https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-bmw-m5-47/
My listing. I was having a debate about the chain of ownership with a prospective bidder with him saying I was possibly the 7th or 8th owner and me positing I was the 2nd owner based on carfax when the 2nd owner responded in the comments. I am the 4th owner and this is awesome. I had a question for him and I hope he answers back about it. So cool to see a previous owner chime in on a listing. I can't believe it happened to me.
Man, I bet that's just as cool for him as it is for you 
. By his post, it's obvious he liked the car. I bet he's pretty happy to see it still in such great shape.
I felt a lot better about the previous ownership after finding out that he was an enthusiast and did most of the modifications to the car.
Could you post back about your BaT experience, once it's all over? I plan on listing my Pontiac Firefly on there next year.
Gorgeous car! I was peaking at this one too.
I just submitted my rx7 anniversary - wish me luck! BaT has been a gearhead bucket list for me, would like to have bought and sold a car on there.
I just picked up a 996 and found the original owner's name on some paperwork. 5 minutes of google later and I had found my man and sent him an email. He was really happy to learn that the car was still in good shape and being enjoyed and now I can find out more about the car.
It's a small world in the enthusiast car scene. I'm in the process of buying an E36 M3 and when I initially contacted the seller, he recognized my number and we had corresponded about one of my previous cars that I was selling. Not that I don't usually conduct myself with integrity, but I'm super conscientious when I buy or sell a 'cool' car, because I always run across the people that I meet this way. I regularly correspond with people who have bought my previous cars or inquire about theirs, and I thoroughly enjoy it.
When I did my MR2 V6 swap, I printed the modified wiring diagram and tucked it behind the ECU with my name and email address, just in case someone had questions.
Nice E28 M5. Good luck with the auction!
In reply to SkinnyG :
Absolutely. So far it has been positive . One commenter in particular has been telling me what pics to take and videos to make and what info is needed about the e28 M5. So the comment section so far has been mostly extra info about the car itself. Super informative
In reply to fidelity101 :
Good luck! Can you post a link?
Wow. Always nice to see a car you rarely see or think about.
Hope the BaT auction works out well!
In reply to gunner :
thanks, I will when it goes live but if you a frequent BaT reader - you should be able to spot it when its live. Right now they are preparing the advert - should be live within 2 weeks they said.
There have been 3 or 4 10th AE's to be sold on the site this year so this would be the 4th for the year and hopefully sells for that ballpark 7k-15k range
Based on what I have seen in the e28 M5 market, I think it's still slightly low, and if someone had a sub 150k miles car, In 5 years it will be near 6 figures. With those enthusiast auto low miles cars going for mid 6 figures and higher. Right now it's a crapshoot but we will see. I feel like I'm selling mine way too early, but where I am, it is what it is and someone will get a loved machine if they beat reserve. If the reserve is not met I'll just buckle down and keep it.
I noticed you had posted the sale over on mye28.com (I've been a member over there since the beginning myself). Good luck with the sale.
It's always interesting to read the comments on BAT, after a while you recognize the regular posters and can figure out which ones know what they're talking about and which ones are full of hot air. 
In reply to stuart in mn :
Yes hello sir! I've been aware of both of your accounts (here and there for a long time). I think it's really cool that you chimed in on my thread. Thanks for the input!.
Well, the reserve was not met and I am keeping my M5. Overall I had a positive experience. I think the rust scared away a lot of people, and I totally understand that. I decided to get that repaired and keep it for a while and enjoy it. Everytime I took it out to get videos or take pictures I was questioning selling it.
I did read some online reviews of BaT and they had me worried a little but it really seems like a buyer/seller beware thing just like doing it anywhere else but with a ton of exposure.
In reply to gunner :
Would you mind commenting on bats involvement in establishing your reserve? I understand that they are somewhat selective in the cars they allow on their site. Any comments on that?
Really nice M5, BTW.
In reply to Ovid_and_Flem :
Sure and thank you. The reserve was suggested by the auction coordinator and initially I thought it was too low but independently I asked my wife and daughter what the reserve should be and the all came up with the same number. $25000. So i went with it. For the coordinator it was probably the rust that brought it so low. The previous M5 a week earlier sold for 26k with 264k on the car with a broken odometer so I figured even with the rust I would surpass that with an actual 'low mileage" example at 133k miles but when it topped at 21k I was not lowering the reserve. I guess spending its life in New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan can bring some rust on a car.
As far as what they allow on their site it seems like anything with a high end European nameplate made in limited numbers is a shoe in to make it. Also American cars that are either rare or really well restored but you can't find anymore and are over 50 years old. I do know they consider each car on an individual basis. I do know they try to limit identical cars (like 1988 M5s) from running concurrently because it could hurt the price of both auctions.
In reply to gunner :
Thanks for that insight, gunny. The bat audience seem to feel your car was undervalued by bidders. I agree.
The commenter that helped me out so much ended up being the highest bidder and he told me he would have bid 25k except he had a momentary mental block of bidding against himself as the auction closed. Looking back now I can truly say that while I would have sold the car per contract if the bid had made 25k I would have been sick knowing it was worth much more than that. At least to me. And thank you for your kind words about the car Ovid_and_Flem.
In reply to gunner :
Hmmmm. I'm sure bat is on the up-and-up but it seems to be a slight bit of conflict of interest that someone who was aware of the reserve was bidding against those who did not have that information.
My strategy for BaT is to only sell cars there that I'm confident don't need a reserve. Everything else gets advertised elsewhere.
Reserve auctions don't bring the results on BaT. That audience also typically doesn't work on their own stuff, and wants a turn-key car.
If someone was at 21k and considering a 25k bid, that's spitting distance of a 25k without buyers fees. Might be able to salvage that deal?
In reply to Tyler H :
I dunno... seems to be a fair number of projects being sold. Many without Reserve
Ovid_and_Flem: Sorry I was not clear. That bidder was unaware of what the reserve was until well after the auction was over he said he was guessing that it was 25k in his head and almost bid that but since there was no telling he didn't want to be bidding against himself. At 25k it's worth more for me to keep it and enjoy it. That was the very bottom end that I would have let it go for at that time, even then it took a lot of self-convincing. Every day since then I have been passing it in the garage just being glad I still have it.
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