What to look for

Hello all

I have been driving a 97 528i for the last 4 years and have learned a lot about the e39. My dad is now looking at a 2000 M5 with 123,000 miles on it. It's Imola red with a caramel interior. I know the lower model e39s have always had cooling system problems and are notorious for certain things. When looking for an e39 M5 are there any specifics that should be looked at? Obviously a PPI is a no brainer but is there anything else that should be addressed?

Thanks, Vinnie

When I bought my 2001 M5 at 69,000 miles, it had leaks galore. If I were you, I would take off the two covers underneath the car and inspect for leaks. Those covers hide a lot of things that can potentially be wrong with the car. I would also inspect all items related to the drive shaft (guibo, center beraing, etc.). I would also check out for thermostat and valve cover leaks. Another come problem with those cars are the auto dimming feature of the rear view mirror. You can get that fixed though for about $100.00. Basically, the cars are pretty reliable. Fluid leaks are the more commnon issues and don't me scared about all that vanos and rod bearing talk. At the end of the day, you're dealing with a 13 year old car and it's bound to need a little work.

heres a few more that are possible candidates as well. Which one seems like the best deal to you guys just by looking through the links so far?

http://binghamton.craigslist.org/cto/2884196276.html

http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/2945762299.html

http://scranton.craigslist.org/cto/2950667442.html

The last one is the original one I was asking about in the first post

Thanks again for the help