RE: Shed Of The Week: BMW 528i SE
Discussion
I had a colleage who had a Touring 1999 528i who lived in the US.
A rusty money pit is how he described it! Having owned it since new, after eight years the rot had set in and it was rusty in many places. Plus, lots of niggly faults, or which as a passenger I remember the displays had all pixelated.
Not overly comfortable as a passenger either.
As a comparison he had a Toyota Avalon of the same age. Nothing had ever, ever gone wrong on that. Eventually, he replaced the 528 wth a Lexus GS.
A rusty money pit is how he described it! Having owned it since new, after eight years the rot had set in and it was rusty in many places. Plus, lots of niggly faults, or which as a passenger I remember the displays had all pixelated.
Not overly comfortable as a passenger either.
As a comparison he had a Toyota Avalon of the same age. Nothing had ever, ever gone wrong on that. Eventually, he replaced the 528 wth a Lexus GS.
E39 is probably the best made, all-round BMW.
I've had several in most engine interations (except the M5).
My Dad had one back in 2006 - '97 528i SE Auto in Aspen Silver with grey leather. Lovely motorway car. Smooth, refined and comfortable. Quick enough with adequate power. Gearbox failed after 2 years (if you drive them hard, the gearboxes are a known weak point on these).
The M54 3 litre which replaced it was definitely a better engine though. Has more poke and sounds better, although these 2.8's have something silky smooth about them.
Good SOTW. Nothing to set the world on fire, but is a decent and accomplished motor and a great family car (if you look around though, you can pick up facelift models in 525i or 530i guise for this sort of money!).
I've had several in most engine interations (except the M5).
My Dad had one back in 2006 - '97 528i SE Auto in Aspen Silver with grey leather. Lovely motorway car. Smooth, refined and comfortable. Quick enough with adequate power. Gearbox failed after 2 years (if you drive them hard, the gearboxes are a known weak point on these).
The M54 3 litre which replaced it was definitely a better engine though. Has more poke and sounds better, although these 2.8's have something silky smooth about them.
Good SOTW. Nothing to set the world on fire, but is a decent and accomplished motor and a great family car (if you look around though, you can pick up facelift models in 525i or 530i guise for this sort of money!).
For about the same money, or certainly not a lot more, you could have one with half the miles which at least stands a chance of driving vaguely like the manufacturer intended.
Unless this one has had some sort of major suspension overhaul and drives very well, I can't see the point of choosing a 200k+ mile example.
Unless this one has had some sort of major suspension overhaul and drives very well, I can't see the point of choosing a 200k+ mile example.
My Dad has a 528i sat on about 55k miles. It really is a lovely car and in my eyes has lasted the test of time well. Still looks fairly modern and is a joy to drive. His is an Auto but you can still hustle the old girl down a B road and have some fun in it. It's certainly better at handling than my E34 540i but that's probably down to rack and pinion steering more than anything.
A quick summary of the comments so far reveal this model is beset with rust, suspension faults, weak gearboxes, poor engine electrics and iffy interior electronics, all wrapped up in a somewhat dull package. Yet this is often lauded as the best BMW of recent times.
The others must have been awful.
The others must have been awful.
Not a fan of BMWs in any way but that is a lovely specimen and white is most definitely THE colour to have at the moment.
An 8 from me because it looks such an honest old lump and for shed money I expect there would be some residual money in it even if you decided to bin it should any of the dire faults listed above befall it.
An 8 from me because it looks such an honest old lump and for shed money I expect there would be some residual money in it even if you decided to bin it should any of the dire faults listed above befall it.
Shame it's an auto though I guess a manual option would be a few more quid and slightly against the barge ethos of waft-ability.
Nearest thing I've driven to this is an e46 330ci and it confirmed my suspicions of how smooth these BM straight-sixes can be. Had an effortless nature to it and great sound though I feel if I were going into 5-series territory, I'd fancy the V8 option all too much despite the lower MPG, etc
Nearest thing I've driven to this is an e46 330ci and it confirmed my suspicions of how smooth these BM straight-sixes can be. Had an effortless nature to it and great sound though I feel if I were going into 5-series territory, I'd fancy the V8 option all too much despite the lower MPG, etc
I'm going to say nope.
My dad had a couple of shed versions of these recently. Nice cars on the surface, but at that mileage, you'd better hope everything has been replaced recently:
Suspension (springs, dampers, bushes)
Large chunks of the electronics, which tend to be VERY iffy at that age
As Shed says, repeated and recent gearbox fluid changes, despite BMW's protestations
Seats (sunken and shapeless)
All the little hidden bits of engine that can go wrong nastily, like water pumps, tensioners, etc...
If all that hasn't been done within the last 50k miles then walk away quickly.
My dad had a couple of shed versions of these recently. Nice cars on the surface, but at that mileage, you'd better hope everything has been replaced recently:
Suspension (springs, dampers, bushes)
Large chunks of the electronics, which tend to be VERY iffy at that age
As Shed says, repeated and recent gearbox fluid changes, despite BMW's protestations
Seats (sunken and shapeless)
All the little hidden bits of engine that can go wrong nastily, like water pumps, tensioners, etc...
If all that hasn't been done within the last 50k miles then walk away quickly.
MoT due on the 4th of July? Expect fireworks!
(Sorry)
I found myself wanting this, but then remembered the 96 328i auto I had years ago. That was faintly disastrous (some of it down to poor purchasing - my fault) and I've never gone back, despite being tempted on occasion (would like a nice 325i/330i touring, mmm).
Nice find though shed.
(Sorry)
I found myself wanting this, but then remembered the 96 328i auto I had years ago. That was faintly disastrous (some of it down to poor purchasing - my fault) and I've never gone back, despite being tempted on occasion (would like a nice 325i/330i touring, mmm).
Nice find though shed.
I suspect there are plenty of M52s still running around with Nikasil liners in them as the damage to said liners depended on the sulphur content of the petrol on which they were run (I believe the NW was particularly bad for high sulphur fuel).
I ran an M52-engined 1996 328i from 2011 to 2012 and despite the car having spent ~2 years around Liverpool in 1999/2000, the car was on its original block and liners, ran smoothly and had great compression / leakdown (yes, I was worried about Nikasil, even on a 1 owner, 42,000 mile car so I checked).
Pedantry aside, good call for shed this week as E39s are lovely cars. The other contender when I bought the 328 was a 540i which I would have bought were it not for the truly hateful manual that they fitted to the V8s. Shame really as the car was an absolute sleeper (debadged 16” turbines, etc)
I ran an M52-engined 1996 328i from 2011 to 2012 and despite the car having spent ~2 years around Liverpool in 1999/2000, the car was on its original block and liners, ran smoothly and had great compression / leakdown (yes, I was worried about Nikasil, even on a 1 owner, 42,000 mile car so I checked).
Pedantry aside, good call for shed this week as E39s are lovely cars. The other contender when I bought the 328 was a 540i which I would have bought were it not for the truly hateful manual that they fitted to the V8s. Shame really as the car was an absolute sleeper (debadged 16” turbines, etc)
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