We all know how crazy prices for older BMW models can get. Try and find a decent BMW E30 M3 and you’ll instantly understand the issue. However, most of the time, those outlandish prices can be found on mint models, with few miles on the clock. But how much would you be willing to pay for a car that has 246,000 miles on it and yet looks incredible for its age? Is this 1991 BMW M5 worth buying?
The car is listed on Bring-A-Trailer and, at the time of writing, reached a price tag of $19,000. It’s not a lot, considering the kinds of prices you’d usually stumble upon when talking about an E34 M5 and yet, this car has a lot of miles on it. To put things into context, it covered more than the distance from our blue planet to the Moon and then some. You couldn’t tell by looking at it though and it’s pretty obvious that its previous owner took very good care of it.
That interior looks immaculate for a car that’s 30 years old and could be used as an advertisement to get Nappa leather in your future car. This goes to show that if you take care of your car, you could achieve incredible feats with it. The engine is in good condition too, the S38B36 having passed a California emissions test in March. But what may make or break this sale is the story behind it, as the owner started sharing a lot of interesting stories about it on the Bring-A-Trailer ad.
According to her, the M5 is being sold because it can’t keep up with the weather in the Sierra mountains. Snow and poor-condition roads are taking a toll on it. As for how special this car felt, you only need to read this excerpt from the ad: “One summer, returning from Las Vegas where we had spent 2 days working, Ralph drove past Nellis Air Force base and out into the desert. No traffic on the highway, the engine purred.”
Above us, an F16 fighter appeared, flying very low. He waggled his wings and slowed down to encourage us. Ralph reached 160 mph. Plane and car raced nose to nose. The fighter peeled off when Ralph slowed to 130 mph. Ralph said the M5 won. (It is more likely that the pilot was afraid of stalling, but the race is part of this car’s history.)”
