CarHopper

Unfortunately, not mine. But I will be blessed with winter cold starts.

Over the past 4 years, little less actually, my step-brother and I have had roughly 15/16 cars. We aren't like your $100k+ club, just car guys that hop around affordable relics while gobbling up all the of negativity equity on trade-ins. For example, he has had cars from a Honda S2k to a BMW z4m all the way up to a BMW 760i with the V12. Myself, I've had everything from an EVOMS built P-Turbo, to an RS4, to my 2 C63's along with some others which is why I am here.

Today, we add another. E60 M5.

I will say right out of the gate, the tranny will take some getting used to. There are settings and what not to play around with. But, the notorious SMG "clunkyness" (if this is indeed what it is) has been poorly labeled. It isn't a clunk, rather, it is almost like when you are driving a manual and you accelerate hard but then shift slow and just ease off the throttle where you float for a split second.

Otherwise, first impressions are really good and dang this thing is pretty quick. Secondary cat / res delete have also been done so it makes a seriously special sound. Between that and my AMG... Good times.

Cheers

Jasonoff

Your front lawn looks like mine

CarHopper

All of our yards are yellow. There has been so little rain this year where I am that the grass has gone dormant. Some people brought out sprinklers for a while and then gave up. What they don't realize is that waking the grass up again with a little bit of that good good h2o only to stop can end up killing the grass.

Has anyone besides Texas even been getting rain this year?

604 C63

Decent power in that driveway.

I've always been curious about reliability on those M's. Seems like those in particular could really burn some cash.

CarHopper

They can.

Bearings have already been done in this one. And we have a 3yr unlimited mileage warranty on it. The problems exist, but this car is running flawless right now and worth it.

604 C63

Well, then, have at er!

The E60 and E9x M3's are going to hold up value-wise I think by virtue of being the all time "cylinder count" champs of their respective lines. There is an M3 cabrio for sale in town here that I keep looking at, cos it has just over 10000 miles and is a manual trans. A low mileage stick and V8 'vert M3 has to hold up over the years Id figure.

Oh, and here in the PacNW we had an awesome, sunny spring, but a pretty mediocre summer. Last year we were on basically emergency level water restrictions by the end of May. This year we are only on first level and can even water our lawns every second day.

CarHopper

We got this car out the door with that warranty for $26k. Holding value? Not sure about that.

There was a video here not long ago with an Aston Martin + warranty for $45k OTD. Same concept, different monster.

chrisridebike8

I was between an e60 M5 and the C63. The M5 just had no power where I needed and I hated the SMG. You really have to rev the snot out of the S85 to make any power. And with the windows up, I don't enjoy the sound it makes. Have fun playing with all those toys in the driveway though!

604 C63

Can it really go down much lower than 26k tho? I mean, they crater like crazy but any car of that ilk does.

CarHopper

That has always been my issue with M cars. Nothing down lown. Once you starting revving it out though... Nothing much can beat it. New turbo M's (2/3/4/5) have my attention though as far as what is down low.

Probably not. But it was once $100k ish which is insane. Also had the rod bearings done and what not so we're good. Hell of a car for the money.

604 C63

Thats what hold me back on that M3 cabrio. The little bro S65 is exactly the same, and where I live I just can't run it out like that. The decrease in torque from our cars would really rain on the parade I think.

604 C63

In case anyones curious....Canadian kms and dollars. Converted for the US, its about 45 grand for a 10k mile car.

https://autoformco.ca/vehicles/11/2012-bmw-m3-cab

Its gonna go down some before it flattens price wise, but prolly a keeper with the 6 speed/v8 combo. No M's ever going that way again. I just keep scoping it out, even though Ive already decided not to buy the damn thing.

realjones88

Don't forget the rod bearing eating champs as well. Of course the early C63 has its own issues too. The E60 has depreciated like a rock.

Definitely a lot of car for the price. What company would warranty a 6+ year old V10 BMW for three years unlimited mileage? Carmax?

604 C63

E60 has depreciated like a rock, but they all have. Cant go a whole lot lower than 26k inc a 3 year warranty tho I wouldn't think.

Savage-wp

Congrats on the new ride. A friend of mine has one, and it is seriously quick. His has the exhaust done and is tuned. It is very quick up top, clears 320km/h with ease

AMG3.2

Nice. Congrats. That V10 is a gem. SMG though... Tricky to say the least.

I've driven an E63 M6 a bunch so am pretty familiar with the trans. Definitely takes getting used to and can be downright annoying sometimes, but definitely adds character to the car.

CarHopper

Currently investigating into TCU tuning to see if we can't clean it up at all. It really is different, though. And people complained about the c63 being "slow." Go drive one of these and you'll be okay with how your tranny is. The car is still a blast don't get me wrong. But instead of being a grand slam with a DCT or something fancy like that the car is just a home run.

Granted, it really is dated technology which is a weird thing to think about.

Dome///AMG

Love those V10 Ms but the SMG is horrible.
A friend of mine is driving a M6 and got always problems with the tranny

But if I'm not mistaking the US-market get those with a 6 speed manuel as well, aren't they?

chrisridebike8

Yeah. But it's a horrible manual. At least the one I drove. The throws are long and sloppy like the 1991 Toyota 4Runner I used to have. And the gearing just does not match the character of the engine. It takes a car that needs to stay high in the rev band and makes it unenjoyable to rev it out. It is BECAUSE of the 6 speed e60 M5 that I own my C63.

Dome///AMG

Ok, didn't knew that but it sounds plausible that it's harder to hold the revs high while one gear is missing.
Pretty sad for those amazing sounding cars, saw and heard a white M5 today, still a stunning car

talkinghamster

the best sounding M engine of all time.

CarHopper

The sound alone makes the tranny problem not a big deal. Its covered under warranty if something happens and you just learn to adjust to how it drives.

The problem is, the car is a manual. You ask if it has a 6 speed manual, well it does, but even if it doesn't have a "stick shift" the auto SMG is still technically a manual. There is no real "park" gear. So when you go to park it you essentially throw it in neutral and rip the e-brake even though the shifter resembles that of an automatic.

So, the problem being everyone expects it to drive like an automatic. But it never will even though it appears as though it is one. It literally drives like a manual like if you just drive around town and shift slowly etc. The M5 behaves exactly the same way.

Dome///AMG

Sounds some kind of strange when you never have the experience of driving one like me
But I saw a couple of videos and you can clearly hear how long it takes to change gear.

Also read some tips on the web for threating the tranny like releasing the throttle while shifting and not using the race start to often.
Told this to my friend with the M6, he wasn't really happy with those tips.
And I can understand this, when you wanna floor it you don't want to think about issues.

Sadly for him is he is out of warranty, I'm still waiting how long he keep his car until he is f*cked up

AMG3.2

Horrible video but listen to that exhaust. Literally one of the best sounds engines of all time.

Dome///AMG

Yep, know that one.
Sounds just amazing, like a F1 car