E39 M5 Pricing
Discussion
I have been mulling over whether to keep or sell my E39 M5 - Marriage 2 years ago and a move to Bristol has changed usage and number of cars we need... so I thought I would look at what the market is doing...
- Autotrader / Pistonheads / Ebay
- 14 cars
- Priced from £18,980 -> £57,500
- Remove the top 4 in price (2 x sub 30k miles / 1 trader selling a '1 owner since new' car / 1 person believing that being the only 2003 car makes it worth a lot more!) and the average price is £25,742.30 - add them back in for an average price of £32,840.93
- Mileage from 18,230 -> 167,000
- 9 trade sales / 5 private sales
- Age distribution (see chart) - 8: 2000 / 3: 2001 / 2: 2002 / 1: 2003
- As facelift is 2001 - the 2001 models seem to be facelift from the photos, so 8 pre facelift and 6 post facelift
Stats:
Mapping mileage v. price:
So there seems to be a reasonable correlation of price v mileage:
- two anomalies - one is the dealer selling a 'one owner since new' car - not sure that is enough reason to pay the premium, however it is also a newer car being a later 2002 car. The other is a private owner who believes that 167,000 miles won't put anyone off but that being a 2003 car is where the value lies - not sure this one will sell! If it does then mine at 25% less mileage and also 2003 should do very well!
- arguably a straight line through the main cluster would go below the pricing on the two sub 30k mile cars - but I suspect that their mileage pushes them into collectors cars and therefore adds a price premium - they are not hugely far off a correlation with the others...
Mapping Age v. price:
Age v. price does give a bit of a correlation, however if you correct it to remove the two anomalies we see in the previous graph (the two in the £40k-£50k bracket) then that would leave a fairly strong lack of correlation, so I think that it would be reasonable to say that age doesn't play much of a role in determining price... Where you do see a pattern it is in examples such as:
- 51 plate facelift on 135,000 - £27,495
- W plate non-facelift on 119,900 - £27,750
so perhaps a slight balancing of age and mileage...
of course all prices are owners' desired prices, not realised ones
Suggests that mine in good mechanical condition with 115,000 and a 2003 facelift model is probably around the £30k - a bit under to sell...
intriguing - not sure if this is going to continue to go up, or whether the current lack of cars has pushed it a bit more - not sure that it would as these tend to be out of the normal market now...
- Autotrader / Pistonheads / Ebay
- 14 cars
- Priced from £18,980 -> £57,500
- Remove the top 4 in price (2 x sub 30k miles / 1 trader selling a '1 owner since new' car / 1 person believing that being the only 2003 car makes it worth a lot more!) and the average price is £25,742.30 - add them back in for an average price of £32,840.93
- Mileage from 18,230 -> 167,000
- 9 trade sales / 5 private sales
- Age distribution (see chart) - 8: 2000 / 3: 2001 / 2: 2002 / 1: 2003
- As facelift is 2001 - the 2001 models seem to be facelift from the photos, so 8 pre facelift and 6 post facelift
Stats:
Mapping mileage v. price:
So there seems to be a reasonable correlation of price v mileage:
- two anomalies - one is the dealer selling a 'one owner since new' car - not sure that is enough reason to pay the premium, however it is also a newer car being a later 2002 car. The other is a private owner who believes that 167,000 miles won't put anyone off but that being a 2003 car is where the value lies - not sure this one will sell! If it does then mine at 25% less mileage and also 2003 should do very well!
- arguably a straight line through the main cluster would go below the pricing on the two sub 30k mile cars - but I suspect that their mileage pushes them into collectors cars and therefore adds a price premium - they are not hugely far off a correlation with the others...
Mapping Age v. price:
Age v. price does give a bit of a correlation, however if you correct it to remove the two anomalies we see in the previous graph (the two in the £40k-£50k bracket) then that would leave a fairly strong lack of correlation, so I think that it would be reasonable to say that age doesn't play much of a role in determining price... Where you do see a pattern it is in examples such as:
- 51 plate facelift on 135,000 - £27,495
- W plate non-facelift on 119,900 - £27,750
so perhaps a slight balancing of age and mileage...
of course all prices are owners' desired prices, not realised ones
Suggests that mine in good mechanical condition with 115,000 and a 2003 facelift model is probably around the £30k - a bit under to sell...
intriguing - not sure if this is going to continue to go up, or whether the current lack of cars has pushed it a bit more - not sure that it would as these tend to be out of the normal market now...
I think what you say is sensible, to “sell” which is the main thing your car should sell at around the 30 markIt’s certainly an interesting market currently! I’m actively looking for one, but I’m really not sure what to do now as prices have gone a bit mad in the last 6-9 months.
I thought I had a decent budget at up to £20k, but that doesn’t seem to buy a great deal now. Traders seem to be grabbing anything and then sticking increasingly larger premiums on them.
Sub £20k cars do seem to sell when priced correctly. Quite a few of the more expensive examples have been hanging around for some time now. There have been a few strong auction results recently which definitely helped to push prices north.
The £45k car with 167k and rusty arches is a bit of a joke! I honestly don’t think it’s even worth half that.
I thought I had a decent budget at up to £20k, but that doesn’t seem to buy a great deal now. Traders seem to be grabbing anything and then sticking increasingly larger premiums on them.
Sub £20k cars do seem to sell when priced correctly. Quite a few of the more expensive examples have been hanging around for some time now. There have been a few strong auction results recently which definitely helped to push prices north.
The £45k car with 167k and rusty arches is a bit of a joke! I honestly don’t think it’s even worth half that.
Thank you for the nice comments - agree that 2003 car is overpriced but I guess they only need one person with no common sense! Shame though as it would make mine worth £50k 
No huge desire to sell mine, will be difficult to replace, but it is always that question of value v. Possible future costs etc. To date it has been the cheapest car I have ever owned in terms of repairs, but there is always that concern as to what could happen!
No huge desire to sell mine, will be difficult to replace, but it is always that question of value v. Possible future costs etc. To date it has been the cheapest car I have ever owned in terms of repairs, but there is always that concern as to what could happen!
Edited by akirk on Tuesday 10th August 22:36
Today WBAC valued my E39 M5 at £18k. That's a pre-auction price too, so God knows what the hammer price would be at a BCA auction sale.
The WBAC valuation is very nearly twice what I paid for the car (in a private sale) back in 2013.
When will the bubble burst?
The WBAC valuation is very nearly twice what I paid for the car (in a private sale) back in 2013.
When will the bubble burst?
Edited by Depthhoar on Thursday 12th August 08:42
6 months and it will burst. It's unsustainable.
Advertised price isn't the sold price.
One of the expensive ones has a poor service history for a 26k mile car. Went 4 years between services. I know it will be lack of use, but for Providence it should be serviced at least every 12 months.
Advertised price isn't the sold price.
One of the expensive ones has a poor service history for a 26k mile car. Went 4 years between services. I know it will be lack of use, but for Providence it should be serviced at least every 12 months.
CB 987 said:
It’s certainly an interesting market currently! I’m actively looking for one, but I’m really not sure what to do now as prices have gone a bit mad in the last 6-9 months.
I thought I had a decent budget at up to £20k, but that doesn’t seem to buy a great deal now. Traders seem to be grabbing anything and then sticking increasingly larger premiums on them.
Sub £20k cars do seem to sell when priced correctly. Quite a few of the more expensive examples have been hanging around for some time now. There have been a few strong auction results recently which definitely helped to push prices north.
The £45k car with 167k and rusty arches is a bit of a joke! I honestly don’t think it’s even worth half that.
Not sure if you've seen it but I sent you a PM on the Alpina forum regarding my E39.I thought I had a decent budget at up to £20k, but that doesn’t seem to buy a great deal now. Traders seem to be grabbing anything and then sticking increasingly larger premiums on them.
Sub £20k cars do seem to sell when priced correctly. Quite a few of the more expensive examples have been hanging around for some time now. There have been a few strong auction results recently which definitely helped to push prices north.
The £45k car with 167k and rusty arches is a bit of a joke! I honestly don’t think it’s even worth half that.
Depthhoar said:
Today WBAC valued my E39 M5 at £18k. That's a pre-auction price too, so God knows what the hammer price would be at a BCA auction sale.
The WBAC valuation is very nearly twice what I paid for the car (in a private sale) back in 2013.
When will the bubble burst?
I’m not convinced the bubble will burst, although I don’t believe they will increase in value mich for a few years, by the same token I don’t think they will decrease much either, there’s no more being made!The WBAC valuation is very nearly twice what I paid for the car (in a private sale) back in 2013.
When will the bubble burst?
Edited by Depthhoar on Thursday 12th August 08:42
Tommie38 said:
What are these like for rust? I’d imagine 125k+
cars at 20 years old must be getting a bit crusty.
We are 11 months into a complete renovation of our 2001 M5 at the moment so fairly well qualified to comment on this.cars at 20 years old must be getting a bit crusty.
E39s are already well known for rusty jacking points. These can be patched up fairly cheaply or you can go to town as we have with complete new sills. These cars are also good at rusting along the sills, wings, arches, rear quarters, boot lid, inside petrol cap… pretty much anywhere that you can see.
Unfortunately, they are also good at hiding rot where you can’t readily see, and it’s not until you really go to town pulling them apart that you can get to it all. Not really something that a prospective owner is going to be able to do!
Our own car has been loved over the decade that we’ve had it and has always been presentable but from the few pictures below you’ll see that with the engine, drivetrain, subframes etc out there was a fair bit that needed to be addressed before we could call this one ‘rot free’. It isn’t a cheap exercise. I’ll do a full project thread on Readers Rides when it’s finished.
Anyone looking to buy now that these are 20+ years old really needs to go in with their eyes wide open - even with a car that looks good on the outside - and to be prepared to have their wallet wide open too (over and above maintenance costs, spiralling parts prices and issues with the availability of certain parts, now that these cars are knocking on a bit).
My own belief is that prices will remain high and will increase further for good cars but that the number of good ones will reduce quite quickly over the next 5 years.
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Have to say, I hadn’t looked at values at all, then got a call 2 weeks ago from the same dealer who sold me the car offering me £35K for mine! I was shocked. It’s a 2002 car, 67K miles. It’s a very good example but not a minter. Presume he must believe he could get £40K for it or it wouldn’t be worth his while. That’s a 70% increase in 2.5 years! Struggling to believe that.
Still really enjoying it and fear that I might regret it, if I sold it. I have got my eye on an E24 M635CSI so if the E39’s ever caught up with those value wise or got within reaching distance, I’d probably make the jump
Still really enjoying it and fear that I might regret it, if I sold it. I have got my eye on an E24 M635CSI so if the E39’s ever caught up with those value wise or got within reaching distance, I’d probably make the jump
LankyMcTally said:
Tommie38 said:
What are these like for rust? I’d imagine 125k+
cars at 20 years old must be getting a bit crusty.
We are 11 months into a complete renovation of our 2001 M5 at the moment so fairly well qualified to comment on this…cars at 20 years old must be getting a bit crusty.
Your correlations were super helpful - thank you.
I'm looking at selling my FBMWSH 02 93 mile car because of the @£$£!!@ ULEZ zone. I think I'll ask for a bazillion pounds for it....
Price expectations are nuts. A good car with 80-100 miles has to be £25 - 30k?
Apparently the almost new market will correct once new cars start arriving in six months but classics will keep going while there is low inflation/interest rates. If the general M Sport classics market is any indication there's probably a bit more left in E39s to go. It was the best one after all
I'm looking at selling my FBMWSH 02 93 mile car because of the @£$£!!@ ULEZ zone. I think I'll ask for a bazillion pounds for it....
Price expectations are nuts. A good car with 80-100 miles has to be £25 - 30k?
Apparently the almost new market will correct once new cars start arriving in six months but classics will keep going while there is low inflation/interest rates. If the general M Sport classics market is any indication there's probably a bit more left in E39s to go. It was the best one after all
LankyMcTally said:
Tommie38 said:
What are these like for rust? I’d imagine 125k+
cars at 20 years old must be getting a bit crusty.
They rust like any other old cars, if you insist driving your classic BMW, or new for that matter in the winter in the grit, snow and salt and constant state of dampness they will rot.cars at 20 years old must be getting a bit crusty.
Mine were made in march of 2000 and has NO rust, and yes, I have looked and everything has been apart, subframes out an everything. I understand the want of using the car all year round on a new car, but driving ones classic in the winter is un-fathomable to me. I, and the 5 owners before me thought the same and parked the car over the winter months (Sweden in my case, so it's a long winter) and therefore the car is rust free.
The green one in the pics will come out an absolute minter I reckon, good job with that.
Regarding prices, it's seems somewhat regional, the US has gone bananas price wise, BAT and other auction sites have a lot to do with that. There are a few in the 35k range for sale in Sweden too atm, but most seems to be a struggle to sell, In a temporarely lapse of judgement I had mine for sale aswell in the spring for around 18 grand or 225000 sek for my rust free but not exactly mint or desirable spec, silver over black nappa point M5 and that did not sell, and I priced it low, so low infact that it was at the time the cheapest LHD car in Europe at similar milage. Desirable spec, low milage, good history sells I think. Otherwise it's a tough sale atm, Corona perhaps, my last one sold in a hurry 2 years ago.
Edited by PowerslideSWE on Saturday 21st August 11:31
Edited by PowerslideSWE on Saturday 21st August 11:32
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