I've been hankerin' for a straight six BMW for a long time, but I've never owned one. I know that the E28 M5 is rare, but they don't seem to be crazy expensive and the idea of a classic four door M car appeals to me.
What do I need to know about them?
look for records on valve adjustments - s38s are tough engines, but do need a little care and feeding. Paying a shop for a rebuild will cost more than the car . . Electrics are starting to get old - things like solder joints in the DME start breaking - but that's typical e28 stuff. The tougher issues are the m5-only parts - some of the interior bits, the dme is different, transmission is different than production e28s... The e28 M5s were hand-built - oh, in the US they are all 1988s and they're all black with tan interiors (there's probably an exception to every rule). I think jhaas may still have one.
Rust is the biggest enemy; engine rebuilds are much more expensive than on standard BMW engines of the era. They seem to come in two varieties these days: perfect cars and cars that have been allowed to degrade expensively by owners who couldn't afford to maintain them.
www.mye28.com is the biggest source of online information, and M5s show up there for sale every so often. As mentioned, rust can be an issue - I spent a stupid amount of money getting my M535i de-rusted and repainted last year - so get the best one you can find. Also, don't overlook the next generation e34 M5, they are priced similarly these days.
There's something to be said for buying a 535i or 535is and making some performance modifications - they don't have the hand built mystique of the M5 but you can achieve most of the HP and all of the handling capability for less money.
You also need to run the proper oil weight in these, which if memory serves me is 20w50. They need care and maintenance and any car without a copious stack of service records should just be walked away from.
The black ones are nice.
jrw1621 wrote: The black ones are nice.
Euro M5s came in any color you wanted, but they're thin on the ground in the US (and when you do find one it's not going to be cheap.)
Most of the US black cars had a tan interior, but there were a small number (maybe 20 or so?) that came with black leather instead.
my e28 had a couple of electric things that actually worked, but thats it lol
e28 m's are awesome though, and most of those electronics are just flim flam anyways
I know of a guy who has a mint one with about 60-70k on the clock, it stopped working about ten years ago and has been sitting in his garage ever since. My friends dad will eventually buy it for probably about 4 grand, put another 500 into it and have a perfect low miles car... 
Knowing people is everything.
They are amazing cars though. Depending on the track they are as fast as the e30 M3.
I've had mine for two years now and I can attest that it is the ultimate driving machine. M parts are definately more expensive but WOW performance per dollar is off the charts. Mine just developed a tranny seal leak but I opted to go ahead and replace all the seals and the clutch while I was in there. There are not many cars that are nearly 25 years old that you can get virtually every replacement part for. LOL you WILL pay through the nose for M parts, but 5 series parts are cheap. They do rust easily, find one that is at least nearly rust free and store it during the winter. It reminds me of a hot chick at 40 years old. Worth it, but has needs depending on how the previous owner treated it. If its in great shape, its worth more than crack.
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