I currently own an E39 M5, but I have kind of fallen in love with the E34. There is a1991 M5 for sale in Dallas with 112k miles..seems very clean. Whats it worth??
I currently have an E39 M5 but I sure like the looks of the E34 also. I was considering picking one up to dive instead of putting a ton of miles on my E39. Whats it worth? 112k miles in the Dallas area...seems clean.
I would say between $8k and $15k depending on its condition...at this age, the E34 M5's vary all over the place in true condition. If this is a one owner car that has had every thing it ever needed including frequent fluid changes, it's probably worth $15k. If it is the "typical" car that's been through a couple of owners, etc., its value is totally dependent on its inspection results. Say hello to electrical gremlins with an E34 too.
__________________ Current stable:
2001 M5 LeMans Blue/Silverstone
Dinan: springs, Konis, rear sway bar, monoball bushings, and exhaust
Ground Control camber plates
Stoptech front brake kit
Brake ducts opened
TC Design brackets
OE 9.5" rear wheels all around & 275/35-18 Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec for street
275/35-18 BFG R1 & Nitto NT-01 R-comps for track
2003 330i ZHP 6MT Imola Red/Black Alcantara
2006 330i sport 6MT Electric Red/Black
2001 Audi S4 6MT Silver/sport Alcantara
1996 Volvo 850R wagon
Keep in mind that A) Blue book is a farce with such a low production number car with so many specific needs and B) These cars, at least on our shores, are basically $18K-$20K cars.
I say this because while you may be able to find a good deal out there, most of the cars in the low teens and I venture to say about every car in the sub-5-figure category will require a really good amount of work.
My car I have done valve adjustment, Inspection II, an additional oil change, and fan clutch. I need to do the brakes soon as well, which will be several hundred $. I also bought a set of 18" M-parallels for it. Mileage is 46,000 right now. I paid $15,500 for the car and put about $1,500 in for maintenance, $1,800 for the wheels, and $4,800 for a new bare metal respray [the original paint was knackered from Texas summers outdoors in sandstorms].
I know that the wheels and the paint were over and above necessities, but just keep in mind that if you aren't doing all your own wrenching, it will add up and needs can add up quickly. For a true, full books, no stories car I think you're looking at $18-$20K, or you can take a chance on a cheaper one. Just make sure you have some money to take care of unforseen problems or the ownership experience can take on a different tone [I see that you have an e39 M5 but I have no experience with maintenance needs on those, though I'm sure it ain't cheap ]
Just wanted to let you know what I have noticed over the year that I have had my car, and wanted to levy expectations for you.
I'm currently in negotiation with a gentleman in San Francisco to buy my car (91)
The average offer i've recieved has been 20k
My car has 170k on the odo, 90k on the motor and is heavily modded all offers have come from within CA
Hope this helps
Last edited by fugginfazt; 4th January 2007 at 21:48.
What gremlins? I got no gremlins...
I'll go out on a limb and say E39M5's have WAY more potential electrical gremlins than a E34M5.
I tend to agree about the E39 M5.
Its fair to say that the E39 M5 is proving to be a car that is not even remotely worth entertaining unless you have extended warranty.
That is being reflected in the poor residuals that the E39 M5 is seeing in the UK without warranty.
The jury is still out as to the longevity of the engine itself but I am not aware of any 200,000 mile original engines yet.
I have owned my E34 for 6 yrs.
I have done 95,000 of the 178,000 miles on the original engine at 13 yrs old this year.
The E34 does have some electrical issues BUT they are all known & are the result of exhaust heat on the exhaust side of the engine compartment or the rear main harness chaffing against the rear suspension & diff carrier subframe.
Only other issue was the rear lighting harness to the trunk chaffing behind the rear left hand hood hinge.
The only other annoyance is the fly lead to the ambient air temp sensor.
Is this bad ?
In my experience, the E34 M5 's that have a lot of electrical issue, have on inspection turned out to be vehicles that have been shoddily crash repaired !
The factory warranty ran out on my E39 M5 in Aug 2005, and I'm not freaking out about it. Before it ran out, the heating system "final stage resistor" was replaced, but that is a common failure part on all E39's. My 540i had one fail also. I have no qualms about owning an E39 M5 out of warranty. I don't ever plan to sell it, and I've even considering buying another one recently.
Re electical issues on the E34...my comment was based on my experience from the early 90's and two friends who owned E34's (one was a 535i and the other was an M5) in addition to my experience owning two E32's...one of which was ordered new from the factory with a 5spd manual and limited slip diff (should have kept that one, but sold it after 180,000 miles).
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