While mileage-heavy, today’s Nice Price or No Dice M5 has the paperwork to prove it’s not all used up. Let’s see how much paper and silver it will take to buy.
Those of a certain age, and perhaps a few younger, likely still think of Mopar pickups as Dodges rather than the spun-off Ram nameplate. Old habits, it is said, die hard. The 1994 Dodge Dakota SLT we looked at last Friday forestalled any such misidentification as it came before the great Ramification. For another kudo, the Dakota’s $8,500 earned a solid 72 percent Nice Price win, finding just as much favor in the vote as the truck did in the comments.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the E39 M5 is the mid-sized performance model’s last great edition. Yes, the succeeding E60 offers more of everything, but its looks and V10 engine are over-the-top grotesquerie, and the standard seven-speed SMG gearbox is a complicated nightmare. The later evolutions toned down the excesses but haven’t felt as memorable as have any of the earlier models.
Today’s 2000 BMW E39 M5 is not only good looking, but its combination of a 395 horsepower S52 V8 and slick-shifting Getrag 420G six-speed stick means it offers analog enjoyment for anyone with an inkling for such frivolity. As proof that this car is fun, the ad notes that it has 173,000 miles on the clock, meaning someone has been enjoying it for quite some time.
It didn’t reach that lofty number on only its good looks. According to the seller, the car will come with a documented service history backed up by receipts that, over time, have come to a $25,000 total. That’s a lot of schnitzel.
Aesthetically, the car doesn’t seem to show those miles or its age. Painted black over a Strauss Black leather interior, this M5 looks to have only minor exterior or interior wear. The appreciably rare Rondell 58 wheels likewise appear free of any curb damage and are wearing Bridgestones with what looks to be a good amount of tread life left. In the cabin, the dash doesn’t appear to have lost too many of its pixels, and the sport seats seem to be free of any significant ingress and egress wear.
The seller describes the car as “All original,” claiming it to be “unmodified.” Oddly, they then note the updated halo headlamp units and a huge bass box in the boot that have, over time, been added to the car. That latter addition would probably be high on the list of things to be set out by the curb come trash day for any new owner. The S62’s intake and exhaust notes should be music enough for most.
A clean title and no note of any current issues seal the deal on this desirable ride. The only question left is whether this car might be worth the $19,495 asked for it after weighing its fun factor against its foibles.
Do you think this mega-mile M5 is worth that $19,495 asking as long as the seller’s promise of many more miles to come is to be believed? Or does that price reflect the car’s past glories, not future hijinks?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up on email and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.
