ok i am a 20yr old student, i have had a 2003 540I M sport for the last 3 yrs, and I am as addicted to BMWs as one can get, i know almost everything about every single model. I absolutely love M power. and i need a little more power right now, the 540 is starting to feel really slow. so my first thought was sell my 540 and get an 03 e39 M5. 400hp and very nice cars... but then i found out that e55 AMGs that are newer and much faster, and have way more potential in modding are cheaper... at the moment i can pick up nice ones for 15k... 03 m5 with around 80-100k miles are around the 20s. and then if the power isnt enough down the road. The next step is a 8k S/C. So e55s have really caught my eye, the BBK and the air suspension and the S/C. whats not to love... i plan on doing all my maintenance my self with the help of my dad who was a European car mechanic of 20 yrs.

I have a couple questions hat i cant find the answer to... The speedo... why do some say 160 and some 200. i mean if an 03 e55 is tuned then the top speed being 160 is a let down... considering a stock e39 m5 with no limiter can do 185... i dont plan on going those speeds but i just want to know. and the push to start on the shifter... some of them have it and some dont. whats the deal with that. is it an option or what. any other options on this car that would be nice to have?

I plan on doing the heat exchanger and, the H/E pump, S/C pully and tune... soon after i get it.

thank you guys for the help.

 

The difference in speedometer is based on the year. 2003 - 2004 had the 160mph speedometer while the 2005 - 2006 had the 200mph speedometer. The push-start on the shifter is an option available on all years and it's called Keyless-GO. The door handles have buttons on the outside and buttons on the inside of the handle that lock / unlock the car.

 

ok so if the car is delimited will it hit 160 and stop or what? and will the 05-06 go faster if delimited?

 

Speedo has nothing to do with limiting the vehicle's speed. If you need to know how much above 160 you're going in an '03/'04 you simply activate the digital speedo in your display settings from the steering wheel controls.

 

ohh okay just what i needed to know. around how much on AVG are you guys spending on maintenance parts? iv already looked into common problems such as the suspension and the heating issues. will a new heat exchanger and pump solve the problem?

 

It's still 100k worth of car. Step up to the pay window and smile.

 

Splitting the cooling with the HE and pump will help a lot.

 

I too am an M fan. Been a member on bimmerforums for years. Had many cars before, recently test drove an e60 m5 and almost pulled the trigger...that is until I drove an e63 amg.....I was sold. Absolutely love the e class!

 

I am also from bimmerforums haha.

OP- I was the same as you.
I used to own an E36 M3, then went to an E39 M5, then E60 M5... and I have now owned two E55s (sold the first one and regretted it almost immediately).

Trust me when I say this, you'll never want to go back after you own an AMG - especially this platform.

 

I made the E39 M5 to E55 switch about 6 years ago.

 

I had an e46 M3, e39 M5, made a switch 2 years ago!

 

Good Switch you will now start liking my license plate

 

Still have my E46 M3. Hard to bring it to Cali unfortunately. turbo + no cats. Might need to put back to stock.

 

oh your from houston, and you have a silver e55...

a couple months ago a silver e55 destroyed me and my friend in his RED ISF and thats when i fell in love with it lol.

there is also a silver one that comes to this local cars and coffee. he has a plate that reads LOL M5. are you one of those 2 cars? lol.

 

Absolutely. I have never spent more on repairs in all my life. Spent over $4K on a long list of items @ the dealer just over a month ago. Now one or more of the catalytic converters is shot and the fuel tank needs to come out for a 2nd time to replace the infamous fuel sending unit & seals that repeatedly crack and leak. Looking at dropping another $2K-$2.5K to get it back 100%, and that's with a decent break on parts & labor. Sadly no warranty available for a nine-year old AMG with nearly 120K miles on it Maintenance over the past year has totaled $7,312.68 for parts/labor. I was prepared for these costs, make sure you are as well.


+1


^made this transition just 1 year ago. The only drawback thus far is it seems like this one spends a lot more time in the shop than the M-cars of my past.



+2



^and sold my E46 M3 for the M5 about five years ago. Interesting.

 

That E55 you speak of was me if it was at night on 45 Haha.

 

yup right on 45... do you have cutoff valves on your e55? thats what it looked like from the back. what mods do you have?

 

Ya I have electric cut outs just past the axle. I don't remember what all I was running then but now its 180cp, smaller sc pulley, 82 tb, 550 injectors, looped rail, EC long tubes, EC heat exchanger, Johnson pump, Dads trunk tank, and snow performance meth.

 

Is your friends ISF stock? I thought I heard exhaust but hard to tell.

 

We have a big amg group here in Houston you will love e55 I had an m3 before my e55 as well

 

Congrats on making the switch bro, you will love the torque. Let us know if you want us to give you some sick deals accompanied by our 100% customer satisfaction.

Enjoy her in good health.

 

Welcome to the forums. It's funny, I got a 2003 BMW 540 m sport (6speed) for my beater car in Florida, not to long ago. Even tho the car has hail damage, twisted seats, vanos ticking, window regulators failures, a blue cloud of smoke on start up, I still love the car. Just the way it handles the road is amazing. First thing I notice when I get back in the AMG is, wow the steering is so light, this thing hauls ***, and what do i do with my left leg. Let us know when you narrow down to your car.

 

Think long before you buy as these cars get less expensive to buy still can cost a lot to fix if something breaks especially if you start doing mods.

 

stop in the houston shop...we have some monster E55's being built lol

 

lol he just has straight pipes. the car is no comparison to yours.