Opinions: Buy an '02 M5 or put $2K in the 2.7T?
2nd Gear
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 532
From: Va
Have you tried GIAC and VAST aswell? I have had exp with all of the tuners and would have to say GIAC AND Vast are more willing to get what you want out of the car. You have the option to down tune it or tune it for all of your power. APR program will start to get a little boring and I find commonly went into limp mode. APR also has lets routes you are able to take with mods.. aswell the reflash is pointless from stage1-2+ basiclly wasting your money. You can really see stage 2-2+ in the Vast and GIAC program. I have the same smoothness as stock to be honest even with 440HP. You feel a slight pull and the **** just goes. From a launch obviously you can feel that extra 200 TQ from stock 
. I am a daily driver and currently have been running the stock torque converter for 10k miles+. Id say go with GIAC and VAST I honestly wasted a bunch of money going from company to company. Oh APR also charges the most out of the 3 companies ;p GL with your research!
. I am a daily driver and currently have been running the stock torque converter for 10k miles+. Id say go with GIAC and VAST I honestly wasted a bunch of money going from company to company. Oh APR also charges the most out of the 3 companies ;p GL with your research!
1st Gear
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4
Ok, so I own a 2001 M5, so I have an educated opinion about them. Absoutely the best car I have ever owned. Solid as a rock, fast as hell. With the right tires (or even the wrong ones really) it's just unreal.
Mine is Carbon Black with the Caramel leather seats - this interior inlcudes things like a leather dashboard and door panels. Black interiors have to have the "full leather" option to be totally leather-clad.
A few things to know:
1) DON'T BUY A PRE-FACELIFT (99, 2000) E39 M5. There are enough equipment differences to make you always wanting for a newer one. The 2001 (like I have) is just ok - the 2002 adds automatic headlights, front parking sensors (if you have the rear option), and the 2003 has a Mark IV Navigation system (DVD based, and much better).
2) Carbon Buildup. Most M5s will eventually develop a condidtion where some small passages in the heads clog with crap and your check engine light comes on. Does not affect performance, but you WILL fail inspection. The fix (which BMW will not pay for) is to pull the heads and clean them out. Someone is selling a programming fix that will disable the light, but the problem does still remain.
3) Pixels on the dash. The instrument cluster (like many German cars) has a pixelated LCD display. These die. BMW will fix it (once) if you find the right contact - she's on the BMW forums somewhere. I got mine fixed free even though I was the 2nd owner (they never asked, so I did not tell).
4) Clutch is $3000 at a dealer. The whole exhaust system has to come out of the car.
5) Brake jobs are also really expensive if you go to a dealer. Parts alone is $1500 per axle.
6) M5's don't have a spare tire, or the place to put one in the trunk pan. Yes you can get run-flat tires and the cars come with lifetime road side assistance (even used), but it's not the same as having at least a donut.
7) There are essentailly no cup-holders. The two front ones (under the AC controls) suck and break often. $30-$40 on ebay.
8) No more timing belts. M5s are chain driven thank god.
I am about to pick up a 2002 S6 Avant (still have the M5). Anything I need to know ;-) Is there a way to get from 340hp to 400hp without major surgery?
Mine is Carbon Black with the Caramel leather seats - this interior inlcudes things like a leather dashboard and door panels. Black interiors have to have the "full leather" option to be totally leather-clad.
A few things to know:
1) DON'T BUY A PRE-FACELIFT (99, 2000) E39 M5. There are enough equipment differences to make you always wanting for a newer one. The 2001 (like I have) is just ok - the 2002 adds automatic headlights, front parking sensors (if you have the rear option), and the 2003 has a Mark IV Navigation system (DVD based, and much better).
2) Carbon Buildup. Most M5s will eventually develop a condidtion where some small passages in the heads clog with crap and your check engine light comes on. Does not affect performance, but you WILL fail inspection. The fix (which BMW will not pay for) is to pull the heads and clean them out. Someone is selling a programming fix that will disable the light, but the problem does still remain.
3) Pixels on the dash. The instrument cluster (like many German cars) has a pixelated LCD display. These die. BMW will fix it (once) if you find the right contact - she's on the BMW forums somewhere. I got mine fixed free even though I was the 2nd owner (they never asked, so I did not tell).
4) Clutch is $3000 at a dealer. The whole exhaust system has to come out of the car.
5) Brake jobs are also really expensive if you go to a dealer. Parts alone is $1500 per axle.
6) M5's don't have a spare tire, or the place to put one in the trunk pan. Yes you can get run-flat tires and the cars come with lifetime road side assistance (even used), but it's not the same as having at least a donut.
7) There are essentailly no cup-holders. The two front ones (under the AC controls) suck and break often. $30-$40 on ebay.
8) No more timing belts. M5s are chain driven thank god.
I am about to pick up a 2002 S6 Avant (still have the M5). Anything I need to know ;-) Is there a way to get from 340hp to 400hp without major surgery?
1st Gear
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4
Knock on wood...not as common as one would be led to believe. The other items will DEFINITELY happen. Until the software fix came out (it is illegal of course) Carbon Buildup was the thing that I lost sleep over. $7000 or $8000 to pull the heads and it really fixes nothing.
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