Owning the S85 V10: A Realistic Cost Breakdown

People buy the E60 M5 for the engine and sell it for the engine. Here are the numbers behind both decisions.

The recurring costs

Oil changes take just under nine litres and should happen every 5,000 miles regardless of what the service indicator says. Ten ignition coils and ten spark plugs are a routine job with an uncomfortable parts total.

The big items

Rod bearings, roughly four thousand. SMG pump, around fifteen hundred fitted. Throttle actuators, a thousand for both banks rebuilt. Assume at least one of these in your first three years.

Why people keep them anyway

There is no substitute for 8,250 rpm from ten cylinders in a four-door car. No modern turbocharged engine produces the same sensation, and none ever will again.

Buying advice

Buy the car that has already had the work done and can prove it. The premium is always smaller than doing the work yourself.