M Buyers Guide
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BMW M5 E39

BMW M5 E39

2000 to 2003SedanM car

Guide Score 84Excellent$3,685 a year to ownAbout 13th of 69
Best year
2000
Example asking
$19k to $64k
Prices near you
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Photo: ilikewaffles11, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The short answer

The E39 is the first V8 M5, sold here from 2000 to 2003 with the 394 hp S62 and a six-speed manual, the only gearbox offered.

The score, part by part

84Guide Score for 2002Excellentabout $3,685 a year to own
Place among the 69 generations
About 13th of 69, likely 5th to 27th
Likely score range
76 to 92
Confidence
Medium
Acclaim
78 of 100
Chance of a bill over $10,000 in five years
16%
Best purposes
Track, 9th of 69

The seven parts and acclaim, 2002 model year

Heritage counts 16 of 100
3124% of it not measured
Engine counts 16 of 100
69
Drive feel counts 21 of 100
79
Analog connection counts 10 of 100
80
Weight counts 10 of 100
66
Long-term value not scored
not measured
Ownership counts 11 of 100
20
Acclaim counts 16 of 100
78

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.

Long-term value, shown and not scored

24 prices from sources that allow this use (classiccars.com, enthusiastauto.com), read October 27, 2026: the middle one is $107,490, about 154% of the price new (77% 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.

The cost to own

About $3,685 a year to own ($2,395 to $5,331), about $18,425 over five years, bought at five years old or its own age if older, kept five years.

  1. Timing chain guides and tensioners (S62): about $3,752 over five years, common (source)
  2. Rod bearing wear (S62): about $1,506 over five years, possible (source)
  3. Throttle actuator failure: about $875 over five years, common (source)

Expect about $2,400 to $5,300 a year; the bills that decide it are timing chain guides and tensioners, rod bearing wear and throttle actuator failure. Bought without receipts, about a 3 in 20 chance of more than $10,000 in repairs in five years. Ownership risk: costly.

Guide Score method v5-final.14, an editorial score built only from permitted, sourced data. How it works.

S62394 hpRWD6-speed manual12 city, 19 hwy mpg

Colors it came in, most wanted first. Pick one to see the page in it.

Routine service a year, estimate
$600 to $1,200

Best year to buy

2000The best year to buy, reading 86 of 100, about $3,685 a year to own.

Why the 2000

  • Spared a downgrade of the 2001 to 2003 cars: Larger 6.5-inch navigation monitor (navigation standard in North America) (source, read October 27, 2026)

Years to think twice about

  • 2001 to 2003: 84, 2 points below the 2000. Larger 6.5-inch navigation monitor (navigation standard in North America). (source, read October 27, 2026) The same cost to own, about $3,685 a year; chance of a bill over $10,000 in five years 16% to 16%.
  1. 200086best year
  2. 200184think twice
  3. 200284think twice
  4. 200384think twice

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 longer answer

Many owners call it the best M5 of all. It is now over twenty years old: timing chain guides, VANOS and the throttle actuator are the expensive items, and a well-kept car costs real money to keep that way.

What to look for
  • Records for the timing chain guides and tensioners, VANOS and the throttle actuator
  • A cold start with no rattle
  • No engine warning lights
  • Cooling system work
  • A complete service history with no cheap, neglected years
What changed by year

Every E39 M5 year scores the same in the guide; the 2000 cars differ most from the rest.

  • 2000, the first US year: Avus Blue was sold to February 2000 and Le Mans Blue from March; the extended Heritage leather and English Green interiors ended in August 2000.
  • From September 2000, the 2001 to 2003 cars: headlights with lit corona rings, revised tail lights, the E46 M3's thicker three-spoke wheel, gray gauges, a 6.5-inch widescreen navigation and audio unit, front parking sensors, rear head air bags and the M Audio option.
  • Running changes in 2000: a shut-off valve for the VANOS accumulator on most 2001 cars, new piston rings to cut oil use with 10W-60 oil in place of 5W-30, and from September 2000 wider secondary air passages; 2002 cars got a quieter clutch spring.
  • From September 2001 new colors (Sterling Grey, Blue Water, Chiaretto Red); from September 2002 DVD navigation, and rear side air bags standard.
  • On sold prices, our reading of auction results puts the 2000 cars well under the 2001 to 2003 ones like for like, and the 2003 no different from a 2001 or 2002; miles matter far more than the year.
Sources and methodwhere each line comes from

Holds value

  • Low documented mileage above all
  • The 2001 to 2003 cars with the updated lights
  • Gauges and widescreen navigation
  • Imola Red
  • Oxford Green
  • Avus Blue and Le Mans Blue paint
  • The rare Royal Red
  • Blue Water
  • Chiaretto Red and BMW Individual colors
  • The Caramel Heritage full-leather interior
  • Complete service records with the chain guides done
  • Original, unmodified cars

Hurts resale

  • High mileage with no guide or VANOS records
  • Deferred maintenance
  • Accident history
  • Modifications
  • For a collector the 2000 cars, which on our reading of auction results sell for less than the updated 2001 to 2003 ones

What to do next

Check a carFound one for sale? Paste the listing's link or its VIN, or enter its details, for a report on that one car.Compare it with a rivalSee where the M5 E39 wins and loses, part by part.Take the checklistWhat to ask, look for and test before you pay.
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The report already scores the spec and takes the records; this would add the build date and option codes from the VIN, and an originality check against the window sticker. Not built yet. Press it if you would use it, and we will build it.

Not built yet. Press it if you would use it, and we will build it.

Follow the M5

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.