1999 BMW M5

Finished in Carbon Black Metallic with a Caramel leather and burr walnut interior, ‘T396 EBW’ has no fewer than ten main dealer services under its belt. 

Which is remarkable, but not as remarkable as the fact it is still in the hands of the man who bought it from the Hughenden Motor Co. Ltd of High Wycombe in July 1999.

The owner had heard rumours of a forthcoming M5 and rather than sit and wait he wrote to his local BMW dealer to express his interest – and he enclosed a £250 deposit to make sure they took him seriously.

He got the call about eighteen months later and ended up writing a cheque for £72,115, which is the equivalent of more than £140,000 today.

It was clearly worth every penny though and he hung onto it for the next 27 years.

Yup, that’s right; this is a one-owner-from-new BMW E39 – and an M5 to boot.

We’ve seen more hens with teeth than cars like this.

Black is a difficult colour to pull off once the first flush of youth has passed; while few colours exude menace more effectively, it does highlight every flaw and imperfection, no matter how small.

It also disguises shutlines that other colours might highlight, which is a shame here because these are very good indeed. 

The swagelines align neatly too, the HPI report is clear, and the owner confirms that it’s never been in an accident and that the panels are all the originals, so the paintwork repairs we’ll talk about later were made to restore the car’s good looks rather than to repair anything more serious. 

The good news continues because the front and rear light units are all from Hella and while the headlamps would benefit from being polished to restore their clarity, all are free of chips, cracks, and other damage.

The sunroof opens and closes smoothly, and seals well.

The original equipment alloy wheels are showing corrosion and peeling paint as well as the usual kerbing damage, so you’ll want to get them professionally refurbished. 

You’ll probably want to order new wheel bolts while you’re at it and given the front tyres are Goodyear Eagle F1 from 2019 and the rears are more recent Michelin Pilot Sport 4 from 2022, you could order a pair of Michelins for the front wheels at the same time. 

The original equipment exhaust system is still fitted, and the four tailpipes align neatly within the rear bumper. 

As for flaws and blemishes, it would be fair to say that it is starting to show its age with stonechips to the front end and flat paint on the bonnet. The nearside front door has a dent in it too, and the nearside rear door is scratched, as is the rear bumper, the tailgate, and the roof. 

The offside rear wing has sanding marks on it and the offside rear door has a paint run and evidence of having been repaired. The offside sill has visible rust at the front and the driver’s door has various scratches and chips plus some rust. The offside front wing  has sanding marks on it and is bubbling around the wheelarch.

All of the rubber window sealing rubbers have perished, the window trim is rusty, and the door seals have failed. The windscreen has a large chip in it and the lower trim is sun-damaged and broken. Finally, all four door shut trims and the external black trim are faded.

The combination of Caramel leather and burr walnut would be a beguiling combination anyway but the fact it’s fitted to a metallic black car makes for what many would consider to be a perfect colour scheme.

As you can see from the purchase invoice in the history file, it’s also fully loaded with a graduated-tint windscreen (£70) and tinted rear glass (£210), the factory sat-nav system (a staggering £3,355), telephone preparation (£925), a BMW Professional RDS radio, CD-multichanger, and Hi-Fi speaker system (£1,290), and a Tracker (£435).

As for its condition, the leather trim on the door cards and seats is heavily patinated and the nearside front door card is hanging loose. 

That’s the bad news. 

The good news is that the only actual damage we can see is to the outer edge of the driver’s backrest and the rest is just creases, cracks and a loss of colour, so a skilled coachtrimmer could undoubtably save them, albeit it with a bit of character still showing – but given their colour, we suspect they’d still look epic.

The carpets are showing their age too, but we suspect that they too could be saved if the new owner doesn’t mind a bit of a patina.

The rest is very good; even the four door lights work, which says a lot about how well the car’s been maintained. The LED display in the dashboard is all there too, which enthusiasts will know is unusual.

The burr walnut veneer shows only a little fading and no obvious damage bar a small crack in the ashtray lid and the rather wonderful gearknob and handbrake are pristine.

The original BMW mobile phone is in the centre console, and while this is more of a talking point than something you can actually use to communicate with, it’s a charming period feature nonetheless. 

(The glovebox also contains the BMW torch that invariably goes missing, which is another reason to buy this one-owner-from-new example.)

Speaking of technology, you could also take advantage of your cleverness in buying an E39 by searching for the sort of gizmos that folk cleverer than us have developed to update them.

For example, if you fancy Bluetooth connectivity through the standard stereo that’s now possible with a plug ‘n’ play module that also lets you programme one-touch indicators, automatically locking doors, and more. 

Clever huh? 

As for problems, we note that only one front cupholder deploys, while one of the rear ones appears to be permanently out. The radio doesn’t work either but the owner took the decision to leave it in situ to preserve the BMW’s originality.

The seller confirms that everything else in the cabin works exactly as it should, including the heated front seats and the Automatic Climate Control.

He's even had the genuine BMW electrochromic (auto-dimming/photochromic) mirror changed - for both driver and passenger door and the internal rear view mirror - as they were failing quite recently, just to keep it original, and it was a 4-figure sum he paid for that!

As you’d expect, the E39’s service history is fulsome:

• 17.06.1999 – pre-delivery inspection by Hughenden Motor Co. Ltd
• 28.07.1999 and 1,221 miles – running-in check by Hughenden Motor Co. Ltd
• 02.06.2000 and 14,926 miles – service by Hughenden Motor Co. Ltd
• 08.08.2001 and 29,804 miles – service by Sytner High Wycombe including fresh brake fluid
• 03.07.2002 and 45,411 miles – service by Sytner High Wycombe including a new cabin microfilter
• 02.06.2003 and 60,834 miles – service by Sytner High Wycombe including fresh brake fluid, a new cabin microfilter, and a change of coolant
• 26.07.2004 and circa 74,000 miles – service by Sytner High Wycombe including a new cabin microfilter
• 03.07.2006 and 86,052 miles – service by North Oxford Garage including fresh brake fluid, a new cabin microfilter, and a change of coolant
• 04.02.2009 and 92,265 miles – service by North Oxford Garage including fresh brake fluid
• 13.10.2010 and 97,997 miles – service by North Oxford Garage including fresh brake fluid
• 04.11.2019 and 118,216 miles – service by Standlake including a new rear drop link and two new tyres

Foxtail Garage fitted a new anti-roll bar link, a track rod end, three control arms, a new power-steering reservoir, and more in February 2026 at a cost of £1,454. 

January 2025 saw the same firm fit it with a new ignition switch, a heater blower resistor, an engine temperature sensor, and a nearside rear door actuator at a cost of almost a thousand pounds, while February 2024 saw a more modest bill for replacing the nearside rear anti-roll bar link. 

Other recent and relevant work includes a new air-conditioning condenser and pipework with a refill of R134a in July 2023, new sparkplugs and coils in April 2023, an ABS controller in July 2020, entire headlights and an ABS pump in December 2019, and so it goes on.

... and so it does: it also had two new MAF’s fitted (mass airflow sensors), along with a pair of air filters and cabin filters a few years ago, but not many miles ago.

The S62 engine might be overdue an oil service, but it still starts well, idles perfectly, and revs like a demon.

It does have one minor issues in that the coolant temperature gauge will occasionally shoot up into the red. It doesn’t happen often and it hasn’t happened recently, but the seller is honest enough to insist we mention it. 

He’s been told that if the thermostat in the radiator (which has been changed) conflicts with the one in the engine then the instrument shows overheating as a warning that something is amiss, regardless of the temperature of the coolant. He says if you pull over and turn the engine off and on again it always resets it. 

The last MoT also identified the need to replace some brake and fuel pipes, and you might want to fit new front brake discs and pads while you’re under there. That was all that as mentioned though, which is pretty darned good for a car that’s now more than a quarter of a century old.

It’s a straightforward car to work on too, and if you’re in search of inspiration then M539 Restorations on YouTube should be your first point of call; be warned though, it’s worryingly easy to lose a weekend doing “research”. (Ask us how we know…)

The engine bay would benefit from some TLC while you’re servicing it but it isn’t terrible and if you decided to put that off till a later date while you enjoy the rest of the summer then few would accuse you of having your priorities wrong.

Moving to the underside, there is corrosion to the sills and brake and fuel pipes, and it failed an MoT in December 2023 due to rust around the rear seatbelt mounting points. Corrosion in other areas has been mentioned since 2019 but the seller tells us that this has all been professionally repaired, including four new jacking points.

The BMW’s MoT certificate expires in January 2027, the recent Vehicle History Check is clear, and it comes with two keys.

It is also accompanied by MoT certificates that span the years from its first in 2002 all the way to this year’s. There’s a clear run of tax discs too, with every year represented from 2000 through to when they disappeared in 2015.

The history file also includes the original purchase invoice showing an on-the-road price of £72,115, plus servicing paperwork including the all-important stamped service history booklet we referred to above. There are invoices in there for miscellaneous parts and repairs too, plus the BMW wallet and book pack. 

Many enthusiasts rate the E39 M5 as being the very best of ‘em all; still largely analogue and yet viciously fast, its handling is what makes this iteration so compelling.

And yet, even though the best ones have long since passed £60,000, you can still pick them up very cheaply. 

Like this one.

Because, despite being completely standard and still in the hands of its first and only owner, our estimate is that bidding will stop somewhere between £15,000 and £20,000.

However, the seller is happy to offer his beloved M5 with no reserve, so he’ll be waving it off to a new home after the very first bid has been placed.

Blimey.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at THE MARKET HQ in South Oxfordshire. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays (apart from Bank Holidays) between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.