Shed Of The Week: BMW 535i

A classic slice of V8 barge tickles Shed's fancy this week

Ah yes, Spring is in the air, petrol is down to a pound a litre, and a young man's fancy turns to V8s.

Only trouble is, at the £1000-or-less end of the market your V8 choice is somewhat limited. Jeep Cherokee, anyone? No, thought not. Land Rover of some sort? Hmm, maybe - if you can find one whose body isn't made of cheese. Jag XJ 3.2 then? Not a bad shout.

Hang on, is that a Subaru SVX?

But if you're wanting to run a V8 at Shed money, you'll need something that's going to be at least vaguely reliable in order to keep the non-fuel running costs down to a level somewhere below agony. Which narrows the field down to, well, Lexus and the Germans.

BMW makes good cars. That's a fact. Judged by the number of five-star road tests and awards, the 5 Series has consistently been one of the best all-round BMWs since it first appeared in 1972: that's another fact.

This next bit isn't a fact, but an opinion that's shared by many: the 1995-2003 E39, the fourth in the model's illustrious 42-year history, is the best 5 Series BMW ever made. Not in bald terms, obviously: the followup E60 and F10 were dynamically better, as followups always must be. But in emotional terms, the whole E39 package was just, well, great. It represented a really worthwhile progression over the E34 - a fine car in itself that was a quantum leap over the preceding E28. Now that was a car that, in the more powerful iterations at least, could give you quite a nasty bite on the bum. Shed well remembers lightly prodding the throttle on an M535i and suddenly finding himself pointing in the direction he'd just come from.

Ooh, debadged too - classy

E39 build quality has been proven over time, and hell, it looks great. Interestingly, the shape was penned by Joji Nagashima, who as you might guess was not German. Six years in development, Nagashima's muscular design was firmed up in '92 and approved for production by Chris Bangle.

If we accept the premise that the E39 is a very good car, this 535i version with the 3.5-litre V8 under the lid has surely got to be worth a Shedly glance in these new-found petrolheady days. Don't get too excited: it's not the M5's S62 4.9-litre powerhouse, and if the vendor's spec panel is correct, it's not the 241hp VANOS-equipped M62TUB35 motor either (VANOS came on stream in '98, the year of this particular car's build). Given the variable valve timing system's patchy reputation, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The non-VANOS M62B35 engine's 232hp is more than adequate, giving easy 150mph performance.

This car has a long MOT, short miles, and 'a' service history (ah). It looks very nice in its snazzy Biarritz blue coat. Having spent a miserable winter weekend in Biarritz with the missis many years ago, back in the days when they willingly went on holiday together, Shed can show you some six by four prints of his hooter that might explain the origin of this paint name.

No interior pics, we're told it's grey in there

As stated, E39s are very nice cars, but they are getting on a bit now so will not be fault-free. Common mech problems include cracked radiators, coolant leaks generally, camshaft position sensor failure, power steering fluid leaks, oil leaks from the cam covers, and broken water pump impellers (probably replaced on this one by now, you'd like to think). On the chassis side, a grunty E39 will eat the inside of its rear tyres unless you keep a close watch on alignment. E39s are also known for a front end shimmy which can be very difficult to diagnose and fix, but there is lots of advice available online. Handbrakes can be ineffectual.

Bodywise, check the rear floor for dryness. Windows can be clunky, sunroofs noisy. Electrics? A few potential niggles here. The SRS light will come on if there's a problem with the passenger seat occupancy sensor. Heating/AC fans fail, as do door, boot and window actuators. There was an update of this model in autumn '98 which introduced the odd extra problem like seat/wheel adjustment motors going on the fritz. What with that and the VANOS thing it would be interesting to know this car's exact build date.

Yes it's 'just' a 5 Series, but there's a V8

Shame about the lack of interior pics on the ad, but it's a fair assumption that the cabin will be in good condition unless someone the size of Mrs Shed has been frequenting the front seat, in which case there might be some friction and/or weight related bolster wear.

In terms of the buying experience, liberating this car from its Swiss Toni-style forecourt complete with jaunty 'This Row Must Go' banner perhaps comes up a little short compared to, say, the pleasure that might go with the handover of a Bugatti or Ferrari costing a thousand times more. But it's not going to be a thousand times worse, is it? Is it?

Your move, sunshine. Here's the ad.

BLUE Saloon.3500 cc Petrol, Automatic. BLUE, mot till june 2015 stunning car finished in metalic biarritz blue paint work with colour coded bumpers and fitted with uprated 17" alloys and full grey leather interior, 0 seats, Standard Features - 3x3 point rear seat belts, Air conditioning, Airbags, CD Player, Central locking, Electric door mirrors, Electric windows, Folding rear seats, Immobiliser, Leather seats, Lumbar support, Height adjustable drivers seat, Parking aid, Power steering, Sports seats, Alarm, Child locks & Isofix system, Cruise control, Radio, Remote central locking, Sunroof, Traction control. june 2015 mot with no advisory information a service history please call for further information or to arrange a viewing part exchange possible and all major cards accepted.