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Had a Change of Heart


allaboutthepasty

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After having an itch into getting myself an E60 M5, with all its V10 5 litre goodness and the last hoorah to the F1 cars of that generation and all that, I've had a bit of a U turn.

 

So my commute is fairly short, so the decrease of about 5mpg from the Zed isn't an issue. Tax and insurance in the grand scheme of things isn't too much to worry about either.

 

After doing the sensible thing and digging around on the owners forums / pistonheads etc, I've found that 500bhp comes at a bit of a price (yes, really) :lol: 3 grand for a clutch and flywheel change as opposed to the 1K for a Zed. 1.5K for discs and pads?

 

The massive downside is that due to the iDrive etc and all the masses of electronics in the Bimmer, you cannot do the general maintenance yourself, everything has to be reset etc by the dealers, massive German ripoff.

 

I'm sure it'd be such an amazing car to own, but I cannot justify the cost at the moment. Maybe after a few more promotions!

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I agree with you on this...

 

While it would be an amazing car to own - the restrictive way in that any maintenance would have to be carried out with fancy software and by BMW would be a bit of put off.

 

Essentially I couldn't afford it - and I guess that's the trap with supercars that depreciate to affordable levels.

 

It would be worth it though...

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A work college of mine got one last year after doing all the research, and although a truly awesome machine it costs him soo much more than he thought it ever would. Nothing on that car is cheep, its all supercar prices for supercar performance lol. We worked out the other week he could run two and half zeds for the costs of running the M5.

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Some M5 owners say it's not as fun as the M3. It's a big heavy car regardless of horsepower and dynamically doesn't feel as agile as a 3. I also know of a few converted to lpg to offset other running costs. I rarely get much change from a grand every time I visit the garage and that's just an M3. Sod owning a 5.

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M5 is an incredible car (only had passenger experience though) and they sound great, but as said above the running costs are just insane! That's why my mate traded it in.

 

Personally I couldnt ever own a BMW just isnt my thing. Although can appreciate how great the M3 and 5 are.

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From what I'm told by our mechanic if something goes wrong with a BM it's usually computer related. Possible but not easy to do yourself.

 

Also 5mpg drop might be ambitious.

 

The mechanic as an older M3 (2001) I think and it's returning 17mpg on a potter. Can't see how a V10 will fare any better but I guess more modern engine all seem to be better on the gas no matter how big they are.

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How about an Audi S8 - they're a V10 aren't they?

 

Although you'd still be having the same issues as the M5

 

audi-s8-superior-gre_600x0w.jpg

 

Yup, I'd imagine any car this type will eat clutches / gearboxes and replacements will not come cheap. The S6 is apparently a good choice, same engine as the S8 but not as highly tuned and very bombproof. Still not bad at circa 400bhp.

 

A colleague of mine got 20 out of his M5 when commuting sensibly then down near single figures at the weekends.

 

Oh well. Going to put some time into the Zed one weekend soon and give it the plugs, belts & gearbox fluids I've been meaning to. Then enjoy it :)

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