# Used E39 M5



## KevinM (May 2, 2003)

I'm considering trading up my 530 for a 2001-2003 E39 M5. I'm looking for a Sterling Grey M5. So far, there have been no grey M5s available locally so I'm looking in other states.

Any advice on how to have a detailed inspection done on a vehicle in a state that I'm not familiar with and is too far away to travel to easily (assuming the car is not being pruchased from a BMW dealer as a CPO car)? I know I can have a VIN number run and a CARFAX report, but I suspect these do not negate the need for a good mechanical inspection, especially of the clutch. Ideally I would like to be able to have a car inspected prior to my traveling out to check the car out/purchase the car. Do BMW dealerships offer inspections or would I need to find an independent BMW shop? How much do inspections usually cost? I have never purchased a used car before and am somewhat nervous about it (but not too much!).

Also, I'm curious as to the gas milage E39 M5 owners are experiencing. Its not a make or break issue but as gas prices continue to climb I'm curious about real-world experiences.

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Kevin


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## rost12 (Dec 22, 2001)

I can't say anything about inspections, sorry, but as for mileage I'm getting around 22-22mpg on the highway with relaxed cruising and 13-15mpg in mixed cycle of pretty hard driving.


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## CSBM5 (Mar 10, 2004)

Once you locate a car, I would post a request in the www.m5board.com E39 M5 messageboard. There are plenty of people willing to help out. Back in January I was interested in a car in Denver, and a board member there who lived in Denver went and drove the car, took detailed pictures of it, etc., for me. With the VIN, your local BMW dealer SA can provide you with the entire warranty service history including scheduled maintenance visits. In my case, my car had one warranty claim in its 12k miles -- one of the cupholders, so I definitely felt better about the car from that printout.

Note that there is a dealer code with each listed warranty/maintenance visit. You could then call each dealer and ask for a repair record history for that VIN. This will potentially unearth a car that was damaged in some way and work was performed on it outside of warranty coverage. It can potentially help find a car that has been wrecked and repaired also since a "clean Carfax" is not of any great significance in many cases.

Most all BMW dealers will do a prepurchase inspection for you for around $150-$200. Some do a much better job than others. If you are really serious about a particular car, you may want to consider having it aligned (with the owner's permission) while it is at the dealer as this act can also unearth stuff that is tweaked but the eye can't see.

Good luck...you won't be sorry with an M5  .


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## e46supra (Jan 13, 2003)

I paid $170 for my PPI.

I get 12-14 MPG on hard driving, 20ish MPG on the freeway and average about 18-19 overall.


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## KevinM (May 2, 2003)

Thanks for the replies/thoughts.

Kevin


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