[Falcon690]

I am looking to get my first m5. I have had a bmw 550i xdrive for 6 years and Im trading it in.

Couple questions:

1. Does this engine burn oil?

I drove it for the first time, it will take time to getting use to how stiff the suspension is and how jerky the ride can be.

2. I was wondering if m5 with all the adjustments it has for comfort modes, can this drive similarily to the way my 550i xdrive drove?

3. I probably kept a budget of $3000 for repairs/Maintenace a year for my 550i, and never once went over $1500 for the year. Is this a reasonable budget for the m5 yearly?

I already see off the bat the dealer that has it, the rotors are not drilled so I am assuming this is not correct and this would be a negotiating point for me for the price? is m5 brakes/rotors cost expensive - anyone know what the cost for the m5 is?

5. Now Brakes, rotors, spark plugs, filters, fuses, and some other miscellaneous stuff I can do on my 550i. Is it reasonable to assume I should have no problem in doing these items on the m5?

Thanks in advance - the one im looking at is Donnington Grey

[jnotrom711]

Originally Posted by Falcon690

I am looking to get my first m5. I have had a bmw 550i xdrive for 6 years and Im trading it in.

Couple questions:

1. Does this engine burn oil?

I drove it for the first time, it will take time to getting use to how stiff the suspension is and how jerky the ride can be.

2. I was wondering if m5 with all the adjustments it has for comfort modes, can this drive similarily to the way my 550i xdrive drove?

3. I probably kept a budget of $3000 for repairs/Maintenace a year for my 550i, and never once went over $1500 for the year. Is this a reasonable budget for the m5 yearly?

I already see off the bat the dealer that has it, the rotors are not drilled so I am assuming this is not correct and this would be a negotiating point for me for the price? is m5 brakes/rotors cost expensive - anyone know what the cost for the m5 is?

5. Now Brakes, rotors, spark plugs, filters, fuses, and some other miscellaneous stuff I can do on my 550i. Is it reasonable to assume I should have no problem in doing these items on the m5?

Thanks in advance - the one im looking at is Donnington Grey

-I dont believe there is much youll find about the f90 burning oil. My f10 had a tiny bit of an oil consumption problem but not to the point I would call it an issue. I mean like 1/2 quart btwn oil changes. If that. My f90, haven't had that happen at all.

-it will be stiffer than the 550i, even in comfort mode. It's been a while, but for comparison sake, I would say the m5 comfort mode is probably as stiff as a stiff setting in an 550i (if they have the setting? I cant remember it's been too long). A 2018 wont be a comp, so I believe the comp is even a little stiffer? I don't think i've driven a non comp f90, so cant remember. Personally (and I don't think i'm alone I this) like the stiffness of the suspension and chassis. I understand why some don't. It can be a little stiff if you live in a very urban area, with rough roads, but personally on a sports car I like to feel the road, and feel what the car is doing. It doesn't bother me, but would probably annoy my wife long term.

-Unless you really pound on the car (which it can handle somewhat), do a lot of modifications, or buy one that has not been maintained very well, I would say the maintenance shouldn't be too much worse than the 550i. In many ways the M5 is overbuilt to withstand some pounding with in reason. Brakes and tires will be more expensive, and not last as long, but the rest of the car shouldn't be too much different.

-The rotors are not cross drilled?? Thats very odd. Are they slotted? Aftermarket rotors? Ive never seen an M5 with non cross drilled rotors unless they were an aftermarket slotted type, which would raise another question in my eyes if the previous owner did a lot of track days, and preferred aftermarket rotors as a performance upgrade ? or Cheaper option? Yes rotors and pads will be more expensive. And they wont last as long. Rotors are reasonable though compared to some other cars. And there is aftermarket replacements that work well. Also check to see if the car was originally specced with carbon ceramic brakes. Easiest way to tell would be gold colored calipers, but thats not a guarantee as they could be painted. But majority of carbon ceramic specced cars will have gold calipers, in 2018 the others would be a blue caliper majority of the time. So check that out as CCBs were about a 8-10,000.00 up charge and could be VIN specific, so it could be priced as a car with CCB, but not have them. And if thats the case I would maybe stay away from that car in that case, as it would indicate either pervious owner, or dealer cutting corners on maintenance, or the car has been molested to a certain degree. Just would raise some concerns. I would spend some time figuring this out before signing. I just had my steel brakes (all 4 corners) done with new OEM pads and rotors at the dealer (covered free under my maintenance plan) but dealer said "you just got 6,000.00 worth of free brakes".... LOL ( I just love when a dealer says stupid, arrogant stuff like this, like I should be thankful and give him a top because they did me a favor by upholding the contractual agreement we had to replace brakes under my maintenance plan, that was paid for for that very thing. LOL, I digress... ) , What I wanted to tell him was "I would never in a million years pay a dealer or anyone else $6,000.00 for a steel brake job I could do myself in about 2 hours and 1/4 of the price, only reason i'm here is because its free bud!!! but thanks for doing me a "favor" "... I would imagine you could find online, OEM rotors and pads for a lot less than that. Probably 3-500.00 per rotor max, and pads probably 2-400.00? Not sure. Could also go with aftermarket pads and rotors as well since many of us loathe the dust, and squealing from the steel OEM brakes.

-I would imagine if you did them on your 550i, you could do them on the m5 also. Shouldn't be too much different as far as brakes and filters etc. Spark plugs could be a little more difficult. I dont know though, the dealer did mine free as well. But honestly I dont know how hard or easy it is. The motors have a lot of similarities, and share a lot the specs. Im just un-sure if there is more "stuff" in the way on the M5 that would need to be moved to get to the plugs. I know there is some DIYs here on plugs somewhere. (I think)

All in all, moving from 550i to m5, shouldn't be too big of a change in terms of maintenance and reliability. Handling, speed, and driving experiences will be massively different.

Cheers.

[Falcon690]

I really just enjoying hearing the exhaust note the car has while cruising it around at 2-3k revs. if I decide to take it further, I have a pre inspection appointment clause with the dealer to take it to the BMW dealership before I sign anything. Car tells sort of a different story. One thing I noticed is it has a BMW car cover in the trunk, and all the doors have the rubber trim near the point where the car closes. But yes, definitely the rotors were not slotted or cross drilled. It has blue calipers. It has an extensive service history - like maybe 8 times a year it went to a dealership for regular service. Nothing needing repair as far as mechanical or electrical in carfax. It has 36,000 miles for a 2018.

[jnotrom711]

Originally Posted by Falcon690

I really just enjoying hearing the exhaust note the car has while cruising it around at 2-3k revs. if I decide to take it further, I have a pre inspection appointment clause with the dealer to take it to the BMW dealership before I sign anything. Car tells sort of a different story. One thing I noticed is it has a BMW car cover in the trunk, and all the doors have the rubber trim near the point where the car closes. But yes, definitely the rotors were not slotted or cross drilled. It has blue calipers. It has an extensive service history - like maybe 8 times a year it went to a dealership for regular service. Nothing needing repair as far as mechanical or electrical in carfax. It has 36,000 miles for a 2018.

post a link to the ad or dealership where the car is. Have to say the brake thing raises eyebrows especially at 36k miles. OEM rotors unless damaged or really beaten on should last longer than 36k.

Some of this I’m not following you on, don’t get what you’re saying.

The m5 vs 550i will always sound different. Even though they’re both 4.4L TT v8 the m5 uses a cross bank exhaust/turbo manifold. So you’ll never get the deep low muscle car tone from an m5. It’s higher pitched and a different tone, more exotic in my opinion. So if you’re hoping to achieve that from an m5 you won’t be able to and it would cost some performance even if you tried.

I’d not be surprised since it’s not a bmw dealer if they just tossed some aftermarket or random rotors they could find on it which would be a big issue in my opinion. If that’s the case run as fast as possible from that car.

[Greer]

[QUOTE=Falcon690;30463033] It will take time getting use to how jerky the ride can be.

/QUOTE]

Are you getting a pre-purchase inspection on this car? Caveat Emptor, my friend.

[pbonsalb]

Originally Posted by Falcon690

I am looking to get my first m5. I have had a bmw 550i xdrive for 6 years and Im trading it in.

Couple questions:

I drove it for the first time, it will take time to getting use to how stiff the suspension is and how jerky the ride can be.

2. I was wondering if m5 with all the adjustments it has for comfort modes, can this drive similarily to the way my 550i xdrive drove?

If you really like the comfort of the 550xi, you may not be happy with the more performance oriented M5. The ride will be stiffer. You could find one with 19” wheels or buy 19” wheels if the M5 you want has 20.” You may also want to avoid the slightly stiffer competition model. And in 2020, at least on competition models the shock valving was changed and the ride improved — you could research whether this also applied to the non-competition model.

[Falcon690]

So when I test drove m5, I put steering and suspension in comfort and I expected it to be 30% better? Is that reasonable to assume? But still it felt like it did not change.

But in any case, it was in a minor accident according to car fax. On top of that the photos online show drilled rotors, but when I saw it in person I am pretty sure I did not see the drills there. I am more than likely going to pass on it, as there are a few more in my area. If I do decide on it - it will 100% go for a PPI to BMW.

Here is the listing link if anyone is curious -

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ATURED/DEFAULT

[pbonsalb]

I am unaware of any aftermarket blank rotors. It probably has drilled. I had an E90 M3 for 10 years and eventually Rockauto started selling cheap blank rotors for that car.

[jnotrom711]

Originally Posted by Falcon690

So when I test drove m5, I put steering and suspension in comfort and I expected it to be 30% better? Is that reasonable to assume? But still it felt like it did not change.

But in any case, it was in a minor accident according to car fax. On top of that the photos online show drilled rotors, but when I saw it in person I am pretty sure I did not see the drills there. I am more than likely going to pass on it, as there are a few more in my area. If I do decide on it - it will 100% go for a PPI to BMW.

Here is the listing link if anyone is curious -

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ATURED/DEFAULT

In my 2019 Comp, if I select "sport plus" steering and suspension, comfort is typically the default, there is a noticeable difference in ride, and steering feel. There was also a noticeable difference in my f10 m5 which was a non comp. So you should definitely be able to tell the difference between comfort and sport plus. Maybe could be harder to tell from comfort to sport, but I dont really ever use sport, for me its all sport plus or all comfort. In mine, the steering, suspension, throttle response, exhaust tone, pops bangs, are instantly noticeable. It should be very apparent especially when switching while you're driving like on a freeway, can pretty quickly feel and hear the difference.

I would doubt they would photograph the car and put on the showroom before doing a detail, and reconditioning. What I mean is I would be surprised if they (after detailing and photographing) swapped the rotors? Suppose anything is possible, but I would think it was maybe just over looked, because from the photos it appears to have the OEM rotors, and (tough to tell for sure) they look possibly new? But hard to say. They definitely look like OEM rotors though.

The accident can be a deal breaker, but as someone who's f90 was recently in a minor accident also with no structural issues (just doors, fender, bumper replaced, 2 wheels and bolt on suspension parts) I would be much more concerned with what exactly was replaced or fixed, and by who. I demanded OEM BMW parts were used, and repaired/painted by someone who has experience or is qualified to work on M cars. If it's a minor bumper or fender replacement, I personally don't think thats a big deal as long as the paint work is good, and the gaps and everything is to the standards BMW requires.

[jnotrom711]

Originally Posted by Falcon690

So when I test drove m5, I put steering and suspension in comfort and I expected it to be 30% better? Is that reasonable to assume? But still it felt like it did not change.

But in any case, it was in a minor accident according to car fax. On top of that the photos online show drilled rotors, but when I saw it in person I am pretty sure I did not see the drills there. I am more than likely going to pass on it, as there are a few more in my area. If I do decide on it - it will 100% go for a PPI to BMW.

Here is the listing link if anyone is curious -

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ATURED/DEFAULT

Also, keep in mind (completely specific to each person) but a lot of folks find the sunroof as a down grade. But some think it's an upgrade. Just depends on you specifically. I don't know, others can chime in, but I would think it's maybe 70/30 people preferring the carbon roof over a sunroof. So if thats important to you keep that in mind the sunroof cars will be a lot harder to find. (I would guess).

[TEGRITY]

Mate, find another car. This one has shady written all over it from what you are saying.

[Ropes]

The link you posted shows cross drilled rotors.