When I first saw this car, I thought I’d be writing a “Revisit” article due to the grey brick background and beautiful E28 M5. Alas, it’s just another very clean M5 from Motorcar Studio, nearly a dead ringer for the one I featured just over a year ago. That 138k-mile example’s auction ended without a buyer at the $32,900 asking price, so they’re coming in a little lower at $27.9k for this 194k-mile M5. It actually looks to be in as good or better shape despite the higher mileage, especially in the interior where the apparently-original leather looks as good as a redo. Mechanically, all records from new with diligent maintenance from just two owners is about as good as it gets with a high-mileage classic. S38s have been known to reach well over a quarter-million miles without a rebuild given devoted maintenance and a little luck, and with a compression test showing 200 PSI all around, this looks like a good candidate.
Tag: e28
There’s been a fair amount of talk on these pages about M branding, as BMW has moved towards slapping badges on seemingly every single model regardless of their sporting potential. Can you blame them? Perhaps, but obviously they’ve done their market research and just as Audi and Mercedes-Benz have similarly increased the breadth and scope of their limited run production, BMW has offered the public an ever increasing and diverse range of M badged products. It’s as if these three are cowboys on the range, fearful of each other’s steeds and stoking the fire to brandish their labels on the rear ends of their flock in a futile attempt to establish dominance and feign individuality. But, in all honesty this isn’t a new trend. As far back as the mid 1980s, BMW was offering badge engineering on some of its finest products, and the M535i is the best example of this. Essentially this was a 535i with a M Technic body kit and no real performance changes outside of an optional suspension package. Does that make it less desirable?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 BMW M535i on eBay
1 Comment
The allure of European specification cars from the 1980s is great with me. Beyond being equipped with items that never made it to the U.S., there’s the look – especially when it came to BMW and Mercedes-Benz models. Audi’s mid-80s refresh and updated bumper skins meant that by 1985 it was hard to tell the difference outside of the headlight glass; contrast that with this BMW 528e. While I’m sure there is a devoted U.S.-spec 528e fanbase somewhere, it is really low on the appeal spectrum when you consider the 535is and M5 that ran alongside it. Usually presented in drab and unpolished tones, the 528e has always struck me a bit as a German speaking Eeyore. However, revert the car to its original European specification, and suddenly it’s a different ball game. Slimmed down and cleaned up, it’s a smart looking sedan again – and few appear in this condition:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 BMW 528e on eBay
Comments closed
Ah, what a fun car to find right around the holidays. This 535is, resplendent in Santa’s Sleigh red. It’s about as clean as his sleigh would be leading up to the holidays too, with a decently redone interior and excellent respray sometime back. The E28 535is is an outstanding car, bringing a significant portion of the legendary M5’s allure at significantly reduced prices and a much wider selection of colors. It’s been a while since we’ve seen one this clean, with just 119k miles, but the huge caveat is the single-axis shifter, meaning it will be much more comfortable cruising rather than sprinting in the hills. But Santa needs something stylish, fast, and comfortable, and this E28 hits all the bases.
Click for details: 1987 BMW 535is on eBay
2 Comments
I typically would stay far away from posting a car in the condition of today’s E28 M5, and not just because it hurts my heart to see rust all around the lower edges of the car. We’ve posted a few project cars, but for the most part GCFSB is interested in nice examples of fast, rare, and awesome German cars. This M5 inherently covers the first two, but falls far short of awesome. The reason I’m posting it is because the no-reserve auction is already well over $12k, more than I paid for my distinctly non-rusty M5 a few years ago. This one has a Euro bumper and headlight conversion that shares the major flaws on parts close to the pavement. The S38 has 167k miles, but certainly holds some intrinsic value if you look at this as some bidders probably are: a parts car, or at least a car that will need another parts car to become complete. It’s about as unoriginal and in-need-of-work M5 as I’ve seen that runs, yet is still getting scores of bids! The bottom of the market coming up like this is as strong of evidence of the E28 M5’s overall rise as any.