New Study Lists BMW M5 Among Most Reliable Sports Cars
If you have been putting off buying that pre-owned M5 for fear of costly repairs this may help ease your mind.
Depreciation can be a wonderful thing. Especially if you are not the one taking the hit. The BMW M5 has long been a remarkable performance sedan. However, they are not exactly a bargain to buy brand new, and some classics are getting expensive as well. Getting one that is maybe a couple of years old, or even older, could be just the ticket. All the M5 goodness at a serious discount.
While following this method certainly saves you cash upfront with a lower purchase price, are you signing up for future financial headaches in the form of repairs? As reported by the good folks at Road & Track, a new study by automotive analytics firm iSeeCars indicates that you are actually making a safe bet picking up an M5.
The M5 has been available in the U.S. for over thirty years, so there are plenty of examples to pull from. We know that some of these cars can last a long time and still perform but are these reliable cars the norm or the exception? iSeeCars analyzed over 15.8 million cars sold in 2019 to determine which models have the highest percentage of cars that reached 200,000 miles. Because sports cars tend to be driven less than regular cars, they used a lower 150,000-mile threshold for that segment. The study was based on what percentage of used models sold in 2019 transacted with more than 150,000 miles on the odometer.
The M5 ranked number 5 on the list with 2.0% of M5’s sold in 2019 having crossed the 150K mile mark. The average for the segment was 1.5%. The top-ranked car, the Audi TT, came in at 4.1%.
There are a few nits to pick regarding this study. First, BMW themselves market the M5 as “an unstoppable, unequaled performance sedan.” We agree, and a sports car and performance sedan are two different things. Second, this study does not account for what it actually cost to keep the car on the road for that many miles. That is an important metric when you are shopping used cars. If the car lasted 150K miles but the engine had to be replaced three times along the way, you would hardly refer to it as a paragon of reliability.
That being said, the cars that ranked ahead of the M5 are the aforementioned Audi, Dodge Charger, Ford Mustang, and the Miata. All of them are far cheaper to maintain than an M5. So the fact that so many M5’s are on the road with this level of mileage, when we know the cost would be high to fix anything, could indicate that the number of repairs required are quite low.
Like many studies and statistics, you can interpret the results in many ways. If you don’t think the M5 is reliable then this is unlikely to change your mind. For us, however, it is just the excuse we needed to seek out a nice E60 M5 and enjoy its lovely V10 for years to come.
Photos: Road & Track