Description
1988 BMW E28 M5
5-Speed Manual / Original Paint
EAG Serviced and Rejuvenated
1 BMWCCA Owner for Over 30 Years
Documented History from New
$20k of Recent Services
90,100 Miles
Numbers Matching
Schwarz (Black) on Natural Tan Leather
5-Speed Manual Transmission
Clean and Clear California Title
Clean Carfax®️ / No Accidents / Original Paint
1-Owner for 30+ Years
BMWCCA Member Owned
The E28 BMW M5 was a one-year-only model for North America. Only 2,241 examples were built worldwide. Of those, 1...
1988 BMW E28 M5
5-Speed Manual / Original Paint
EAG Serviced and Rejuvenated
1 BMWCCA Owner for Over 30 Years
Documented History from New
$20k of Recent Services
90,100 Miles
Numbers Matching
Schwarz (Black) on Natural Tan Leather
5-Speed Manual Transmission
Clean and Clear California Title
Clean Carfax®️ / No Accidents / Original Paint
1-Owner for 30+ Years
BMWCCA Member Owned
The E28 BMW M5 was a one-year-only model for North America. Only 2,241 examples were built worldwide. Of those, 1,239 came to the U.S. per the M5 Registry. The MSRP was around $50,000 (over $130,000 in today’s dollars). The lucky few who were able to purchase one knew they had something special. These were the original BMW “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” They were legendary on the Autobahn yet nimble enough to challenge most sports cars on mountain roads.
This M5 was built in September of 1987 and sold new by Cumberland Valley Motors, the BMW dealership in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania on December 19th, 1988. For the U.S. market, there were no color choices or options available. They came fully loaded and only 1 way. This M5 was mostly owned by 1 owner who was also a BMWCCA club member and avid enthusiast.
The first owners were Jacob and Florence Thigpen of Hanover, Pennsylvania. They owned this M5 for 31 years and added 88k miles. During their care, the car was only used for fair weather weekend driving and never used in winter conditions. Initially, they serviced it at the selling BMW dealership. By 1997, the Thigpens moved to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and took this M5 with them. They continued servicing the car regularly at their local BMW dealers. They were fastidious with their service schedule and it appears they saved every service receipt from new with corresponding stamps in the BMW service booklet. Besides routine maintenance, here are a few highlights of larger repairs they had performed:
Scheduled oil, minor, and major services
Water pump, coolant hoses, brake accumulator, flex disc (2/00 @ 63,572 miles)
New stock exhaust system (2/03 @ 74k miles)
Front brakes, thrust rods, suspension bushings, center link, tie rods(8/07 @ 81,708 miles)
Master and slave cylinders (12/07 @ 82,104 miles)
Fuel pump and fuel filter (10/10)
Services in preparation for sale at BMW dealer (7/19 @ 88,040 miles)
New front struts and rear shocks (OEM factory)
Upper and lower spring pads
Bump stops
Top off and bleed rear hydraulic leveling system
Distributor cap and rotor
Spark plugs
Adjust valves/check timing
Fuel hoses
Valve cover gaskets
Cover on rear of cylinder head
New battery
Charge A/C system
They sold their M5 to Enthusiasts Auto Group (EAG) of Cincinnati, Ohio on January 22nd, 2020 with 88,112 miles. EAG kept this M5 for the next year/130 miles and put it through their extensive rejuvenation program, which included the following:
Engine drive belts (crankshaft, alternator, a/c)
Distributor seals
Water pump and all gaskets/flush system
Power steering supply hoses
Transmission selector and output seals
Driveshaft flex disk
New rear muffler assembly
Rear pitman arms
Front control arms
Front sway bar end links
Front thrust bushings
Brake pressure accumulator
Recondition/restore factory wheels with new center cap BMW roundels
Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 tires
Replace any misc. clips, hardware, or fasteners needed
Windshield wiper blades
Driver side high beam light bulb
Front seat belt receivers (both)
Full leather conditioning
Carpet steam cleaning
Full engine bay detailing
Paint correction and ceramic coating
Install VDO Bluetooth radio (saved original radio)
Install Jim Conforti/Turner Motorsports Performance Chip
48 hp gain
32 torque gain
Rev limiter – 7,200 rpm
Service cost - $12,950
EAG sold this M5 to the current Southern California owner on December 17th, 2020 with 88,244 miles. The current owner lives in the Pasadena area and is a mature enthusiast who enjoys vintage European performance cars. He has only added a couple thousand miles of light weekend fair-weather use. During his care, he continued the service schedule and had all maintenance performed by EAG’s recommended West Coast BMW specialist, Bavarian Workshop of West Hills, California, which included:
Routine services and misc. repairs (1/23 @ 89,544 miles)
New Bosch motronic (DME) unit
Oil service/vehicle inspection (10W60 synthetic)
Replace power antenna assembly
Brake fluid flush
Cooling system flush
New BMW OEM battery
Service cost - $3,597
Major service and other misc. repairs (7/24 @ 90,278 miles)
Spark plugs
Adjust valves
Valve cover gaskets
Check oiling system and cam timing
Crankshaft sensors
Distributor cap and rotor
Oil service with BMW full synthetic fuel
Fuel filter
Air filter
Service cost - $3,556
Replaced DME control unit under warranty (10/24 @ 90,385 miles)
Once over at Bavarian in preparation for sale (2/25 @ 90,388 miles)
In total, over $20k was recently spent on regular services at both EAG and Bavarian.
The overall condition of this example is excellent and very original. Our photographer is an expert on these older M5s and, after spending a couple of hours with it including driving it, noted that it was one of the better examples he’s seen.
The exterior looks great, and the body appears to be wearing most, if not all of its original paint. The hand-painted pinstriping was done when the car was nearly new and has a few spots where it has faded. The hood paint meter reading is slightly higher, but there are no visible signs of repainting. All the trim and rubber seals are in excellent condition with no cracks or major scratches. The bumper rubber also looks near perfect. All the glass is original, including the windshield. There are no significant scratches or chips, and the proper factory stampings are present. All the exterior lights work. The factory original BBS wheels have recently been restored and have no signs of wear. They are wrapped in nearly full-tread Michelin tires that were installed 5 years ago and dated 2019. The tires have no signs of age. The front brakes have around ¾ life and the rear brakes are between a third and half-life.
The interior is equally as nice and also very original. The leather seats show minimal signs of wear with no major cracks. The leather has been conditioned regularly. The rear seats look unused. The headliner looks perfect and has no stains, tears, or sagging issues. The door panels all look like new with no warping or other issues. The dashboard has no cracks or other issues. The gauges all work, including the clock/computer. The power windows, mirrors, and sunroof work. The A/C blows, but not cold. The heat works as do the interior lights.
This is one of the best driving vintage BMWs I’ve experienced. It’s surprisingly quick and athletic for being nearly 40 years old. It starts easily and holds an even idle. The power delivery is strong throughout the rev range. It pulls hard all the way to redline without any hesitation. The transmission shifts smoothly with no grinding or clutch slippage. The clutch feels right to me but our photographer noted that it engaged slightly high, which is probably due to age but he also felt there was no need to replace it. The handling is tight and responsive. The car tracks straight and is compliant on uneven road surfaces. This example is easy enough to drive daily, while also highly capable for twisting backroad fun.
This M5 is California registered and it passes California’s strict smog test.
This M5 comes complete with 1 main key, 1 valet key, owner’s manuals, original maintenance/service book with factory stamps, complete tool kit with original BMW towel, 3-ring binder with extensive history from new, correct spare wheel/tire, jack, emergency roadside kit, BMW cassette player cleaner, original ECU chip, and binder with M Registry/model information.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Paul at [hidden information] or [hidden information]
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Original ad title: 1988 BMW e28 m5 manual
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