Why is the E60 M5 so cheap?

I’m so glad 84% of you agree – the Z06 is worth saving up for. Speaking of saving, I found a BMW that looks like it deserves a new home. I’ll say one thing about it and you’ll be able to guess: V-10. Yes, it’s an E60 M5.

And Oh My God, the history on this thing.

The 2008 BMW E60 M5

See the M5 listing here

Now I know you normally love when I compare two options, and don’t worry, I’ll bring you something else later on. But it wouldn’t really be a fair comparison, because this is a V-10 M5. No contemporary Mercedes, Audi, or even BMW is going to compare. Let me bring you the bad new first…

• 93,500 miles
• It’s a manual, so that’s a plus
• It bears the modification marks of questionable taste: M colored kidney grille, BMW black and white steering wheel badge, etc…
• Sapphire Black on Black – Dark Knight edition.
• The CarFax says “moderate to severe damage”, which sounds like a reaction to a drug. Happened eleven years ago, and it’s a big gamble.
• The service history on this car reads like a mobster rap sheet. But take a closer look, and it’s sort of excused. Throttle actuators, Vanos solenoid, rod bearings – you know, all the normal S85 stuff.
• Other weird things like the wheels and rear bumper needing to be refinished, oil cooler repaired. Where did this car go?
• As of this writing, zero bids.

The price is the interesting part – Decent examples, as in around 60,000 miles, fetch less than $25,000. Many go even lower. I know the V-10 isn’t perfect, but it is still BMW’s only example, and the sound it makes is wonderful.

But they did put this into another car…

An E63/E64 M6 Coupe or Convertible

I could never figure out what to make of this car. I don’t think it aged very well, especially the droopy front-end. But the back half isn’t so bad. Best part is the S85 is here too (along with all its typical problems).

Thing is, these have taken an even bigger hit than the M5. Let’s pull an extreme example first:

2008 BMW M6 with 37,000 miles – $69,999

That’s the top spec I could find, and I can’t imagine anyone signing that check for one of these. On the other end are cars like this:

2007 BMW M6 with 71,398 miles – $16,950

This one is a much nicer spec, and though the history is a bit spotty, on a car this old, you’d need to give it a once-over anyway. Imagine how much you could fix, or upgrade, for that $53,000 price gap. Absolutely swap transmissions either way.

Convertibles are just a bit more (low $20s), and I’d really consider going this route since this isn’t a car you’re going to track, and you want every chance to hear that glorious V-10.

Would you take either of these home now that they’ve become so cheap?

Want your car reviewed?

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