Ha all you calif. guys

[Ted K]

I have started looking at 2002 -2003 M5’s. I saw this E34 on Autotrader and it has my interest. What do you think? Any one know about this car?

http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=190294654&dealer_id=56998248&car_year=1991&search_type=both&make=BMW&distance=0&model=M5&address=98513&certified=&advanced=&max_price=&bkms=1128873984534&min_price=&end_year=1995&start_year=1990&isp=y&lang=en&cardist=591

[Gayle]

Us So Cal members are of no help to you. California is such a long state, that you, Ted, in Olympia Washington, are about the same distance from Sacramento as those of us in San Diego are.

I think the person on the board who would be closest to that car is "Craig in Davis". I don't remember anyone else posting from inland California. Something like 80% of Californians live within 20 miles of the coast.

Josh, as our most active No. Cal member, can you remember anyone posting from the Sacramento area?

[uscharalph]

Looks pretty clean, but it's pretty far: 385 miles

[Springfield1952]

Seems high. There was another white M5 with 83,000 miles for $18,000 +/- advertised about 3 weeks ago. I think it was somewhere in the SoCal desert area though I don't remember the details and I can't seem to find it on AutoTrader tonight.

Curt.
Pleasanton, CA

[pyro]

DUDE i live like 20 miles from you

[FiveOJester]

I'll be visiting the folks up in Sacramento this weekend. I might swing by and take a look.

*Located in Fresno, about 3 hours south of Sac, about 3 hours north of LA...smack dab in the middle of the state.

[Gayle]

I'll be visiting the folks up in Sacramento this weekend. I might swing by and take a look.

*Located in Fresno, about 3 hours south of Sac, about 3 hours north of LA...smack dab in the middle of the state.

If we ever get enough momentium to have a So Cal meet, you are invited :)

[SRR2]

I'm sorry.... you're joking, right? WTF is that guy smoking? $25,000 for a 15 year old car that Edmunds and KBB put at $8,000-ish? Good grief. Not only that, it's been modded -- who knows how well. I think you'd be a lot better off putting your 25 large into a nice E39 540/6 sport.

[Craig in Davis]

Sacramento. I am close, I work in Sacramento. I might be able to take a look at it and let you know what I see. Let me know if I can help.




I think the person on the board who would be closest to that car is "Craig in Davis".

[sdwhitney]

Us So Cal members are of no help to you. California is such a long state, that you, Ted, in Olympia Washington, are about the same distance from Sacramento as those of us in San Diego are.

I think the person on the board who would be closest to that car is "Craig in Davis". I don't remember anyone else posting from inland California. Something like 80% of Californians live within 20 miles of the coast.

Josh, as our most active No. Cal member, can you remember anyone posting from the Sacramento area?

I am in Sac, and can look at for you. I actually allready contacted this guy last week.

he has a post on the m5 board.

[sdwhitney]

I emailed the seller, and gave him the link to this board. He seems like a good guy. He replied that he wasn't a member of this board, but wanted me to post his response to some of the thoughts about his car, specifically to SRR2, here it is..

Remember, this isn't me, and SRR2, to be fair, I have his email and can forward any response if you PM me..

SRR2:

It's clear you have little to no background in E34 M5s. A simple search on AutoTrader would have done wonders in educating you in this respect, rather than living and dying by KBB and Edmunds. Both KBB and Edmunds are dreadfully off with regard to the true market value of these cars. For $8k, you'll find an M5 in very poor condition and one which the buyer will undoubtedly regret purchasing. That, I have absolutely no doubt. Or, for $8k, you could get a cherry M5, but with a blown motor...a motor that will cost the buyer about $8k - $11k to replace. You would be better off buying the car that needs the new motor. My car was listed at the higher end of the spectrum and typically, only someone that's "lost" their M5 in an accident or something, would consider paying that much for one, because they know how important it is to pay for the right car. A "newbie" sometimes learns the hard way, that you get what you pay for - especially in the case of E34 M5s.

Being the owner of 2 BMWs, as your screen information suggests, I'm sure you don't have to be educated on the quality of Dinan products. The car has a Dinan chip, Stage III suspension (adjustable anti-roll bars, uprated bushings, springs, Koni adjustable shocks, camber plates, with Self Leveling Suspension delete), Dinan cam gears and short shifter (to be installed this Thursday, for the new owner, as a parting and final service before the car leaves me). Other extras included the M Parallel wheels with Pirelli P Zeros, Ireland Engineering strut bar, US Ellipsoid headlight upgrades, US Ellipsoid foglight upgrades, Bosch/Hella HID, StonGard protection to all the front lights and a car cover. Most E34 M5 owners are very careful in deciding what they do with their modifications. We never try to do anything that would foul the beautiful lines of the E34 shape or modify it in any way that would hamper or negatively impact the wonderful nature of the car. My car was no exception.

While the same money will get you a decent enough E39 540i sport, you can rest assured that there is no comparison to the E34 M5, either in character or soul among other things. I would sooner recommend that if someone is just unwilling to spend so much on such an "old" car, that they may be better off taking a chance on a car that may need some "maintenance work", by looking at cars with higher mileage and priced in the high teens. That will usually get a car that's been pretty well taken cared for, but may have some need for immediate and hopefully, minor, maintenance work. Decent cars in this condition, will run in the $17-$19k range. Excellent condition cars will start in the $20k range and run up from there. But for a no story, no nonsense car, my car would have been a prime example.

Although I personally found your comments to be rather "rash", I am the owner of the car and obviously have a certain affinity to it. On the otherhand, as I attempt to stand back and look at your comments from a neutral point of view, I am fairly confident in saying that you exercised the proverbial "foot in the mouth" move, by not having any real working knowledge of the true market value of the car...which a simple 5 minute search on AutoTrader would have helped with.

As stated above, the car has found a new home. I turned down a car broker's offer of asking price so I could sell it to another enthusiast at slightly less than asking price. Thanks to everyone for looking.

-Seller

[uscharalph]

I emailed the seller, and gave him the link to this board. He seems like a good guy. He replied that he wasn't a member of this board, but wanted me to post his response to some of the thoughts about his car, specifically to SRR2, here it is..

Remember, this isn't me, and SRR2, to be fair, I have his email and can forward any response if you PM me..

SRR2:

It's clear you have little to no background in E34 M5s. A simple search on AutoTrader would have done wonders in educating you in this respect, rather than living and dying by KBB and Edmunds. Both KBB and Edmunds are dreadfully off with regard to the true market value of these cars. For $8k, you'll find an M5 in very poor condition and one which the buyer will undoubtedly regret purchasing. That, I have absolutely no doubt. Or, for $8k, you could get a cherry M5, but with a blown motor...a motor that will cost the buyer about $8k - $11k to replace. You would be better off buying the car that needs the new motor. My car was listed at the higher end of the spectrum and typically, only someone that's "lost" their M5 in an accident or something, would consider paying that much for one, because they know how important it is to pay for the right car. A "newbie" sometimes learns the hard way, that you get what you pay for - especially in the case of E34 M5s.

Being the owner of 2 BMWs, as your screen information suggests, I'm sure you don't have to be educated on the quality of Dinan products. The car has a Dinan chip, Stage III suspension (adjustable anti-roll bars, uprated bushings, springs, Koni adjustable shocks, camber plates, with Self Leveling Suspension delete), Dinan cam gears and short shifter (to be installed this Thursday, for the new owner, as a parting and final service before the car leaves me). Other extras included the M Parallel wheels with Pirelli P Zeros, Ireland Engineering strut bar, US Ellipsoid headlight upgrades, US Ellipsoid foglight upgrades, Bosch/Hella HID, StonGard protection to all the front lights and a car cover. Most E34 M5 owners are very careful in deciding what they do with their modifications. We never try to do anything that would foul the beautiful lines of the E34 shape or modify it in any way that would hamper or negatively impact the wonderful nature of the car. My car was no exception.

While the same money will get you a decent enough E39 540i sport, you can rest assured that there is no comparison to the E34 M5, either in character or soul among other things. I would sooner recommend that if someone is just unwilling to spend so much on such an "old" car, that they may be better off taking a chance on a car that may need some "maintenance work", by looking at cars with higher mileage and priced in the high teens. That will usually get a car that's been pretty well taken cared for, but may have some need for immediate and hopefully, minor, maintenance work. Decent cars in this condition, will run in the $17-$19k range. Excellent condition cars will start in the $20k range and run up from there. But for a no story, no nonsense car, my car would have been a prime example.

Although I personally found your comments to be rather "rash", I am the owner of the car and obviously have a certain affinity to it. On the otherhand, as I attempt to stand back and look at your comments from a neutral point of view, I am fairly confident in saying that you exercised the proverbial "foot in the mouth" move, by not having any real working knowledge of the true market value of the car...which a simple 5 minute search on AutoTrader would have helped with.

As stated above, the car has found a new home. I turned down a car broker's offer of asking price so I could sell it to another enthusiast at slightly less than asking price. Thanks to everyone for looking.

-Seller
Case closed, it's sold!

[Ted K]

Ya I am interested. If your in the area and have the time go take a look at it for me. It sound as if it has been sold! I can also send him a note on Auto trader.

[sdwhitney]

Ya I am interested. If your in the area and have the time go take a look at it for me. It sound as if it has been sold! I can also send him a note on Auto trader.

It is sold.

He said he is having some work done on it at a local shop (S&K http://www.schatzandkrum.com/), so I am going to try and meet him on Friday when he picks it up to take a look at it before it goes away.

He said it is staying in California, but leaving this area.

[Ted K]

Thanks, It sounds like a nice ride.

[Gayle]

Thanks, It sounds like a nice ride.


Ted--are you having "the one that got away" experience. His write up made me sorry it had gotten away from me and I am not even in the market. Don't you just love someone who loves their car and cares for it even if they are a little nuts? You could have given Jr some competition in that car. And just in time for the car show.

I have had verbal agreements to buy things and been outbid by someone else and been unwilling to match it. He says he turned down a higher price to sell to an enthusiast. Do you know what it went for? Maybe it is not really a done deal. Selling to an enthusiast (you) at a higher pice would be ideal for the seller. When we sold our 525, we had someone say they would take it on the weekend but be unable to get the money til Tuesday. We told them if someone gives us more before Tuesday, it is going to be the other persons car. As in it ain't over til its over.