Buying guide · 1998–2003 · S62 V8
BMW M5 E39
Everything that decides whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
25-page guide, A4 and phone · 4-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included
In the guide
What the BMW M5 E39 guide covers
- 01Every fault this engine has, and how much work it is
- 02The rear subframe, and where you check it
- 03The eight places to check this bodyshell for rust
- 04What is simply twenty-five years old — and can be left alone
- 05The inspection card: the whole viewing on paper, in order, to take with you
- 06What to say to the seller, and what to keep to yourself
From the guide itself
This is how it reads
This is what one of the twenty-four looks likeLast Real Engines
3 · Rear springs
Labour ~1.5–2.5 hours · half a day · cheap part, easy access
A known E39 item: the rear springs can break. It is a fail point at the annual roadworthiness test and it is visible with a torch.
A broken spring is a job for straight away.
And this is how the card readsLast Real Engines
- 1 · The cold start · do nothing else
- 2 · The engine bay, engine off
- 3 · Round the outside · rust and wheels
- 4 · Inside, ignition on · keep it short, the battery
- 5 · The fault memory · at a garage, not with a cheap adapter
- 6 · The test drive · half an hour minimum
What €24 buys, put next to what it saves
A VANOS overhaul on this engine is two or three days, and almost all of it labour — and which of its two problems you are paying for changes the bill. A cracked rear subframe has to come out: two or three days in the workshop. The guide is €24. It will not stop any of that from being needed — but it does tell you which of them you are looking at before you agree a price, and that is the whole of the difference between paying for a car and paying for someone else's postponed maintenance.
VAT included · sold by Lemon Squeezy as merchant of record · questions first? buyersguide@lastrealengines.com
Start with the free guide
The six questions that decide whether this car is a good buy
- Has the VANOS been done — and which of its two problems are we talking about?
- The rod bearings — and can anyone prove it?
- What happens to the cooling system, given that this is an all-aluminium engine.
- The rear subframe.
- Rust, in eight specific places.
- What has already been paid for.
Start with the free guide: what this car is, and the questions that decide whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
Before you buy
Questions
What exactly do I get?
The full guide as a PDF, 25 pages in A4, plus a phone edition to read at the car; and the inspection card, 4 pages to print and take to the viewing. €24, VAT included.
How is it delivered?
Straight after payment you get a download link for the guide, the phone edition and the card. No subscription, no account.
Can I get a refund?
EU consumer law gives you fourteen days to change your mind. For digital content that right ends the moment delivery starts, provided you agreed to that at the checkout. If the file will not open, or you were sent the wrong car, write to us and we will fix it or refund it.
Who handles the payment?
Lemon Squeezy, who sell the guide to you as merchant of record. They charge the VAT at the rate of your country, send the invoice, and email you the download link. We never see your card.
Why are there no prices in it?
Because a price we cannot verify is worse than no price, and because a price would be wrong for most of the people reading it: workshop rates across Europe differ by a factor of two or three. What does not change is how much work a job is, so every point says whether it is an hour, half a day, a day, or a week in the workshop. Ask your own workshop for its hourly rate, and every hour in the guide becomes your own number.
Is this advice about a specific car?
No. A guide tells you what to look at; it is general information about the model and not advice about a specific car. Have every car inspected before you buy by someone who knows the engine.
More BMW guides
Going to look at a BMW M5 E39?
Take the guide and the card with you.
25-page guide, A4 and phone · 4-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included