2001 BMW M5 from UK and Ireland - Comments

A lot of niggling problems generally have blighted what is otherwise a stunning car.

Most problems have been quality/build related.

December 2003 - Failed MOT on rear brake bias and steering play, warranty replaced rear caliper, handbrake shoes and track rod end. - will it ever end??

November 2003 - the second battery this year failed - a dead cell!! warranty picked up the bill again.

November 2003 - more corrosion creeping its way round the inside of the fuel filler/quarter panel, re-finished under corrosion warranty.

I dread to think what would happen if I did not garage it every nite in its heated garage!!!

Sept 2003 - Alarm/immobiliser module failed leaving me stranded on motorway service forcourt. Warranty sorted it!

August 2003 - Dashboard instruments went mad (quite literally!!) and speedo, water temp, oil temp and rev counter all gave false readings. BMW Warranty sorted it out.

July 2003 - Had to have boot-lid and 2 offside doors replaced under corrosion warranty.

July 2003 - Navigation unit lost sound, needed replacement navigation module. Warranty Job.

June 2003 - Television stopped working. Replaced Video module. Warranty Job.

June 2003 - Tire pressure control function (TPC) constantly blinked up "Tire Defect". Had to have fault codes reset. Warranty job.

June 2003 - Rear tires rubbed arches, damaging both inner and outer arches and scoring tyre walls down to wire!! Again replaced rear springs as they had become "compressed" thus meaning car was 14mm lower at rear then factory spec.

June 2003 - Radio lost all reception. Had new Ariel booster. Warranty Job.

May 2003 - Oil leak from nearside rocker cover.

May 2003 - Battery drain, this was traced to wiring fault with Traffic Master.

May 2003 - Alternator packed up on a wet worning!!... it actually broke down this time!!

April 2003 - Air conditioning/heater system went haywire. It would only blow hot air to the windscreen only!!

December 2002 to April 2003 - various gremlins with electrics and fittings.

General comments?

If it was reliable it would be the best value £30k car in the world...

Its been a constant battle with a difficult dealer near Southampton who has to see the car in on average 2/3 times to repair the same fault.??

It has taken me instances of dragging the head technician from the dealer out with me to show them the problems to get them sorted.

Servicing and other costs have been very good (

Well written review. I agree that the E34 M5's while they had their frustrations, were more reliable than the E39 M5's. Of course, they have about one third of the electronic systems as the E39's. One thing I did learn from experience was with 2 identical 1993 E34 M5's here in winter in Minnesota, North America - One was always garaged at night in a normal garage during the winter, and one was always garaged at night in a heated garage. The one that stayed in the heated garage developed corrosion along the bottoms of the front doors after only 6.5 years, while the other took over 10 years to develop corrosion. We determined that the constant freezing and thawing cycles of the vehicle in the heated garage were at cause, and setting the garage thermostat to 28 degrees would probably solve this.

Cheers!