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I still recall my ex boss buying a new silver 540 Motorsport - circa 2001. I thought how incredible that car was one day when he gave me a ride to see a client. I still remember wondering how good a M5 variant of the E39 maybe if the 540 Motorsport was so impressive. What was not so incredible was how my boss tried to convince me it was a M5.!!

On a recent thread about M coupe’s I enquired whether anyone within the BMW community knew this same car - and a fellow member PM’d me to indicate that it was in fact domiciled in Christchurch. https://bmwmregistry.com/detail.php?id=12678 I love the colour.

Could be, but I think the one on trademe had relatively hefty k’s - could be wrong but I think the mileage mentioned back then by the guy in the article was around 30,000.

When I was living in Singapore- 5-6 years ago I read an article in either BMW car or the now defunct Total BMW car mag about another Kiwi who I believe was a banker who mentioned that he had bought a E92 M3 in Singa’s but also had a very low k example of a E39 M5 in storage in NZ... Much to my chagrin, I could never contact him... Does that car ring a bell to anyone here?

Well said!!!

I believe the individual audio system is actually the same as M-Audio. No difference at all. I know what you mean. I have a friend who also had a E34 535is and an E34 M5 prior to owning a LMB E39 M5. He is mega fussy with his car audio and he says the same- the e39 M5, despite being a premium offering from BMW didn’t have an amazing sound system. i agree with you though- I lower the windows and open the sunroof to hear the S62 growl... audio Nirvana!!!

Hi Stu, do you have the m-audio spec stereo? I have to say, I find it rather disappointing. Maybe I am being harsh, but I think my 1990 E34 535is had a better sounding system (despite only having a radio cassette hard unit). My 2008 X3 had a far better stereo too. Your thoughts?

I will do...one thing I have found is that you often make good friends amongst car guys - anywhere in the world!!! He is keen to drive my car (a E39) as it has been tweaked with minor Dinan upgrades... so hopefully if he does I can try out his E60 (in the delightful Interlagos blue).. I have driven a E60 once before with SMG. I had so much fun. The paddle shift was like playing some high velocity Play station game. Driving around the city with the staccato like gear shifts was not so much fun!!!!

Living in Northern California, I try and keep an eye on the M5’s for sale across the USA on a regular basis. I do see manual E60’s pop up for sale from time to time. Usually they have a premium over SMG’s in terms of price. One of the car club members I met here in SF has an e39 M and a manual E60, and he claims the manual E60 is absolutely epic. Said he also loved the feel of the factory e60 short shifter so much that he ordered one for his e39 as well!

Is the ex - David Smail car from Hamilton which sat on M parallels and had 850csi springs??

I know of Phil O’Reilly’s famous Cirrus blue M635csi in Wellington. An almost complete restoration car, and possibly one of the finest examples in NZ. Is that the blue car you talk of? Delphin was a dark metallic grey. The Zinnober red example is an amazing example too. Full m tech body kit, with style 5 wheels. Black leather. One of the finest examples in NZ too... stunning car in that colour. There was a ex UK green one example too that lived in Wellington. Sold to a guy in Huntly, about 6 years ago. Now in Melbourne - where a dealer has been trying to offload it between $60-$100k for the last year. Hasn’t sold.

Very interesting. Delphin is a very rare but nice colour.... I grew up in Cambridge, and after spending 12 years overseas I came home and I set about to buy a M635csi in 2001. Funnily enough one popped up for sale in Hamilton - an ex UK in Delphin grey with cream leather. It was a very early 86’ (number 296 from memory). It was only $30k. I missed out on it - but years later worked for the family in Hamilton who owned that car. They never really drove it for years and when I drove it in 2010 it had lost a lot of power and needed some recommissioning. Was sold to a car dealer in Dunedin. Pretty sure it is the only Delphin example in NZ.

Hi Graham, you owned your M6 in the UK- right? What colour was it - and do you recall what number it was of the 524 in rhd?

Hi Julian, So nice to see the interior looking the way it should. Looks fabulous. A very special M635csi ( have you introduced it to the Big Coupe website?). I actually really love the look of this car in white - not sure what other colours would lend itself so well to the body kit. Great to see it go to a good home and get enjoyed! Cheers!

Has anyone seen this one around anywhere in NZ? Never seen one in this colour in the flesh. Looks beautiful. https://bmwmregistry.com/detail.php?id=12678

I do get it (regarding having another stint in E39 M5 ownership) - seems like a pretty common phenomenon globally). Probably like a few on our board here, I have had the privilege of driving a few different ///M cars - including some newer machinery that put out some serious power. However, I don’t think I have ever driven / owned a vehicle like the E39 M5 which is an all -round absolute pleasure to drive. Totally intoxicating. I love the look of BMW coupes, but this is a stunning car to look at too. Rock star colour too man! In terms of driving them as a weekend toy, I can relate to that!!

Hi mate, awesome stuff. No doubts going to a good home. Congrats. Out of curiosity, which E39 M5 did you own previously? (Is it a car still owned within The Bimmersport community?)

Question for you guys then (now that you mention Max). What is the market value for a NZ new car with similar mileage to Max’s - without a rebuild??? Curious to hear your thoughts...

Wow - smart buying at that price. Despite fairly high mileage, there are a lot of others in NZ with similar travel. This one is in a desirable colour, is a facelift, and has the right specs. Why do you think it had a lower reserve than other cars in the market? Any issues or just a very motivated seller?

I saw one here a few months ago in a showroom here in San Francisco. Absolutely aggressive looking. 2 days ago I followed one on the freeway - what I love is the distinctive gold roll bars...very cool car! I still think it’s a shame that BMW changed the nomenclature for this model. I still see it as a M3 GTS!

Thanks man!!! As you know these cars are addictive. Goes incredibly well too. The BMW factory exhaust is great but I thoroughly recommend Dinan pipes. The sound is incredible- not super loud, but creates a lovely, deep burble!

I lived in Germany in the 90’s. I lived with a family who owned black e30 and E34 M powers. So funny, the next door neighbour had a Z1 in a very unusual pastel yellow.. hilarious.. on more than one ocassion when the z1 was leaving the street the E30 M3 would conveniently leave at the same time. The owner of the M3 ( the man of the house where I lived) would always say that the owner of the Z1 would always try and keep up as they hit the on ramp before the freeway.... he said by the time he hit the freeway however- he lost him every time!!! I remember thinking at the time that it was cool (the z1) ... but hated that colour!! Not sure about this particular example’s wheels either..

Some more photos

I think what happened here was that plenty of higher mileage or poorly maintained examples dropped to around $8k, 5-6 years ago and they got into a state where they never really recovered as they needed big money spent on them. Funnily enough, lots of these cars are now on Craiglist for $11-$15k with everything else going upwards as well. A really nice, 40k mile example popped up for sale recently for $45k. A friend of mine mentioned that 4 years ago a similar blue example with 30k Miles was available for $23k..! i looked closely at a couple of examples on the east coast. Didn’t work out as I was nervous of rust and the cost of transport to the west made it prohibitive. It was around $2k to get a car transported. As you say the prices are all over the place...obviously the time warp, like new example sold for $176k, but there are still examples commanding big dollars here.

Cheers buddy.