E28 BMW M5: A 28-Year Ownership Experience — HillStart

For many, buying a classic car is an exciting yet daunting decision. It can take years to save up for the car of your dreams, but also to decide what car you actually want to buy. For some it’s an investment, and for others it’s a journey.

For Stuart and Liz Blount it was almost a coincidence that they bought their E28 BMW M5, and they’ve now owned it for almost three decades. “I first drove an M5 in 1988, but even then I knew there weren’t that many made in right-hand drive, and I didn’t think I was ever going to own one”, says Stu. “I wasn’t really looking, but eventually I stumbled across this one at Murketts BMW in Huntington in 1993, looking a bit dishevelled around the back. I remember speaking to the salesman who said they’d had it for weeks and couldn’t sell it. Admittedly, it was the middle of the petrol crisis, and fuel prices were going up like no tomorrow. It was originally listed for £12,995 and I said to the salesman that was a bit pricey. So I said to Liz, look, if he offers me £1,500 for my E12 528i and comes down on the price, then I’d be tempted. Anyway I went back to see him three days later, and he dropped the price down to £9,995. He also offered me £2,000 for my 528i, so it was no brainer. We then bought it, and we’ve never looked back since.”

“We were originally looking at kitchens”, added Liz. “But as soon as I saw Stu catch eyes with the M5, I knew the new kitchen was no longer.” Stu has been no stranger to BMW ownership and bought his first, an E21 320i, in 1983. “After that I bought an E12 in 1985, and that was actually quite difficult to part with. Murketts originally sold it to me and it was in dark green metallic with beige upholstery. It was a lovely car.”

First registered in September 1986, Stu and Liz’s M5 originated from Yorkshire and is number 51 of only 187 UK right-hand drive cars. It changed hands three times before it came into their ownership in 1993. “It was originally registered in Wetherby, but according to the handbook and the service sheet, it was also serviced down in Bristol and South Wales. The previous owner before us was a lady up in Mablethorpe that ran a caravan park, and she found the clutch too heavy, so she stored it for six months after she bought it.”

“But the reason why our car ended up at Murketts was quite interesting, as one day a customer arrived and requested to buy an E28 M5. They scoured the country and there were only two for sale: a red one in Liverpool and a silver one in Mablethorpe. They went to get the red one, but it was a wreck, so they went to Mablethorpe and bought this one instead. Once it arrived the customer said they had changed their mind and didn’t want silver. But after that the dealer couldn’t just put it on the forecourt because it was seven years old. But it was interesting because David Murkett, the then owner of Murketts BMW, said that even when they were new he couldn’t sell them, because they were too expensive. The original bill sheet for this one was £36,000, and bearing in mind in 1983 you could buy a house for £15,000, that was a lot of money for a car.”