AdiS
Well-known member
Thread Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Maintenance Round 1
Chapter 3: In Car Entertainment
Chapter 4: Maintenance Round 2
Chapter 1: Introduction
I never saw myself owning an E39 M5 as I’ve always considered myself “Mr E46” or “Mr S54”, yet here we are. The truth is that the E39 was actually my first BMW love, and it was only due to the fact that the E46 was effectively a mini-E39 that my love then transferred. I poured my heart and soul into 3 of those cars, and you can read about them here, here, and here.
Somewhat ironically, about 10 years ago I befriend the founders of the E39Source channel — Ryan and Kennan — both of whom have become close friends, with Ryan being a specific source of (irrational) inspiration in my previous projects. Having just recently visited them in San Diego, USA and having the privilege of driving of their extremely well matained E39 M5s, I’ve always wanted to find a reason to own one.
Rather serendipitously, it was while I was visiting them recently that I was contacted by a family friend whom I’ve known my whole life about selling his E39 M5. He has owned it since 2005 and 57,000km and garage kept that entire time, sitting with mileage just above 100,000km. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but then I quickly realised that if I ever wanted the chance to own an E39 M5, this was probably it.
The car ticks all the boxes - a known, long term owner, facelift, the iconic Silverstone Metallic launch colour, fully loaded with every option and well looked after. I was given first option on the car, and as soon as I returned from my trip, I went to have a look and concluded the deal. It turns out these days, clean facelift E39 M5s are quite sought after.
The Car
This car was garaged for pretty much it’s entire life, and it shows. No clear coat failure, the leather is still super soft (given it’s age), and everything still works. That said, it is a 25 year old car, and it needs a bit of work to realise it’s full potential. I think it’s an excellent foundation upon which to start one of my irrational restorations after which I think it will be a really compelling example.
In the past, I might have taken a bit more time and got less carried away, but the reality is that many parts are becoming really expensive or no longer available, so it’s been a case of “if you think you’ll want to do it, do it now!”. So, here we go!
Collection
The previous owners who were very sad to see the car go, but thrilled that it's stayed in the family. I took a few pics when collecting the car with the previous owner and his wife, but for the sake of their privacy I blurred out their faces and kept all but this one private.
I do have the following as I was driving back into town and arriving at home.
9 May 2025: E39Source
My first purchase for the car was actually before I concluded the deal. Being in San Diego at the time afforded me the opportunity to visit Ryan’s specialist shop - E39Source LLC and pick up a few parts that aren’t available locally:
I’m a big fan of the BlueBus as an OEM-like solution for Bluetooth - I’m very happy with it in my Z4 M. The brake lines in the engine bay are a known fire risk, so I thought it best to get a permanent solution to this problem and follow Ryan’s advice on the Turner Kit. It wasn’t cheap, but it’s one less thing to worry about. I suspect I am the only South African E39 M5 owner to have an E39Source invoice! For context: this is a shop that Americans regularly ship their M5s across country to and spend $50k+ on restorations because Ryan’s work is super high quality and he is probably one of the most knowledgable E39 M5 owners in the world.
Some Mint customer cars parked out front
This is actually a relatively quiet day at the shop:
Ryan's 540i6 Daily Driver with E38 Sport Comfort seats which are quite literally the most comfortable seats Ive ever sat in, in my life. No exaggeration.
Watch the restoration project here (and the car has come along way even since this video).
And of course on of the most famously documented M5s on youtube and pretty much my car's LHD twin:
Ryan has bought pretty much every piece of E39 M5 literature in existence:
Anyway, back to my car.
19 May 2025: Tires
102,866km
The most immediate concern were the tires from 2012 (that is how little this car has been drive in the last 10 years or so). I really wanted Michelin, but as usual with this car, nothing is easily available, so I settled on Bridgestone Potenza Sport which are perfectly fine and paradigms better than the old tires that were on the car.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Maintenance Round 1
Chapter 3: In Car Entertainment
Chapter 4: Maintenance Round 2
Chapter 1: Introduction
I never saw myself owning an E39 M5 as I’ve always considered myself “Mr E46” or “Mr S54”, yet here we are. The truth is that the E39 was actually my first BMW love, and it was only due to the fact that the E46 was effectively a mini-E39 that my love then transferred. I poured my heart and soul into 3 of those cars, and you can read about them here, here, and here.
Somewhat ironically, about 10 years ago I befriend the founders of the E39Source channel — Ryan and Kennan — both of whom have become close friends, with Ryan being a specific source of (irrational) inspiration in my previous projects. Having just recently visited them in San Diego, USA and having the privilege of driving of their extremely well matained E39 M5s, I’ve always wanted to find a reason to own one.
Rather serendipitously, it was while I was visiting them recently that I was contacted by a family friend whom I’ve known my whole life about selling his E39 M5. He has owned it since 2005 and 57,000km and garage kept that entire time, sitting with mileage just above 100,000km. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but then I quickly realised that if I ever wanted the chance to own an E39 M5, this was probably it.
The car ticks all the boxes - a known, long term owner, facelift, the iconic Silverstone Metallic launch colour, fully loaded with every option and well looked after. I was given first option on the car, and as soon as I returned from my trip, I went to have a look and concluded the deal. It turns out these days, clean facelift E39 M5s are quite sought after.
The Car
- Model: 2001 BMW E39 M5
- Production Date: 04/2001
- Colour: Silverstone Metallic
- Mileage: 102,800km.
- History: Previous owner since 2005 / 57,000km. Extended motorplan until 2007 / 78,000km. No Accidents. Full Service History.
- Notable Options: Individual Audio (known as “M-Audio” in USA), rear sunshades, protective double glazing glass, seat heaters, front & rear PDC, metal sunroof. As far as I can tell, there isn’t a box the original owner didn’t tick. The original purchaser was definitely a baller in 2001.
This car was garaged for pretty much it’s entire life, and it shows. No clear coat failure, the leather is still super soft (given it’s age), and everything still works. That said, it is a 25 year old car, and it needs a bit of work to realise it’s full potential. I think it’s an excellent foundation upon which to start one of my irrational restorations after which I think it will be a really compelling example.
In the past, I might have taken a bit more time and got less carried away, but the reality is that many parts are becoming really expensive or no longer available, so it’s been a case of “if you think you’ll want to do it, do it now!”. So, here we go!
Collection
The previous owners who were very sad to see the car go, but thrilled that it's stayed in the family. I took a few pics when collecting the car with the previous owner and his wife, but for the sake of their privacy I blurred out their faces and kept all but this one private.
I do have the following as I was driving back into town and arriving at home.
9 May 2025: E39Source
My first purchase for the car was actually before I concluded the deal. Being in San Diego at the time afforded me the opportunity to visit Ryan’s specialist shop - E39Source LLC and pick up a few parts that aren’t available locally:
- BlueBus
- Tuner Motorsports Stainless Steel Brake Line Kit.
I’m a big fan of the BlueBus as an OEM-like solution for Bluetooth - I’m very happy with it in my Z4 M. The brake lines in the engine bay are a known fire risk, so I thought it best to get a permanent solution to this problem and follow Ryan’s advice on the Turner Kit. It wasn’t cheap, but it’s one less thing to worry about. I suspect I am the only South African E39 M5 owner to have an E39Source invoice! For context: this is a shop that Americans regularly ship their M5s across country to and spend $50k+ on restorations because Ryan’s work is super high quality and he is probably one of the most knowledgable E39 M5 owners in the world.
Some Mint customer cars parked out front
This is actually a relatively quiet day at the shop:
Ryan's 540i6 Daily Driver with E38 Sport Comfort seats which are quite literally the most comfortable seats Ive ever sat in, in my life. No exaggeration.
Watch the restoration project here (and the car has come along way even since this video).
And of course on of the most famously documented M5s on youtube and pretty much my car's LHD twin:
Ryan has bought pretty much every piece of E39 M5 literature in existence:
Anyway, back to my car.
19 May 2025: Tires
102,866km
The most immediate concern were the tires from 2012 (that is how little this car has been drive in the last 10 years or so). I really wanted Michelin, but as usual with this car, nothing is easily available, so I settled on Bridgestone Potenza Sport which are perfectly fine and paradigms better than the old tires that were on the car.
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