Would you buy an M5 with no service History?

mejinks · 30 Jan 2011 at 03:52

Even if it was stupidly cheap? By that I mean criminally cheap.

I wouldn't but a friend of mine wants to.

MissChief · 30 Jan 2011 at 04:03

Oh jesus no. A car like that, walk away. you could conceivably speak to BMW to see if any warranty work was done or maybe speak to a dealer to see if there's any record of it being 'in the network', but if you can't find a trace of any SH whatsoever, then run a mile.

Spamalot · 30 Jan 2011 at 05:18

It depends how cheap it was. If it was £500 then yes, why not!

The Edge · 30 Jan 2011 at 08:01

Does it come with a huge wad of reciepts showing that a conciensous home mechanic has looked after the car?

wez130 · 30 Jan 2011 at 08:23

I suppose we should know how cheap cheap is first, also is at an E60 or E39?

panthro · 30 Jan 2011 at 08:30

Depends how cheap youre talking.....

As long as it has an MOT certificate and is HPI clear I would give it a punt if it was criminally cheap.

Maz · 30 Jan 2011 at 08:34

Yeah.

Lashout_UK · 30 Jan 2011 at 11:16

BMW will, if they don't act like morons, tell you everything they know about the car's history and servicing, if you can tell them it's reg number and model - although, as mentioned, it does depend on who you deal with.

Ergo there is no such thing as an M5 with no history, unless it's been reshelled with no paperwork and thus competely untraceable.

coopersim · 30 Jan 2011 at 12:13

Personally, no way!

[TW]Fox · 30 Jan 2011 at 12:20

Probably not - by the time you start playing 'pay the invoice' at the local specialist every time something else on your abused, tatty heap of an M5 goes wrong you'll eventually find that you've inadverently spent as much as you would have on a good one anyway. Because once you start paying out you become less and less inclined to just cut and run because you've got more and more money in it.

Tute · 30 Jan 2011 at 12:26

It would depend on the price and how much of the history I could trace.

Maz · 30 Jan 2011 at 12:44

I've bought plenty of cars without SH, because on most cars it's likely that the first few years was done at a dealer.

Hxc · 30 Jan 2011 at 12:46

Maz said:
I've bought plenty of cars without SH, because on most cars it's likely that the first few years was done at a dealer.

Likely, yes, but would you take that risk on something like an M5? :confused:

[TW]Fox · 30 Jan 2011 at 12:49

Maz said:
I've bought plenty of cars without SH, because on most cars it's likely that the first few years was done at a dealer.

Quite but I suspect this is a 10 year old M5 and not a 3 year old M5, meaning there is a likelyhood of far more sinister reasons for it not having any history, notably:

a) It has no history because it hasnt been serviced properly, which on a car like this sets off all the alarm bells. Especially if its rolling on some Wan Li's.

b) It has no history because the history reveals its true mileage

Muncher · 30 Jan 2011 at 12:53

It all depends on the price...

[TW]Fox · 30 Jan 2011 at 12:54

Muncher said:
It all depends on the price...

Not neccesarily, if its £4k and then rapes you for a further £6k over the next year (This is an M5 not Honda Civic) then you'd have been better off just buying a decent one in the first place and as I've said, once you've paid the first 4 figure bill the inclination to stick with it is far more high.

I think that cheap M5's are doomed anyway - it was a £60,000 super saloon. It isn't suddenly a Ford Focus now it costs the same as one, most people don't think about this and end up getting burnt. The sort of person who can actually afford to run a cheap M5 has no interest in buying a cheap M5, meaning anyone who does want to buy a cheap M5 is probably sailing into the bay of fail.

Maz · 30 Jan 2011 at 12:56

[TW]Fox;18347267 said:
Quite but I suspect this is a 10 year old M5 and not a 3 year old M5, meaning there is a likelyhood of far more sinister reasons for it not having any history, notably:

a) It has no history because it hasnt been serviced properly, which on a car like this sets off all the alarm bells. Especially if its rolling on some Wan Li's.

b) It has no history because the history reveals its true mileage

You've got to remember my logic is purely from a commercial point of view.

A) Some people don't care, and I won't own it long enough for it to make a difference.

B) MOT checks, and NMR checks, but also plug BMW Diag into it to reveal true mileage - all those steps taken are more than reasonable steps to investigate mileage.

Gin0rm0 · 30 Jan 2011 at 12:56

No way, you'd be better off paying the extra for one with decent history or risk costing yourself a fortune in repairs and difficulty in re-selling.

Janesy B · 30 Jan 2011 at 12:57

No, I don't like gambling.

[TW]Fox · 30 Jan 2011 at 13:00

Maz said:
You've got to remember my logic is purely from a commercial point of view.

I can't imagine you wanting an M5 without history on your pitch. Not only will it take ages to sell, it'd stand a high chance of wiping out any profit you make in the first month when the buyer brings it back. Infact I'm amazed any dealer takes the risk with any 10 year old M5! Surely they are just too much hassle and too much risk.

B) MOT checks, and NMR checks, but also plug BMW Diag into it to reveal true mileage - all those steps taken are more than reasonable steps to investigate mileage.

BMW Diag isn't failsafe - if the job has been done properly the mileage is recoded in all areas of the car and you won't be able to tell by using diag.