[Biginboca]

My buddy daily drives a e39m5 the last 18 months or so. It’s averaged $400/month for maintenance and repairs during this time. He’s not nearly as thrilled with it as Matt is in the video lol

[OT-Dan]

I had an e39 540i manual. To this day my wife says it was her favorite car to drive. I remember how big it felt at the time. I was not a fan of the recirculating ball steering rack. Besides the steering, the ride and solid build was truly exceptional.

[Law]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Always loved this M5 commercial:

And of course, no throwback E39 thread is complete without that ad and "Star" from the BMW Films "The Hire" series.

[KevinM]

My 2002 E39 M5, which I've owned since 2004, is still my favorite overall car. I don't drive it that often any more, but when I do it brings a huge smile to my face.

[NewM3driver]

So I had two e39 5ers. The first a 540 and the last a 530 sport stick. The 530 was just sublime. The 6 cylinder car felt SO much more nimble than the 8.

It’s funny. I’m currently waiting to take delivery of an M340. My last three cars have been M3’s. All sticks.

The M340 just felt so right to me, and it’s the first bmw in a long string that felt balanced, smooth and a perfect blend of sport and comfort. My guess is the new 3 is about the same size of the e39 5. The B58 6 is a beautiful engine. Time will tell but I’m looking forward to this car. It’s relatively light, has great power to weight ratio and it looks nice save the silly looking front grill.

Side note about older cars. I have a well sorted Porsche 993. The car is very ‘analog’ for lack of a better word. The air cooled Porsche is a beautiful driving car. The smooth pull, the beautiful sound, the perfect gearbox, the steering that communicates *exactly* what the front wheels are doing. After spending a weekend in the Porsche my ‘17 competition package M3 feels ‘digital’.... almost like driving an appliance by comparison. The M is much faster, but no where near as good. Honestly it’s not even close.

I know there are a lot of computers in the m340. It’s going to be an interesting 3 years. Looking forward to not going black white or silver. My next car is tanzanite blue.

[Mitch P.]

I sold EAG my Carbon/Caramel 2003M5 with only 36kmi on it and he told me I'd regret it. I still look for my VIN#, that's how much I miss it. That was 8yrs ago too :-(

[GearRex]

Originally Posted by schousehound

Shameless plug. I have one for sale 2003 BMW M5 78,775 miles.[/IMG] $25k

Beautiful example. Best of luck with the sale.

Do you have a thread on the sale with more pictures?

[AP]

That e39 really was a great car. Against whilst not a m5 , I had a 530i msport which so great to drive. Had it 10 years from new and traded it in for a f10 530d. It only had 55000 miles on it and was mint and have regretted it ever since.

Whilst technology may have moved on, it really was a terrific car and deserved its "best car in the world" title.

It should be mandatory for any current and new bmw employees to drive one of these so what made bmw great is not forgotten and shows when they get it right, they really get it right.

[Haywood]

Someone needs to jump on this. I have not seen anything close to this price with those miles and condition.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/202910614175

[W///]

Still one of the most BMWs ever made. But $100k car it is not, I'm sorry.

[BPMSport]

Mine is for sale. Mint condition

It's one of the best cars BMW has ever made. Sadly I have no time to drive it. I think I've clocked 2,500 miles in 3 years if that. Time to let someone else enjoy its beauty.

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by W///

Still one of the most BMWs ever made. But $100k car it is not, I'm sorry.

He wasn't saying it was a $100k car; he was saying it's comparable with $100k cars, and you'll need some spare cash for maintenance.

[W///]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

He wasn't saying it was a $100k car; he was saying it's comparable with $100k cars, and you'll need some spare cash for maintenance.

I'm just saying in general, even a super low mileage car (30ish k miles) is not worth $100k to ME. You're talking 997 GT3 money. I've driven the M5 and I like it, but I don't think it's THAT special.

Now a used one for mid $20k and a stack of cash for maintenance is another story.

[swanlake]

Originally Posted by Mitch P.

I sold EAG my Carbon/Caramel 2003M5 with only 36kmi on it and he told me I'd regret it. I still look for my VIN#, that's how much I miss it. That was 8yrs ago too :-(

I regret this for you as well

[One28i]

had a m sport 530 in manual for 12 years. wicked car. it was getting old, and needed more attention then I was willing to give it. glad I owned one of the best all around chassis from the Bavarian Motor Works group.

[Big boi m5]

Originally Posted by Obioban

My wife has been DDing our e39 M5 for ~5 years now and loves it as much as the day we got it. It'll probably be rolling over 200,000 miles later this month. The last 100,000 really went by quickly.

It is funny to hear Matt talking about how much feel it has and how small it feels. I suppose that's true compared to modern cars, but compared to our similar vintage M3s... not so much.

I guess nobody told the e60

Haha nice man. I'm torn between grabbing a beater or driving my E60 M everyday.

On one hand I love it and never want it to die. On the other hand I want to drive it. You're wife is a hero. I may just drive it until it dies.

[Big boi m5]

Originally Posted by W///

Still one of the most BMWs ever made. But $100k car it is not, I'm sorry.

Actually with inflation it's a little more expensive than the F90.

[brad850csi]

Originally Posted by Law

And of course, no throwback E39 thread is complete without that ad and "Star" from the BMW Films "The Hire" series.

4:27. Wiggle wiggle. Shit is about to get real

[Obioban]

Originally Posted by brad850csi

4:27. Wiggle wiggle. Shit is about to get real

Not to be replicated by any kind of automatic

[NewM3driver]

Originally Posted by W///

I'm just saying in general, even a super low mileage car (30ish k miles) is not worth $100k to ME. You're talking 997 GT3 money. I've driven the M5 and I like it, but I don't think it's THAT special.

Now a used one for mid $20k and a stack of cash for maintenance is another story.

I could not agree more. I had the M Sport 530 with a stick back in the day. The car was sublime, but look at the numbers of the E39 M5. They are OK, but nothing out of this world.

If I were going to splurge 100k on a hobby car the E39 M5 would not make my top 10 list.

[Tambohamilton]

But this is Farah's point; the numbers are nothing special, but the car feels great to drive. And his argument is that the driving sensation is worth so much more than outright performance [of more modern cars]. He knows that E39 M5s aren't worth $100k even with maintenance factored in, but he thinks he'd still prefer one over similar cars which are worth $100k.

...or am I the only one who took that from what he said?

[W///]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

But this is Farah's point; the numbers are nothing special, but the car feels great to drive. And his argument is that the driving sensation is worth so much more than outright performance [of more modern cars]. He knows that E39 M5s aren't worth $100k even with maintenance factored in, but he thinks he'd still prefer one over similar cars which are worth $100k.

...or am I the only one who tool that from what he said?

No, I understood that perfectly well. I'm saying there are cars I much prefer to the E39 M5 personally. If you gave me $60k let's say to go spend at EAG on a sedan, I'd pick a mint E90 M3 over an E39 M5 (probably not the most popular opinion). There are plenty of cars that would feel great to drive compared to an F90 M5, that's all I'm saying.

At $30k, sure, that's a great buy. But at collector prices, I'm not so sure.