Interesting Car & Driver Article on E39 M5

[HKSpeed]

I came across this article in Car & Driver last month. I just want to see what your thoughts are about this. It caught my attention because I love E39 M5s, and I'm looking for a late model E39 6 cylinder manual.

[Stupid Kid]

The repair costs are dumb.
Vanos seals costs like 120 bucks
You have to be trying pretty hard to spend 900 bucks on a pair of 18x9 tires
rotors and pads on these cars are the same size as the 540/530 on the front. Its less than 300 for all of the corners together.

Ect. Ect.

As someone who owns an e39 I doubt that the cost of ownership on an m5 would be very bad, unless you're a pussy and pay other people to work on your car. If that's the case go buy a solara or something

[Kielan]

The repair costs are dumb.
Vanos seals costs like 120 bucks
You have to be trying pretty hard to spend 900 bucks on a pair of 18x9 tires
rotors and pads on these cars are the same size as the 540/530 on the front. Its less than 300 for all of the corners together.

Ect. Ect.

As someone who owns an e39 I doubt that the cost of ownership on an m5 would be very bad, unless you're a pussy and pay other people to work on your car. If that's the case go buy a solara or something

Have you ever bought Pilot Super Sports ~400 a tire..

E39 M5s are definitely expensive beasts to own. I extensively researched them when I was looking for a new car before I got my S4. Rod bearings are very common maintenance items for them especially around the 80k mile mark and up. Nearly everything for them is double the price of the standard E39. Many of the things that leak are usually quite expensive to replace, especially when it comes to rear main seal, clutch, etc. After doing that in my driveway, I would never blame anyone for taking it to a shop to have them done if they don't have access to a lift. And even then, that shit is not easy to do regardless.

E39 M5s are amazing cars, and stay amazing if you keep up on maintenance, but if the PO didn't take care of the car, you will pay for it.

[Stupid Kid]

I get my tires for free from dumpsters or from tire shops on the east side, were the workers drink on the job and there are chickens running around. 90 bucks for two 19" inch pherelli/michelen/bridgestone tires, cheaper for Korean shit. Clutches and main seals and stuff are supposed to suck to replace. That's what makes it fun.

e39's in general are expensive cars but the only things that aren't compatible with the normal models on an m5 are the things that are double the price.

I'm was mostly saying that the prices on the chart are old guy/dealer prices. You can spend alot less and still maintian one of these.

For the record, I think the price (including maintenance) to performance ratio on an e39 m5 is pretty damn good, even for the prices they list in the infographic

[marrkede]

I think repair costs are dumb. It should be minimized and try to be less at any cost.It does matter a lot for everyone.
Thanks for updates and such a nice stuff.