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The original was posted on /r/cars by /u/ghostofChrist on 2025-07-10 15:14:46+00:00.
I've wanted an M5 for many, many years now. Honestly, I wanted an f90 slightly more than an f10, but f90s are still out of budget for me, and the stars aligned on this one. We had been shopping around for a few months, and started bidding on one on cars and bids. We were outbid by like $200, but my wife wasn't comfortable going higher given the seller was turning the car around after losing money on the car and owning it for 6 months. Well, the original buyer backed out, and they offered to sell to us with no buyers fee and at our current bid. We agreed, but wanted to do a test drive before finalizing anything. I found what seemed to be the only local M5 in any decent shape and went the next morning to do a test drive, and when I got there the car was flawless. We ended up purchasing the local car and passing on the auction car. Both were at the same price, $25k. There's a story with taking this car home but that's not the purpose of this post.
All I can say is you've always heard to never meet your dream cars....well that's not true in this case. It has exceeded every expectation i had. This car is an experience every time you get behind the wheel.
Styling 8.5/10: this is purely subjective, but I personally find the f10 to be one of the best looking sedans ever made. It's beautiful from every angle. There is a presence to it thats hard to ignore. It looks like a car that justifies it's price tag and it's proportions are near perfection. Panel gaps are consistent for every panel, nothing is over the top, just an all around nice looking car. The previous owner didn't take care of the paint the way that I will, but with time it will look as good as a daily driver can look. The car gets a lot of attention, but most of it is respectful appreciation and not obnoxious. I did have one guy get pretty aggressive with me and giving me a thumbs down I guess for not revving at him, but we were in stop and go traffic and the entire interaction was quite weird. Another instance was some kids walking to school as I was leaving one morning shouting for me to rev it for them, and of course you can't leave children hanging. They're the future of the car industry, let them indulge.
Interior 7/10: Again, subjective, but all of my ratings will be. I initially didn't want to buy this car because the color of the interior looked horrible in photos. It's cohiba brown merino leather and wood trim. When I got into the car for the first time that opinion immediately changed. The leather is subtle in color, but a breath of fresh air compared to typical black interiors. The wood trim is warm and pleasant to look at. Thr colors of the interior blend together well and make it a very pleasant space to be in. The seats, oh my god the seats. These are the most comfortable seats I have ever been in on a car, no question. My wife drives a glc300 and her seats feel like concrete benches in comparison. The m5 hugs you gently, they're plush and supportive. It again feels very premium. The quality of the leather isn't anything to write home about, but it's soft enough to feel nice to the touch, and durable enough to hold up to daily driving. It's softer than my 1 series with sensatec and softer than my wifes mbtex, but that's to be expected and not as much of a difference as I thought it would be. The ergonomics of the interior are excellent. Everything is in a place that makes sense, everything is a physical button, and most things on the car are automatic as well. It's very easy to find a comfortable driving position and the seats can adjust many different ways to tailor your seating position.
Features: I'm not giving a rating here because it's not one of the reasons I bought the car, however it is nicely equipped for its age. Heated steering wheel is a game changer in winter. Heated, cooled, and massaging seats - the cooled seats really seem to be somewhat of an after thought. They only really turn on when the hvac is blowing at your feet and you have cooled seats activated, and even then you don't really notice until 20 minutes later when your butt isn't sweaty anymore. Nonetheless, in Texas it's a welcome feature to have. Rear sunshades are another welcomed feature. When my kid would ride in my other car, he was always too hot in the summer and even with ac on full blast there was little that could be done. In this car, I can park with the shades up at the office and crank the ac on my way to pick him up, and by the time he gets in the car is nice and cool. Heads up display is not a feature I can live without again. I've used cars with them before, but after daily driving a car that has it and getting used to it it's a must. Bang and olufsen sound system: the speakers look beautiful and the speaker that pops up out of the dash is cool. It sounds nice, but not amazing either. It's clear enough to get the job done. Other notable features are auto dimming rear view mirror, automatic windshield wipers (which you have to actually turn on every time you get in the car. Kind of defeats the purpose in my opinion. Maybe this can be coded out), heated rear seats, power close trunk, 4 zone automatic climate control and soft close doors. Very nice things to have, not essential though.
Ride quality and handling 7/10: This is an area I was very concerned about being an M car that's a daily driver. The ride quality is excellent in spite of the 20" wheels and thin sidewall tires. You feel bumps yes, but the car is very nicely damped in comfort mode and it's not uncomfortable in the least. On smooth rodes, the car is downright plush. You get very little road and wind noise and the interior is quiet, much more so than other luxury cars that I've driven, and moreso than most other bmws that I've driven. Its a very serene feeling and on commutes I find myself just enjoying being in the car and letting the car relax me. My hope when i purchased the car was that it would be a good bit softer than my other car on ohlins coilover, and fortunately, the M is indeed much more comfortable. As far as handling is concerned, it's a big and heavy car and you feel every bit of that weight. Having said that, the car is controlled, it corners with absolute confidence, it's not unsettled by sharp inputs or bumps, and it's very predictable. The steering (which is still hydraulic on the f10) isn't the most communicative, but it's not numb either. You are given a sense of what each tire is doing and the weight on comfort and sport is perfect. The weight of the steering on sport plus is far too heavy to be usable in most situations. The dampers in sport are just firm enough for spirited cruises, but not so much to rattle your teeth out. Again, very confidence inspiring. The car struggles to put it's power down from dead stop, but the traction is easy to manage and the lsd helps keep the car in check. It's a very easy car to drive, and it's sublime to open it up.
Engine 8.5/10: So I've raved about how comfortable the car is and how nice it is for commutes. Why buy an M car if all you do is putt it around town? Well, the engine is the simple answer to that question. The S63 engine is an absolute powerhouse. It makes mountains of torque from low rpm and it pulls hard almost the entire duration to redline. It will pin you to your seat at almost any speed you ask it to, and it'll keep you there as long as you're brave enough to stay in it. The engine is smooth and surprisingly rev happy for it's size, and it's just as comfortable banging shifts at 7000rpm as it is cruising around at 1100rpm. The exhaust note is deep and throaty. Not to the extent that American v8s are, but there's a sense of refinement to the bmw engine. It doesn't sound lumpy, it's a smooth engine and that reflects in its exhaust note too. Turbo lag is basically non existent here. If you put your foot down the car goes, and it goes in a hurry. The engine in comfort mode is still powerful, but it delivers that power in a very lazy way. Torquey enough for passing, and quiet and out of the way all other times. Sport mode is an odd in between and doesn't really need to be there. For me, I either want to have fun with the car, or I want to relax, and sport mode is neither. Previously, I explained how the steering and suspension in sport plus are too much, too over the top. That is not the case for the engine. The engine really comes to life here. Throttle response is immediate and delicate, power delivery is instant, the car begs you to push it. It has 560hp and it dares you to use every bit of it and rewards those brave enough to do so.
Transmission 7/10: I did intentionally go with the dct over the manual. My other daily was a manual with a heavy clutch, and given that 90% of my driving is commuting, I'm over having a manual in stop and go traffic. I'll keep that for the project and weekend cars. This isn't my first experience with the 7 speed bmw dct, my 1 series also has the same transmission, though the tuning is different between both cars. For starters, in the M5 there is no park. You park it the same way you do a manual car, in gear with a parking brake. Shifting is smooth and crisp in comfort mode, not quite as refined as dsg or pdk, but still quite good. The car is quite jerky in traffic but that's a tradeoff you get with more mechanically connected transmissions. I don't find the car to ever be hunting for the right gear (cough 1 series cough), and I find that for most driving scenario...
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