KaiKai951S

I totlly agree with Greg East. After owning to e32's they are great cars. Even better I would suggest an e38 740i. Plenty of power,a great daily driver. and cheap enough to keep the 951 as well

manticore33

I thought this was an interesting diagram of the e39 bus systems:



And that would be late 90's integration. I am curious to see how much more items have been linked in newer BMWs or cars in general.

Thom

The S62 I helped set up for drift events has been running troublefree and very strong for more than a year now, putting down 500 hp and 540 ft.lbs. It wasn't even opened prior to being turbocharged. FWIW anyway.

993GT

two very different cars, one can't replace the other. E39 M5 is a wonderful car, tons of torque, smooth as silk at any speed, parts are reasonable outside the dealer(like the 951). Unlike what some others have said, the V8's are great engine, just need to keep up on preventative maintenance(again, like 951). IIRC, 2001-2003 S62's only need standard 5w30. M5 is only E39 with a LSD. I6 engine's are great on gas and buttery smooth, sometimes can't tell if even running, but really lack power.

Voith

Sport car, 951 is better, it feels like a sports car, where e39 m5 feels like a fat cow on steroids, and steering is complete junk compared to rack&pinon found in 6 bangers.

It was a very good car in its own right, but today 80% of these cars need big maintenance, or are rust buckets. It is not even close to 944 or 911 in resistance to time.

Voith

Combining work and pleasure, has never felt hotter

My girl would kill me if she'd see this.

993GT

+1, the 6 cyl. model have WAY better steering feel, perfect e39 IMO would be a 530 body with M3 E46 engine (S54) and M5 or other LSD differential swapped in

blodstrupmoen

right on .

As a present e39 m5 owner I know that as a daily driver the M5 is miles ahead of the 951. It is a very good car , ofcourse it cannot compare to the mighty E34 straight six , but it is a easy car to live with and it would not cost you much to run . ( you live in the US and petrol is almost free anyway )

Ofcourse this only applies if the car has been well maintained by previous owner.

black944 turbo

Thank you all for your responses. This thread has helped decide to hold onto the 951 as it would defeat the purpose of why I would buy the m 5 to have both cars.

jdantuono

Does it have to be an E39?
Honestly... I'd just get a 4 door E36 M3.
Maintenance is super cheap & mostly DIY.
Gas mileage is surprisingly good, and it feels similar to 951.

black944 turbo

I thought about the e36 m 3 as well, but again not a lot of room.

Droops83

Since I work on both for a living, I will offer my $0.02:

Both are expensive cars to maintain, especially if you are paying someone to work on them. I would say that the M5 is more expensive to maintain overall due to the increased amount of electronics that can fail, the fact that you need to invest in some sort of scan equipment to diagnose/repair, and consumables like engine oil, gear oil and brakes are very expensive. Yes, I know that BMW "approved" their normal 5W-30 oil for '01 and up, but they only redesigned the piston rings. The rest of the engine, including all of the VANOS gear, is optimized for the proper and expensive 10W-60.

The M5 engine is essentially a highly strung race engine that is detuned and has double VANOS added on the give it tractability for street use and to give it some hope for passable fuel economy and to meet emissions standards. It needs to be maintained as such. The potential issues with the VANOS system are well documented by now and can be expensive.

Perhaps the biggest issue with the S62 engine is that the original valve guide material is too soft as in Porsche's 993, and premature valve guide wear can result, especially in cars that were originally puttered around town and/or not maintained properly. The first symptom is clogged secondary air passages in the heads, which causes "check engine" lights and is a big issue in smog-controlled states like mine. We have done several valve jobs on these engines for this issue and for burnt exhaust valves causing misfires.

I know it sounds like I'm ragging on the M5, but it is in fact my dream daily driver. It is a fantastic car, and incredibly fun to drive for such a heavy vehicle. The throttle response is amazing, the sound is great, and the shifter is slick and the LSD amazing. It handles well for its size and is immensely stable at speed.

It is a very different car from the 951, and I am merely cautioning anyone looking into one. BMW had implemented its crazy 15K mile oil change intervals by the time they released this car, so even one that is "well maintained" by dealer standards is under-maintained. Luckily, many are in the hands of enthusiasts now who hopefully take better care of them.

I strongly urge anyone looking at one of these to get a comprehensive PPI by a good BMW shop. PM me and I can likely point you to a good one in your area. Most of you on this board are at least somewhat technically inclined and DIYers and could handle much of the normal maintenance work on the E39 M5, but I feel that a regular E39 would likely be a better fit for a daily driver for most.

EVOMMM

The BMW is a great car BUT! it is a high performance and expensive parts to maintain it but tell which Porsche from same era that's not
like the saying goes "speed cost money, how fast do you want to go"
Mike

clubracer6

Hope I don't upset anyone for bringing this back up, but found it to be interesting.

Looking for a new toy and narrowed it down to a e39 M5 or an 89 951. A NC mx5 that I would super charge is 3rd. E36 And e46 m3's are tied for 4th. My cap is 15k including any needed work after purchase. It's really a great time to be a car guy regardless of budget.

Yes the 951 and M5 are very different, but both great drivers cars. One a scalpel and the other a mallet, each with their own rewards. I have had an 03 M5 and have always missed it. Made me feel like I was driving at Bathhurst in a super v8 car. Also had a 88 951 had it for 3 years and it was in the shop for 33 of the 36 months I owned it. I have always wanted another go at it but feel like they are more fragile than the e39 M, but this thread would have me believe otherwise.

I feel like I would probably drive the M5 a little more than I would the 951 simply because the m5 is not as special as 89 951. So no bad weather where as the m5 I would throw on some snows and have a riot occasionally.

The 951, just something I always loved them and always wanted one and I feel like now is the time to buy a nice one although my budget will only get me a decent one.

OP- did you ever get the M5?

black944 turbo

I ended up keeping my 951 and I can say that I am very happy I did. This car just keeps getting better with age.

I did drive the M 5 and I liked it a lot, it just was not as special to me. It felt to modern and refined ( I know this is the point of the m5) .