E39 M5 prices on the rise ?
Discussion
LaSource said:
I do not normally frequent the M-forums...however, pop in just a few times a year.
Interesting to see this thread and the other one from a regretful seller.
I've had my 02 car for over 7 years.
It's been the most reliable and easy motoring car...none of the scare stories about silly running costs etc.
Although recently it only does about 2-3,000 miles a year so fairly light use
Every time I think about selling it, I end up realising it is such a known quantity and well looked after that it makes no sense to sell.
Plus its such a sweet design....the tubi exhaust also helps to change my mind!
I've not really thought of it as an appreciating asset (depreciation certainly feels minimal)...do you guys really see much up side or just a slight strengthening of values given the relatively high production numbers?
Gratuitous pics attached
LaSource,Interesting to see this thread and the other one from a regretful seller.
I've had my 02 car for over 7 years.
It's been the most reliable and easy motoring car...none of the scare stories about silly running costs etc.
Although recently it only does about 2-3,000 miles a year so fairly light use
Every time I think about selling it, I end up realising it is such a known quantity and well looked after that it makes no sense to sell.
Plus its such a sweet design....the tubi exhaust also helps to change my mind!
I've not really thought of it as an appreciating asset (depreciation certainly feels minimal)...do you guys really see much up side or just a slight strengthening of values given the relatively high production numbers?
Gratuitous pics attached
Lovely car firstly, I think Silverstone and Bluewater (sadly I'm not adept enought to tell which colour your car is!!) are two of the most flattering colours for this car. Definitely don't sell it, use it and enjoy it. What else is comparable? Even a brand new M5 offers a totally different driving experience...
In terms of values, I think they are going up but at a very steady pace and sadly I think the market is very picky (if your milage starts with 70 or below, a rare colour, an individual interior, a sat nav screen, recent major expenditure on the cars known foibles, facelift etc you are onto a winner in terms of the car commanding a strong price IMO).
On a different note, one of the final things on my to do list for my car is to get a good job done (the current finish just isn't good enough for me!) on refurbishing the alloy wheels; yours look in exceptional condition have you had them done? They look slightly lighter on the rim too, is that just the light?
bobbyjoe77 said:
LaSource,
Lovely car firstly, I think Silverstone and Bluewater (sadly I'm not adept enought to tell which colour your car is!!) are two of the most flattering colours for this car. Definitely don't sell it, use it and enjoy it. What else is comparable? Even a brand new M5 offers a totally different driving experience...
In terms of values, I think they are going up but at a very steady pace and sadly I think the market is very picky (if your milage starts with 70 or below, a rare colour, an individual interior, a sat nav screen, recent major expenditure on the cars known foibles, facelift etc you are onto a winner in terms of the car commanding a strong price IMO).
On a different note, one of the final things on my to do list for my car is to get a good job done (the current finish just isn't good enough for me!) on refurbishing the alloy wheels; yours look in exceptional condition have you had them done? They look slightly lighter on the rim too, is that just the light?
Hi - thanks.Lovely car firstly, I think Silverstone and Bluewater (sadly I'm not adept enought to tell which colour your car is!!) are two of the most flattering colours for this car. Definitely don't sell it, use it and enjoy it. What else is comparable? Even a brand new M5 offers a totally different driving experience...
In terms of values, I think they are going up but at a very steady pace and sadly I think the market is very picky (if your milage starts with 70 or below, a rare colour, an individual interior, a sat nav screen, recent major expenditure on the cars known foibles, facelift etc you are onto a winner in terms of the car commanding a strong price IMO).
On a different note, one of the final things on my to do list for my car is to get a good job done (the current finish just isn't good enough for me!) on refurbishing the alloy wheels; yours look in exceptional condition have you had them done? They look slightly lighter on the rim too, is that just the light?
It is a Bluewater car. I believe Silverstone was available in pre-facelift and the colour updated to Bluewater post-facelift.
Agree with the driving experience...having max torque at 3000ish revs gives a lot more flexibility to cruise or hoon.
The car has the all black interior trim and satnav interior, however, mileage has just crept into the 90s...but still purrs along as its done less than 40k miles in the last 7 odd years. The interior wear is so good on these cars...it looks like its done half that.
My alloys were refurbished I think at Lepsons. All 4 went at the same time for the original shadow chrome finish (difficult to colour match if not done together). The light plays funny tricks with shadow chrome as it reflects the ambient textures.
I can live with little to slow growth...its hardly going to be life changing!
LaSource said: "do you guys really see much up side or just a slight strengthening of values given the relatively high production numbers?"
Around 2500 RHD models manufactured?
My feeling is that values will only slowly strengthen or, more likely, stabilise in the short to medium term. In the longer term, I think prices will rise in response to a diminishing supply - older/heavily-used/written-off cars disappearing from circulation etc.. The owner profile will also probably change as the pool of vehicles diminishes to a limited number of cherished/restored vehicles. These owners may well keep their vehicles for investment but also for a limited (very low annual mileage) amount of driving fun. At that time I've got a feeling prices will become significantly more buoyant.
In some ways the E39 M5 may become a bit like - or at least viewed like - the Porsche (993) 911: the last air-cooled 911, the last 'proper' Porsche in some people's estimation. The Beast will probably be the last manual M5, the last one not totally emasculated by electronic wizardry interfering with the driver experience. Perhaps this will add to its desirability and residuals, much like the 993 right now. (Some might say that the E34 M5 already has the bragging rights as the last true M5..and maybe they're right?)
Just my two cents worth....
Around 2500 RHD models manufactured?
My feeling is that values will only slowly strengthen or, more likely, stabilise in the short to medium term. In the longer term, I think prices will rise in response to a diminishing supply - older/heavily-used/written-off cars disappearing from circulation etc.. The owner profile will also probably change as the pool of vehicles diminishes to a limited number of cherished/restored vehicles. These owners may well keep their vehicles for investment but also for a limited (very low annual mileage) amount of driving fun. At that time I've got a feeling prices will become significantly more buoyant.
In some ways the E39 M5 may become a bit like - or at least viewed like - the Porsche (993) 911: the last air-cooled 911, the last 'proper' Porsche in some people's estimation. The Beast will probably be the last manual M5, the last one not totally emasculated by electronic wizardry interfering with the driver experience. Perhaps this will add to its desirability and residuals, much like the 993 right now. (Some might say that the E34 M5 already has the bragging rights as the last true M5..and maybe they're right?)
Just my two cents worth....
Edited by Depthhoar on Thursday 1st May 23:57
Depthhoar said:
In some ways the E39 M5 may become a bit like - or at least viewed like - the Porsche (993) 911: the last air-cooled 911, the last 'proper' Porsche in some people's estimation. The Beast will probably be the last manual M5, the last one not totally emasculated by electronic wizardry interfering with the driver experience. Perhaps this will add to its desirability and residuals, much like the 993 right now. (Some might say that the E34 M5 already has the bragging rights as the last true M5..and maybe they're right?)
Don't forget the E90 M5 was available in manual form in the USA. I think the E60 will struggle against the E39, for it has more significant issues in terms of keeping them running (e.g. clutch), a much more complex car but with that V10 it will always have an edge.Of course as an owner I'd love to see prices rise, but to be honest, knowing that it's not plummeting off a cliff is enough for me. My car probably has too many miles on it to command a really strong price, but the condition and amount of work it's had/going to have will mean it should hold its value. I didn't buy it as an investment, I bought it because I always wanted one, and it's lived up to that, and then some. I will continue to enjoy it until such a time as I'm forced to move on, and that will be a sad day.
I believe the wheels on mine were done at Lepsons, they are fantastic (albeit one or two tiny bubbles in places) and would recommend them if you want to match the OEM finish. I find the plain silver refurbs you occasionally see on some cars (sorry Gad) really lacking.
I think the E60 will struggle against the E39, for it has more significant issues in terms of keeping them running (e.g. clutch), a much more complex car but with that V10 it will always have an edge.
Agreed, the V10 is excellent engine (over-complex electronic driver controls stuff excepted).
Agreed, the V10 is excellent engine (over-complex electronic driver controls stuff excepted).
RenesisEvo said:
I believe the wheels on mine were done at Lepsons, they are fantastic (albeit one or two tiny bubbles in places) and would recommend them if you want to match the OEM finish. I find the plain silver refurbs you occasionally see on some cars (sorry Gad) really lacking.
Lepsons do seem to have cornered the market refurbing the Style 65 wheels in original shadow chrome. Like you, I've seen many ordinary silver refurbed '65s that don't look at all right & my eye is immediately drawn to them...but in a bad way! Getting Lepsons to do your wheels can be a ball-ache so I kind of understand why owners look for more local solutions, albeit in non-original finishes.Depthhoar said:
Lepsons do seem to have cornered the market refurbing the Style 65 wheels in original shadow chrome. Like you, I've seen many ordinary silver refurbed '65s that don't look at all right & my eye is immediately drawn to them...but in a bad way! Getting Lepsons to do your wheels can be a ball-ache so I kind of understand why owners look for more local solutions, albeit in non-original finishes.
unfortunately the previous owner had the wheels on my car refurbished in plain silver 
My plan though is perhaps to change the wheels for something else, or while the car is off the road, get mine redone in Shadow Chrome.Re the rarity of the E39 M5 in RHD - only 1951 officially made it to the UK during its production run.
TheAngryDog said:
Re the rarity of the E39 M5 in RHD - only 1951 officially made it to the UK during its production run.
Quite right and good catch. 
My 2.5k estimate came from here (the wrong page!):
http://www.m5portal.com/forum/e39m5_de92_farger.as...
...but that is total RHD production, including the UK market.
Even rarer car than I thought.
Depthhoar said:
Quite right and good catch.
My 2.5k estimate came from here (the wrong page!):
http://www.m5portal.com/forum/e39m5_de92_farger.as...
...but that is total RHD production, including the UK market.
Even rarer car than I thought.
And there are likely to be quite a few less after some have been broken or crashed etcMy 2.5k estimate came from here (the wrong page!):
http://www.m5portal.com/forum/e39m5_de92_farger.as...
...but that is total RHD production, including the UK market.
Even rarer car than I thought.
http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/bmw_m5#!manuf...
There are 1231 licenced E39 M5s and 185 SORN, so 1416 UK cars left, leaving 535 as scrapped, exported, etc. Not 100% accurate figures, but it won't be too far off.
There are 1231 licenced E39 M5s and 185 SORN, so 1416 UK cars left, leaving 535 as scrapped, exported, etc. Not 100% accurate figures, but it won't be too far off.
RichardM5 said:
http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/bmw_m5#!manuf...
There are 1231 licenced E39 M5s and 185 SORN, so 1416 UK cars left, leaving 535 as scrapped, exported, etc. Not 100% accurate figures, but it won't be too far off.
I had a look at CSLs on that site.There are 1231 licenced E39 M5s and 185 SORN, so 1416 UK cars left, leaving 535 as scrapped, exported, etc. Not 100% accurate figures, but it won't be too far off.
http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/bmw_m3_csl
There is now 86 on sorn and only 210 on the road. Do yous think investors are now just garaging them or do people just take them off the road over the winter?
M7RT V said:
Well, 330 miles and 2x E39 M5 viewings later, I came back empty handed! The search for a decent M5 continues
I had to look at quite a few before getting one, and it involved a lot of miles travelled.Deciding to buy is the easy bit, finding one that's worth buying is where it gets tough, worth it in the end though.
Good luck.
M7RT V said:
Well, 330 miles and 2x E39 M5 viewings later, I came back empty handed! The search for a decent M5 continues
Don't give up! I looked at several before I found mine and in probably covered a total of 3k miles(?) so doing, but that's mainly because I live in a very remote part of the UK.The upside to seeing a lot of M5s is that you develop a very good feel for/understanding of the vehicles. I went to see 6, having scoured the classifieds for ages, and they all drove differently & were in pretty varied overall condition. A couple were somewhat dog-like and the other 3 were 'maybe' prospects. I knew within 3 minutes that number 6 was the one to have.
It's a good time of year to be looking though the downside is that prices are firmer in the spring/summer. Be patient & be fussy in your choice. The right car will eventually turn up.
TheAngryDog said:
I hope you sell it soon Gad. I don't know what the issue is with travelling to view a car, I travelled 220 miles to view mine (granted, I was in the area, but then I had to get the train to pick it up and then drive 220 miles back).
Good cars are worth travelling for to view
Sold on Friday Good cars are worth travelling for to view
hope fully she will give the new owner as much enjoyment as I had and she will be cared for as I did
hopefully I wont regret it to much
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