This car came up for sale a couple weeks ago and was one of those things that might have got me in trouble. I would absolutely love to own an e28 M5, and this one sounded like a good solid car with a decent history of maintenance; it did have a few warts though which pushed the price down below the norm for these cars, but none of the disclosed warts would be difficult to overcome.
Unfortunately, or fortunately for me, the ad placed on MyE28.com lured in a buyer in what ought to be a record time of a little over 16 hours. But as the now disappointed buyer found out, things in an ad are not always as they seem, and diligence is always due especially when buying a car from afar.
First, here’s the copy & pics from the MyE28.com ad:
In the past several months I picked up an E60 M5 as a daily driver and an older SL600 as a project car. Consequently, my beloved E28 M5 hasn’t been getting any attention. As it sits, the car really isn’t a garage queen and was built to be driven. With this in mind, I’ve decided to let her go. My father purchased the car in the mid 90’s, and then sold it to me in 2009 (although we haven’t actually transferred the title yet so it’s still in his name). The car hasn’t been in any accidents and includes pretty extensive records both from me and from the previous owner who had the car maintained at Black Forrest Werkshop in Austin, Tx. Being a Tx car, there is absolutely no structural rust on the car or in the body panels. There is, however, a small bubble under the paint on the sunroof. At 180,XXX miles the car underwent an extensive rebuild during which almost every mechanical part prone to wear or failure was replaced. The result was an extremely mechanically sound, tight and fun to drive daily driver. I had intended to keep this car forever (hence the in depth rebuild), but at the moment both my garage and driveway are completely full and it just seems unfair to leave a car like this sitting out in the elements. The car has had regular oil changes with Valvoline VR1 20W-50 racing oil and valve adjustments performed @roughly 15k mile intervals. A full set of valve shims will be included in the sale of the car. Currently, the car has 193,XXX miles on it. A couple major points of the rebuild:
-Timing chain and all related components were replaced (including an Evo Cam Gear)
-S54 Tensioner installed to prevent future timing chain issues
-All suspension components replaced (bushings, mounts, arms, Bilsteins, Euro springs, etc)
-Entire brake system replaced (E34 M5 calipers, Brembo slotted rotors, UUC SS lines, Mstr Cyl, Brake Bomb, etc)
-All ignition components replaced (plugs, coil, wires, dist cap and rotor)
-Rear Sub frame and Front & Rear swaybar bushings replaced with Powerflex units
-SI board replaced with updated unit
-All engine hoses, bushings, rubber, accessible gaskets, engine mounts, etc. were replaced
-JB racing LW aluminum flywheel, new clutch and all associated components replaced
-New clutch slave cyl and ss line
-All shift linkage replaced
-Dinan chip installed (There is an EAT chip listed in the invoice from Steve Haygood, but I never received the part and installed the Dinan unit instead)
-New Oil pump and all related components installed
-All steering linkage has been replaced
-Frank Fey track pipe
-Fuel system completely refurbished (injectors cleaned and flow balanced, new fpr, new fuel pumps, new high pressure fuel lines, gas tanked completely cleaned, etc.)
I have receipts for all of the parts and I’ve included a pretty extensive list of parts and costs below. I just threw this list together in Excel, so a few items might be missing. For a serious potential buyer, I can provide actual receipts (most of which include part numbers and quantities) for just about anything that has been installed in the car.UUC
SS Coated Brake Lines $119.00
SS Coated Clutch Line $29.00
Magnetic Drain Plug $10.00
Delrin Carrier Bushings $25.00
“Big Boy” Clutch Stop $20.00
RK5 Shift Knob $139.00Turner Motorsports
JB Racing Light Weight Flywheel $539.00
Plug WiresTire Rack
Brembo Slotted Rotors (Fr) $255.00
Brembo Slotted Rotors (Rear) $141.00
4 255/50R-16 Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec Tires $559.00Steve Haygood
Crankshaft Seal Most BMW M30
Gasket Timing Cover S38 M5,M6,M30
Oil Pan Gasket m30
Motor Mt
Motor Mt M5.M6
S38 Valve Cover Gasket
SparkPlug Cover Gasket e24,e28
Cam Seal
Camshaft Oring M3.M5,M6
S38 Needle Bearing e24,e28
Idler Shaft Oring
S38 Guide Rail e24,e28
S38 Compression Spring
Rubber Bushing
Oring
S38 Timing Chain
Deflection Wheel S38 E24,E28
Tensioner Rail S38 e24,e28
Tensioner Rail S38
S38 Intake Cam Gear e24,e28
Cam Gear Evo SportM3/5/6
Lock Plate
Crank Gear m30, >81,M5,M6
4140 Crank Hub Heat Treated 58-60
left lower control arm Meyle
Rt lower control arm Meyle,
Thrust Arm W/750 Bushing
Thrust Arm W/750 Bushing
Center Link e24 e28 83>
Tie Rod Assem Lemforder
Idler Arm Meyle Brand Retail 75
Frt Sway Bar Link Lem e24,e28
Front Sway Bushing e24 87M6 21MM
E28 M5 Rear Sway Bar Bushing
rear sway bar link
Diff mount
HD Rear Axle Carrier Bushing e24,e28
Rear Pittman Arm
M Technic e24/e28 Frt Spring
M technic Rear Springs
Eat Chip
Trans Mount E28M5 E24 M6
S52 Tensioner
Seal
Radiator Mount
Radiator Mount
Bypass Hose M5
Thermostat Hsgn Hose M5,M6
Thermostat Cover HoseM5,M6 List
Coolant T
HoseM5,M6;
Distribution Piece
Exp Tank Hose
Bypass hose M5,M6
Upper Radiator Hose e28 M5,M6
Heater Hose
Heater Hose
Heater Hose
Rear Shock Mount e28/e24
e28/24 rear mount gasket
strut mount e24/28/30
Crank Nut M30 BMW
oil pump
Power Steering Filter
Injector Seal
Oil Pump Sprocket
Oil Pump Chain
Bilstein HD Frt Insert E28/24
E24/28 Rear HD Bilstein
In Tank Prepump e24,e28
Total $4,336.54Pelican Parts
Hex Bolt $2.50
Adjuster Bar for Power Steering Belt $9.75
Steering Shaft Flexible Joint $18.25
Wave Washer B6 $6.00
Hex Bolt $4.00
Head Screw $4.00
Flywheel Seal $24.75
Pilot Bearing Felt Ring $1.50
Pilot Bearing Plate $2.00
Gasket Rear Crankshaft $0.75
Throttle Cable Plastic Clips $2.00
Inntake Manifold Gaskets $10.50
Fuel Hose Clamps $10.00
Fuel Hose 8mm Elbow $4.00
Muffler Hanger Ring $5.75
Oil Filter Kit (2) $11.50
Selector Rod Seal $3.75
Output Shaft Seal $3.75
Input Shaft Seal $5.25
Tail Light Bulb $4.50
Wheel Cap Emblems $30.00
Mirror Grommet $5.00
Seal RU=42BER $5.75
Clip $4.00
51-91-0-427-859-BOE $30.00
Accel Cable $30.00
17-11-2-225-132-BOE $2.25
Hood Release Lever Mech $30.75
Hex Bolt $1.50
Adjusting Nut for Alternator $5.50
Swivel Joint $41.50
Fan Clutch $80.75
Engine Fan $18.00
Lamp Socket $13.00
Hood/Trnk Emblem Grommet $2.00
86mm Roundel Trunk $16.50
82.5mm Roundel Hood $16.00
Master Cyl to Res Grommet $3.50
Brake Master Cyl $183.25
Shift Rod Shim $1.00
Front Caliper Retaining Clip $23.00
Strut Tower Bushing $5.00
Oring For Swivel Rod Joint $0.50
Rubber Buffer Sponge Shift Rod $1.50
Shift Rod Dowel Pin $0.75
Shift Rod Spacer $1.50
Selector Circle Clip $1.50
Selector Rod Joint $15.50
Shift Lever Boot $15.75
Rear Shift Arm Bushing $29.25
Oil Filter Kit $5.75
Lower Rear Spring Pad $14.00
Upper Rear Spring Pad $7.00
Lower Front Spring Pad $5.50
Upper Front Spring Pad $6.50
Tie Rod Outer $41.25
Mufler Hangar $5.50
Water Hose $4.25
Breather Hose $25.25
Brake Fluid Res Cap/Float $24.50
Expansion Tank $77.50
Washer $1.00
Oring $1.00
Guide Pin $26.00
Rubber Boot $85.50
Fuel Pump $223.25
Fuel Filter $10.00
Flywheel Bolt $22.00
Clutch Release Fork Spring $2.25
Bosch Spark Plug Super $30.00
Ignition Rotor $15.75
Distributor Cap $40.75
Oil Filter Kit $5.75
Pwr Steering Belt $5.75
A/C Belt $8.25
Alt. Belt $7.25
Air Filter $61.25Various Sources
Odometer Gears $25.00
Cruzin Performance Injector Refurb $106.50
Frank Fey Track Pipe $350.00
E34 M5 Brake Calipers $400.00
Alpine CDA-9887 $229.00Bimmer World
Power Flex Subframe Bushings $110.91Beast Power
StopTech Brake Pads Set $149.00
F&R Power Flex Swaybar Bushings $103.98Bav Auto
Embroidered Ultimate M5 Mats $164.95Autohauzaz
Crankshaft Pos Sensors $159.18
Fuel Pres Reg $76.98
Brake Accumulator $93.71Total $9,653.50
Unfinished items & flaws of note:
-The dashboard needs to be replaced. It currently has several large cracks in it.
-The fuel door needs to be replaced as it has a very noticeable bend in it
-The trunk seal needs to be replaced (small leak)
-The plastic cover above the rear bumper is wavy
-The car needs new exhaust tips
-The fog lights are missing
-There was some paint damage on the driver’s side door due to what appears to have been something corrosive dripping on the car at some point. I put a little BMW touch up paint on the spots, sanded them down, and then buffed them back out, but the original marks are still noticeable when looking at a reflection.-The A/C blows cool but not cold in three digit Texas heat. Not really sure what the problem is there.. maybe just needs a system refresh?
I would like to get $8500 obo for the car which I feel is quite fair as it’s a bit less than I’ve put into just parts in the last 15k miles. To build an E28 M5 in similar mechanical condition it would easily cost three times my asking price. For more information please give me a call (number deleted). I generally stay pretty busy during the week, so please use the phone number for a quick response.
Pics of the car:
From the description, it sounds like the seller is being open & honest, and although the car isn’t perfect, the new parts list and the sorting already done make it pretty tempting, especially with a sub-$10,000 price tag. And I was sorely tempted to take a shot at it…
But the mye28.com for-sale thread continued with reports from the guy who made the purchase offer on the car. He and an uncle (another mye28.com member) travelled to Texas to pick up the car, but once they had a chance to examine it, they got back on a plane & left without it. The for-sale thread tells the whole sordid story, but basically it had been several years since the work had been done to the car, some things were not as they were advertised, and it became clear the seller didn’t know the car very well. From the thread it appears he wasn’t being overtly deceitful, but not overly thorough.
The sad thing is that arranging to have an independent pre-purchase inspection (PPI) done on it would’ve saved the trip, even having another member in the Houston area give the car a once-over would have been a good idea. Without that, several hundred dollars and a bunch of hours down the drain with nothing but a lesson learned.
Somebody once told me that one of the big things that differentiates us from animals is that we can learn from others’ mistakes; this is one of those opportunities.
Tags: caveat emptor, e28