I doubt even the factory would pay that much for their museum. I dunno. It’s smelling like 1989-1990. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
Its one car with eff u miles. Crappy e30 m3s are 40k. I wld have paid 90 to 100 for the m5. When i think back to that time period my heart goes to the e36 m3 so i have 3 of those. If my heart went back to the e39 m5 i wld have paid 180k cuz it isnt about the money at that point. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Seems like a great way to launder some money....in all honesty, can't think of any reason ever that the car should be worth that much. No other low-mileage car commands that big of a premium. This sale makes absolutely zero sense. The buyer should be embarrassed.
Meant to say “Can’t” drive it, that would kill it’s only redeeming quality and turn it into just another used car.
People have been paying up huge for super low mile, time capsule cars forever. It's not my thing but apparently lots of people are into it. In that sense the price paid is not a huge shock...
One data point here. I'm probably one of the younger enthusiasts here - ripe old age of 30. I have zero affinity to new exotics and supercars. I look at them with interest to see what the manufacturers are up to, and would undoubtedly love to daily an 812, but my emotional connection is pulse-less. They're just better than the alternatives, totally replaceable and destined to become obsolete and burdened with aged tech every few years. No thanks, at least while money is a consideration. And my car-guy friends are all on the same page. In fact, one drives a series 3 Alfa Romeo spider, another a 79 Turbo, another an 82 911 SC, and more. Contrary to my feelings about the new stuff, modern classics and vintage cars have driven my intensity up to 11. I have never been more enthusiastic about cars, and I've been obsessed since day 1. As I self-actualized personally and as a car guy, my thinking has become more isolated from conventional wisdom and groupthink, and the result is clarity. Clarity with regard to what's timeless and what's fleeting. I see myself continuing down this path, and as a member of the next generation, I (and many others) will always yearn for those cars that represent substantive meaning (and not a La Ferrari... ever). To further add a glimmer of hope, I present my 3 year old nephew. My brother-in-law has zero interest in cars. Beau, my nephew, is consumed by cars. They dominate his life. Toys, books, clothing. He walks around the garage with me and asks to see the engines, asks where the oil goes, loves to hear them cold-start. I believe there is a primitive trait that cars satisfy in many men. And hopefully it continues to be produced and we continue to pave the way for subsequent generations to enjoy... because it's likely that Beau is similar to many little ones you may know and I would be saddened if they don't have the opportunity to seize their passions like we have or share in it with us. -Joe
The 993 Carrera RSR that sold at RM a little while back comes to mind. The car had 10 km on the clock and was still in its original cosmoline - about as untouched as you can get. It fetched €2,016,000 - a little more than double the going rate. This M5 had no business going for 10x a normal mileage car.
The M5 is has 500 miles. That's easy to understand. As far as late 90's early 2000's cars. There are plenty of awesome cars that are investment/collector's worthy. BMW 850CSi There are a myriad of special low edition E36s (M3 Lightweight comes to mind) Mercedes SL72 Integra Type-R (US spec) Skyline GT-R R34 V-Spec Nurr Edition etc I wouldn't call anybody that pays 30K for an Integra Type-R a sucker, any more then I would denigrate the guy that paid 10 million for the La Ferrari Aperta charity. These are emotional purchases, with logic often the last thing one appeal to. It's about personal enjoyment. People often use all sort of analogies to describe buyers that purchase vehicles for purposes other than to drive them. The best analogy is actually people who collect toys and leave em in the box. It's their money, so who am I to judge? The purchase of this 200K M5 affects in no way my enjoyment of cars. I can always buy a crappy old M5 and fix it up and have the same driving experience if that's what matters to me. If I want to 'play' with a first edition Darth Vader toy, no shortage of 'playable' versions out there. Many have the means and desire to have a personal car museum, insulting this cohort is my opinion is a combination of envy and schadenfreude. Congrats to buyer and seller.
I certainly sympathize with your comment if the buyer 'stretched' to buy it. Something tells me more likely it is going to find its home in a climate-controlled "Bimmer wing" of the buyer's estate.
I don't care if people collect things. Personally, however, I don't have a collector bone in my body. Even when I was a kid, I would buy baseball cards for the bubblegum (I'm old) and trade away the cards. I'm sure more than one Roger Maris slipped through my fingers. Indeed, I'm the opposite of a collector. If I have a car I haven driven much lately, I start thinking about moving on. Anybody interested in a C55?
I'm the same way as you with cars, but I do collect different scotch, so I do have a soft spot for some collectors (whatever their passion)
That M5 proves how bad of an investment time capsule cars are. That owner didn't even get to enjoy how great of a driver's car that is and doubtful he even beat inflation after all costs. That '02 M5 (production date 9/2001) had some options that brought up MSRP to probably around $75k (park distance control, full leather interior, and M audio to list a few based on a VIN code search). Inflation alone from Sept 2001 to now is $106,000 in today's dollars not including sales tax, annual registration, insurance, maintenance, shipping cost to auction (cost to trailer to dealer for service too??), etc. I'll assume storage fees were zero and just left in the house's garage. They sold it for $160k prior to fees so $176k buyer and $144k seller. Seller barely got anything after accounting for inflation. Oh yeah, and he'll have to pay capital gains on the difference between sale price and purchase price. What a stupid way to spend money. Edit: The people that appear to get the most ROI on their purchases from what I read are the enthusiasts that still use their cars and not those that buy to hold. When asked when they sell, they always say they never thought they'd make any money off it and definitely not as much as they end up getting. They only got into it for the passion of the car and not to make money. The Admiral is the most recent example of that and many more prior to him.
This analysis is a bit naive on a cple fronts. To say the owner didnt enjoy the car is most likely false as he probably had another one that he did drive. Secondly this idea of comparing cars (or anything) against inflation makes absolutely no sense as inflation is a fake and noninvestable number. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
the guy had x dollars back in 2001. he decided to buy an m5 and store it. he might own a warehouse on a farm in middle america where he stored the car for free. Farmland has done well since then. in addition to the m5 he probably had a bunch of other bmws and other brands that he enjoyed. i have alot of cars. I own a countach, i enjoy owning it but i dont enjoy driving it. i own a 1966 and 2017 fiat 500 - i enjoy driving those. i enjoy driving my 130k mile e36 m3 but i dont put miles on my 1995 m3 ltw. who cares? so back to e39 guy - 2018 comes around and he has something that's a unicorn - he decided to sell it and it fetches 180k. a bunch of people on this board who have zero skin in the game have very strong opinions. again, who cares? if people cared about inflation they wld never buy a house again and i can guarantee you outside of a very few select pockets that low mile m5 is way more liquid than most of our houses!
Owning a house and not living in it and not renting it would be a more appropriate analogy to owning a new car and not driving it. That M5 was a poor investment. He could have easily invested elsewhere in a more liquid asset. And there are ways to invest against inflation (tips). I didn't say he didn't enjoy it. I said he didn't enjoy what it was made for: driving. Next time he should buy a model car or poster in addition to having a driver. People that hoard things and keep them new in the box like that make no sense to me. I'm just saying how it was not a good investment as others (not just this forum) look at sale price and purchase price and think it was good when that is not correct.
Show me one person who has made money investing in tips. They dont exist. You can judge anything you want - as long as there is an audience! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If you buy an actual TIPS bond (directly) and hold it for the time until it matures you will make money (inflation + a hair above it). I'm not sure what you're getting at. Maybe you and/or others tried ETFs/mutual funds or buying/selling bonds before maturity? That is a way to lose money on bonds and not just TIPS. At any rate, I don't invest in that or other fixed income assets. Market indexes are enough for me and I rather put my play money toward hobbies rather than speculating on consumer goods. I'm not into buying something and not using what it was intended for (like buying a painting and putting it in a box never to look at and enjoy). It seems you at least enjoy your cars even though you don't get around to driving them all the time rather than purposely not using them.
It all depends on the context of the original owner. Assuming the owner has somewhat limited cash, and appreciation was the primary goal of acquisition, yes, I would agree that it was not a wise investment vehicle. (pardon the pun) However, it's rare for folks to buy 1 car and store it purely on a non-emotional investment purpose. It happens with more than one car within their collection, or they are in the trade (car dealer.) I assume the buyer back in 2002, had better candidates then an M5 if appreciation was the main purpose of acquisition. This makes me assume it was part of a collection. I openly admit my assumption could be wrong. The premise that owners don't 'enjoy' cars because s/he did not drive is a fundamentally flawed line of thinking. Many affluent derive great pleasure in having a personal museum (see Sultan of Brunei thread) I know of many people that enjoy the ownership/collection aspect of vehicles. Another common scenario is owners literally have a 'fleet' of vehicles. Time and lifestyle often prevent high miles on cars (i.e. Jerry Seinfeld/Jay Leno) The ownership/collecting aspect itself is the ends to the means. You clarified that the owner didn't get full enjoyment from 'driving' the car. But I can only assume it's because they spent time driving their other vehicles, probably an i8 or Z8. Perhaps during the times their driver was not available with the Rolls Royce.
Happy to come over and drive your Contach for you..you know to keep the seals and stuff from cracking..
I don't think so. The production run was 1999-2003- there might be a few 99s in the US but mostly in the USA its 2000-2003. The last 2003 M5 and Z8 were made in May of 2003. This being a 2002 car, its impossible for it to be SN 1. There is nothing remarkable about this car aside from the ultra low miles And the fact that the E39 M5 is one of the most fondly loved BMWs of all time. Yeah. Aside from the mileage there is nothing special about that particular example. Silver/black was the most common combination. I will say this is probably the best "BMW" BMW ever made: supercar level performance in a handsome and unassuming sleeper package that was also pretty useable as a family car. Its a real shame how BMW lost its "BMW"ness. At least in my opinion. Anyway, I agree with you guys, who are we to judge the seller. He had this nice time capsule and decided to sell it. Maybe he had a fleet of other cars, or maybe this was his one nice car and he just looked at it. Does it really affect our lives aside from some fun discussion?
That was an amazing car. When I got mine I thought it was almost like a 4 door F430! Screaming engine, paddle transmission, tight handling- much more responsive than the E39. But... the engine was a total dog below 5000 RPM- which meant in normal driving it was a dog almost all the time. And the thirst was insane- 180 miles between fillups?! I was going to the station 3x a week! And then I thought the ride/ handling mix was off where the car felt like they mistook a hard ride for good handling. For me this was the BMW when they were starting to slide in the wrong direction but if you have different driving conditions I can see why so many loved it. Anyway, is the bubble gonna burst? I have no idea. I have no idea if its even a bubble!
