1986 BMW M5 from UK and Ireland - Comments

Propshaft UJ exploded (!)

Rough idle.

Head gasket blew.

Rust making an appearance.

I can't believe it still goes at all, never mind well enough to see off almost anything on the road. 215k on the clock and it's still a rocketship.

Handling is interesting, especially in the wet where you kind of get used to exiting corners with a dollop of opposite lock. No nannying traction control or ESP in 1986, and a fine thing it is too. The straight six still sends shivers up my spine as it howls to the red line, and by the feel of it, it hasn't lost much of its 286 bhp either.

It's an easy car to get in to trouble in because it is so effortlessly and amusingly fast, yet the chassis isn't really up to the job. Being RWD it makes it entertaining rather than annoying though, and I have driven various newer cars (including the latest M5) which just aren't as much fun. Quicker maybe, but nowhere near as involving.

I should sell this car. It's old, rusty and a bit tired these days. The problem is, what else combines RWD, 0-60 in under 6 seconds, and such involving handling and bombproof build quality for less than £30k?

Awesome!

"...yet the chassis isn't really up to the job."

Maybe it's that you have 215k on the clock and drive the car hard. The entire front end should have been rebuilt 60k ago if you want it to handle anywhere close to how it did new.