2002 E39 530i Sport
Discussion
Well I'm somewhat chuffed.
My indie specialist looked over the car today and he said he was almost speechless at just how mint it is, and he was a little jealous of me! He really couldn't fault anything... even the cooling system looked great he said, but I still think I'll get it refreshed. So... looks like I've done well
My indie specialist looked over the car today and he said he was almost speechless at just how mint it is, and he was a little jealous of me! He really couldn't fault anything... even the cooling system looked great he said, but I still think I'll get it refreshed. So... looks like I've done well
sparks_E39 said:
Well I'm somewhat chuffed.
My indie specialist looked over the car today and he said he was almost speechless at just how mint it is, and he was a little jealous of me! He really couldn't fault anything... even the cooling system looked great he said, but I still think I'll get it refreshed. So... looks like I've done well
My indie specialist looked over the car today and he said he was almost speechless at just how mint it is, and he was a little jealous of me! He really couldn't fault anything... even the cooling system looked great he said, but I still think I'll get it refreshed. So... looks like I've done well
Always nice to hear that. When I said I'd like to replace mine with an E60 M5, the Indy said he'd rather have mine. Ha!
dave87 said:
Nice - how did you find the difference between the 528 and the 530?
I must admit, whilst not the speediest thing on earth, I never found my 530i Sport particularly lacking...
Thanks. I must admit, whilst not the speediest thing on earth, I never found my 530i Sport particularly lacking...
The difference is mainly in the handling. It's so much more planted and confident on the Dorset country roads I frequent. I have Sport Suspension 2 apparently. It's faster than the 528, but not by a whole lot. I think the 0-60 is around 7.5 seconds, the 528 was about 8.5, not that it's applicable to every day driving. I would say the 528i is more of a comfortable ride, but it "wallowed" around a lot more (suspension was refreshed in my ownership too) With the stiffer suspension and big alloys I do feel the bumps a bit more, but it's hardly uncomfortable. The sports seats are lovely and the spec is much better. It's definitely more economical, I can tell you that. It also looks tons nicer. All the subtle differences really make a big difference. That doesn't stop my mates etc ribbing me saying I've bought "the same car again"
Personally I'm pretty chuffed to be in an E39 still.. they're hardly perfect but not much compares for the money. S3_Graham said:
Let me know how you get on, look rather good!
Might have used £40 of fuel instead! I'm at Goodwood Festival Of Speed Thursday and Sunday, and off the days in between. Plans:Fit new (genuine) bonnet badge as current one is tired. Already have this.
Order and fit ///M door strips.
Spend most of Saturday cleaning it so it looks nice and shiny parked at Goodwood
E38Ross said:
except with the E60. And the F10. More so the F10, bit more "return to old but better" than a bit different with the E60.
The F10 is a gorgeous car... however I'm not much of a fan of the E60 shape to be honest. The M Sport is okay. The E60 needs massive wheels and the Sport bits to look the part, every other 5 from the E34 onwards looks good however they come. IMO the E39 was the peak of the 5 Series design wise.Great cars. I had a Silver 530i Sport in 2007/2008, but it was the rare manual and pretty much optionless. Not that is really matters as the Sport is pretty well optioned. I sold it to a forum member.
I really liked it. Now my bro has a silver 530i Sport Auto he is selling with almost every option on it.
Personally I'd still have a plain-Jane manual Sport than a fully optioned up Auto, even if the Spanish box isn't the greatest, but that's just me. Oh and the economy in the manual was much better than the Auto.
I really liked it. Now my bro has a silver 530i Sport Auto he is selling with almost every option on it.
Personally I'd still have a plain-Jane manual Sport than a fully optioned up Auto, even if the Spanish box isn't the greatest, but that's just me. Oh and the economy in the manual was much better than the Auto.
sparks_E39 said:
E38Ross said:
except with the E60. And the F10. More so the F10, bit more "return to old but better" than a bit different with the E60.
The F10 is a gorgeous car... however I'm not much of a fan of the E60 shape to be honest. The M Sport is okay. The E60 needs massive wheels and the Sport bits to look the part, every other 5 from the E34 onwards looks good however they come. IMO the E39 was the peak of the 5 Series design wise.This is making me want another one. The sport package makes a huge difference to the car, the sport 528 or 530 manuals are really the best of the bunch, the steering in the V8s is not as good, the diesels are great but require more work as there is more to go wrong. And the M5s running costs make it a wee bit impractical!
Ive had two E39 petrols sixes and loved them but the auto 528i was far too thirsty compared to the manual 523i for similar performance. The SE suspension is too soft and it ended up getting me in some bother...(note the two doors, sills and front wing had been repainted a week earlier)
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/ZRZF4qwC.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/XOSkTUFD" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/XOSkTUFD.jpg)
They are built like Panzers though! Hold up really well in a crash.
Ive had two E39 petrols sixes and loved them but the auto 528i was far too thirsty compared to the manual 523i for similar performance. The SE suspension is too soft and it ended up getting me in some bother...(note the two doors, sills and front wing had been repainted a week earlier)
They are built like Panzers though! Hold up really well in a crash.
E38Ross said:
except with the E60.
You are joking right? Pretty much all it did better was 'feel newer', they cut the quality, they cut standard kit levels, the styling was just plain bizarre and it didn't just didn't have 'that' 5 Series feel. E38Ross said:
And the F10.
Thats better. The E60 was a blip in the otherwise flawless 5 Series history 
Fox- said:
E38Ross said:
except with the E60.
You are joking right? Pretty much all it did better was 'feel newer', they cut the quality, they cut standard kit levels, the styling was just plain bizarre and it didn't just didn't have 'that' 5 Series feel. E38Ross said:
And the F10.
Thats better. The E60 was a blip in the otherwise flawless 5 Series history Seems the gap in quality between early boggo and late fully spec is MUCH bigger than it was in the E39 era which may account for your thoughts?
E38Ross said:
have you been in a fully kitted out E60?
Yes. We also had an E60 in the family for several years until it was replaced by an E39 again (It was never the same as the E39 it replaced originally) 
In some respects it was clearly a nicer car - but then all these respects were the sort of thing you'd expect. A more modern electronic system. A feeling of being 'newer', etc. The sort of thing that you get any with any new version of something.
E38Ross said:
Seems the gap in quality between early boggo and late fully spec is MUCH bigger than it was in the E39 era which may account for your thoughts?
It doesn't matter whether the has zero spec or every option ever, the plastics etc are the same throughout unless it has the extra leather on the dash which almost nothing this side of an M5 does anyway.I used to think I was just being nostalgic about E39's and was in denial about its replacement. Then the F10 came out, I drove that, and it was fantastic. So it's clearly not that. The F10 feels everything like you'd expect of a successor to the E39. The E60 felt like 'some executive saloon'. So convinced was I that the E60 simply wasn't the car the E39 was or the F10 now is that I even tried something 'different' as a way to escape the logical upgrade path from E39 to E60 LCI. Disaster that as well as well
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