says you need a high octane fuel, then it means you are running a high compressions ratio.
Well I have to comments a thing about GPS. You know that E39 isn’t the newest car and thats why GPS can be outdated. I’ve had an E46 earlier this year and it had navigation system. But to be honest its completly useless just because its outdated.
No BMWS are underrated. More like overrated
BMW = Big Money Waste…..next
Läst Point is just bs.. E46 and E39 have some excellent aftermarket stereos available. I have a E46 with working backup camera, Bluetooth and other modern conveniences.
I love mine. The vanos can be expensive ish, but never needed mine done (now 184’000 miles), but I service regularly and use expensive race oil. Hits 180mph with ease I average 22mpg, 17 if I’m hammering it and 27 if I nurse it. Have had to change bushes on suspension, brakes and eats tires (expected at these miles). It regularly out runs or drags cars that are much faster than it on paper. I think it’s the fastest and most reliable car for the money. Mine takes a beating all the time and just comes back for more.
From the factory with no tuning, top speed here is 155 MPH….who are we kidding …..Next
I had an ‘03 e39 M5 from ‘05 until ‘15. It was the best car I’ve ever had. I had only hit 80k miles, so I hadn’t had any vanos problems. The nav system wasn’t great, but the ‘03’s was waaaay better than the earlier ones because it was dvd based rather than CD based. I had had an ‘02 530 and a ‘99 528 and their CD nav systems were slow as molasses.
The title of this article should be different, like: “top things to expect when owning a bmw e39 m5”, that sounds more positive… because every M car will require oodles of money thrown at it to keep it goin reliably, Some more than others but a bmw m car is a specialty in which you get what you pay for when you have that grin on your face making a turn at 80 mph.
My Grandmother’s Camry takes turns at 80 MPH….next
This old article? You could get a rebuilt Dual Vanos for $400 and bolt it right on. Sure, a BMW dealer will probably gouge you the $4K. That’s only because they will be sending you a factory replacement from Germany or wherever, instead of you finding a professionally rebuilt one. You could even just get the kit and rebuild it yourself for $100 parts and a spare weekend of your time. Here’s what I found and did - www.drvanos.com
That huge repair bill probably includes labour costs, which is very high at dealers
Did this guy seriously just list aging suspension bushings as a reason why not to own an E39 M5?
You’re a moron.
The main reason to not own this car is that driving it now makes you a POSER !!! This is Bavarian crap at its unreliable best….he neglected to mention fuel pump issues, sub frame cracks (even more prevalent on the M3 of this era), and a host of electrical gremlins…this is a car you lease when it’s new and dispose of when the lease is over…..
I daily drive my e39 m5 w/ 95k miles on it and the stock suspension bits all need a refresh badly. I’ll spend 4-5 grand sorting her out and will do it with a huge smile. this car is my best friend, it’ll do anything asked of it and always reply “really? that’s all you got?” I also would point out that 4000lb cars with multi link suspensions and huge contact patches handle amazingly in wet weather. I cruise 80mph in heavy rain effortlessly.
no need to preach to the choir, if you’re reading this, you’re a car guy/girl. the writer of this article sounds like he actually follows bmw maintenance guidelines(lifetime fluid)snicker, 15k oil changeshaha