BMW E60 M5 V-10 Review - Worth the Anxiety? - Test Drive | Everyday Driver 

Great video @EverydayDriver 125K+ miles on my 6-speed E60 M5. Just drove cross country West to East and South to North this COVID season. Could not have asked for a better car to accompany a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If you're not afraid of turning some wrenches, don't let keyboard-warriors steer you away from one of the best cars Bavaria has graced the world with.

Really missed the point here I think. Owned my E60 M5 SMG for 6 years and in total its cost me about 5k in maintenance. No warranty or anything. Keep on top of the servicing, don't abuse the gearbox and get the rod bearings changed. Make the switch to 5w50 oil and a Viper thermostat and you have little to no issues.

Regular maintenance Warm up the car properly before thrashing it and she'll treat you well.

I own this year M5 with a real 3-pedal 6-speed manual and it's a different car entirely. As for power bolsters, it's a menu option. Turn it off if it bothers you. Easy. Great video! Thanks!

Look, I've owned this same car for 6 years (ironically in white too) and the SMG (although un-reliable) is still the way to go. It is really fun, especially with the blips on the down shifts. I do all my own work, and have kept this thing going and now have 100k miles on it. Last owner dogged it, and I brought it back to life. If maintained, one of the best cars ever made!

the e60 platform in general is very underrated/valued

Great car, questionable review. You should have done a review of the car without playing up the 'anticipated anxiety, because everyone says that the car will self destruct at any moment, with no warning'. You hampered your potential enjoyment before you started. Your constant discussion of the active seat bolsters became tiring, especially since it is an option that you can disable and then not be bothered by it. The seats are great, very supportive and comfortable. You have the option of allowing the tech to adjust the seats, or just leave them where you like it. The SMG transmission seems perfectly mated to the engine, with the 7 speed ratios drawing out the best potential of the v10. Although I haven't driven the 6 speed manual version, I've heard that the difference in gearing vs the 7 speed leaves it lacking (slightly). You should not drive the SMG version in automatic mode. Leave it in manual shifting mode and drive it like a manual (except for the non-existent clutch pedal). Lift slightly off the throttle and move the lever (or use the paddle shift), then back on the throttle. Set shift speed to highest setting and driving like this will give a driving experience just like a 3-pedal manual. I will agree, the 500 hp mode should be the default (or configurable as the startup ) mode. Your review was entertaining, at first. It is always good to see this car reviewed, but the constant complaining about the SMG and 'reliability issues' are tiresome. People need to just experience it without the incoming negative bias, so they can get used to how it responds and then push it to it's limits, if you dare. Don't just get in and beat the crap out of it (many cars will break under those conditions). Experience the car with a positive outlook from the start and you will really come to appreciate what it is capable of.

Of course it will need some love all super cars do! I love the hate these cars get. I'm absolutely satisfied with mine . Haters going to hate.

I love my m5 ! It’s worth every penny I’ve paid for it and spent on it!

I just bought one a month ago 41k miles I tried to find one that was a LCI but couldn't find one with low miles I bought one a 2006 and oh my lord I love this car I have videos on it and because i know I love watching cars so a e60 m5 is a lovely car people stop me everywhere I go and compliment me all the time this car requires every bit of your attention and input while driving and that is exactly what I wanted every drive is a event I drove mine from Arizona back to Atlanta GA btw

More amazing content. What I learned is get the Carmax Warranty lol.

long time no see these two guys. hands down the best reviewers and the best thing is they brainstorm and confront each other, which is much better than someone alone doing monologue

Iv had my E60 M5 for 7 years and love it, it never fails to put a smile 😃 on my face. Just treat it like a baby

People need to enjoy this absolute legendary beast for what it is - a F1 derived 5l high revving V10!! It is NOT a Toyota. Show me any other high revving exotic sounding V10 that has got to 100k miles without maintenance/issues from any manufacturer. Feel like people have to talk about the negatives on what is essentially the only true 4 door supercar ever made when you can pick these up for next to nothing considering the amazing driving experience you get. I genuinely love mine and prefer it all day overall for pure excitement and driving bliss over both my M5 Competition and M4 Competition. No contest V10 is V10 but you have to pay to play.

Nice review, and really nice car. I have a similar one. I've owned it for 4 years and my story is similar, it's not had many big bills but it has been maintenance way above what BMW say. I honestly wouldn't want a manual version, the SMG gearbox is of it's time, and I quite like the ferociousness of the gearbox when you want it, but you get use to it and smoth it out.

I have been racing for almost 30 years in all sorts of stuff and some big tracks and yes, I am ashamed to say the fastest I have ever driven was on a highway in one of these. The car just flies once you get into the triple digits. In hunkers down more and more and pulls effortlessly. While I didn’t quite get there this is a 200 mph sedan.

Thanks you guys you helped my case, that BMW V10 will be a collectors car and the price will jump through the roof!

Delightful Video! Thanks to the listener who lent it for the shoot

I think its about time the E60 M5 is classified as a cul de sac car just like the Elise and the 1M

There are 10 throttle bodies but only 2 actuators , the engine was tuned to the 7 speed smg and the 6 speed while cool is not geared to get the most out of the engine it is attached to

This is one of the best car you could ever own

A few years ago I drove a subscribers V10 M5 and I fell in love. It was a white SMG just like this one. Would love to drive the manual. It’s a bigger, heavier car than the E39 M5 and drivers better on the highway and sweeping turns, not nimble for tight turns. I don’t like the seat bolstering, it’s like a punch to the kidneys in the corners but you can shut that feature off. My viewer has owned it for years and bought it as a BMW CPO, he put 50,000 miles and it was very reliable. He replaced the rod bearings at about 70k miles. I still want one. Once you hear the sound. Of that V10, you will be hooked

Gearbox is brilliant.... If you know what to expect and use it properly. Think of it like a manual, reset the clutch adaptation and ALWAYS use manual mode. It is buttery smooth or brutally violent depending on the setting.

This was truly the best road to take this car on. I think this is peak BMW. With the manual of course. It's such a well dialed-in car. From the response of the engine, the steering, the brakes, and the handling. I had a chance to drive one back to back with an F10 M5. The F10 feels so much more massive, the steering's weirdly heavy and numb, the brakes are not as good, and it's ponderous at the limit because of how easily it goes from understeer to lighting up the rear tires. The F10 feels like they threw a powerful engine (too powerful) at the car and everything else was an afterthought. The E60 feels like a cohesive package. The engine's so incredible in the E60. The only part where the F10 is better is the DCT. It's an incredible transmission compared to the SMG.

Have a trusted Indy mechanic and get your own parts, you will be fine. This is a masterpiece of a car and engine.

I believe the V10 here (S85) was justified because it shared platform with the M3's V8 (S65) - they had the same bore and stroke, compression ratio, and tons and tons of other stuff in common, and some interesting differences as well. If you think about it there isn't actually that much at play in many ways - you've got 2 more spark plugs but you've got the same number of cams, vanos systems, accessories, etc. so in a lot of ways this shouldn't be more expensive then maintaining an M3 of the same vintage except of course for all the ways that it is. It seems like the dealership will charge an arm and a leg and to some it might be worth it but alternative solutions to many problems exist if you're clever. For example the failure point on the ~$700/side throttle body actuators seems to most often be the plastic gears - a kit to replace just these gears will set you back less than $120. Some repairs will likely be unavoidably expensive but I think its kind of unfair how people seem to compare the cheap initial cost of these used with upkeep. It's a v10 sedan that was 6 figures new, from the reports I've read people using indy shops and diy fixes when they can are paying what seems like petty cash to me to own an 8000+rpm V10 that lives inside a practical full sized sedan. Definitely on my list of cars to own before I die.

The E60 m5 is actually a reliable car, take a couple things in mind, the V10 engine in this car is race derived from F1, this car brand new was little over 100k so don't expect to things to be cheap on this car. many maintenance parts for the E60 m5 have been revised and modified by bmw to solve many issues the earlier models had under warranty the majority of the cars has this done

Great video...I own a 07 with the SMG. Yes maintenance is key to owning this vehicle, even one that's in great shape. As it relates to the smg trans...the smg is better suited to the V10, and is actually a faster car to drive than the manual. Once you learn, yes learn how to drive the smg, its actually not that bad. I've owned an 2011 M3 sedan with the dct and comp package...and the dct is better but does have its own quirks too. Word of advice...when one coil pack goes, replace all of them!!!

I have owned my 2007 M6 e64 since new. Biggest problem I have ever had was a faulty voltage regulator (intermittent), which resulted in the dealer chasing codes for $7k in sensor replacements and other parts until I told him "It sounds like a voltage regulator problem to my old gearhead mind (muscle car era)". I bought a scanner and have never been back to a dealer again. I would rather buy tools for the labor costs and avoid the scam. P.S. I have driven this car from Dallas to Scottsdale and back, to Memphis, New Orleans, etc, etc, etc and it has been reliable. I have 66k miles 17 years later.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the Bangle era and E60. Firstly, the man who actually put pen to paper for the E60 was a man by the name of Davide Arcangeli, who was a young Italian designer that worked under Bangle. He unfortunately died of leukaemia not long after completing the project. Secondly, flame surfacing was only attributed to the Z4 (E85) and that's it. The E60 had what they called a zeppelin inspired design, which is apparent in the stretched / swept back headlights.

The delay in SMG is similar to manually shifting (because that's what is happening technically) which everyone agrees is the enthusiast pinnacle. To hate one is to hate the other imo.

This sounds like my kind of car!... minus the expenses

Im a proud owner of a M6 V10, bought it low mileage with no warranty. I've had a great experience with the car for 3 years. 6k oil changes, read how to utilize the smg or if you have the manual even better, change rod bearings which are 1500 with labor in most shops and you will be having a blast. I think unreliability is overrated, my c6 corvette gave me much more headaches to be true. The M6 is a comfortable, luxurious, safe, 4 people, big trunk its quite a package. The V10 is one of the nicest sounding engines ever made and truly this is the way I visualize why you buy any car, what to you pay for what do you get bang for the buck. You can purchase a well taken care m6 for 25k, literally buy it spend 5k on preventive maintainance on it total 30k and it will run for many years for the price of a brand new honda civic.

I'm glad my BMW is an E28, it's a brilliant car to own used.

Great video. As a former M6 owner with the same engine I have to stay you were spot on about everything.

Imagine what BMW cars would look like now if they’d followed the Bangle era through... probably a hell of a lot more progressive and graceful.

Just to put in my 2 cents. I owned one for about 3 years. Bought w around 60k miles and when it was running it drove amazing i loved every second of it. Unfortunately for me mine spent a hefty amount of time being in the shop. I think i just had bad luck with mine but i spent so much money on repairs i had no choice but to sell it.

I have an E60 528i and I love it. It's a looker till this very day

I hope people keep bashing this car so no one buys it and it’s not a common car on the road. It’ll keep mine unique. I don’t daily drive mine, I have a beater car for point A-to-B weekday driving, and I put away around $4-5k a year if anything goes wrong with the M5. Always make sure the oil temp reaches 210F before going beyond 6k rpm and perform oil changes every 3-4k miles. It’s a $100k ‘exotic’ V10 engine that beats F430s on the highway so if you’re expecting cheap maintenance, I’d say that’s your own predisposed fault to buy one at severely depreciated prices without expecting to put some money into a F1-derived engine.

Nice review and mostly fair. M5 has some issues, but most can be easily addressed by a person with engine knowledge and all the resources available from the internet. Please also do more research when adding to the "negatives". Yes the S85 has 10 throttle bodies, one per cylinder as ALL M-car/S-engines have had until recently, but only two throttle actuators. Many complain about rod bearings......same issue is being found on older and newer BMW's......it a shame, but again, the S85 is an F-1 dervied racing engine that revs high. I, personally, am willing to accept to get the music produced by this series. I purchased the manual b/c I truely love the 3rd pedal, but even the SMG is not as bad as rated by the internet. Maintance is KING on these cars. Mr. P

Another good review... and right on the money. I have E60 anxiety with my 2006.... but everything is fine (for now) - Thanks to the owner for lending you the car to review with!

I have a 2008 6-Speed Manual with 106,500 on the odometer. I only put about 6,500 miles since I bought it back in 2017. This car is amazing to drive. But before buying this, I did all of my homework and set aside some money for maintenance. I did replace the Rod bearings, Throttle Actuators, and Engine Mounts. I'm going to change out the Idle Actuators soon. I do all the maintenance myself to save some money. This is my weekend car hence the low mileages.

Sold mine 2008 with 143k, I put on 75k in three years, changed TBs and Oil Cooler. Everything else was just oil and tires. Original RBs, no metal deposits. Cars are good, just drive it, don’t let it sit too long.

one of me dreams cars, whatever money i would ever have... that V10, man... that V10...

How did I not know about this channel I have been a subscriber to everyday driver since the first video love the channel now I got 2 channels to watch the videos over and over love the content

Pretty much sums up how I feel about my LCI updated 2006 M5 with 99k (58k on the motor). I bought a Land Cruiser 100 series for bad weather days and to transport me when the beast needs some mechanical loving. I do the extra maintenance and save for unexpected events but there is some anxiety about what check engine code may come up next. Even with preventative rod bearing changes and high dollar parts replacements, It’s far less money than buying a new M5 and the E60 was the pinnacle IMHO. I love the quirky nature of the SMG (Euro tuned programming) and learning to dance with her is a challenge I enjoy. All worth the risk to me. This car is a one of a kind and becoming more rare by the day as the ones bought for $11,000 and not maintained keep blowing their motors. Oh, and just turn off the side bolsters and no one sells a warranty for these cars anymore.

I bought a 6spd one of these with an extended warranty as well, and it saved me with a wiring issue that was caused by a rat nibbling on the harness (shh don't tell the warranty company 😉) anyway besides that and the obligatory 100k mile rod bearings, mine's been drop dead reliable! 21k miles in a year and a bit, 114k miles on the clock and it's a dream every day.

The way to make the SMG a little bit better is the Burkhart Engineering oil and pump electric motor upgrade.

More perpetuating of the exaggerated unreliability issues with no basis in fact. Loads of these are the wrong side of 100k miles now and still going... The horn is exactly the same on the M5 as normal E60s so hardly relevant. If someone paid $700 for that then thats their issue 😂 Btw - the seat bolsters both close if you quickly turn one way and then the other, not under braking. 👍🏻 If you get anxiety whilst driving - this is not the car for you...

The SMG I drove shifted like a 7-year-old who couldn't reach the pedals.

Our M5 now is getting its rod bearings changed, gladly insurance is answering for it. Rod bearings are still in alright condition, it’s a very pristine condition only 60k kms. It’s definitely one of a kind.

LOL... Todd's hair at 4:23

smg in S6 mode is the equivalent of "no lift shift" X100

I own this car in HK, ultra dense metro area. To be honest I think it’s harder for you to drive smooth than drive fast in it. Become my daily challenge!

Great video! Now can you get your hands on the V10 M6... I bought mine 3 months ago with 65k miles an automatically did throttle body actuators.. and right now it's getting rod bearings with engine and trans tuning

This guy an I have alot in common, I bought my 2010 V10 M6(the best year to have) from carmax.I did buy the carmax warranty.. on my 2nd drive of the car. ." Transmission malfunction light came up..$2000.00 later it needed a new battery and a rear differential oil leak repaired free of charge from BMW!Note : I drive mine on level 6 shift with traction control off!!! In 3 years of ownership I paid less than $300 out of pocket! My monthly gasoline expense is no less than $500..Ps. I cancelled the warranty after the 1st year! Fyi. To kept this car running, you have to let the engine warm up for about 19mns ( oil 10w60 Castro) and always lift your foot off while shifting to next year up and down. This is the most reliable V10 car I I know.

Repair costs have nothing to do with the car, it's the stealerships robbing people, and it's sad, makes people scared of some of the best machines ever built. P.S. I have been a mechanic for 25 years and there is nothing scary and nothing that required a dealer to repair, find a competent shop. If you're in Nebraska 😉 I'll be your huckleberry.

Great review 👌🏽 One of my all time favourite bucket list cars. Will always make sure it has the BMW extended warranty before buying. Looks clean in white too 👍🏽

Wow you can actually see the bolsters move lol

6MT was a USA only option. Germans want these now if they want the S85 V10.

If I had a new M3 ordered I would already have my plate ordered from state of Michigan. BVRTH1

I'd LOVE one with a Manual. Just worried about reliability nightmares... :( too bad

There will never be another car that excites the soul as much as an S85 powered ///M Love mine and would not consider going to the turbo fart cars that are faster.

Such a beautiful car

Yea, the bolsters suck, first time i used them in hard driving, they just about split my kidneys open, i leave them off and just set them nice and snug, the smg is not the best, especially round town, but on the open road pretty good, i like feeling the next gear slam in, and with 7 ratios, much better suited to the s85 than the 6 shooter, and therefore quicker, and faster than anyone can rip a stick, BMW actually made a 5.5 litre v10 DCT, but never realeased it, what a shame, that would be awesome, even today.

You can always convert it to a manual.

my dream M5... the only m5 i wish to own....

Great video guys! There are some S-Class MBs with the touchy feely bolsters lol

11:42 / 20:08 "Stop it with the bolsters, I'm just sitting here."

10 years on my 6 speed Dinan S2 e60 m5. Sitting at 174,000 miles of daily, track, and baby hauling. LOL at all the internet comments of the 6 speed not matched to the v10. Bean counters decided to only offer the 7 speed SMG 3.62 final drive for 6 speed manual, well that's not going to work. Don't blame the 6 speed transmission, blame the ratios (and bean counters) -- or fix the ratio with a 3.91 for the 6 speed. Not giving up my "afterthought" 6 speed: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4WtWlXVMnuc.html

Not driving these kinds of cars is far worse for them. Drive them a few times a week and don't be afraid to give the old Italian tune up once it's at operating temp.

PS: and ask someone to set the bolsters properly for you lol

manual e60 m5 are rare. theirs only 1366 total. So you can expect that theirs only about 1K of them left.

Nice video/information. I am considering purchasing one in the next 3 months. I am just so nervous because of the maintenance horror stories, however,I guess I should purchasr through Carmax with a warranty huh?

A white M5 is an absolute power move

That is an awesomely beautiful car. They don't make em that sexy anymore.

I have a 07 530i but I want the M5 V10 e60 but was told to stay away from it and get the F10 M5 instead.

I had the 2006 BMW M5 and I maintained the hell out of it but when heard that the VANOS systems cost $15000 to repair and there was no way around it, then I sold the car. It is a great car and I can say I owned a part of automotive history.

I have an e60m5 too.. but it has been in my mechanic shop for a month now trying to figure out what causing the reduced engine power.. He said all mechanisms works.. even checked compression ratio.. re-programmed DME still has reduced engine power fault code.

This is generation of 5 series BMW started going down hill. Still handles great and is light in six cylinder version. The interior was goofy with that idrive. The run flat tires are stupid. And the exterior is love it or hate it, even though I think looks interesting. Get it with base straight six with no turbo and it is still a good BMw if you can live with idrive.

this car body style was hated by many old school BMW owers...

E39 M5 next please.

You mentioned the car is from Chicago. Where did you take the drive at? That road looks amazing. Hope it’s close to Chicago.

If I had one of these I would so replace those seats

Remove the front lights remove the front bumper max 1.5 hours with lunch, it has two horns.

Can i get that engine in my E36 please..

After rod bearings are done you need 5k on deck to blow on this car at any given time.. speaking from experience, and it’s worth every dollar

3:11 THIS IS Y THE CONVERTIBLE IS THE BEST RETRACTABLE REAR GLASS HEAR THE EXHAUST NOTE :3

so the car is in limp mode until you press the button

Holy cow he super over paid just to get it with a warranty 😳

You whine and complain about maintenance cost for 15 minutes and then say it should have had a DCT... You know, the unserviceable transmission that costs $14,000 and you can't service it. SMH.

With this exhaust sound cops can hear you from 5km away

I own an I6 twin scroll bmw and I get anxiety everytime i turn it on. I quiver at the thought of the warranty running out. How do they get away with doing this to people??

I sold my 370z now I’m looking for an m5 and I think I found the right one but everyone is saying the bearings will fail. Now I don’t know what to do because I’ve been looking forward to one.

tank yu for driving value down

Curious, what mics do you guys use?

4:04 wasnt it ?

cool but fragile vehicle I am more partial with the E39 M5, drove one when new 18 yrs ago and still going with 145,000 miles

Had two 07 530i's, I brought back from Germany. I liked the E60, and thought about picking up an M5 now, but the connecting rod bearing issue, VANOS pump, and the high pressure line looks like a bit of work once it hits 60k miles. Finding one that has had this performed recently would be ideal.

It's interesting how german cars get a pass on their mechanical/electrical issues. Lexus is an incredibly sophisticated vehicle as well and is as reliable as a Toyota. My brother had this 2006 M5 money pit after he purchased it 2nd hand. Had oil leaks and sold the car right before 80k miles as it required $10,000 dollars of head gasket work. If you kids are going to community college, then spend money on this car. If your kids are going to a four year college and beyond, pass on this crap. My 2011 V12 Maybach, which is more powerful than this vehicle, is more reliable and that's saying a lot, Ravi Peiris M.D.