7 Reasons Why Owning an E39 BMW M5 Sucks

The E39 M5 is probably the best M5 ever. It has a naturally aspirated 4.9 liter V8 that produces 400 hp and combine that with 4 doors, a Getrag 6 speed manual, and a rear wheel drive shaft, you’ll have a perfect car for both daily driving and track days, and now you can get them for around $25,000 so it’s pretty damn affordable to most of us. However, as an owner of an E39 M5, I would like to tell you that it’s not a great car to actually own..

VANOS Problems..

The S62 is an awesome engine, full of power, full of torque, and it makes a beautiful note. However, because the E39 generation is about 12-16 years old, the engine tends to be quite fragile, especially the engine’s double-VANOS. The VANOS use oil pressure to change intake and exhaust cam timing. If it does break, the solution is to swap the entire unit which could cost you up to more than $4000. Although, it is cheaper to just replace the seals instead of swapping the entire unit. Well, why not just do that instead of replacing the entire unit? You’ll have to use an independent shop because it’s not a BMW-approved procedure, and with that being an unapproved procedure, the risks are high for a long term run. My E39 is still pretty smooth engine wise so, I haven’t got the VANOS issues and I hope I won’t.

Chassis Issues…

This is quite nasty, and especially on the suspensions. My M5 has some nasty wear and tear on the bushings. The M5’s drivetrain is very robust. One of these shocks can come with the rear differential seals, which can leak and it will cost $1500 to have them sorted. It’s also best to have the side seals replaced at the same time.
Suspension arms, bushes, links and ball joints will all need replacing at some point, depending on the type of use the car gets but 100,000 miles is the point where most need work. Rattles, steering shimmy and sloppy handling are all indications this work is needed immediately. Thrust arm bushes usually cure any steering wobble.

Fuel Consumption

The car has a 4.9 liter engine which means that…well…when it comes to filling it up, it will cost you a lot. I averaged 14 mpg on this thing and I am very frustrated with its fuel consumption. And to make things worse, this car runs on premium fuel. And another thing to make things even worse, this car is on the gas guzzler tax.

Underrated

This could be rather controversial but, in my experience, this car is pretty underrated. People just don’t understand what an E39 M5 is. “395 hp from a big V8? Hahaaha..lol OMG E39s are crap..”, “OMG that thing looks so boring, that’s not a sports sedan”, “Look at this a-hole in his M5”, “What kind of M BMW is that? Hahaha, so slow” “0-60 in 4.5 seconds? Lol, my Camry can do that too”. Those are the words that I get from other people who don’t know what an E39 is. Meanwhile the JDMs get tons of respect even though it’s worse than an M5 (not hating on JDM). Every time I hear someone making fun of the E39 M5, I’d just chuckle.

It’s Not Really a Good Every Day Driver..

You can’t really use this every day. The traction control is absolutely useless. I haven’t driven this thing through a winter conditions because every December to January I go back to Indonesia where snow doesn’t happen. However, I’ve driven this thing in the wet and it is completely unstable. Combine that with its faulty engine and its drinking habit, you’re in for a delightful treat!

It Will Attract Attention

Another thing that is pretty controversial. It could be underrated and completely ignored and insulted, it could be rated and get some attention, or it could be waaayyy overhyped and gets too many attention. I was at a car meet and everybody looks at it. Even an F430 got less attention than my M5 did at that car meet. Being ignored can be frustrating, but getting unwanted attentions can be frustrating too.

The Infotainment System

Really outdated, especially the GPS. The GPS doesn’t even show my address and some areas are un mapped which could be really frustrating. I use Waze every time and I wanted to change it with an Avin Avant 2 system. I still have the original car phone (that doesn’t work).

This content was originally posted by a Car Throttle user on our Community platform and was not commissioned or created by the CT editorial team.