E39 530i Sport

[christer]

Fox- said:

Some great stuff

I would suggest this is made a "sticky" on the website if it hasn't already been - with the addition of the pixel issue. I had an E39 540 for a coupel of years until May this year and this was a problem although I never got it fixed and my sister who now has the car hasn't bothered either

Well done!

[RiccardoG]

christer said:

I would suggest this is made a "sticky" on the website if it hasn't already been - with the addition of the pixel issue. I had an E39 540 for a coupel of years until May this year and this was a problem although I never got it fixed and my sister who now has the car hasn't bothered either

Well done!

Is that Christer as in rennlist red 964 Christer?

[MoonMonkey]

Excellent thread and definately worthy of a 'sticky' I'm in the pcocess myself of procuring a 530i sport....

[matt21]

Totally agree with all the above.

For me the auto boxes, suspension and cooling systems are the weak points.

Suspension doesn't bother me, mine has had its first bushes at 154k (perfectle reasonable) and cooling will probably happen. I'll have to fork out.

Autoboxes are fantastic but I am worried mine will go. Be prepared to spend around 2 grand if it does.

Overall the car is fantastic. Slightly worse on fuel than I imagined (do you get better MPG on super??) - I average 28.5mpg with lots of motorway driving - For reference by old E34 525i Touring did 32mpg. Manual vs auto I guess.

Cheap as chips, but be picky, reaching the age now where they may have fallen into bad hands.

Mine still runs like new at 154k and I hope it still will when it passes 200k in a few years (although I expect a few big bills on the way!)

[HarryW]

Run a 528 for number of years, not a 530 but very similar, I've done around 100k and I think its great, it's a big old barge and on a run does 34mpg and around town 26mpg.
I've had the following issues; ignition switch failure, rear air springs (self levelling on the touring), numerous suspension bushes and a coolant thermostat. The 530 M54 engine drinks more oil than the 528 M52 engine too, never put a single m-litre in mine between services, whereas the nippers 330 (same M54 engine I believe) does a ltr every 1500miles and that I understand can be quite common on the 3ltr.
that said the E39 is possibly one of the best saloons ever made, mines a 99 year and not a hint of rust, even the paint seems to be made of granite with only the biggest rocks actually chipping it. Rear arches can rust, more so on the 3 series but the cause is the same, not clearing out the crud under the outside lip for years.
If money and running costs are no object then the E39 M5 has to be the one though.

[bramley]

My 530 used a litre every 1,200 soon after I bought it, then a few months later I had engine management light (emissions warning) and error codes for lambda sensors and a few other things. Thankfully I didn't get new lambda sensors as it turned out the Crankcase Ventilation Valve (aka Breather) was shot. This was replaced and since then it's barely used a drop of oil.

CCV is a common problem on these at approx 100k from what I've read on bmw5.

[HarryW]

bramley said:

My 530 used a litre every 1,200 soon after I bought it, then a few months later I had engine management light (emissions warning) and error codes for lambda sensors and a few other things. Thankfully I didn't get new lambda sensors as it turned out the Crankcase Ventilation Valve (aka Breather) was shot. This was replaced and since then it's barely used a drop of oil.

CCV is a common problem on these at approx 100k from what I've read on bmw5.

Cheers for that I'll get him to get it checked, although its a full main dealer one with 80k on it, or do they not do anything until the light comes on.

[christer]

RiccardoG said:

Is that Christer as in rennlist red 964 Christer?

yep - although the 964 has a new owner these days! Did you have a black 964....and we met up a long time ago....right.....?

[bramley]

HarryW said:

bramley said:

My 530 used a litre every 1,200 soon after I bought it, then a few months later I had engine management light (emissions warning) and error codes for lambda sensors and a few other things. Thankfully I didn't get new lambda sensors as it turned out the Crankcase Ventilation Valve (aka Breather) was shot. This was replaced and since then it's barely used a drop of oil.

CCV is a common problem on these at approx 100k from what I've read on bmw5.

Cheers for that I'll get him to get it checked, although its a full main dealer one with 80k on it, or do they not do anything until the light comes on.

Doubt they'd change it until it failed tbh. My advice is just to take a considered approach if/when a warning light comes on. Had I followed the error codes from mine I would have spent about £600 on new lambda sensors that would have made diddly-squat difference to the misfire, rich mixture etc!

[HarryW]

bramley said:

HarryW said:

bramley said:

My 530 used a litre every 1,200 soon after I bought it, then a few months later I had engine management light (emissions warning) and error codes for lambda sensors and a few other things. Thankfully I didn't get new lambda sensors as it turned out the Crankcase Ventilation Valve (aka Breather) was shot. This was replaced and since then it's barely used a drop of oil.

CCV is a common problem on these at approx 100k from what I've read on bmw5.

Cheers for that I'll get him to get it checked, although its a full main dealer one with 80k on it, or do they not do anything until the light comes on.

Doubt they'd change it until it failed tbh. My advice is just to take a considered approach if/when a warning light comes on. Had I followed the error codes from mine I would have spent about £600 on new lambda sensors that would have made diddly-squat difference to the misfire, rich mixture etc!

,
We'll give that a go, although I have read a lot about valve guide stem seals going hard on the 3ltr particularly 00-02 produced engines.