Just got an E60 M5 and the SMG is making me fall in love and panic at the same time


Picked up a 2008 M5 last weekend after months of convincing myself that the V10 symphony was worth the inevitable headaches and honestly the first time I took it out on the Sharjah ring road and let it scream to 8k in third gear I completely understood why people put up with this car's reputation, but then I got stuck in the evening crawl near the university city and the SMG started bucking like a mechanical bull every time I tried to creep forward smoothly, plus the dreaded cog of doom flickered on the dash for about ten seconds before disappearing which has me refreshing forum threads at 2am trying to figure out if I just bought a time bomb. I knew going in that the SMG III pump was a wear item and the clutch actuator would need attention eventually, the previous owner even knocked a bit off the price because of the occasional lag, but now I'm trying to line up a place that actually understands BMW SMG Gearbox Service Sharjah without looking at me like I've brought them a spaceship when I mention the word "adaptations" or "salmon relay". The car shifts perfectly when you're on it hard but around town it's a different story and I'd rather not grenade a ten thousand dirham pump just because some shop decides to top it up with the wrong Pentosin fluid or doesn't know how to bleed the system properly with INPA. Anyone else running an SMG in this climate and found a local wizard who can keep these things happy, or should I just start learning how to code the CSL rev matching myself and stockpile spare accumulators.