BMW E34 M5

If possible I would appreciate current and past owners view/opinion regarding this generation of M5. I am considering one but would like some insight regarding the pro's/con's and current market value's. I cannot lie when I say that the engine is my main reason for asking. I also miss having a 4-door and I am getting a tad tiresome of contorting into the Miata and it's lack or room and driver adjustability.

Being a car guy I know the build quality is great for all BMW's yet I worry about past abuse which is reflected in the asking price. A passing PPI would be a must as well.

Thank you in advance for any help/insight you can share with me,
Gregg

 

Gregg My freind owns a M6 and I own a 2013 M3. His M6 was a very fast car. I believe it was 500hp and a 6 speed transmission. They are a luxury rocketship. I personaly think they have more than the HP quoted. This was about 4 years ago.

I heard from freinds that have had a few M cars say the new ones have a vague steering.
I have had a 2002 Tii and a early 1990 M3. I loved those cars. I felt that way about the handling on my 2013 M3 i.e. not up to BMW M standards. Then the dealer told me you can adjust to Normal, sport, sport plus just by setting a knob. This made it better. The handling still feels spongie

Also the BMW's have a reputation that they develop electrical problems at the 4 year of ownership. MY good freind owns a European car repair shop. They have 5 lifts so it is a good sized shop. He recommended we not buy the BMW. My wife drove the standard 5 series and liked the car. We took my freinds advice and bought a Lexus instead. Than I bought the M3 the next week.

My only complaint about the 2013 M3 is low power. It only has 411 hp. The dealer told me after a few miles I could bring it back and get 120hp more. I took the car back and that turned out not to be true at least as I write this. According to the manger at the dealer they do not offer this package at this time and do not know if or when it will be offered or if it will be offered.

So I have a slow car that has better than wague steering that will fail electricaly within 4 years.

Sorry wish I knew about the M5 car. Their are other cars I would chose instead!

Good luck whatever you do.

Lee

 

Thank you!

 

Lee,
I am only interested in E34's. I miss having 4-door's and I miss having an iconic I6. I have found a 2/owner Cali car in my price range yet have not worked out any details, "Still fishing and not catching" so to speak.

 

I hope you find what you want.

Regards,

Lee

 

Thank you and patience will eventually pay off. Here are a few pic's of one that I am looking into. It is on eBay, 2 owner car w/169K.
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I have owned an e34, e39 and e60 M5. While the e34 was not the faster nor did it have the most options, it was hand built, had the best build quality and sound and the I6 engine was gorgeous to look at, unlike the plastic shroud e39 and e60 engines.

 

Your list is why I want a E34 M5. I am waiting for a reply from the seller regarding an address so I can ask one of my FChat friends in Irvine,CA to inspect it before I commit to anything.

Any Houston members with an E34 M5 I can checkout firsthand??????????? You can either pm me or email me.

Thanks in advance,
Gregg

 

Lose the white-walls and put some throwing stars on there, and it will look good!

 

LOL I didn't even notice the white walls at first. I wonder if they put them on there to make the wheels look bigger.

What is parts availabilty like, and how many parts are specific to the M5? I would be a little worried about a 25 year old limited production car that is closing in on 200K.

 

LOL, those are actually part of the wheel! The first year or two of the E34 M5 had those wheels where the centre aerodynamic insert section made the wheels/tires look like whitewall tires.

 

Here is a great place to go for information:

E34 M5 Discussion - BMW M5 Forum and M6 Forums

As noted above, last of the hand built M5's. Strong 6 cyl, relatively bullet proof, although work can be expensive, mostly because of limited parts. Not a lot of E34 M5's made it here.

We get the 3.6L 315 hp. I don't think we got the 6 speed, which came with the bigger motor. There was a 3.8L 340 hp 6 speed version, but never brought over (including a very rare wagon version, some of which had adjustable shocks, known as the "Nurburgring suspension").

Still a good looking car IMHO, even though I have an E39!

Regards,
Jerry

 

Now that you mention it, I can see that it's the wheel. I still vote for throwing stars though.

 

The e34 wheels had blade-like vents that helped extract heat from the brakes.

 

I joined that forum. I was outbid on the eBay M5 by $1K and opted out so no E34 M5 for me at this time, I want a local sale anyway. Any local leads would be appreciated so please contact me via PM or email.

 

Like any other vehicle obsessed fool I am still in the game after speaking with my C/U (Credit Union). My Miata is strictly a cash sale at $4550- $4500 so interested parties can PM me asap.

Help me make this 20+yr dream come true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Agreed - the "throwing star" rims look great on these.

 

Not white-walls

I don't see how anyone can make that mistake.

 

E34 M5s are great cars! I traded my E30 M3 for my 91 M5 and it was much more enjoyable as it had more torque. All around a more usable car with the 4 doors. Make sure to get valve adjustments and a Fahey crank hub. I had the M5 and an E39 Dinan 540i at the same time and I preferred to drive the M5. It handled better and was better built, except for the delaminating door panels.

 

There are a couple of these on Ebay right now.

Jim

 

I decided that I am just going to wait until I am more financially stable and can save up the money for a local car as I prefer to personally inspect the cars. I want to say thanks for everyone's input.

Gregg