Thoughts on this 5 series.

[sparks_E39]

Fox- said:

HarryW said:

Fox- said:

HarryW said:

For another 250 squid 2004 cat d 530D gotta be worth more shoe leather http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...

An ex police car thats Cat D? No thank you very much.

Says ex government car, not necessarily police or is it, are all ex gov cars police cars then . It might have some extras Q left in it

It's a police car because it's not UK spec, the same as all the police E39's. That and the fact it's an 04 plate give it away.

It looks nice though, I want mine colour coded :-)

[BMW-SPORT]

Looks tidy.

[Battenburg Bob]

Thanks for the info. I'll be looking for something that will tide me over for 12 months (assuming I decide that mine is definitely going).

A five series of this vintage seems to be the perfect answer.

[Cyclone1]

How about this one, it's a little bit older but has great history.

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/867104.htm

Jules.

[Fox-]

It's also a pre facelift so it needs at least £1300 spending on tyres, wheels and lights to stop it looking hopelessly dated.

[HRG]

Fox- said:

It's also a pre facelift so it needs at least £1300 spending on tyres, wheels and lights to stop it looking hopelessly dated.

Only if you're bothered by fashion... And it'll still be an E39.

It looks like a lot of car for the money, even though it would probably be a little underpowered.

[Pickled Piper]

Leather and an an auto transmission really make these cars.

pp

[HRG]

Pickled Piper said:

Leather and an an auto transmission really make these cars.

pp

The cruise is nice too for SPECS

[Fox-]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

They do look rather different.

[Fox-]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I think the E39 facelift was rather more noticeable than the A6 facelift as it introduced signature BMW features like Angel Eyes and LED lights as well as getting rid of that most dated of features - huge orange lights.

[Fox-]

You are the one who has launched into a curious tirade about 'old bmws'. I merely said you'd need to change the lights to stop it looking dated, nothing to do with what other people think, more to do with how it looks to oneself. I still think a prefacelift SE on 16 inch wheels looks very different to a postfacelift example. The changes, simple as though they were (Also new bumpers for the SE and colour coding) knocked years off the look of the design.

[David87M3]

Id geet a pre march 2001 car and save a lot on road tax as well.

There's nowt wrong with the 2.0l engines eiter granted there not the quickest but still nice to drive

Good luck

[Bill Carr]

Fox- said:

It's also a pre facelift so it needs at least £1300 spending on tyres, wheels and lights to stop it looking hopelessly dated.

Just keep it looking "retro" and save your dosh

[trickywoo]

5 wh said:

but make sure the car has FSH with servicing done in the correct sequence(some just have an oil service when an inspection II is due)

The difference between oil service / inspection 1 and 2 is marginal to say the least (just lots more 'checking' of stuff that would be picked up at an MOT anyway). Apart from how much the garage will charge you.

If its not had coolant or brake fluid changed recently thats a good haggling point.

I'd say at £4,000 that is way overpriced. You could get a 530 for that, not much older and not many more miles. Worth checking the road tax rate on a 2002 car as well.

I paid £2,700 for a 1 owner (62K mile) FBMWSH 528 SE not long ago. With a tank of fuel long tax and MOT and a set of matched goodyears with loads of tread.

[Fox-]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

[SJobson]

Why would anyone spend £1300 on tarting up the lights on a <£2k car? It would then be non-original and less desirable as well, since it would still have the pre-facelift front bumper with rectangular rather than round foglights. And the rubbing strips would still be black rather than body coloured.

Mind you, this is why non-Sport and pre-facelift E39s are such a bargain. Some people seem willing to spend a couple of grand more for some different bumpers and headlights.

Oh, and Mr Fox, clear indicators aren't solely post-facelift:

Edited by SJobson on Thursday 29th January 12:20

[Fox-]

Perhaps you should inform the manufacturers that facelifts are a waste of time and only internet geeks ever notice them. They could save a fortune. I guess you also think a 2006 S320 is a new Mercedes yet a 1999 S320 looks like an old Mercedes?

For those of you still failing to get it, I'll spell out my point a bit better.

A prefacelift model would need a load spending on it to make it look like the post facelift model. Therefore, get the post facelift one instead. At no stage did I recommend spending 1300 quid on a £2.5k 5 Series, I simply used this cost to justify my point that a facelift one is a better buy.

[Bill Carr]

Fox- said:

At no stage did I recommend spending 1300 quid on a £2.5k 5 Series, I simply used this cost to justify my point that a facelift one is a better buy.

But the facelift one is £1500 more expensive, so that justification doesn't make any sense either!

[Fox-]

Bill Carr said:

Fox- said:

At no stage did I recommend spending 1300 quid on a £2.5k 5 Series, I simply used this cost to justify my point that a facelift one is a better buy.

But the facelift one is £1500 more expensive, so that justification doesn't make any sense either!

It's also 3 years newer! By the time you've finished making the cheap one equivilentish to the one in the OP, you've spent about the same money and are still left with an older car, so its not really a better buy than the one in the OP. That was my point!

Edited by Fox- on Thursday 29th January 13:09

[SJobson]

You'd have to stick a smaller engine in and fake alloys on to make it equivalent to the one in the OP, though

If you ignore the fact that a post-facelift version looks a bit newer, the 523i looks like it has had a fastidious owner and at around half the price, surely it's a better buy? The only differences with the facelift E39 were visual; mechanically it's the same, other than some different engine availability.