BMW M5 vs 530i: You Know You Want To

Sound like an unfair comparison? Take a look at their respective values...

Yes, we know what you're thinking. An E39 M5 vs an E39 530i? There's no contest... surely? Well in fact, while the world is going mad for the new BMW 5 Series, there's a little corner of the used market where bizarre things are happening.

Can you find a better E39?

Of course, the E39 530i Sport is a very lovely machine. Some would say (your humble correspondent included) it's the pinnacle of non-M E39-ness. Consider that deft rack-and-pinion steering denied the V8 models, and the lovely, raspy straight six engine that delivers power enough to make the 530i a pleasure to drive, and yet quite remarkable fuel consumption for a car of this size and age.

For all that, we are nevertheless puzzled as to why they've suddenly become so expensive to buy. Surely it's too early for classic status to be bestowed upon cars from the early 2000s?

This one, for example, is priced at a shade under £11,000. Granted, it's one of the best around, with low mileage, a full history and a tonne of options. It's also a rare Aegean Edition. If you trust the adverts you see for these, only 150 were sold, a statistic seemingly corroborated by the data on How Many Left?.

And, for your extra folding, you get an extended leather interior, with hide running up onto the dashboard and door cappings as well as on the seats, BMW's 'Individual' Aegean Blue paintwork, and a smattering of extra kit.

But in the face of an E39 M5, any 530i Sport is as a young apprentice to its master. The M5 boasts the same cosseting ride, space for five and suave-yet-menacing looks, but matches them to a thumping 400hp V8, delectable chassis balance and an addictive, basso profundo throb. It isn't hard to understand why some consider the E39 M5 to be the best car BMW ever made.

Mmm, V8

Yet you can now get hold of a decent M5 for less than you can spend on a 530i Sport. Take this example. The advert makes all the right noises. There's a full history, plus invoices, the most recent of which show several age-related niggles rectified. The colour combination - Silverstone over black leather - is a classic, well-loved one. The seller even talks about running round the car with a paint gauge when he bought it to check there were no untoward repairs. And yet, it's on for over a grand less than the above 530i.

There are caveats here, of course. The M5 is rather pricey to sort out when it goes wrong, and this is one of the cheapest in the country, up against one of the most expensive 530is. It is also a "normal", average-mileage, pre-facelift car up against a limited-edition, low-mileage post-facelift.

Then again, this 530i is not unique in its eyebrow-raising price. The cheapest Sport in the classifieds at the time of writing costs around £3,000, with a sound, early auto going for £5,000, and a clean low-miler now asking around £7,000. Even for a lesser 530i Sport, then, you're not far off M5 money.

To our mind, that makes the M5 look like terrific value. Or the 530i Sport look terrifically over-valued. Whichever way you square it, now's the time to buy an M5 - before people cotton on, and their prices start to realign with those of their lesser brethren.

BMW 530I (E39) SPORT AEGEAN EDITION
Price: £10,940
Why you should: Perhaps the best of the best as non-M E39s go.
Why you shouldn't: It's a non-M E39 with a five-figure price tag.

See the original advert here.

BMW M5 (E39)
Price: £9,500
Why you should: It's an E39 M5 at sub-£10K. And you won't see those for much longer.
Why you shouldn't: Greater bork potential than a 530i. But never mind that - you just should, OK?

See the original advert here.

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DJFish

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