jliu

Hey Folks,

I've been a long time lurker, this is my second thread and I've posted here from time to time.

Anyways I'm about to pull the trigger on a Silver Stone 2006 E60 M5 with 30,000 miles possibly tomorrow or sometime this week. It's from a reputable dealer, not BMW though. We've agreed on a price of $36,000 - $36,500 out the door price. Car has the HUD, Active Seats, and all those goodies. This car was previously owned by a Doctor before he traded the car in and the car seems to be in immaculate condition.

What concerns me is that the car has been sitting in the Dealers storage for the pass year and a half to two years. I guess the owner of the dealer wanted to keep it but decided not to however they did rack up about 1,000 miles on it. They've inspected the car, and serviced it themselves and everything checks out according to the CarFax. Of course I will be doing a PPI/ Safety Inspection on it possibly from a local dealer, as I was able to get a really outrageous good price on an aftermarket warranty (Fidelity Platinum 5 year/60,000 = $3,275). My buddy who is a Master Tech was able to pull up the history of claims and the SMG has been replaced back in 2009 under warranty, other then that it's only regular service records.

What do you guys think, is this a good buy or should I look for an 08+? The LCI isn't a biggie for me since I can always retrofit the Headlights, and Taillights and upgrade the iDrive Software to the latest one. I would love to hear what all of you have to say before I make the purchase.

Thanks!!!

chhay24

2008 M5 or older tend to have SMG problems base on make member here

since the AMG has been replaced, i would say the car is selling for a pretty good price

Extend warranty is a must!

Congrats on the purchase

HeavyTireSmoke

I wouldn't say that 2008 and older are the only cars to have problems. There is problems with all years, its just that there are more 2008 and priors years around hence you will hear more problems of those years. I am sure BMW fixed some problems like greasing the clutch release bearing but its a SMG so its more of how you drive the car and how the person who you are buying from drove the car. Finding a used car where the person knows how to drive in manual mode rather than someone who always drives in D would be a better choice. Also driving the car hard (S4-S6) is better for the clutch minus launch controls as the clutch engages faster and less wear so that leads me to say that the SMG pump must be seen if its been replaced or faulty. I would for surely check the car fax and history from BMW to see what has been prior problems. Take it for a nice test drive and see how the clutch engages and how the car goes into gears. If you do buy the car and plan to drive in D-mode, get the Euro SMG tune and you will love the car even more.

Main thing--> WARRANTY...Period.