Talk to me about the E39
Discussion
My local indy has lent me one of his courtesy cars whilst the 130i is in for repair.
It's a 1998 528i with 139k miles. It looks like a shed, never washed etc but runs like a sewing machine. Frankly, I'm very impressed and it's got me thinking that a nice E39 might be a good solution for my 10k miles of motorway slogging and station runs. (The idea being that it'd free up a pot of cash for something more fun at the weekend).
So, is a c£4k E39 a sensible choice or is my mechanic's car simply a pampered one off?
It's a 1998 528i with 139k miles. It looks like a shed, never washed etc but runs like a sewing machine. Frankly, I'm very impressed and it's got me thinking that a nice E39 might be a good solution for my 10k miles of motorway slogging and station runs. (The idea being that it'd free up a pot of cash for something more fun at the weekend).
So, is a c£4k E39 a sensible choice or is my mechanic's car simply a pampered one off?
I,m on my 3rd. Two 528sprts and a 523. I can honestly say for the money I don't think you can beat them.
In between the 2 528's I bought a Saab 9-5 aero I had it around 4 months and while very quick it felt so cheap and nasty compared to the e39.my only gripe wither them is the stereos are v poor and I find the steering a bit heavy.my latest is a 2000 528 sport with 110 k and cost me 1300. Such a bargain car
In between the 2 528's I bought a Saab 9-5 aero I had it around 4 months and while very quick it felt so cheap and nasty compared to the e39.my only gripe wither them is the stereos are v poor and I find the steering a bit heavy.my latest is a 2000 528 sport with 110 k and cost me 1300. Such a bargain car
chasdad said:
I,m on my 3rd. Two 528sprts and a 523. I can honestly say for the money I don't think you can beat them.
In between the 2 528's I bought a Saab 9-5 aero I had it around 4 months and while very quick it felt so cheap and nasty compared to the e39.my only gripe wither them is the stereos are v poor and I find the steering a bit heavy.my latest is a 2000 528 sport with 110 k and cost me 1300. Such a bargain car
The stereo is no worse than my '08 130i!In between the 2 528's I bought a Saab 9-5 aero I had it around 4 months and while very quick it felt so cheap and nasty compared to the e39.my only gripe wither them is the stereos are v poor and I find the steering a bit heavy.my latest is a 2000 528 sport with 110 k and cost me 1300. Such a bargain car
I have a 2002 525d sport. So far i love it! It has been remapped and had a ecotune decat pipe fitted. I bought the car from an enthusiast via a forum whom has just spent a fortune on it including a brand new OE Garrett Turbo, full service, belts, tensioners, etc. It came with a huge pile of receipts totaling over £10000 since new.
The car still looks great on the road, drives very tight, returns amazing fuel economy and has excellent build quality. My business partner has a very high specced e90 330d and i prefer the e39 in many ways, it certainly feels much better built.
Mine has just ticked over to 187000 miles and apart from a little bit of wear in the gear selector still feels and drives brilliantly. Have been putting a 1000 miles a week on it with no bother.
No regrets from me, the e39 as long as a well looked after example is still a very capable car. Sadly a lot are neglected and as above very expensive money pits.
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The car still looks great on the road, drives very tight, returns amazing fuel economy and has excellent build quality. My business partner has a very high specced e90 330d and i prefer the e39 in many ways, it certainly feels much better built.
Mine has just ticked over to 187000 miles and apart from a little bit of wear in the gear selector still feels and drives brilliantly. Have been putting a 1000 miles a week on it with no bother.
No regrets from me, the e39 as long as a well looked after example is still a very capable car. Sadly a lot are neglected and as above very expensive money pits.
Edited by M3333 on Friday 30th November 00:08
I bought one in June 2010, a two owner car, full BMWSH, 81,000 on the clock, a 2.8 petrol SE.
I've taken it to just over 160,000 in the time I've owned it.
They seem to be a tad electrically unstable compared to the previous E34's I've owned, but more refined in its drive.
I've had an abs ecu fail, and the main ecu, total cost of repairs was about £600
I've had one rust spot appear so far, which cost £65 to deal with, but I'm sure more will follow, it is 12 years old.
Around town I get about 21 to the gallon, on a warm day at 56 mph, I can get 45 mpg, at 70 mph 40 mpg, normal motorway stuff, about 35 mpg.
It is very comfy, and a lovely place to be, handles well, accelerates well, and has good road presence.
They are terrific value, but of course getting a bit long in the tooth now.
I've taken it to just over 160,000 in the time I've owned it.
They seem to be a tad electrically unstable compared to the previous E34's I've owned, but more refined in its drive.
I've had an abs ecu fail, and the main ecu, total cost of repairs was about £600
I've had one rust spot appear so far, which cost £65 to deal with, but I'm sure more will follow, it is 12 years old.
Around town I get about 21 to the gallon, on a warm day at 56 mph, I can get 45 mpg, at 70 mph 40 mpg, normal motorway stuff, about 35 mpg.
It is very comfy, and a lovely place to be, handles well, accelerates well, and has good road presence.
They are terrific value, but of course getting a bit long in the tooth now.
when it comes to which model, presume it's more a question of buying on condition/history rather than 525d vs 525i vs 530i etc
Any engines particularly preferred / bes avoided?
Also, how much to pay? - you can pay £6k for a good one but that's getting into E60 money. £4k seems like a good point but even that might be too much?
Any engines particularly preferred / bes avoided?
Also, how much to pay? - you can pay £6k for a good one but that's getting into E60 money. £4k seems like a good point but even that might be too much?
M3333 said:
I have a 2002 525d sport. So far i love it! It has been remapped and had a ecotune decat pipe fitted. I bought the car from an enthusiast via a forum whom has just spent a fortune on it including a brand new OE Garrett Turbo, full service, belts, tensioners, etc. It came with a huge pile of receipts totaling over £10000 since new.
The car still looks great on the road, drives very tight, returns amazing fuel economy and has excellent build quality. My business partner has a very high specced e90 330d and i prefer the e39 in many ways, it certainly feels much better built.
Mine has just ticked over to 187000 miles and apart from a little bit of wear in the gear selector still feels and drives brilliantly. Have been putting a 1000 miles a week on it with no bother.
No regrets from me, the e39 as long as a well looked after example is still a very capable car. Sadly a lot are neglected and as above very expensive money pits.
Just looked at your profile and noticed you have a 996. Interesting. Part of my strategy of getting out of a single (relatively) expensive/new car is to get into a nice barge (E39) and a 996. The car still looks great on the road, drives very tight, returns amazing fuel economy and has excellent build quality. My business partner has a very high specced e90 330d and i prefer the e39 in many ways, it certainly feels much better built.
Mine has just ticked over to 187000 miles and apart from a little bit of wear in the gear selector still feels and drives brilliantly. Have been putting a 1000 miles a week on it with no bother.
No regrets from me, the e39 as long as a well looked after example is still a very capable car. Sadly a lot are neglected and as above very expensive money pits.
Edited by M3333 on Friday 30th November 00:08
Do you not spend your days worying that one of your relatively old, expensive cars is going to go pop (no disrespect intended)?
alfaspiderman2 said:
Just looked at your profile and noticed you have a 996. Interesting. Part of my strategy of getting out of a single (relatively) expensive/new car is to get into a nice barge (E39) and a 996.
Do you not spend your days worying that one of your relatively old, expensive cars is going to go pop (no disrespect intended)?
No Disrespect taken, it is true, i do worry a little Do you not spend your days worying that one of your relatively old, expensive cars is going to go pop (no disrespect intended)?
I think the key is to buy a car that someone else has piled a load of money into. Sorry if the previous owner of my e39 reads this but it is true, he spent an absolute fortune on it. This is all to my benefit (i have done the same and then sold cars such as my M3 etc). I will try and keep the e39 in great shape and well serviced etc but at the end of the day if something major goes pop it is worth about the same in parts as i paid, so fairly low risk, although i would be gutted if this happens as i really enjoy driving it. I guess it is bangernomics, in total what it has cost me is nothing compared to the depreciation of just driving a new one from the dealer forecourt!
The same applies for my 996, i bought the car after it had a major service and 2 x new tyres on it (£1500). I did really well price wise buying it well below market value as the previous owner had it on finance and never used it, he was tired of seeing the £400 a month go out for a car that sat doing nothing. Basically i cleared the finance for him and took the car and got a great deal. I do worry a little about the 996 engine woes and have spent about £1500 on it since purchase getting a new clutch, IMS Bearing, RMS seal, Hartech lower temp thermostat and a full engine coolant flush but i look at that money as an investment in the car, if i have to sell it on it looks good in the history and is preventative maintenance. I do however have a slush fund put aside should the worse happen with the engine etc. But i only use it in the summer doing a few thousand miles so hopefully i do not anticipate any major expenditure or a huge drop in depreciation.
If the e39 does break i can soon get another one cheap enough and recoup some of my money from the broken one in parts, but as i use it for business and look what it has invoiced for already i don't worry about it too much, it has already paid for itself in that respect. End of the day life is short and i love cars.
Edited by M3333 on Friday 30th November 17:51
Thanks for the response. Your logic is very similar to mine. I didnt expect to like the E39 but I have to say, I really like it. (And it's a filthy, white, manual 139k shed). Imagine what a nice 530i Auto Sport would do for me. I love the old school cool and the solid feel about it.
(and still leave funds for a 996 or Boxster S).
(and still leave funds for a 996 or Boxster S).
I bought my 93k miles E39 523i for £2000, primarily to tow a caravan at weekends, but now use it almost every day. Good handling, quick and comfortable and still has that "presence" on the road. Economy is loads better than my old Volvo 850 estate - I now average 30-32 over varied driving and I don't hang back. Towing a 16 foot caravan drops it to c. 22 mpg. The fuel consumption is always better with Shell VPower and I use this exclusively. My only problem in 9 months of ownership has been a couple of blown bulbs. Highly recommended!
I had my E39 530d for 8 years and 100k miles and it was a brilliant car in everyway, I sold the car last May for £1000 with 200k miles. In terms of costs over the 8 years I replaced suspension bushes on the front and rear, new front dampers, tyres every 15 to 20k miles, disks and pads a few times and oil every 8k miles. The only time it ever let me down was when a coolant pipe from the webasto heater split dumping the coolant on the road.
The replacement was an e60 523 msport and although it is a newer car with modern features, the E39 was the better car. There is an interesting thread on bmwland.co.uk "Things you didn't know about your E39" which is worth a read.
The replacement was an e60 523 msport and although it is a newer car with modern features, the E39 was the better car. There is an interesting thread on bmwland.co.uk "Things you didn't know about your E39" which is worth a read.
alfaspiderman2 said:
Thanks for all the replies. You're not doing anything to discourage me
For a bit of balance, mine had been lavished attention by the former keeper, I ended up spending £2K on it in 8 weeks with fault after fault and then the autobox broke and I scrapped it.Fill your boots
alfaspiderman2 said:
Thanks for the response. Your logic is very similar to mine. I didnt expect to like the E39 but I have to say, I really like it. (And it's a filthy, white, manual 139k shed). Imagine what a nice 530i Auto Sport would do for me. I love the old school cool and the solid feel about it.
(and still leave funds for a 996 or Boxster S).
http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/74245-bmw-530-sport-auto-topaz-black-leather-51-plate-2450/(and still leave funds for a 996 or Boxster S).
Had my 528 for 3 months and have to say that it is by some margin the best car I've ever owned. It does everything well and oozes quality all over. Not a drivers car particularly (though it does have a fair stab at it) but when you live in the real world and need to a car to just get you about the place, it is just brilliant, so smooth, quiet and relaxing.
Mine used to belong to my father, he gave it to me as he no longer lives in the UK and thought the head gasket had gone. It transpires that the HG was okay but the work needed to get the car going again did mean most of cooling system needed replacing, a common BMW thing, let alone the E39.
Mine is an auto, on motorways I see about 35 mpg typically. In heavy traffic, 15-20. My commute is typical rush hour stuff, 6 miles each way and it averages about 25 mpg on that sort of run. Incidentally, all of these figures are better than my E46 330, and that's a manual.
Mine used to belong to my father, he gave it to me as he no longer lives in the UK and thought the head gasket had gone. It transpires that the HG was okay but the work needed to get the car going again did mean most of cooling system needed replacing, a common BMW thing, let alone the E39.
Mine is an auto, on motorways I see about 35 mpg typically. In heavy traffic, 15-20. My commute is typical rush hour stuff, 6 miles each way and it averages about 25 mpg on that sort of run. Incidentally, all of these figures are better than my E46 330, and that's a manual.
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