The original BMW M5 was released in 1986 as an obsidian autobahn cruiser and it only got better with age. The next generation also featured another hot inline-6, but it wasn't until the 1999 release of the E39 generation M5 that it got an appropriately menacing V8 to tear up the streets. This next example comes from a Sean S. Find this 2000 BMW M5 offered for $5,600 in Malibu, CA via craigslist.
Probably all DT readers would love to have the funds to buy high performance machine like a BMW M5, but this usually requires a serious sum of coin which everyone does not have. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled on a future classic E39 chassis BMW M5 for under $10K. On first glance, the car appears to be pretty clean with no obvious signs of modification or neglect. Is an M5 with 297,000 miles a bridge too far for you to cross or just getting broken in at that point? Find this 2003 BMW M5 for sale in Queens, NY for $8,300 via OfferUp. 
This next car comes as a tip from Pushrod who writes: The owner has had this car posted for a while now. The price has come down once so far. Modifications appear very tasteful. Who doesn't like tasteful mods -- and a 6-speed late model BMW is just about perfect for daily driver use. Find this 1998 BMW 528i offered for $6600 near Richmond, VA via craigslist.
Few cars offer as much value (pound for pound...or kilo for kilo) as the E39 generation BMW 540i (1994-2003) with 6-speed manual gearbox. It is the middleweight of sports sedans, and one minute it is a mild mannered scientists, but get it upset and the beast from within beats pavement and rear tires with equal aplomb. Find this 2002 BMW 540i offered for $8998 in Katy, TX via craigslist. Tip from Jeff.
Nearly every car brand has a few independent tuners that work their magic modifying their cars. Dinan has carved out a strong reputation in the USA BMW universe. Today's modified Dinan 540i poses a strong argument against BMW's highest performing in house car the M5. With E39 M5 prices climbing by the day, the price disparity between the two cars is literally huge. The stock 540i makes nearly 300 horsepower and is a bargain performer in it's own right. Find this 1998 BMW 540i for sale in Newtown, CT for $9,650 via craigslist. 
The E39 generation BMW M5 is considered by many to be the pinnacle of BMW's executive class cruisers. The older M5s (E28, E34) are cruder, slower, and less exotic, while the newer versions (E60, F10) are so thoroughly complex that you won't want to be anywhere near the pink slip when they hit 150k miles. Find this 2000 BMW M5 E39 offered for $14,950 in Charleston, SC via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
On January 1st, 2000, folks cautiously opened their front doors and found that society hadn't collapsed, the mortgage was still in force and life continued. Except for people in the automotive industry, because they were insane. Apparently cars from the 1990s were great, reliable, & fun...but just not fast enough. The years of horsepower wars not seen since the late 1960s were upon us...which is great for used car buyers over a decade later. Find this 2000 BMW M5 offered for $16,500 in Orange County, CA. This
post is part of DT's 2016 Birthday Celebration of 100 cars;
enjoy the ride!
Find this 2000 BMW M5 here on eBay bidding for $8,695 with auction ending Thursday at 9:22PM Pacific.
Long after luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, and Lincoln had abandoned the manual gearbox in favor of torque converters or flappy paddles, there was a little company from Bavaria that continued to put clutches in their executive class cruisers. This is great because it means that 10-15 years after they leave the showrooms, these executive class things become well priced and are still fun to drive. Find this 2001 BMW 525i offered for $3,650 in Los Angeles, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
The M5 was the luxury reincarnation of the classic Muscle car formula, which was to take a big engine and shove it into a medium sized package. However, BMW took this a step or two further and upgraded the suspension brakes and cosmetics to build the ultimate executive class fast sedan -- a segment that it dominated through much of the 80s and 90s. The following is a selection of 3 classic BMW M5s from tipper FuelTruck.
Owning a high mile M5 is a bit like having a freshwater caiman as a pet. Most neighbors will look at you funny, your gas/meat bill is going to increase, you will find out which of your neighbors are car/reptile enthusiast...but, most certainly, you will lose an arm/leg if something goes wrong. Find this 2002 BMW M5 here on eBay
bidding for $12,000 with a few hours to go, located in Los Angeles, CA.
The E39 BMW 5-series was released in 1999 and was arguably the last conservatively styled BMW, at least until a few years ago when the last of the Banglized stuff went out the door with the F10 5-series. The E39 was available with various engines from the lowly M52 inline-6 to the crazy S62 V8 in the M5, but today's example might just be the fastest E39 you can buy. Find this 2001 BMW 540i E39 with turbocharged Chevy V8 offered for $9,500 in Cordova, TN via craigslist.
Those of us in the land of the free will often bitch 'n' moan about the price of gas, particularly when it hits some arbitrary threshold -- three dollars a gallon, I can get water for less! -- but our friends across the pond have paid taxed through the roof fuel prices for decades. For this reason the luxury sedan buyers in the States made have paid more for a big monster 4.0 liter V8 in his E39 generation 5-series, but the European buyer would have opted instead for the 2.5 liter turbo diesel with manual gearbox. Find this 1999 BMW 525tds offered for $10,900 in Lancaster, OH via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
BMWs...BMWs...what is with all the BMWs?? Hey look bud, try and find another manufacturer that consistently offered fast rear-drive sedans with manual transmissions and standard limited slip diff out back during the 1980s/1990s/2000s-- the list indeed short. No one is going to say that a BMW M-car is the best bang for your buck, the BMW roundel is constantly surrounded with tire smoke...and where there's smoke, there's gonna be fire. Find this 2001 BMW M5 offered for $10,999 in Los Angeles, CA via craigslist.
When people ask what modern but depreciated luxury sedan they should buy in the sub $20k range, there is always one option that stands up with a standard 6-speed gearbox, rear wheel drive, powerful V8, and limited slip out back. Yeah. The E39 M5 is about the only game in town if you want to drive fast in a big sedan without using your blinkers. Find this 2000 BMW M5 E39 offered here on eBay
for $17,000 buy-it-now with 2 days to go, located in Albuquerque, NM. Tip from Brian.
On the list of cars that BMW should have built/sold in the US market, it goes like this. BMW Bavaria Turbo, BMW M7 (e32), BMW M-Compact (E46), and BMW M5-Touring (E39). It wouldn't have been that hard to make a touring (wagon) version of the M5, and many folks have done it by themselves. At least BMW was kind enough to sell us the wagon version with the M62 V8, but it was only available with a slushbox. If you want the 6-speed you'll have to go searching for a cheap sedan where a seller is going to be desperate soon. Find this 2003 BMW 540iT Wagon here on eBay
, bidding for $7,100 with less than one day to go, located in Montebello, CA.
