RE: SOTW: BMW 528i (E39)

[Mustard]

derin100 said:

These are such good cars and now such incredible value!

I've had:

523i Saloon and a (mega-spec) 540i Touring both of which I sold to fellow PH'ers.

My wife has for the last 5 years driven her (big spec) 528i Touring.

My mother drives a 520i Touring which I bought for her...at her insistence. Probably best to avoid that engine as it seems to give very little...actually no fuel economy advantage for its very uninspiring performance.

We even have a 525i Touring at our house in France which we bought here took there and French registered.

In fact, I know in my heart of hearts that I should probably be driving one again myself as my daily car if I had any sense! And so, I almost never look at classified ads for these anymore because it would just reinforce my foolishness for not doing so!

Derin... I think I have found just the car for you..... http://www.oxinflames.co.uk/used_cars.html


..lovin the signal red W107!

Edited by Mustard on Saturday 7th April 10:52

[Blue Oval84]

My E39 was scabbing rust out all over the leading edge of the sills and also a patch of poor repair in the middle of one of them, so the sills at least aren't well protected.

All sorted now though and I don't expect it to come back for a while

[hygt2]

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

Yes - wouldn't want an auto as a daily driver. Perhaps you'll get a chance to see it at an ADUK event this year.

Somehow a consumption figure that starts with a 2 seems almost bearable, even if the rest of it is often 0.0.

Edited by S. Gonzales Esq. on Saturday 7th April 00:22

That's fantastic, will you be at the Oxford or Wales events this month?

I'm still cursing my new MPS6 as it only does 19 mpg on brisk country drive and 18 mpg in town, like my M5 but worse as it only has a 60 litre tank and need 99 RON.

[derin100]

Mustard said:

Derin... I think I have found just the car for you..... http://www.oxinflames.co.uk/used_cars.html


..lovin the signal red W107!

Edited by Mustard on Saturday 7th April 10:52

"Must not look...must not look....must not....Oh! Just a quick peek then...."

[hygt2]

TomM said:

Great car, but the E39 is not as bulletproof as many report.

I had a 1996 528i years ago and had a gearbox oil cooler failure and dash pod speedo failure in a year of ownership. I later had a 2001 facelift 530i sport in black, only to have the common traction / abs ecu fail and have to be replaced, then had the radio module thing die which meant no sound - both of these not cheap to fix, and pretty common. Also had to replace the rocker cover as this cracked. It alo had a strange wheel vibration that 3 trips to BMW never solved. Both cars were about 4 years old when I had them and had FBMWSH and under 60k miles.

However, even with the costs incurred I loved both cars (especially the 530) and would recommend them all day long.

Woud still be tempted by a facelift Velvet Blue 540i sport with 18" parallels and champagne leather........mmmmmm

It seems the consensus are E39 are mechanically robust but can suffer electrical problems with sensors, connectors and switches with old age so, with a Shed, go for poverty spec with as little electrics as possible?

I wish these would be like Japanese built Toyota in 90s where they were over-spec the electrics and gold-plated the connectors so electrics don't suffer with age ...

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

Nigel Worc's said:

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

Yes - wouldn't want an auto as a daily driver.

Really ?, I realise different people like different things, but I've become very much an auto fan because of the driving experience of the ZF auto in my 528i

Part of the driving experience is controlling a mechanical device, and I'm not keen on things that reduce or remove that control - even automatic wipers wind me up. As you say, different people like different things.

hygt2 said:

...will you be at the Oxford or Wales events this month?

I'm going to be at the Wales driving day - when I've seen the routes I'll decide whether to bring the 540 or Peugeot 306. One for A-roads, the other for B-roads.

[derin100]

derin100 said:

Mustard said:

Derin... I think I have found just the car for you..... http://www.oxinflames.co.uk/used_cars.html


..lovin the signal red W107!

Edited by Mustard on Saturday 7th April 10:52

"Must not look...must not look....must not....Oh! Just a quick peek then...."

I contacted the dealer. Thankfully, it's sold!

Edited by derin100 on Saturday 7th April 12:21

[Sump]

once said:

That sounds like a candidate for the thread on "things that people say when they really mean something else."

It's a bit like saying that it's okay to have a small penis because it's designed to fit your trousers better.

Go sit in a few moar cars! kthxbai

[RWD cossie wil]

I have owned my E39 530d Msport Auto for just over a year now. I have done just over 22k in that time, and I have to say I am a convert.

I actually bought it after hating it on the test drive, it felt so big & heavy, but I decided to be sensible & actually buy a car to do the job it was intended for.

It is only after a few months of ownership you appreciate what a complete car the E39 is, whilst it will never be a Lotus Elise etc, for a big, heavy car it really does love being hustled down the lanes, yet it will sit at 100+mph on cruise control in near silence, returning 40+mpg.

I'm sad to say I love the diesel power plant as well, 200ish BHP & endless torque coupled with a gruff sounding straight 6 soundtrack, it is the perfect all rounder, and actually makes the auto box the perfect option.

As a daily do everything car, I really struggle to think what I could buy instead that would do the job better, or be worth the £££ to "upgrade"?

E39= BMWs finest hour. Must resist M5!!

[tomoleeds]

you would not a buy a £1,000 bmw without leather. as the great used car trader (me) always says, "when buying a used car go for the best spec model". the higher the spec the easier to sell

[Patrick Bateman]

It's a £1000 shed, someone will always buy it.

[kingmoosa]

Bacon Is Proof said:

my93wrx said:

RandomTask said:

If Quentin Wilson was to look at this he'd say 'Stick a private plate on it, and people will think you paid 4 times as much for it'

Nice shed.

No such thing as a provate plate as the DVLA own the number you just own the right to use it, hence why its called a personal plate!

I'm having a party. You're not invited.

[Mustard]

derin100 said:

Mustard said:

Derin... I think I have found just the car for you..... http://www.oxinflames.co.uk/used_cars.html


..lovin the signal red W107!

Edited by Mustard on Saturday 7th April 10:52

"Must not look...must not look....must not....Oh! Just a quick peek then...."

Can't help yourself can you? Lol

Thought it was right up your street

[Zwolf]

tomoleeds said:

you would not a buy a £1,000 bmw without leather. as the great used car trader (me) always says, "when buying a used car go for the best spec model". the higher the spec the easier to sell

Except the leather is often horribly worn at that point, whereas the textile interiors seem to endure the passage of time very well - mainly because nobody cares for leather as it's meant to be cared for, so 10-15 years of neglect and it often just looks very sorry for itself. Such leather would cost a lot to restore to original finish, textile usually manages to look new with little more than a wet vac.

At this price-point, it doesn't really matter. A comms pack equipped 540i auto is categorically not an easier sell than a 523/528i manual with cloth at this price range. As has been said above, the more kit, the more there is that usually gives problems/doesn't work and costs economically insensible amounts to repair.

For fuss-free smoker barging - I'd rather drive a more basic car where everything works than a Xmas tree of a thing where half of the toys are broken. Standard SE spec on them is quite sufficient for me though, it has cruise control & dual climate control and if that works as it should, I'm happy. A sunroof makes it perfect. Leccy seats, navigation and upgraded stereos are a waste on me. However I do have a penchant for heated seats, but one can't be that picky on a very small budget.

Two customers offer you a 528i auto each. One has clean cloth and no frills, the other has faded and worn/discoloured leather and all bells and whistles. Both have 130k miles and comparable histories. How different are your subsequent PX offer and asking prices? Or would that depend more upon mechanical and bodywork condition than the niceties of baubles?

It's rare indeed that I've come across a sub £2k BMW of this era (E36/E38/E39/E46/E53) WITH leather that I wanted to buy, whereas I've bought - and sold, profitably - more than a few Billy-basic ones that were in good cosmetic and mechanical condition. E30/32/34 leather interiors seem to be of distinctly better quality and are more durable over time to boot.

The decline continued into early E60/E65/E87/E90/E70), apparently these all improved at their various facelift stages. I've been in each of the F models now and in fairness, interiors seem at least to be back up to parity with E39 et al. so I look forward to F01s and F10s dropping down the depreciation curve.

There are leather interiors, and there are leather interiors...

[tomoleeds]

i have just looked on ebay the first 2 cars (528) i looked at year 1999-2000 both have unmarked leather,years mot,one of them 2 owners full history,its £900,the other is at £500 on auction 2 days left,did not bother looking at the rest there are another 20 cars under a grand,like i say look at the high spec cars first and work down, Why have a base model,there is no difference in price when cars get so old.

[Zwolf]

tomoleeds said:

Why have a base model,there is no difference in price when cars get so old.

For the reasons given above.

They will not be "unmarked" at all in reality, rather than advert pics. Tatty leather is just rank and I've seen far fewer cars with tatty cloth interiors. Leather seats are only really appealing if they're heated too, and most often they aren't in BMWs. I've also tended to find that more basic six cylinder SEs tend to have fewer owners and better histories/condition on average than the usual twelfth-hand E39 Sport or 540is out there because they go overlooked by the magpies.

That's the point with E39s, you don't need the flagship models to experience what they do best, in fact it's better illustrated by the middest of the mid-range model. Heck a 523i manual on 15s is all you really need to *get* it - just as an E34 525i 24v SE manual also "did it all".

That said, I'm more inclined to Sevens which don't come with anything else from E38 onwards, as well as the majority of E32s and all of the ones with an engine that I'd want. I'm the rare sort that prefers the standard E39 Sport cloth & alcantara interior to the same cars with full leather though...

[vsonix]

GreatCornholio said:

What sort of mpg can you expect from one of these?

I have a 328i E36 which is the same engine, albeit in a car that's about 100kg lighter, so maybe knock off and MPG or two to compensate. The MPG is OK-ish. Not too bad at all round town if you're light on the gas and use 4th/5th as much as possible once under way, 37mpg-ish if you stick to the speed limit (or about 130kph) on the M-way, but heavy right foot or slow-ish driving with the throttle half-open all the time and you can basically use it up as quickly as you want. Being stuck at 40mph going uphill on a busy A-road with no clear space to pass can be murder on the MPG. That said, I find that with about a 33/33/33 blend of M-way, town and A/B road driving I average about 28mpg. The previous owner must have had a much heavier right foot (not that mine's particularly light but I like to hypermile to 'earn' myself some dramatic roundabout exits) cos the OBC was reading 23 MPG when I got it. Then again I use full-fat petrol all the time, the previous owner used 95 AFAIK.

[Ozzie Osmond]

tomoleeds said:

you would not a buy a £1,000 bmw without leather.

Why do people keep trotting out this stuff?

[Ozzie Osmond]

Zwolf said:

That's the point with E39s, you don't need the flagship models to experience what they do best, in fact it's better illustrated by the middest of the mid-range model. Heck a 523i manual on 15s is all you really need to *get* it - just as an E34 525i 24v SE manual also "did it all". I'm the rare sort that prefers the standard E39 Sport cloth & alcantara interior to the same cars with full leather though...

That's more like it!

[Kawasicki]

The Crack Fox said:

I once bought an almost identical 528se, 1997 car, manual box. It had 140k on the clock with FSH. Everything worked. I added another 30k without spending a penny on it other than replacing a broken coilspring (bloody speedbumps/potholes). I don't think I even washed it. It was fast, comfy, frugal and well equipped. But, it was boring, utterly boring. Looking back, I wish I'd had an XJ6 instead, or another E34, and swapped some reliability for character.

We had a new 528i at work back in the late 90's, we used it for visitor hot laps, sideways 'tastic, massive fun.