The E39-chassis BMW M5 is one of the best sports sedans made in recent memory, and as values continue to hold steady, there’s little doubt that it has more room to run in the future. While pristine, low-mileage cars command upwards of six-figures, you can still get into driver-quality examples for reasonable (not necessarily cheap, mind you) money. The seller of this 2002 BMW M5 listed here on craigslist has written a delightfully witty listing but also has in his hands an M5 in one of the more desirable colors: LeMans Blue, offered with lots of smart maintenance and a reasonable asking price of $20,500. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Barney for the tip.
The E39 M5 is considered by many to be the best version of BMW’s high-performance sedan. The M5 has always been a limited-volume, high-horsepower machine, tweaked with not only a Motorsport engine but also clad in enhanced bodywork, unique wheels, performance suspension, and sport bucket seats. The E39 M5 was particularly great because its 4.9L V8 was one of the last naturally-aspirated motors produced by BMW that didn’t rely on turbocharging to realize its full performance potential. Not only was it NA, it was a particularly excellent NA engine, with tons of low-end grunt and a willingness to kiss redline daily.
This was also a fantastic era in BMW’s cockpit design language. The E36-era that came before it was always derided (and rightfully so) for being cheap as hell and prone to breaking. Plastic clips behind door panels seemed determined to escape, no matter how much glue and Loctite you stuffed into the crevices. The E46 and E39 era that came after certainly had its shortcomings, but it was still light-years better. The seller calls out several known weak spots that have already been addressed, including the infamous “seat twist” the buckets are known for along with corrective measures taken in the instrument cluster to eliminate dead pixels.
He also counts traditional maintenance among the highlights of this higher-mileage car, mostly because he was prone to using it on longer road trips with his kiddos in tow. This is a phenomenon I know well, which is to over-maintain a car and fix what isn’t broken so it doesn’t bite you in the ass three hours from home with your kids in the backseat. The notoriously weak VANOS system has been rebuilt and the timing chain guides replaced, so right there you have solved two of the major faults of the E39 M5 drivetrain. The seller sounds like the right kind of guy to buy a high-performance sedan like an M5 from, and I suspect you’ll clear 200K miles without much drama.
So clean and so pretty! Seems a bit pricey, but well maintained so there is that!
So clean and so pretty! Seems a bit pricey, but well maintained so there is that!
Gorgeous colour.
I know there may be a few out there that have traded hands, but an E39 M5 would have to be a #1 grade car to crack six figures. That said, this particular one looks like a hell of a bargain for 20 grand. From the very detailed CL description, most if not all of the known problems with this gen M5 have been sorted. It’s a great color combo, and the grey alligator inserts are actually retro cool. Whoever buys this car is going to get a great value. Unusual to see one with this king of mileage that hasn’t been trashed. Hope it finds a loving new home.
One nice thing about the M5 as opposed to the M3 is that there are few if any (as far as I am aware) “special editions” which add little to the ownership & driving experience but massively to the price of entry. So no-one feels like the bridesmaid…..
Doesn’t look like much of a barn find, or I’ve been looking at all the wrong kind of barns.
That is one of the most humorous CL car ads ever!
Makes you wonder if the seller actually has had these questions asked, and knowing CL, the most likely are real.
Great car, not so sure on the price, because, no matter what, it’s still a 175K mile Beemer.