daily driver needed!

jasonp · Aug 5, 2010

hiya all, a change in family circumstances means i will need a "daily driver" again, if it was purely down to me i would go for a tip 968 [mainly driving in london] but mrs p would insist on 4 doors, i have the chance in the near future to buy an e39 m5,2001 on m5 plate, new vanos, clutch, upgraded exhaust[eisenmann?i believe] and ap racing brakes in last 10,000miles. sorry its not a porsche related question but anybody out there have or had any experience of this marque, any info appreciated, my s2 is obviously not being sold or traded in but at 165,000 i dont want to put too many more miles on her and keep her for weekends and meets and not use her every day although i am sure she would love to be out and about on a daily basis and handle it without missing a beat but thats not going to happen, thanks and regards as always jason p

sawood12 · Aug 5, 2010

Get yourself an SMax mate - leave the driving excitement for the weekends in the S2, you'll appreciate it more - I wish I could have kept my turbo. Family cars are tools - you can't mix and match. Get the right tool for the job anything else is just compromise ;-). Mind you seems like all I can expect out of the front tyres on the SMax is 12500 miles, so maybe an M5 might be cheaper to run.

Neil Haughey · Aug 6, 2010

Defo echo that. I am very happy with the Range Rover 2.5 DSE I picked up a few weeks back, it is a noisy old diesel engine and slow but its a truck to do a job. Scott is right can't really mix and match these things, a DD will either get duffed up or you end up spending all your time and money trying to keep the thing minty. My solution, keep the nice cars for the weekend, special occasions, racing or whatever and use a tool for the job day to day.

Lowtimer · Aug 6, 2010

The E39 M5 is a terrific car but very complex and getting old - it is a great enthusiast's car but if you are picking a daily driver rather than an second toy do you really want another thirsty, high insurance, high maintenance moneypit which takes a lot of attention and money to keep working as it should? If I were buying one now - and I have thought about it, as I love them to bits - it would not be as a daily driver. That's what my 320D is for.

DivineE · Aug 6, 2010

I think it'll frustrate you owning two sports cars. Costs, fuel, upkeep, which one to drive.

From experience of switching between one and two cars many times I'd look at getting something really economical as your second car so you can cheer yourself up on long journeys watching the fuel gauge not move

I recommend a 525d (because its a tax bracket down from the 530d and plenty quick day to day - could be chipped).

I also like the last shape Passat strangely, its a nice place to be and the C320d is a fabulous engine if you like Mercedes.