I want an e39 like this.

"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock) 04/13/2017 at 13:44 • Filed to: None

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Been rewatching some of the fast and furious movies before seeing the new one tomorrow. Forgot how much I loved this thing. I believe they’re 540i dressed up as m5s.

djmt1 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 04/13/2017 at 13:48

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Are E39 M5's still cheaper than manual E39 540is? I haven’t checked in a while.

Tripper > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 04/13/2017 at 13:51

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I would love to rehab an E39 like this.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > djmt1 04/13/2017 at 13:59

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I’m not sure to be honest. Manual 540i are proper unicorns.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Tripper 04/13/2017 at 14:01

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They sold a couple off after the movie was finished, they probably went to collectors who didnt want to unmodify them though.

diplodicus > djmt1 04/13/2017 at 14:01

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No. You can pick up a manual 540i anywhere from 3-10k depending on the condition/mileage. Cheapest M5 I’ve seen is 12k. There’s been quite a few on BaT lately going in the low 20s.

Tripper > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 04/13/2017 at 14:07

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I missed the spot about them not being actual M5's. If they were I think the collector would be better off reverting back to sock, even with it being a movie car.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Tripper 04/13/2017 at 14:09

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They weren’t a major character in the movie so you’re probably right. That said even 540i are worth a bit these days. Djmt says 540i manuals go for m5 money sometimes.

Tripper > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 04/13/2017 at 14:11

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Yea a couple have come across BaT recently and gone 18+

djmt1 > diplodicus 04/13/2017 at 14:12

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We’re in the UK where at one point M5's were at £5000 and 540i manuals were at £15,000.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 04/13/2017 at 14:12

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_

I was literally just commenting to somebody about how the 5-series has mostly been safe from douchery and then you go and post this.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/13/2017 at 14:13

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:D

Sweet Trav > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 04/13/2017 at 14:16

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I want to do an LS1/T56 swap in one of these. One of the best looking cars of all time.

RPM esq. > djmt1 04/13/2017 at 14:17

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Definitely not. Where I live, a decent E39 M5 is around $15k and a clean later one is easily over $20k. An equivalent manual 540 goes for less than half that, and often more like 1/4. You can get a rough 540i with a manual for $2500 all day.

To wit, here are some decent ones from five minutes on Craigslist: 2000 M5, 102k miles —asking $15k. 2001 Dinan M5, 98k , asking $34k. Dinan-tuned 540i, 148k —asking $6k. 540i M-sport , 152k—asking $5k. Another 540i manual, 129k —asking $6600.

The cheapest M5 around is this somewhat questionable one around $10k.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Sweet Trav 04/13/2017 at 14:17

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I was reading an lsx, t56 e39 wagon build thread again the other day. Incredible car.

Tapas > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 04/13/2017 at 14:18

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Are you secretly 12 and am I in 2005?

Please tell me I’m in 2005. The future sucks :(

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Tapas 04/13/2017 at 14:19

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I’m actually a decade older than that. I have the brain of a 12 year old though.

RPM esq. > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 04/13/2017 at 14:22

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There are eight of them on my local CL right now and the highest asking price is $6600. There are two under $3000. Not exactly unicorns, or unicorn money. By contrast, there are 10 E39 M5s, ranging from $10,800 to $19,000, not including two supercharged ones asking $25k and $34k.

diplodicus > RPM esq. 04/13/2017 at 14:24

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Man my brother in law always tries to get me to move out to seattle, and its tempting because of all the old BMWs I see on craigslist. But the traffic out there is terrible.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > RPM esq. 04/13/2017 at 14:34

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As djmt says, it seems prices differ hugely between the US and the UK.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > Sweet Trav 04/13/2017 at 14:40

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It’s the best chassis for that swap. There’s a few websites selling mounts for it. Also the forums have figured out how to connect the BMW canbus to the GM ECU. There hasn’t been a finished e38 though.

RPM esq. > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 04/13/2017 at 14:49

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Interesting!

RPM esq. > djmt1 04/13/2017 at 14:50

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Interesting. I’m assuming you get them in RHD—but for that, you could probably make a tidy sum importing them from the U.S.

djmt1 > RPM esq. 04/13/2017 at 15:15

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Pretty much the only reason to export cars here is for other people’s parts cars.