ssbmw

Yep.. they did. It bothers me - especially with the colour I have. Here's a friend's Silverstone that shows his Euro style headlights with the clear coloured indicators. In my books, it looks cool.

Yep!!!! Well done... those amber indicator lenses bother me... will be getting that done soon. well done Martin! I hear that you are a Mr E39 M5 in Nz. Would love to catch up someday.

No. Good try. If you quickly look at an Euro E39 M5 you’ll get it.

Hello there, it's been awhile since I provided any commentary on the acquisition of Bluewater. I have owned her for nigh on 10 months now, and as one may suspect, my enjoyment of the car never ceases to amaze me . I live in Northern California - in the San Francisco Bay area where there are ample places to enjoy the features of a very practical, tactile M car. As many owners have found, what would you purchase to replace it that provides the power, handling, and charisma of a 6 -speed M powered brute? Possibly a E90 M3? There have been the age-related pro-active maintenance that I have embarked on such as the replacement of various hosing, power steering pump, and thermostat. The next step is the replacement of the suspension components such as control arms / bushes. Being a nice -day -driver only though - will probably get that going later in the year. As mentioned before, the 'Los Angeles' style chrome style 65 wheels will eventually get refurbished. However, there is one thing that bothers me about that I need to sort out too - from an aesthetic view that I really like about the Euro (including the Australasian market) style E39 M5 that the US market never got. Something external- visually obvious. Can anyone work it out?

So possibly 2-3 nz new 3.6 M5’s ( and lots of imports), 3 with 3.8’s, and no doubt the odd import too. However, why so rare? Was this due to the effects of the share market crash in 87?’ I suspect too that BMW weren’t as good with their marketing back then for their M5’s. A lot of people didn’t really know what a M5 entailed. A far cry from the success Bmw had with subsequent versions of the M5.

To be fair, not sure the 18” wheels look right. A nice set of staggered 17” style 5’s would add to the look!

Wow very cool. So how bad was the damage when the car was in the accident? A pre-face lift then? The titanium trim with the Imola / black leather looks grouse

No dogleg - they appeared on the early left hand drive examples possibly

The plain m badge was standard on the m635csi. Despite it being a fully fettled M car, the m influences were subtle- m on the rear and front grill, m steering wheel, and M under the tachometer. Even the gear shift by factory had no tri colour branding- unlike the E28 M5 that had more distinctive m branding

Not quite what i was getting at but well done. What stopped me from doing a deal on the car 10 years ago was the colour. The owner at the time was a retired prestige paint shop owner who bought the car from an insurance company sale as it was stolen- circa early 1990’s. He hated the original (cosmos blue- which is a light blue/ silver colour). So he painted it Traum Schwarz- which is a dark green/black. Which is a very rare colour- that saw itself on Z1’s. It was a nice car otherwise- but the non original colour bothered me. Cosmos blue was pretty cool in my opinion. Yes, looks like head unit was replaced too- very rarely do you see them original any more!!!!

Here’s another super rare classic from the 80’s for sale. One of approximately 20 that arrived in NZ brand new in the 80’s. I saw this for sale in 2008/2009 in Hamilton for $28k. Apart from the wheels, notice anything that is distinctly non- original? https://trademe.nz/motors/cars/bmw/m6/listing/2018549347

Ah yes, i remember you!! You brought the car over when you migrated- correct?! Yes, your one was a nice straight daily driver! Hope you are well!

Jooles’s car was a red 850i that was painted by its ex owner who lived in Hamilton. The 850csi I mentioned that originated in Singapore resides in Tauranga - and is red with black leather and sits on 17” Throwing stars. Briefly on trademe for $90k 10 years ago. Didn’t sell. Has about 65000 Kms on the clock.

Hey there, very interesting! What colour was your example? I remember 12-15 years ago when there were 3 in the country that people knew of- a ex Singaporean example in hell or brilliant red, a black one that was ex UK. Then we heard about this silver one through the threads here on Bimmersport- with time-warp low mileage. During that time an ex UK purple one arrived in the country that was coated in rust- inhibiting it from achieving compliance. Of course, ‘Mr E31’ Alan Ferguson brought in a batch of E31’s over the last 10 years that included a few special CSI’s. I was not aware of your car. These things are super rare- only 160 made in RHD. A friend of mine owns this car and it is a gem. It has to be one of the best in the world. A worthy addition to a BMW collection!

Great point. A lot of these cars we see for sale today were for sale 8-10 years ago for low 20’s. At $35k for sale now, they probably have broken even with their maintenance costs. A friend of mine in Auckland who had a beautifully maintained 150,000 Km daily driver 10 years ago allocated $4k / year for running costs through an independent. The good thing if you have a fine day example like mine, a lot of the expenses can be spread over a longer period of time— prioritizing the important tasks. For example, I replaced my engine mounts, got new discs/brake pads, and got new hoses fairly soon after purchase. The suspension is my next project- but will wait awhile. However, one I thing I will state again. In my opinion, these cars are an exhilarating drive. What car covers the all round capabilities of a 6 speed E39 M5. Worth every penny!

In my humble opinion, based on purchasing one of these beasts in the last year; cars at this point possibly need some pro-active maintenance. Clutches can rear their ugly head, hoses need replacing, thermostats can deteriorate, and the suspension components such as control arms, bushings, etc need replacing. Just also based on meeting people here in the US who really clock up intergalactic mileage with their cars, as long as you spend the money - these things are sturdy! A mate of mine has a 150,000 mile example in Silverstone. He has done all the pro-active maintenance work on his car through a local independent - and it never misses a beat as a daily driver. I just hope that the current owner of this car has had some big- tickets items done.. otherwise there could be some bills around the corner. Worth spending though- these cars rock!

From what I know, there were 4 in Imola red in Nz, 3 were NZ new, one was a South African model. One of the Imola’s may no longer be on the roads. Shame it is a rare colour. They are beautiful in the flesh.

Ja est is kein a Emm Vier- it is a m funf!!

Obviously because I currently reside in the USA, always studying prices of these things being marketed here. I think based on the mileage, condition, and provenance it wouldn’t be unrealistic to see a vendor marketing a car like this in the USA for $40-$45k USD. If it was in a Uber rare colour combo maybe more.

You know it’s funny I have been on this site regularly for over 10 years (without being a regular contributor) and overtime you notice the absence of people who were regular contributors. He is one of them. Last I heard was that he was selling his M5 to replace it with a X5.

Yep that is Darren Gledhill’s old car. Beautiful. Quite a few after market mods though -which won’t cater for everyone.. Darren was anecdotally the original owner of the highly discussed Lemans Blau example that was the subject of an insurance rebuild - and replaced that car with this black one.... Darren was once a regulator contributor to this site...

I personally think it is very cool. The rear spoiler ‘spoils’ the design aesthetics a little (unlike the E34), but love the decals and interior design that makes it an Alpina. Agreed, the price is not in sync with the Kiwi market, but I bet there must be less than a handful of these in NZ. I still recall driving a friend’s 300,000 km E34 Alpina B10. Handled incredibly and it’s appearance defied its mileage. Great cars- these Alpina’s! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ok0XLDn6w8A. Check this German clip- comparing this Alpina to an E39 M5.

I still remember Mike Hosking driving an immaculate example in Imola red / black leather in the early 00's. Stunning car - I'd see it regularly pottering around Newmarket / Parnell.. Wonder where that car is today. The early 00's seem like yesterday to me - it's extraordinary that we have moved on nearly 20 years. Despite not being a M car, these cars still ooze so much cool. Just like the E34 540is and the E34 535is before them.

The owner is one of our members and is a true enthusiast like more than a few of us here. I remember when Glen presented this car to the site all of those years ago too... Fabulous car that in other car markets would have been snapped up in a flash. There are 80-100k mile examples in the USA selling for $120k. I hope it stays in NZ and becomes part of a special collection. There just aren’t many like that with unicorn, freaky mileage. Very special car.

Seriously cool man!! I love the interior colour. Massive congrats