While most people in the US are wondering if the 2016 presidential election is actually just a big hoax, some insane reality show put on by Trump, I’m thinking: “hmm…maybe I should’ve bought the E60 M5 instead of the IS-F?” Buyer’s remorse, was it?
When I bought my IS-F, I was strongly considering buying an E60 M5, but the IS-F fell into my lap first. To be honest, it’s not a big deal what I’m driving now because I go through cars at the same frequency that babies go through diapers. I can always sell what I’m driving today and get something different tomorrow. I have no desire to hold onto anything I own, so I might briefly own an M5 some day.
You might be thinking that a comparison between the IS-F and M5 doesn’t make any sense since the IS-F was built to compete with the E9x BMW M3. Yes you would be right, that is, if the comparison was between brand new versions of both models.
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But, here, I’m comparing a couple of used cars. And when it comes to these cars being many years old, the depreciation, which is steep for the E60 M5, brings its price down to that of a used IS-F. So, even though a $30K difference in price existed when new, you could buy a used 2006 M5 with 72K miles for about the same amount as a 2008 IS-F with 79K miles on it: somewhere in the mid-to-high $20K range.
In my case, the cars are even closer because a 500 hp M5 is not that much more powerful than the 450+ hp generated by my Japanese muscle car.
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Japanese vs. German High Performance 4-Door Sedan Impression
As soon as you open the door of the M5, you’re immediately struck by the heaviness of it. The IS-F’s the door is thinner, lighter and flies open quite easily. With the M5, however, you get the feeling that there’s more substance. Substance in the form of stacks of paper stashed inside the door paneling to make them feel heavier.
Besides the heavy doors, there was way less rattling in the interior of the M5 as opposed to the IS-F. Don’t be fooled by the pretty IS-F interior visuals with carbon-fiber inserts; there is enough interior noise here to drive you insane.
In the IS-F, you constantly hear all kinds of things coming loose. The M5, on the other hand, is better put together–things feel much more solid. This can only mean one thing: BMW must be using the best quality paper known to mankind.
What It’s Like to Drive
Although the E60 M5 is a big and bulky car, when you drive it, BMW has done a nice job of making the car feel and handle like it’s much smaller. This is the exact opposite of the IS-F which somehow feels bigger and heavier than it actually is.
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The M5 has more predictable steering, handling and small things make the M5 feel like more of a driver’s car than the IS-F. Things like better seating position, better steering wheel and better ergonomics.
In terms of sheer acceleration, I found that my IS-F was mostly able to keep up with the M5. With both of us flooring it on empty stretches of road, the cars felt similarly powerful. The difference is that, with the M5, the power comes at higher rpms whereas you’ll get to enjoy lots of low-end torque in the IS-F.
Comparing The Transmissions
The ’06 M5 has the quirky SMG transmission which means that BMW has taken all the fun out of having a manual transmission and has left you with the worst aspects of it. No clutch that you can push in, or a gearshift lever that you can manhandle. Instead you experience lots of lurching and agonizingly slow shifts at slower speeds and rpms which is a nuisance to deal with.
But things change when you floor it. It’s easy to slam the gas pedal down because the M5 is constantly begging you to do so with its willingess to rev up to stratospheric engine-blowing territory. Under full throttle, the transmission shifts quickly but so hard that for a moment you think that the transmission might have just fallen out from underneath the car. But somehow the M5 seems to be happy with all that redlining and that’s when the paddle-shifting performs the best.
But it’s probably not a good idea to do this all time, so I would recommend avoiding this altogether and finding a manual M5 to control your revs and shifting. You’ll be way happier too.
A huge benefit, especially, with this car, is the V10 wailing at 8500 rpm. Because the M5 doesn’t have the muffler or the secondary catalytic converter, this is one of the best sounding cars I’ve heard. The exhaust noise alone is one of the reasons to own an M5 car because nothing else quite sounds like it.
I thought my car was loud, but not next to the monstrous F1-like V10 roar. Here is a little something to give you a taste. You’d have to experience it in person to fully enjoy it.
A video posted by Torque Affair (@torqueaffair) on May 1, 2016 at 7:54am PDT
The M5 transmission is rough around the edges unlike the IS-F transmission which is extremely smooth and polished. Too much so, actually. With very quick shifts and an effortless increase in speed, there’s a simplicity and a lack of drama associated with it.
The M5 gives you a more thrilling sensation because as you’re flying through gears, you’re worried if this is the moment when the pistons will fly out of the engine block. The IS-F might be boring in comparison, but it will probably not leave you $20K in the hole trying to replace the engine.
The Maintenance Costs–Oh My God–The Maintenance Costs
The E60 BMW M5 is not a car you should purchase without a warranty–or really ever. Because even if you do get a warranty, normal maintenance costs are so high that it will keep you up at night since your spouse will be constantly nagging you: “How come you get to spend so much money on that car instead of us going on vacation?”
Here are some normal maintenance costs. Oil change: $275, Brakes: $800, Plugs: $1200, Tires: 5 billion dollars–you get the idea.
On top of that, there are repair items and this M5 has its fair share of things go wrong. Fidelity, who sold the owner of this M5 the warranty has paid out almost $20K to replace things like the thermostat, headers w/ sensors, throttle actuators, oil cooler, clutch position sensor, etc. over the two years that he has owned the car. The owner has had to pay $2200 for the deductibles for the car and $3000 to replace the clutch and many thousands of dollars for normal maintenance items.
Owning the E60 M5 is equivalent to completely ignoring anything that anyone has ever taught you about personal finance.
Is It Ever Worth It To Buy An M5?
As an auto enthusiast, buying any kind of a fun car costs money and if you can afford to own something, you should. Us auto enthusiasts are cursed and unfortunately we love things that are entirely too expensive and make us do financially irresponsible things. But what can you do? Just accept your curse and live with it.
From a reasonable human-being perspective, buying an E60 M5 is probably the last thing you should do. Right after buying a hoverboard. But I’m not reasonable.
An E60 M5 will likely be a money pit but it does have something special that other cars can’t replicate. I really enjoyed the 335i I owned for a while and I’m sure the V10 M5 will be a fun car to drive. The best thing I can do here is to minimize the risks by buying one with a warranty that has been thoroughly inspected by a mechanic and M5 expert. But even then my engine could explode, because I know someone whose M5’s engine did blow.
Whether or not I end up with an M5 some day, I did walk away from this experience appreciating the IS-F more. It’s a far less stressful way to enjoy high performance. It’s still extremely fast and has the suspension/setup to tackle corners at a high speed with a loud, burbly V8. The best part is that you’ll likely not have to spend much on maintenance which means you can still go to Italy, buy a house and send your kids to college while daily driving a 450 hp beast. With the M5, you’ll have to sell your house and all of your possessions and live in it–just to keep it running. And your significant other will hate you.
Torque Affair is about exploring my fascination with cars. I’m always on the lookout for things that interest me in the car world.
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