Summary:
2001 M5
Carbon Black / Caramel
Extended leather and leather dash
145,xxx miles
4 Previous Owners
All maintenance records from my ownership and PO
$12,900
All work performed and warrantied by Circle BMW with factory parts except where otherwise noted
Everything works except the sunroof which is shut and does not leak
Includes 4 extra M5 wheels (not pretty) mounted with good snow tires
Located in Bedminster, NJ
euroe28m5 at gmail dot com
Background:
It pains me to sell it, but with 8 cars (LOL!) and decreasing time and space, I need to consolidate.
I bought this car from a good friend in the summer of 2015 who is a service advisor at Circle BMW (Hi Tim) and the owner before him was a tech at Circle BMW. Mechanically, this car was extremely well maintained and this is reflected by the current running and driving condition. When I got it, the front seats were dry and faded (typical of the caramel interiors) and I had them redone by John at Ace Autotops in Red Bank, NJ. He was able to match the color exactly and redo the factory stitching pattern. I also had him put in new foam seat pads. They came out fantastic and both seat heaters work! The rear seat would benefit from either a cleaning and redye or a complete redo. You’ll see the pictures. Unlike so many of these dashes, there is no warpage, cracking or lifting of the leather. I also put in the euro center arm rest and storage console which replaced the useless US unit.
No dead pixels in the information display, I believe it was replaced recently but don’t have a record to confirm it.
Tons of recent work from the time Tim bought the car in 2014 through present has been done. Of the 4 E39 M5s I’ve driven, I would have to say this is the best one. The suspension is tight and free of noises, benefitting from a recent overhaul. It also has the best sounding exhaust of all the E39 M5’s I’ve sampled, and that includes ones with pricey Dinan and Supersprint systems. This one just has the muffler delete keeping the stock tips and it sounds perfect - no buzz, no drone, perfectly quiet at idle, and absolutely evil at full bore.
The other major upgrade this car has, along with a fully reinforced rear subframe, is a Dinan 3.45 diff. Let me tell you, this really wakes the E39 M5 up and these don’t really need waking up! 80MPH in 6th gear translates to 3K RPM. Acceleration is nothing short of breath taking, any gear any speed.
I recently replaced the front brake rotors and pads with BMW parts and bought new Continental Extreme Contact tires in March of this year. This car needs nothing to drive and enjoy. There is no VANOS noise, no timing chain noise, etc.
The check engine light is presently on and Circle BMW pulled the code and verified it is for the secondary air pump that runs on a dead, cold start. It does not impact drive ability and I have software that bypasses the pump and turns off the light. I did not feel it was worth addressing.
Cosmetically, this M5 is driver quality. It presents well, but there are various scratches, a small (almost unnoticeable) dent in the hood, some paint burn on the passenger side roof, clear coat lift on the trunk and a crack in the rear bumper. Please look at the pictures (link to full Flickr album below). I didn’t want there to be any surprises and tried my best to capture every detail including cosmetic blemishes. The underside is clean and free of rust as is the whole car except a small spot inside the fuel filler door (where every E39 rusts).
You could drive this everyday without worry and have a blast. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last 15K miles. Or you could take it to the next level. As it sits, I’ve priced it accordingly given the maintenance and upgrades that have already been performed.
Maintenance:
Suspension overhaul
Power steering hoses and fluid flush
New driveshaft, center bearing, flex disc
4 new O2 sensors (yes that’s right, all 4 of them)
Air filter
Microfilters
Front rotors and pads
Flushed diff fluid again
Brake fluid flush
AC recharged
Coils and plugs
Replaced:
Lower splash shields left and right and lower engine splash cover
Transmission pan brackets
New BMW windshield with surrounding trim
Oil level sender
New OE rear spoiler
Washer pump
Wiper relay
Sunroof seal
Glovebox latch
E Brake handle (PO had aftermarket part installed)
Foglight bulbs
Upgrades:
Reinforced rear subframe - worked performed by AMS Motorwerks
Dinan 3.45 rear diff - installed by AMS Motorwerks (filled with Castrol XJ)
Rear muffler delete with stock tips
Vented front brake ducts (US M5s don’t have these!)
M5 individual anthracite technical graphite interior trim
Euro center console with storage
Pictures:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/124140497@N02/654Rg9
Notes:
I have the caramel floor mats that I bought new this year for the front. I decided to preserve them and use the old black ones that you see in the pictures. But the caramel ones will comes with the car. As will 2 keys fobs and the leather bound owner’s manual.
