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The E39 BMW 5 series. Few mid-sized luxury sedans have come as close to perfection as this car. Handsome styling and a great balance between performance and luxury were these cars’ hallmarks and to this day, you still see plenty of them on the road, racking up significant amounts of miles. There was a plethora of models available to even US customers in both sedan and Touring guise, but it was the V8 engined sedans, particularly the M5 that captured the attention of enthusiasts. While not an M5, this 540i M-sport that comes to us from our reader Jagjit carried a lot of the cues people loved about the M version of the E39.
We’ve seen an array of E28 flavors recently. We’ve examined how nice a 524td has to be to make for its lack of pace to how much work a 535is is worth when it still looks badass. Well, today was have a nice example of the bread-and-butter E28. It’s like the E28 version of E60’s 550i – a restrained but powerful 5er. Remarkable cleanness inside and out belie 178k miles. The M30 should have little problem going quite a ways more, and the lack of real history is less of a concern than something like an S38.
The 535is was the first E28 that really caught my eye and led to my pursuit of the M5. Back then, the allure was just a very sharp 80s sedan with some subtle aggressive tweaks – exactly how I like it. There are at least two gorgeous red examples in my area, and the rare times I see them out are always a treat. Today’s example comes well-used, with a lot of miles and some general cosmetic love needed. The Borbet wheels will probably be polarizing, but I’ve seen worse choices. The biggest draw here is the no-reserve auction, and this could be a great entry point to the E28 life.
Coming up on 3 years into our relationship, I’m still loving my E28, largely due to how it reminds me of a time when cool cars didn’t have to be all things to all people. Today’s 524td may be at the opposite end of the powerplant spectrum from mine, it doubles the gas mileage and keeps the great 80s looks. It is truly shocking that this car has 203k miles on it – inside and out it looks like a showroom model from the year before I was born. At first I thought “that must be a redone interior,” but the presentation of the exterior and engine bay corroborate the seller’s indication that this is just an amazingly-kept, all-original survivor. It may be slow, but the E28 is a great car to practice carrying speed with. What a commuter this would be!
The standard bearer of sport sedans for many years has been the BMW M5. These are cars that literally reshaped the idea of what a sedan could do. Beyond these supercars in disguise, it’s easy to overlook other fast 5 series that BMW has cranked out over the years, like this 540i 6-speed manual for sale in San Francisco. With just a tick under 60,000 miles, this one is very well preserved executive express. For those who think the cooking variety 540i might be a little sedate and the M5 a bit too brash, the 540i with the 6-speed manual gearbox strikes a nice balance.
