The E28 M5 flies under the radar as a black-only Q-car but also as an under-appreciated classic. Their status as the third-rarest M car (1340 brought to the US) has halted depreciation, but the much-speculated rise in classic status has kept prices low. This is a boon to those in the market as I recently was, and great examples can be had for significantly less than similar-quality examples E30 M3s. If I hadn’t found the M5 for me last fall and was still in the market, I would strongly consider this example that is just south of where I live. With modifications contained to the standard chip/suspension upgrades and just 103k miles, this is a true gem. Coming up on 6 months of well-traveled E28 M5 ownership, cosmetic pieces like the untouched tool set and beautiful interior are eye-catching, but 100k miles on the strong S38 block and good maintenance history provide benefits the eyes can’t see. A few dents here and there can be repaired, but overall the ~100k miles left before the engine needs rebuilding make this a strong buy.
1988 BMW M5 for sale on eBay
From the seller:
Collector’s dream: selling my pride and joy 1988 E28 M5, the first and the original M5 BMW officially imported. This is a US-spec car so it is black with tan interior, 5-speed manual, fully optioned with heated seats. Very low 103,200 original miles. Car is basically stock with some mild mods done by previous owners: Dinan performance chip, stage 1 suspension (rear SLS removed), camber plates, front and rear sway bars; that’s it. Maintained regularly, and major mechanical work like cylinder heads and timing chain were all replaced, and drive shaft was rebuilt. Have all service records since new (file folder for the car is over 2-inches thick). Also have the original window sticker, misc. new car paperwork, dealership/new vehicle license plate inserts, Dinan manual and warranty info, etc. I personally kept all the gas receipts on top of it during my ownership.
Car is in excellent original condition with matching VIN# tag on all the appropriate places. Original tool kit has never been used, and the correct accessories are all there including the original BMW cloths (unused) and glove box flashlight. Original ECU chip, period correct first aid kit in the trunk, trunk cargo net, and extra new Motorsport seat hashes will be included. The car has been in the west coast all its life so it is completely rust and accident free (I have the entire ownership history and clean CA title in hand). But the car is not perfect: there are a couple of small door dents on the car, but they can and should be easily fix by a reputable dent removal service; I just never had the time to do it as this is my 4th car. Paint is good with no oxidation (pictures shown do not do justice; I unfortunately have a crappy digital camera), interior is clean and no cracks on the dash. The leather is good inside the car with the exception small wear on the driver side seat bolster; headliner and everything else is good. Other than the Dinan mods mentioned above, the windows are tinted, and one of the previous owner have chrome plated the OEM BBS wheels, and a trunk mounted CD changer was added at one point of time (it powers up but no longer works). The stock AM/FM cassette deck radio works properly; although there is a tiny bit of engine noise while in AM mode. The tires (Yokohama AVS) are decent, battery is good, and the car is on a BMW charger plugged into the wall in the garage usually. All trunk tools are complete, all original glove box manuals, radio security code, tape deck cleaner, and maintenance booklet are there. By the way all the OEM wheel center caps are not missing, and they will come with the car.
If you are looking at this car, you are probably aware only about 1300 of these hand-assembled cars were ever imported to North America for 1-year only, so needless to say it is destined to be a future collectable. Honest to God it kills me to list it for sale, but having only driven less than 4,000 miles since 2007, I can’t justify keeping it hence the reason for selling. I have been a BMWCCA member since 1988, and I sincerely hope it would go to another fellow enthusiast that would continue to care of it.
The fact that he’s only driven it 4k miles in 5 years is both impressive and a shame. His other 3 cars must be damn fun. He probably paid a premium to get one under 100k miles so he’ll take a slight hit there, but it’s still a very nice M5 with a lot of life left. The reserve hasn’t been met yet with bidding at $9k. It will be interesting to see where it ends up, but I think that this M5 would be well worth it somewhere between $12-14k.
-NR