Your Cars

[billw]

e39 m5 - probably the best car I will ever own, 40,000 miles in it without issue...

I had one the same colour as yours. Bought it with 105k on the clock, think it was 8 years old or so? Still looked and sounded like it had just rolled out of the factory. Not a squeak, rattle, or mark on it. The previous owner had spent a few grand on an exhaust but never had it fitted, so I went down and got it done. When the mechanic fired it up he just laughed and said "you've taken one of the best stealth cars around and ruined it". I loved it.

WIll certainly be the only car I ever own where the fuel consumption gauge reads 4mpg. Sold it in the end because it was out of warranty and they changed the rules so that cars over 100k weren't eligible, and I wasn't going to risk that engine going bang.

Probably the biggest downside, especially after coming from a Lotus, was that it was very very difficult to realise how fast you were going. Got done at 96 on the M1, let off with 3 points.

Inerestingly, the 155mph limiter only engaged in 6th gear, you could do 165mph in 5th. Allegedly.

 

[doctor Bob]

I put in a cheeky (but big sum to me) bid on a certain Merc at silverstone auctions a few weeks ago. The market is still strong for the right car, it went for about +40% of my bid. I should have been brave as I'm convinced it's a proper future classic which will double in the next 5 years.

 

[akirk]

I had one the same colour as yours. Bought it with 105k on the clock, think it was 8 years old or so? Still looked and sounded like it had just rolled out of the factory. Not a squeak, rattle, or mark on it. The previous owner had spent a few grand on an exhaust but never had it fitted, so I went down and got it done. When the mechanic fired it up he just laughed and said "you've taken one of the best stealth cars around and ruined it". I loved it.

WIll certainly be the only car I ever own where the fuel consumption gauge reads 4mpg. Sold it in the end because it was out of warranty and they changed the rules so that cars over 100k weren't eligible, and I wasn't going to risk that engine going bang.

Probably the biggest downside, especially after coming from a Lotus, was that it was very very difficult to realise how fast you were going. Got done at 96 on the M1, let off with 3 points.

Inerestingly, the 155mph limiter only engaged in 6th gear, you could do 165mph in 5th. Allegedly.

They are stunning cars, and I like the fact that it is subtle and nearly silent - though it does growl at you over 3,000 revs...
Not managed to get mine to 4mpg - though have had over 30mpg on the readout (briefly!) and have averaged 12mpg on a trip - now the RR has managed an average of 4mpg on a trip
It is tricky to realise the speed, esp. when they will sit all day at 120+ in total comfort - the limiter is 155 in 6th gear, but in 5th you can hit full pace which is actually 186mph! There is also a factory delete of the limiter which some cars have...
The engines are actually one of the most reliable M engines BMW have built - very little goes wrong with them, as long as you keep them well-oiled - certainly no issues in mine or any of those friends own (about 7 of them owned by people I know).

 

[Just4Fun]

There seems to be a real dichotomy of opinion/experience with BMW reliability. There are loads of youtube videos about what goes wrong on "all" BMWs similar to my wife's, and at quite low milages as well. Plus loads of advice on what you absolutely must replace if you buy a used one. My wife's is a more mundane model than yours but we have done 450 000 km in it without any of the problems they mention, and very little else has gone wrong on it. I don't like the car but have to admire the reliability, especially as it is kept outside in our climate and has no engine block heater or anything like that.

It did have one persistent problem about 10 years ago. When the fuel level dropped below a quarter tank the engine would (edit: sometimes) just stop. Eventually we found out that if you topped up the fuel or just let the car sit for an hour or two it would start up and run normally. Multiple trips to different dealers failed to identify the problem, partly because it was impossible to reproduce the fault at will. Then we tried yet another dealer who fixed it immediately; they must have seen the issue before. Apparently a fuel pipe was collapsing internally, cutting off the fuel supply. Previous workshops had changed the fuel pump, the fuel filler cap and suchlike, but the fault was a simple and cheap pipe all along.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

1980 - 83 I had a BMW R100RT (bike) that was the biggest pile of excrement I've ever seen on the road. I never rode it again after the alloy front wheel folded up and it threw me over the screen. I never felt the slightest inclination to buy anything by BMW after that.

 

[Just4Fun]

I can certainly understand that Phil. It is strange how some BMWs, like your bike, are awful whilst others are very good. Most marques trend one way or the other.

A friend had a BMW bike. He took up powerful motorcycles later in life and had some Japanese flying machine. After a few months he switched to a BMW touring bike because he thought he was likely to kill himself if he stuck with his original bike. He felt safer on the BMW, which is ironic given your experience. Personally I have always avoided bikes.

 

[akirk]

I have the M5 and Z3 - only two BMWs I have owned and the only two cars which have never had a mechanical fault in c. 13 years of their ownership - mind you my preferred marque is Land Rover of which I have owned a lot - so hardly surprising that my norm is a car which has problems!!!

 

[D_W]

1987 ford ranger v6 4x4 with an extended cab and a manual trans.

I had that in the late 90s as my college truck. It was my dad's before then, and I convinced him to give to me instead of trading it. In 14 years of life when I traded it in on my first "real" car, it had gotten a valve cover gasket changed. That's it.

Never even wore out the factory brake pads.

Unfortunately, I traded it on a volkswagen, which exceeded the repair list in the first year of its life (under warranty, though - once the skimpy warranty ran out, it had soaked another $4k out of me before it reached 50k miles and 4 1/2 years old.

The truck wasn't fast, it didn't get great mileage (decent for a truck), but it always ran and it had push button four wheel drive that could be engaged at any speed, which wasn't quite so common in 1987. That's a nice feature if you're driving on an untreated highway in PA and you see your speedo peg without your road speed changing. Whack the 4wd button and that ends that.

 

[D_W]

(no fun stories of fast cars - after I got the VW mentioned above, in the first year, I got a ticket for 76 in a 40 (mph) zone and that ended any fun of fast driving as it put me at the limit for points in one ticket - one additional driving point would've yielded a suspended license. Actually, that's enough for an immediate suspension - I had to go to court to get it arbitrarily changed to 71 in a 40 to avoid suspension).

 

[clogs]

Phil Pascoe
I bought a K1100LT for long distance comuting....[ the brick, should be lead brick, manthat was heavy] over 100miles each way.....
did that thing suck fuel.....new rear tyre every six weeks and a pair every other 6....Avon Road runners.....
Realy wanted a Honda Pan European but then they were as rare as hens teeth used.....
now only have bikes made before 1940....
bee's in ya hair, oil on ya shoes......lol....

 

[Cirks]

Shame about the constant reliability problems though.

Like any handmade car money has to be spent on keeping them in good order but reliability has never really been an issue for mine.

 

[XH558]

First car 998cc mini until i fitted a 1275GT engine that was bored out to 1340cc, Leyland 731ST half race cam with a pair of Stromberg 1 3/4" carbs. LCB exhaust and a Rover 2600 centre box at the back. 6Jx10 wheels and 165/70 10's. Cooper S gearbox. Went like the proverbial off shovel.

2.0 S Capri III. Big valve head vernier timing wheel and Bill Mead from Ford AVO at Boreham told me how to set the ignition up properly. Boy that made it a lot better, and 3.0 Capri carb (38 DGas) rejetted. Sierra 5 speed box. Decambered rear springs, -2" 142Lb/inch 3.0 Capri race springs on the front. LEDA dampers and the front spoiler and rear wing from the German Capri Turbo. Again it was rather nice to drive especially on 205/60 13 rubber. It has been round Spa on F1 Race day morning back in the day when I was marshalling.

Lots of mediocre stuff but currently drive a SEAT Ibiza, FR technology, 150 ecotsi. 137mph where the law allows, 0-62 mph in 7.6 which is not too shabby for a 1.4 turbo. Lots of fun and my learners liked it too!! The current Ibizas are slower than this version.

Son 1 has a Ibiza Cupra that is more fun than my FR but its got about 180 ps.

Son 2 has a Mazda MX-5. BBR Supersport 200. It's bloody awesome. He still won't let me drive it despite me teaching him and his bro to drive.....

 

[Lons]

My first ever car at 17 was an ex Radio Rentals Minivan which of course got the usual makeover, seat and window conversion, custom interior, 1275 engine uprated wheels and brakes not to mention the go faster stripes I vividly remember having to change the CV joints every few months but at least it was easy.

I had several BMWs over the years as company cars and some high miles, from memory the only issue I ever had was a small water leak through a seam above the boot on a 530 which was quickly fixed. I bought two of my own after that and same story, similar with the 3 Audis I owned and one complaint with my current Merc. My wife has had 5 Minis all faultless unlike e Nissan Juke which was a pile of junk and soon traded in.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

....new rear tyre every six weeks and a pair every other 6....Avon Road runners.....

I went through a Michelin rear in six days once. I had a KH 250 for 18 months. 16,000 miles, five rear tyres, six chains and six sets of sprockets. New plugs every 400 miles. I'd get 3000 miles out of a rear tyre on the Yam - that was a 190 x 70, Bridgestone only so not cheap.

 

[Droogs]

LOL Phil, that reminds me of a mate who got posted back to Blandford from Hohne in germany. In those days you always bought a tax free vehicle before coming back and he did so. He bought a nice new Hyabusa. He literally picked it up after leaving camp for the last time, on foot, went to the dealer and then rode to Blandford. First thing he had to do was order a new rear as he had squared it off.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A late good friend was in the Pay Corps - he got kicked out for VAT evasion by bringing a car back and selling it.

 

[billw]

A late good friend was in the Pay Corps - he got kicked out for VAT evasion by bringing a car back and selling it.

I looked at bringing my A class back from Gibraltar and if you've owned a vehicle for a certain length of time you don't have to pay import duty, although not sure about VAT. I then remembered that a LHD car would be a nuisance in car parks and sold it.

 

[RichardG64]

This is mine

 

[SammyQ]

My sister ran a limo business...imported Lincoln Towncar, 18ft 'conversion' inserted into the body, 12 cylinder, 5 or 6 litre engine...6 mpg, that fell to 3mpg when you turned on the air con...
Beast was so long, you needed an intercom from back seat to driver...sheesh.
Sam

 

[Nelly111s]

These are my two. Both British, manual (in every respect) and more similar than you'd think.