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Well, this one has been brewing for a bit in my head. As I’ve watched E28 and E34 M5 prices climbing and the plateau after falling of E39 prices, the two are in general available for about the same amount of money. One is a well-acknowledged classic – the original super sedan, a well balanced combination of 4-door versatility with a race-bred high-revving inline-6. The second nearly never happened, and seemingly was an afterthought compared to the earlier examples – but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t well thought out. The E39 is one of the best performance bargains going not only amongst BMWs, but in cars in general – with 400 horsepower from a thundering V8, it took the M5 to a new level of performance and demanded the same of its competitors. So, here we have M5 v. M5; a generation gap, a performance gap, but both as performance icons of their respective times and generally accepted as collectable going forward. Which is the one you’d choose? Let’s start with the original:
Not many people would dare to accuse the E28 M5 of having faults, but I will. First, the engine was turned down for the U.S. market. That’s a reality of the 1970s and 1980s, I know, but it’s still a gripe. Second, it only came in black to U.S. shores. And that too is a shame, because the E24 M6 really shows what a little color does to those classic lines. Third, on top of the black-only stance, it had bumpers that easily double as benches – for Americans, even. Fourth, though wide 16″ wheels were pretty advanced for the day, the reality is that there are increasingly limited good options for filling out those rims. Fifth has to be the interior. My dad has an 88 M5, and it’s a very nice car – but the seats are well worn and look nearly double the mileage they actually are. It’s often the case when I look at an E28 M5 that the seats either look completely redone or wrecked. Sixth has to do with the engine again – because the reality is that 25 plus years on, keeping the S38s running in top condition can be an expensive proposition. Okay, so maybe I’m overstating my gripes a bit, but it just goes to show that there’s at least room for improvement with the U.S. spec M5. How do you fix my list of gripes? Well, buying this car would be a pretty good start:
When I was a younger lad, my father was looking for an upgrade to his BMW 635CSi for a track car, and we were scouting out E28 M5s. He finally picked one up, and we headed to the track – these were the days when, short of a modified 930, there wasn’t much faster on track than an E28 M5. We were at Lime Rock park, and I excitedly waited for him to come blowing down the front straight, decimating his competition in a wave of speed, power and sound. Yet, when he did appear on the front straight, his arm was out the window – pointing by what appeared to be a fairly unassuming 535i. My 15 year old self couldn’t really contemplate what had happened; how could a 535i possibly be faster than an M5? The answer was under the hood, where a Dinan Turbo kit subtly hid; with a reported 400 horsepower on tap at full boost, the M5 was no match for this supercar slayer. That power figure may well have been exaggerated by the owner, but it was no slouch, so I was excited to see a similar 533i 3.5 Dinan Turbo pop up in our Self-Service Classifieds:
When I think of someday branching out beyond cars from 1988, one of the first that comes to mind is the business-class rocket E39 M5. What they lack in rarity they make up for by being one of the best sport sedans ever made, with the total package of comfort, speed, power, and handling. Today we have a low-mileage example with essentially no description, but hints pointing towards it being a loved weekender. I dig the M-stripes on the front spoiler mixing up the otherwise-stealth black on balck. A carbon lip appears to be the only modification, and is a subtly good-looking one at that. I’d like some more info before I bought and you can certainly find E39s cheaper, but less than 70k miles and good care would make this worth close to its asking price.
We’ve been on an M5 kick lately, and for good reason – the M5 is truly one of the best cars that can do virtually anything an enthusiast asks; it can be a luxury car, a sports car, carry 4 comfortably or 5 in a pinch, and has enough menacing look to make you proud of your carefully purchased pride and joy. But while the E34 has remained a performance bargain over the past few years, like most of the M-crowd from the late 1980s these cars are quickly appreciating; Hagerty calculates the average value of E34 M5s have increased 30 to 40 percent over the past few months. That’s a huge jump, and could be the start of a trend amongst these third generation super-sedans from BMW; so, is now the time to buy the last of the good, affordable examples? We have two to contemplate today, the first of which isn’t a stranger to these pages – I wrote this car up back in April:
