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BMW E34 M5 Touring, the forgotten gem?

6K views 32 replies 12 participants last post by  erikm54life 
#1 ·
Hi
I just wonder what you guys think about the E34 M5 touring and why its kinda in the "shaddows"


From my perspective i see the car as one of the rarest BMW`s ever buildt
I feel the car is in the shadow of 2 other great BMW`s the E28 and E39


The E34 M5 Touring is the forgotten M5. It didn't make quite the splash of its predecessor the E28, or its successor the E39 but it is incredible rare and iconic
It kinda stopped and started a new area


It was the first station wagon M car BMW ever buildt
it was the fastest production station wagon in the world at launch
it was the last hand built M car BMW ever produced
And it has only been made 891 of them


With a total production of 891 units, the E34 M5 remains among the rarest regular production BMW Motorsport cars – after the BMW M1 (456 units)


The E28 M5 2,191 units,
BMW 850CSi 1510 units,
(numbers from wiki)


So how can it be that the car is relatively cheap to buy? compared to the other?
Will it drop in price? will it rise?
Will collectors go crazy after this in some years?
Is it a little forgotten?


Whats is your thoughts?
(sorry for any typos) ;-)
 
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#2 ·
I had one for a year and a bit, it was a good car despite a few issues to resolve.
It sold via this forum and two keen purchasers took up the option once the price was set at a reasonable value.
When sold I am pleased that it stayed in UK and like all E34 M5 now deserves the special care and attention.
Why did it go ? I have other E34 M5 saloons, all rhd plus an E39 540 Touring six speed that more than does the task for fraction of the funds tied up.
Was it special, kind off and useful but eclipsed by the 540 6 speed on a car for car basis in my case.
Also in the family is a nice RS2, as rhd and four wheel drive it took estate car concept to another level re turbo/Porsche power and compact size as well.


M5 Tourings will rise in time as will all the versions, it will soon be £18k minimum for a sound car, the cheap end will swallow £10k without blinking.
just my views.
 
#4 ·
Agree, even rarer and really useful but not appreciated by all, it seems to be an even narrower field of enthusiasts who want the Touring, so it seemed a prolonged sale and negotiation to complete the sale process. Just maybe the limit of all of them being LHD makes them less desirable as a performance vehicle and being an estate version does not bridge the reality of LHD on UK market. The one I had was an import from Germany about eight years ago.
 
#5 ·
I'm in Monterey (california) right now for "car week", in my M5 touring. They're very rare in the US (though there were 2 present at a couple of events/shows here). The issue here, is most people don't know they exist. Even at a bmw / german car show, I'm asked "so who did the engine swap?, is this a 525? Wow i've never seen one with a manual transmission?" The people who know what it is, really love it, and that goes beyond the bmw shows. People in exotics wave, give the thumbs up, etc.

As i'd said when you posted this on bimmerforums, the values have really gone up in the past year or two in the US. Two cars in the past year have sold for over $50k. Both were pristine examples, with low milage, really collectable condition.
 
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#6 · (Edited)
Naitsy@
Which of the appr. 70 E34 M5tourings in Norway is yours ??
An E34 M5touring was and still is VERY popular in the Scandinavian countries.
Although they were never intended for export to the US or built in RHD version, there
are appr. 25 cars (!) in the US and 6 in Canada (!) and various in the UK.
-
Values ('asked for' prices in sales adds mainly by car dealers in the Netherlands and elsewhere)
have recently doubled and trippled from the level only appr. 24 months earlier.
-
There is a high demand for good preserved or restored E34 M5ourings and because of the
rarity demand is higher than the number of cars being offered for sale.
The few cars presently offered on 'mobile.de' and 'autoscout24'
are high priced for a reason.
-
Although I generally agree on the rarity; I find it a bit peculiar
to compare the E34 M5touring with the E28 M5 sedan and the 'ordinary' V8, E39 M5-sedan, instead of f.ex. to compare with the E61 M5touring (total no built = 1025 car incl. RHD, i.e. a LHD E61 M5touring V10 is even more rare than the E34 M5touring.
-
Have you noticed that there is a 'Sticky' on this forum site
for the M5touring registry ? Although communication has slowed
down recently, you should find a lot of useful reading there.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e34-m5-discussion/13759-e34-m5-touring-registry.html
 
#12 ·
VERY popular in the Scandinavian countries.

E61 M5touring V10 is even more rare than the E34 M5touring.
Yes, many E34 M5 here and now 7 E61 for sale.

However i think +300k km e34 m5 tourings value will never go high, maintenance is too expensive and many parts are NLA. Only very low km (or fully restored) cars will raise value. Also many car has no EDC anymore.
 
#8 · (Edited)
-
Hi Stian@
yes and thank you for that !!:smile
I can see your car being registered in the -bmwmregistry- as well !!:grin
-
Don't worry about the interest. An E34 M5touring is a rare vehicle, a car for a limited marked already at the time and also VERY expensive to purchase when new. F.ex. none was sold new by BMW in Sweden although the interest was there, as 138 cars were imported by 'grey market/private'-imports between years 1992 > 2000. The list price 1995 in Sweden for a factory car was SEK 742.000 basic, payoption to be added like, double-sun-roof, leather sport seats etc.
-
At one point appr. 23% of the total production (891) was registered for traffic in Sweden (138) and Norway (70) and there
were also a few in Finland and Denmark.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Most of the rusty once have meanwhile been wrecked, some crashed and
some are stolen. Other's have been re-exported to Germany. The remaining
once have the same issues as the saloons or other cars of same age.
However, some are in exceptionally superb condition, original or restored
and then there are the few with extremely low mileage and 'as new'.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fu0duiwyou41rqe/AABj1YXdEIV0_KKf0O-9gSK7a?dl=0
PS:
Saloon cars don't carry the same prestige as a convertible for some reason. ;)
 
#11 ·
I saw one at Gaydon recently and thought it was very cool. I think because of the (presumed) driving compromise compared with the saloon it will always be quite niche, but if my family were restricted to having one car only I would seriously consider an M5 touring.
 
#14 · (Edited)
The E34 M5 3.6 and 3.8 is already a small volume niche/understatement
'sport saloon' car hand-assembled 'in the holy halls of Garching' (home of
BMW Individual).
The E34 M5touring 3.8 introduced in late 1991 and assembly starting
in March 1992, consequently is an even more 'understatement' niche car and
the first of the 'power-estates/touring/avant/combis', later to be copied
by AUDI and AMG/Mercedes....and others.

'Power-estate'-cars were automobiles for a market niche created and found by
BMW and very quickly followed by other major automobile producers.
-
The E34 M5touring also is a 'multi-purpose' car. Easy to drive (compared
to a wild sportscar) for the 'lady' to 'haul' the kids to the kindergarten and
at the same time, ready for a 'fun-drive' on the BAB or even better the
NS (Nordschleife) Nuerburg-Ring for the remaining members of the family
and close friends.....:grin
 
#15 ·
how is an e34 small? my M5 is big enough to take me the wife and 2 children with push chairs no sweat. An e34 touring has a large boot! Hell i've just driven 1600 miles to south of france and back with my family and all our stuff in an e46 touring!!

I nearly bought a daytona violet 6 speed touring a couple of years ago with a wrecked engine a conrod had punched a hole in the block! Had 250kms on it. He wanted too much money for it. It was on Hartge suspension and very low but had extended black leather trim which was heated front and rear! I still kind of wish i did buy it
 
#19 ·
how is an e34 small? my M5 is big enough to take me the wife and 2 children with push chairs no sweat. An e34 touring has a large boot! Hell i've just driven 1600 miles to south of france and back with my family and all our stuff in an e46 touring!!
Cant believe this :eek:oohhh: My brother has E46 touring and that boot is so small. My M5 boot can take on only ONE tire with wheel. Our prams will not fit into sedan boot. E34 wagon boot is 460litres, compared to Skoda Octavia wagon 610litres it is small. But if e34 wagon boot is enough then thats great.
 
#17 ·
He wanted £6000 for it and it looked like this. It was 2.5 years ago now

















It would of been an epic car all up together. I wonder whats happended to it, i heard through the grapevine it did sell for 6k at the time but thought i'd need a whole engine so say £3500 for that and then the inevitable £2000 plus on getting it all together as a car again. The tyres where shot, brakes worn out etc. It wasn't rotton/rusty though the bodywork and interior were in very good condtion just the rest. At the time £10,000 bought you a running version so i left it and ended up with my current saloon. Hey ho
 
#20 ·
He wanted £6000 for it and it looked like this. It was 2.5 years ago now
-
It would of been an epic car all up together. I wonder whats happended to it, i heard through the grapevine it did sell for 6k at the time....... Hey ho
-
Bumbaclut@
Do you know, recall the VIN ? Any chance to find out the whereabouts
and 'condition' by use of the old reg number ?
 
#22 ·
Nice thread! The tourings are definetly going to go up on price. The E34 M5s are such very special cars, with all the racing heritage behind that engine. The shooting brakes are very rare, especially in 3.8 6 speed form. A friend of mine rececntly bought one with 64.000km on the clock. Very nice car indeed!
 
#23 · (Edited)
-
Hi Nilo@ and thank you for your input.
Congratulations to your 'low mileage' E34 M5 sedan ownership.:thumbsup:
6-speed/1995/E34 M5tourings 'known' in Brazil are -BL01843- Cosmosblack-met. and -BL01830- Black II.
Did your friend purchase one of these or was there another one imported to Brazil ??
 
#26 ·
Hello, Karl!
His car is not kosmosschwarz, so it must be the second one. I'll try to talk him into joining, so he can confirm that chassis number!
Best regards
-
Nilo@
I have today rcvd an e-mail from Brazil from the new owner of an 6-speed
E34 M5touring with 60.000 km only. I assume this must be from your friend with the initials F.R. ?? If this is indeed your friend, please tell him
to provide the VIN of the car and to consider to register the car in the
mregistry, :: BMW M Registry :: -
 
#28 ·
Great thread!

I purchased an M5T in May and I can say that even those who don't follow BMW or M in general often admit that they can see the uniqueness of the car. I started looking for one when I moved to Germany in 2013 and it took me over two years to find one that I thought had the potential to be a driver while appreciating in value. Yes, the maintenance is high....what do you think the M stands for? But the smile on your face while the kids are laughing as it puts everyone back into their seat pulling through 7K RPMs with a roar that screams S38...well, what else are you gonna spend your money on?

I continue to follow E34 M5 prices throughout the world but mostly concentrating on Europe (since I live here) and I will say that in the past three years, average price has increased from 6-12K to 14-35k (there is one M5T for 38k euro right now)! I do not think that these things will E30 M3, but they will move to where the E28's are right now in the next 5 years. You will probably see a few one off pristine examples break into 6 digits too!
 
#31 · (Edited)
And as far i can tell the prices of the E34 M5 Touring has definitely started to rise now
Anybody else that have noticed it?
-
Hei, Norge.
Yes, this started about 2 years ago when some exceptionally nice cars in great condition were
offered for 'somehow' very high prices. Then sellers of questionable condition cars 'followed the trend'
and doubled (in some cases trippled) the orginal asking prices. Thereafter the 'market' settled on a high
level. Some BaT-auctions added to the 'boom'.
For the last six months however the situation seems to have settled and with many cars offered
NOT being sold, there seems to have been a rebound. Lately some cars appear again on the selling
sites and with a lower asking price than before. We'll see what the upcoming spring will bring us....:wink
-
https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/...01-01&minPowerAsArray=PS&scopeId=C&usage=USED
 
#33 ·
The M5 Touring is a fantastic car that...in the words of my good friend Darren Farrell.....takes a certain type of individual to own !

My car is coming up on 169,000km's now and i reserve her for long ( 500km+) trips. I believe that's the best way to enjoy her charms and talents. The exhaust note from the S38 is so intoxicating and the overall feel of the car is simply unmatched.

I have an E30 M3 with low miles (60,000kms) that i reserve for shorter trips along back winding roads but even it cannot break the bond I have with my M5 Touring !
 
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