Launch of the E60 M5 and the affect it will have on our cars. - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

plisken · 1st July 2004, 07:39

How do you think the launch of the E60 M5 will affect the "worth" of our cars? I can only see the resale value dropping, and my thinking here, is that the value of the E39's may actually drop to the point where buying one is a realistic option.

Buying a new M5 for me is not an option, and to be honest, if I were fincancialy in a position to spend £60k+ on a car, I don't think I would even consider an E60, but that is simply down to the looks of the car alone.

On another note, I personaly bought an E34 because I liked the shape and did not particularly like the shape of the E39, not to mention that the E39's were out of my league cost wise.

I am currently trying to decide whether or not to keep my M and if not, then what would I go for, well I've recently looked at an R33 Skyline, but for £16k for a 95 model, it is getting close to E39 territory in terms of cost, and I think an E39 would be a much more sensible buy.

I'm actually curious as to how many E34 owners own an E34 because they could not afford an E39 at the time, and how many own one because they prefer it to the newer model.

dronfieldm · 1st July 2004, 10:51

To be fair, I like the shape of the E34, but only like the E39 in Sport or M5 trim.

I think I had the E34 as I couldn't afford an E39, and I was coming from an E32 F-reg 735i, which I had had for 5 years, so more in common ?

A friend of mine had an R-reg 759i V12, and my M5 is more fun. The E39 M5 would have the "security" of driver aids, but with the fun, so I'm tempted.

Just to confuse matters more, I am currently considering spending 2k on a k-reg 3.9 V8 Range Rover as another car, so I don't use the M5 as my daily driver...........

.............the E39 M5 issue is still a little academic for me, as a decent one is still over 20k....can't afford that !!

Mark

ride154 · 1st July 2004, 11:08

In normal life the introduction of a newer model of any car
will have an effect on the older models marketprice.
But any M5 is a lot more special than your averige(?) volkswagen.
And because there are a lot of people out there, who cannot
afford a e39 (just like you and me!), will make the e34 the next
best thing! That sounds a bit negative, but it is true!
Thats the way I ended up with an e34 M5!
Don't get me wrong I loved this car ever since it came out in 88,
but I never had an idea I once could afford this car.
I bought a beater for €5000 and turning it slowly in to a minter.
Lookin' at other high hp cars, I ended up with Nissans (200sx,300zx,gtir)
and they're just not that special for that kind of money!
So, we own a very special car and lots of people will want to own one,
this will be a positive situation for us when selling.
When the e60 comes out the prices will drop a lot more for the e39
than for the e34 and after a year and a half the prices will stabilize again.
We still own a beautifull car with enough horsepower to make
a lot of people very very nervous at the lights!
No worries, mate.

Mmm-Five · 1st July 2004, 11:30

If you buy a e39 M5 for £15-20k then in 3 years time it will be worth less than £10k and you might not even be able to sell it as there will be hundreds for sale.

The e34 M5 has lost most of its value and therefore buying one now for £10k means you get to keep £5-10k for servicing, maintenance, repairs, etc. And you will probably only lose £2-3k in 3 years time.

Alternatively you could go for an even older e28 M5 for £5k and it will not lose any money over 3 years!

Bader · 1st July 2004, 13:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mmm-Five

If you buy a e39 M5 for £15-20k then in 3 years time it will be worth less than £10k and you might not even be able to sell it as there will be hundreds for sale.

The e34 M5 has lost most of its value and therefore buying one now for £10k means you get to keep £5-10k for servicing, maintenance, repairs, etc. And you will probably only lose £2-3k in 3 years time.

Alternatively you could go for an even older e28 M5 for £5k and it will not lose any money over 3 years!

Dont dismiss the rarity value of our cars..that really does count for something...i personally dont think the e60 will effect the prices of our cars much at all...our cars are at the level they are worth as rare classic cars and the deprecitation now is only due to condition and not market forces....

personally speaking i couldnt afford an e39 and wouldnt want one anyway as it doesnt outperform my LC..i bought the e34 because i have loved them since high school..i love the shape and the undercover low profile looks...

its a fabulous car all round..and lets face it..in todays world of speed cameras when can you ever drive that fast anyway??? besides it still has plenty of go up to 150 and i for one never intend to go quicker than that.

raymondw · 1st July 2004, 16:15

It's quitte simple.

For the vast majority and the car trade, the E34 ///M5 just is a 10 to 15yrs old BMW that has long been declared obsolete. With the current offerings of E39 ///M5's on www.mobile.de startig at roughly 24k Euro's, they make an interesting alternative. At least when you are prepared to pay for the running cost that I think will be almost the same as for an E34 ///M5.

But, the E28 ///M5 is a very rare beast. Demand is higher then the Offering, thus this is a sellers market where price is mostly determined by condition. This applies to the E34 ///M5 only partially. The MY95 ///M5, M5 Touring and the special models (Winckelhock, Cecotto, 20 Jahre M) will always be in high demand since there are so few of them made. But this is a speciality maret in which you have to accept that it can take a few months before you have a succesfull sale.

Even though quality offerings of regular 3.6 and 3.8 models is close to non-existant (yes, also in Germany), the market will be difficult. Especially with todays fuel prices, all larger engined cars are difficult to sell once they age. The price mechanism will make sure that on the open marker, the values drop. This is the only thing in what new owners are interested in. If they have the option between a perfect and immaculate 3.6 for 10k Euro or a crappy 3. for a mere 5k Euro, they choose the lowest offering, only to experience that they have to invest a whole lot more for repairs/maintenance.

In a few years from now, the main focus of the car traders will have shifted to the younger cars that where introduced after 1996. But this will make the market for the E34 more difficult indeed. The regular models will see their values completely bottomed out. The E34 ///M5 and Alpina models will be higher appreciated, but this depends on economy and overal prestige.

mblaster · 1st July 2004, 17:03

Us E34 M5 owners have nothing to fear. However if I owned a E39 M5 I'd be nervous. The fact that our cars are already 10-14years old means that they are already fully depreciated. The bottom was reached several years ago. Value is now based on condition of the car. That value has a wide range but it only means good things for us. As a lot of us overhaul major components of our cars I believe there will be a return on that overhaul dollar based on condition of your car. Now if you are thinking of getting that E39 M5, its gonna be time real soon...

martinhp · 2nd July 2004, 17:28

I think our M5's are now down to £5k - £10k, depending on condition but they haven't appeared to have moved for a while now, so I think they have fully depreciated (assuming the car is a runner).

Whilst I dont anticipate any increase in value either the fact that the e34 was the last handbuilt M series with a pedigree racing engine, and is a much more fun drive than the E39 (personal opinion), I think anyone who keeps theirs in good nick has not much to fear on second hand values.

Of far more significance now is the maintenance cost - I am spending £2-£3k pa keeping mine in good nick, so it is not cost free.

I think the E39 will suffer sending the older ones down to well sub £20k - it will make them an attractive fast daily driver, but it wont replace my 'beast'

mblaster · 2nd July 2004, 18:01

That 2-3 thousand /year to maintain the E34 will be cheap compared to 10 year old E39 M5 maintainence. Those cars are way more complex in every way. Which will accelerate their depreciation over the next few years. Our cars will remain relativly easy to maintain in comparison and holding their value steady from here on out.

Bader · 2nd July 2004, 18:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by mblaster

That 2-3 thousand /year to maintain the E34 will be cheap compared to 10 year old E39 M5 maintainence. Those cars are way more complex in every way. Which will accelerate their depreciation over the next few years. Our cars will remain relativly easy to maintain in comparison and holding their value steady from here on out.

i completely agree with mblaster...

the fact that modern cars with their ever more complicated and expensive mechanics and electronics systems are so expensive to repair means that the relative simplicity of our cars will make running the newer stuff as it ages look like a huge cash cow.

sometimes simplicity really is best.