I said in the previous article that I was really lucky to get a well maintained piece. Because I’ve been obsessed with M5 for some time, I can also say I’m very much aware of almost everything related to this car. Characteristics, figures, typical issues, standard and non-standard behavior, maintenance costs and spare parts availability. The following post will be a bit longer.

My car was made in 1999, which means it’s a pre-facelift model as the update was done in 2000. Several changes were made back then with the most obvious ones:

  • New headlights with angel eyes.
  • New tail lamps with LED tubes.
  • Smaller and thicker steering wheel.
  • New dash dials, now done in grey color (black originally).
  • Some updates to the suspension.
  • Few updates for the engine (ECU update etc.).

Thanks to parts exchangeability, many pre-2000 BMWs owners decided to update their cars with post-facelift equipment. And that’s understandable because the post-FL optics are much nicer. My ’99 M5 had been also sligthly modified – at the time of purchase, there were post-FL headlights, tail-lamps and dials. The rest was stock.

To complete the historical part… The car was imported from Germany to Czech Republic in 2001. Four years later a new engine was built by a BMW dealership (crank shaft, pistons, rod bearings, VANOS, the lot..). The car was then sold in 2006 to the previous owner, who kept it for 10 years and drove only 12.000 kilometers, while keeping the car in best shape.

The car itself has basically the standard equipment (navigation is missing), however the original owner did tick some options – a tow hitch (on an M5!), obviously never used, and integrated child seats (available in ’99, wow). For the rest – GSM phone, rear window roller blind, ABS, DSC, 8 airbags etc.

When I got the car, I couldn’t be happier. I was sure there was no better piece for me to buy, however while living the dream I also knew, after a quick inspection, there were some things that needed fixing. I have to mention though, that I’m kind of pedantic or crazy about this car, so I’m usually willing to fix and solve even things that others just ignore. Shortly after the purchase a 2-page list was made, with items to be fixed, updated or replaced.

And that is coming in my next post.