1988SedanM car
Photo: Charles01, CC BY-SA 4.0, plate blurred, via Wikimedia Commons
The E28 is the first M5, assembled by hand by BMW Motorsport around a 24-valve six derived from the M1's engine, and when it was launched it was the fastest production sedan in the world.
Each part is scored from 0 to 100 on a fixed outside scale. Acclaim comes from published expert lists, launch reviews and awards; the more acclaimed a car, the less its ownership cost counts in this all-time score (its dollars below are unchanged). A part marked not measured carries no weight for this car, and the others share its weight.
4 prices from sources that allow this use (bonhams.com, enthusiastauto.com), read October 27, 2026: the middle one is $109,490, about 227% of the price new (81% once the price new is put in today's dollars). Asking prices sit above what cars sell for.
Long-term value starts to count in the score once 75% of the 69 generations have permitted prices. Today 43 do.
About $3,332 a year to own ($2,339 to $4,799), about $16,562 over five years, bought at five years old or its own age if older, kept five years.
Expect about $2,300 to $4,800 a year; the bills that decide it are rust, timing chain tensioner and self-leveling rear suspension. Ownership risk: moderate.
Guide Score method v5-final.14, an editorial score built only from permitted, sourced data. How it works.
Colors it came in, most wanted first. Pick one to see the page in it.
1988The only US model year, reading 93 of 100, about $3,332 a year to own.
From our log of the changes between model years, each with its source. Only changes the score reads count as reasons; recalls BMW fixes for free, options and tuning notes do not. The cost a year is for a car bought at five years old, or its own age if older, kept five years. How the score works.
The US got it for the 1988 model year only: 1,340 were built for North America, all of them black and almost all with Natur (tan) leather, with a 256 hp catalyst version of the S38 and a five-speed manual. US cars also have 5-mph bumpers and a hydraulic self-leveling rear suspension that no other E28 got.
Rust, that suspension, the hydraulic brake booster and records of valve adjustments are what to check.
What to look for. Rust at the trunk lid seal, the antenna hole, the rear arches and the sills, the state of the self-leveling rear suspension (original, rebuilt or converted), a brake pedal that is not heavy and records of the brake accumulator, records of valve adjustments and timing chain tensioner work, a cooling system that holds temperature in traffic, the original 16in cross-spoke wheels and M5 trim, and a clear accident and odometer history.
What goes wrong on this generation, roughly what a fix costs at an independent shop, and how to spot it before you buy. Every M5 generation compared.
Lift the trunk mat and check the floor and seal channel, look around the antenna hole and the rear arches, and check the sills and jacking points on a lift.
The brakes are assisted by a hydraulic booster with a pressure accumulator (the sphere), and a worn accumulator or booster gives a heavy pedal. BimmerWorld sells the accumulator for about $270.
Feel for a heavy brake pedal, especially after the car has sat for a while, and look for accumulator or booster work in the records.
US M5s have a hydraulic self-leveling rear suspension that no other E28 got. Its struts and accumulators wear out; a specialist put replacement self-leveling shocks at about $600 a corner in 2015, and most cars have been converted to conventional shocks and springs.
Ask whether the system is original, rebuilt or converted. On an original car, look for leaking struts and lines and check that the rear sits level with a load in the trunk.
Rust starts at the trunk lid seal and the antenna hole, and water getting in there rots the rear fenders. The rockers, jacking points, rear axle mounts, wheel arches and sunroof are the other places E28s rust.
Lift the trunk mat and check the floor and seal channel, look around the antenna hole and the rear arches, and check the sills and jacking points on a lift.
A worn tensioner lets the timing chain rattle for a few seconds after a cold start, a known trait of the S38, though a long-time E28 specialist says he has not seen chain failures on these engines. The S38 also has solid lifters, so its valves need regular adjustment.
Start the engine cold and listen for a rattle at the front that fades as it warms up, and look for tensioner work and valve adjustments in the records.
The radiator, water pump, hoses and viscous fan clutch age out, and a failed fan clutch shows as rising temperature in slow traffic. An overheated S38 risks its head gasket.
Watch the temperature gauge in traffic and on a long drive, and look for a cooling system refresh in the records.
Cracked dash tops are common on E28s and crack-free replacements are now expensive. The instrument cluster's service indicator board has soldered NiCad batteries that leak and fail, which can stop the service lights and the tachometer working.
Look under any dash cover, and check that the tachometer works and the service indicator lights up and resets.
No recalls returned by NHTSA for the 1988 model years.
Live from NHTSA, across the 1988 model years.
Our estimates at an independent shop, parts and labor; fuel from the EPA.
Pricing tires for this car? Compare the factory sizes at Discount Tire, and ask a local shop to match it.
Fuel from EPA fueleconomy.gov: its yearly cost is for 15,000 miles with 55% city driving, moved here to the miles a year the two-year budget uses. The rest are our estimates at independent-shop and retail prices from September 2026. Service is a year of routine maintenance at 10,000 miles: one or two oil changes, brake fluid, filters, and spark plugs spread over their interval. Repairs are separate. Tires are a mounted set of summer tires; brakes are pads and rotors on both axles. Prices vary by region and shop.
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The cars this one gets weighed against, by lineage and by price.
The first M5, assembled by hand by BMW Motorsport around a six derived from the M1's engine. The US got it for 1988 only: 1,340 were built for North America, all black, with a 256 hp catalyst S38 and a five-speed manual.
The hand-built 3.6 six at 310 hp, sold here from 1991 to 1993 as a sedan only.
The M5 began with the E28 in 1985, the first super sedan, hand-built with the M88 six. Every M5 since has been an executive sedan first, a missile second.
The M Index, once a month: any change to the M5's guide or score, with the reason, new recalls on M cars, and one thing to check before you buy.