1995 BMW M5

We are excited to be able to offer you one of the very last of the BMW E34 M5s ever built. A 1995 ‘Nürburgring’ edition with the 3.8-litre, 380bhp engine, a six-speed manual gearbox, and a limited slip differential, it also benefits from the desirable EDC Electronic Damper Control suspension. It is also believed to be just one of five UK models ever finished in Fjord Grey.

The owner is a long-time member of the M5Board who sold his last M5 through us a few months ago. In his care for three years - and the previous owner’s custody since 2003 – it has more than £30,000-worth of bills to its name, so has been meticulously maintained and is in need of nothing.

Only being sold because he just isn’t using it (as you can see from the MOT history, he’s only covered a couple of thousand miles) it is being offered with a very sensible reserve, making this the perfect opportunity to get your hands on a genuinely iconic ‘M’ car that needs nothing but love and petrol.

The Fjord Grey coachwork harks back to a time when BMW still built The Ultimate Driving Machine. With laser-sharp shutlines, perfect panel alignment, and grey paintwork, this M5 is testament to both the car’s initial build quality and an obsessive owner.

The wheels are the 18-inch BMW Parallel alloys. Recently refurbished, they’re in great shape with no marks, kerbing or other damage to detract from their appearance. They re fitted with matching Pirelli P-Zero tyres that still have good tread as they were only purchased within the last three years and 2,000 miles.

As we will never tyre of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but do give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

All this quality might make for a very boring description, but when you’re thinking of dropping a serious sum on an older high-performance car, boring is good. In fact, under these circumstances boring is VERY good.

In fact, the only fault we can find on the exterior is the merest trace of rust on one lip of the boot lid. That it is terribly minor and wouldn’t normally warrant a comment tells you all you need to know about this car’s staggeringly good condition.

It also benefits from some carefully considered upgrades including HID on dipped beam, plus clear indicator lenses. Returning the car to its standard specification would be easy should the new owner desire.

The Amaretto and M-fleck (now there’s a cocktail just crying out to be invented…) interior sports heavily sculpted, electrically adjusted and heated front seats. This finish is, in the opinion of many M5 owners, a better choice of material than leather, being much grippier – and grippy should definitely be a factor in your thinking when you are considering buying a car with this level of performance…

That they’re in great shape, with no visible wear much less damage, should come as no surprise by now. The rear seats look like new and the matching door trims - complete with ashtrays – are in an equally fabulous condition, as are the carpets and headlining.

Fully loaded, the M5 also features air-conditioning, an electric sunroof, electric windows, central clocking, electrically adjusted and heated door mirrors, and an automatic dimming rear-view mirror. Again, it all works too, bar the nearside rear window, which doesn’t open. (Or, presumably, close. But we can’t test that because, well, you know, it doesn’t open…)

A nigh-on four-figure Alpine D310 DVD/CD stereo-cum-satellite navigation system sits in the dashboard. As well as great sounds it also gives the sort of turn-by-turn navigational help we all now take for granted but was something that had previously been the preserve of folk like James Bond back in the mid-nineties.

Other lovely touches include the period steering wheel, which looks laughably OTT with its ‘AIRBAG’ and ‘SRS’ markings, but it’s original and all the better for having been retained.

The dashboard is a model of clarity too, and the boot is as clean as the rest of the interior. Lifting the carpet shows only solid, rust-free metal, and the area is home to the car’s spare wheel.

Nothing appears to need doing internally bar sorting out that recalcitrant rear window.

The engine is the later 3.8-litre, 340bhp version, with the Nürburgring Electronic Damper Control (EDC) suspension, a limited-slip differential and the six-speed manual Getrag gearbox. It has, in other words, all the Good Stuff.

And it gets better, because that straight-six engine was rebuilt just a few thousand miles ago, so is running beautifully and performing as it should. The cooling system was rebuilt with a new radiator and hoses too, and the rear suspension has been rebuilt with new dampers, mounts and springs too – and that work included the self-levelling element i.e. the pipework, accumulators, and valves that everyone else would have binned. The front suspension now runs EDC dampers, which were fitted less than 3,000 miles ago.

Other recent mechanical fettling includes a rebuilt LSD and alternator, a new MAF, and new genuine BMW cat-back exhaust. As you can see from the video, the BMW starts easily and settles into an even tickover, even from cold.

It also revs beautifully, and has a discreet but purposeful exhaust note. As with the exterior, we are not aware of anything that needs attention and can confirm that it drives as well as its reputation suggests.

The engine bay is clean and original but it does have some peeling paint on a few components like the valve covers, so we can see the new owner might want to invest a little time and money to bring it up to the same high standard as the rest of the vehicle.

The BMW’s MOT certificate expires in February 2021, and was gained without a single advisory point, something that has been the case for the past four years…

The car also comes with a number of expired MOT certificates and tax discs,

a very well stamped service history booklet (we reckon there are 33 stamps, but we kept losing count…), two keys and three alarm remote controls, an HPI report, an older RAC engineer’s report, an invoice for the Tracker, plus a sheaf of invoices and bills from main dealers and independent specialists to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years. Plus, of course, the OE wallet, owner’s handbook and the usual BMW bumf.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained in recent years to the very highest standard.

NB. We know that you will be limiting your social exposure over the coming days and weeks, so please give us a call and we can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like us to concentrate on. Or, even better, contact us with your mobile number and we can set up a WhatsApp video call, where you can direct us in real-time.

The BMW E34 M5 is an iconic car for good reason. Considered by many to be the peak of M5 badassery, this is an especially well-maintained example that fully deserves the description ”maintained regardless of cost.”

In need of nothing, it is being sold with a very sensible reserve and a guide price of just £14,500 to £19,000, a figure we thought had been and gone long ago; who says life doesn’t give you second chances?

An almost certain gold-plated investment in the medium- to long-term, we are confident that the car’s new owner will be delighted with the sort of E34 M5 they had previously thought had long soared out of their reach.

This particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and AnyVan for transporting it.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.

Please note that this is sold as seen and that, as is normal for used goods bought at auction, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. See our FAQs for more info, and feel free to inspect any vehicle as much as you wish.