The £30K M5: You Know You Want To
How much more appealing is the turbocharged M5 with an M135i price tag?
Yep, prices for a 560hp M car can begin with a '2' now. And not just cars with mega miles either, but that's a point we'll return to. It would appear that the M5 has followed a regular depreciation curve for a big, fast saloon, it's just that there's been so much else going on in the sector to distract us from that.
Think about it: the current Audi RS6 is very good, the RS7 is there as a four-door alternative, the AMG E-Class is better than it's ever been and even Jaguar has gone a bit lairy with the XFR-S. All this time the M5 has been losing value without too much attention being paid to it.
Now general consensus is that this isn't the finest M5 ever. But not only are those flaws easier to overlook at considerably less than half the price, for some people going very, very fast in a discreet package is enough. So what if it's not the most engaging drive? Now it's out of warranty, it could be remapped to even more power... Point is that it's a lot of performance and luxury for £30K, meaning that what the M5 doesn't do so well is less significant.
This looks like a really good one too. BMW service history, 65,000 miles, a mature colour combo... it doesn't appear to have any noticeable drawbacks. Of course you couldn't commit to a purchase of something so complicated - and once so expensive - without a more detailed inspection, but it does look extremely good value.
It will be interesting to see how much further this M5 and its contemporaries will depreciate, and whether they'll still look such good value when they have to be fuelled, insured, taxed and so on. However, should you be in the position for an M5, or indeed any of these V8 saloons, you currently seem to be spoilt for choice.
BMW M5
Price: £29,995
Why you would: Looks like a 520d, goes like a GT3
Why you wouldn't: Still has some money to lose, lots of tempting rivals too
See the original ad here
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The E 28 the most desirable, then the E34, then the E39, then the E60 and then this F10 ( might swap positions with the E60).
The E 28 the most desirable, then the E34, then the E39, then the E60 and then this F10 ( might swap positions with the E60).
The e39 whilst great is just too old/dated for anything other than a weekend car imo, whilst this looks great, has loads of room and luxury and still goes like the starship enterprise....
My only fear would be putting £30k into a 65k mile M5 is a recipe for at least 50% depreciation in the next 3 years?
The M5 has always been a fine balance between practicality, comfort and setting your hair on fire, I just think the current one has swung too far into the the comfort zone for my liking. Still like I said when they drop to low 20's I'd still be tempted as you can't argue with 560bhp for that price.
When I look at cars like the M5 which are in another leagure in terms of performance, I just think they are too powerful for road use. I mean you're never going to be able to do more than scratch the surface of all that performance on UK roads without putting your license at risk. Neither is it the sort of car that you're likely to want to take on track.
What do others think on this note?
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