As always, opinions are worth just what you pay for them, so here's my 2 cents worth. I have both an 85 535 and an 86 L7. They are totally different cars, but I like them both and for very different reasons. The 5 is the sporting hot-rod. It runs great and sticks like glue. The L7 is quiet, solid and slow in comparison to the 5, but still not a slouch. I've got maybe $2000 in mine, including the purchase price, and it has all of 114K miles on it, looks great and the engine is sweet. I prefer it as my commuter car because I'm in lots of slow traffic, and I'd drive it cross country in a heartbeat. If I still lived somewhere with curves, hills and a little less traffic, I'd dump the 7 and go with the 5. Mark