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M5, is it worth it?
I had the opportunity to borrow a 1988 M5 back in 1990. It
absolutely blew me away, and I haven't been the same since. I still go
berserk when I see one. It was almost everything I like in a
performance car, except for the single digit gas mileage when
hurrying.
Now that these cars have depreciated to a point where I can
afford one, my adult side keeps asking all these obnoxious questions,
which the real me can't answer. Perhaps someone who has had a long
term relationship with one of these beautiful cars could help me sell
the idea to Mr. Nuts and Bolts.
Is the gas mileage really all that bad? Seems to me it got 14mpg
at best. I drive 20-30 K miles each year, the M5 would get about 10 K
of that if I keep my trusty Maxima (170 K miles, NO problems, driven
fairly hard). Does that make any sense at all?
Are M5's reliable? Miller and Norburn told me, 'back in '90, that
a bare head would cost about $6,000! This would put the car on blocks
for me. But, if heads and other outrageously expensive parts don't
break, then what does it matter how much they cost?
Folks tell me M5's are useless in wet weather. Was limited slip
an option in '88? And if so, does it help? Does getting winter/rain
tires help a lot?
Yes, these are practical questions, from my sometimes ignored
practical side. To get a better side of the kind of car nut I am, my
other fun, street cars are a bored out Mini Cooper S, and an ex IMSA
Porsche 914-6. (My wife has an MPV 4WD van, boring....until it snows)
Thanks in advance for ANY advice you can provide! (If I decide
to buy, of course I'll join the owner's club)