Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

I think you're all missing the point of e55 estates... Massive engine, power everywhere for cruising and hooning and relatively sleeper looks. You would have to choose very carefully though.

The linked one looks like a lot of car for the money. I'd rather an m5 of that era though.

M5 touring was never available for this generation of cars, which means you are looking at the Alpina B10 Touring and the only one for sale in the U.K. Is £18,000 (although it's been for sale for ages).

I reckon £6k for an E55 with £4K contingency fund for fixing stuff.

Decent M5 saloons are ~£10k here.

Next task is to find a buyer for the Volvo really.