e39 530i Sport - buyers guide type stuff

[dr matt uk]

Always fancied one of these beasties! So I feel it may be goodbye 4-pot dervs - hello 231bhp straight 6 petrol!

I'm looking at going for an older but better car. And the e39 530i just seems perfect. Also I now need an auto.

I've spied a 51 plate 530 Sport Auto in silver with black leather and a few other nice extras. And its only got 50k on the clock. Full dealer service history and last one at an Indy. It's up for just under 8 grand - seems pricey to me in this day of £5 a gallon - what do you think I should be paying?

I already know they look and sound fantastic. Not the most frugal car on the planet, but certainly not the worst - the performance I'm sure is worth the extra investment.

What else should I be looking out for at this price / age / miles to avoid buying a lemon?

Also worth mentioning - I'll be putting up tp 18k miles a year on it. Will a 7 year old car soak this up, or complain and rapidly turning into a money pit?

Any replies, much appreciated.

Cheers,
Matt

Edited by dr matt uk on Friday 30th May 21:56

[[TW]Fox]

They are very mileage sensitive cars in terms fo price, £8k sounds very good for a 50k miler. I paid just under that nearly 2 years ago for my late 51 plate - altho it had 140k on it but was otherwise immaculate.

Fundamentally very reliable but watch for cooling systems around this age - the radiators split at the end tanks and cause a bit of a mess.

[dr matt uk]

[TW]Fox said:

They are very mileage sensitive cars in terms fo price, £8k sounds very good for a 50k miler. I paid just under that nearly 2 years ago for my late 51 plate - altho it had 140k on it but was otherwise immaculate.

Fundamentally very reliable but watch for cooling systems around this age - the radiators split at the end tanks and cause a bit of a mess.

Michael, thanks for the reply - I'll check this out.
They seem to have earned a reputation for being pretty bomb-proof. I still think the e39 is such a great shape and as aged quite well - a well kept example still makes me look twice. And the 3ltr straight six is a lovely engine.
Looking forward to landing the right car!

[[TW]Fox]

dr matt uk said:

[TW]Fox said:

They are very mileage sensitive cars in terms fo price, £8k sounds very good for a 50k miler. I paid just under that nearly 2 years ago for my late 51 plate - altho it had 140k on it but was otherwise immaculate.

Fundamentally very reliable but watch for cooling systems around this age - the radiators split at the end tanks and cause a bit of a mess.

Michael, thanks for the reply - I'll check this out.
They seem to have earned a reputation for being pretty bomb-proof. I still think the e39 is such a great shape and as aged quite well - a well kept example still makes me look twice. And the 3ltr straight six is a lovely engine.
Looking forward to landing the right car!

Look for a 1 or perhaps 2 at the most owner car over 'low mileage'. Lots of clocked ones around becuase they hide the mileage so well.

[dr matt uk]

So, nothing else to look out for other than the cooling system?

When should cambelts bedone? Anything else?

[[TW]Fox]

dr matt uk said:

So, nothing else to look out for other than the cooling system?

When should cambelts bedone? Anything else?

It doesn't have a cambelt, it's a proper engine so it has a chain. Suspension bushes on the control arms can and do go, watch for a shimmy felt through the car at speed. Beware of cheap examples home serviced by idiots - now these cars are getting less expensive there is a temptation amongst those who cannot afford to run them to buy one - and you dont want a car owned by one of these.

[dr matt uk]

[TW]Fox said:

dr matt uk said:

So, nothing else to look out for other than the cooling system?

When should cambelts bedone? Anything else?

It doesn't have a cambelt, it's a proper engine so it has a chain. Suspension bushes on the control arms can and do go, watch for a shimmy felt through the car at speed. Beware of cheap examples home serviced by idiots - now these cars are getting less expensive there is a temptation amongst those who cannot afford to run them to buy one - and you dont want a car owned by one of these.

Top man - thanks for the advise! Just need to get my sold and hope that the silver with black one I have my eye on doesn't get snapped up before I get the funds together!

Cheers,
Matt

[[TW]Fox]

Silver is a nice colour but black leather with silver interior trim is the most boring interior ever put into an E39, ever.

Sods law obviously says that the first mint example I came across was.... well, the pictures of mine speak for themselves:

[wakehurst2]

Bought a 530i Sport Touring (03 plate March, 61,000, one owner) in Februay this year...having traded an E430 E-Class (worst car I have ever owned. And I have owned some truly rubbish cars). Changed the oil straight away, had a check over and the first thing we found was the previous owner had re-set the service indicator. The only problem: When it rains water comes in under the rear doors into rear footwells. By the look of things this has been happening for a while (found some rust around lights on bottom of doors). Even with this problem I absolutely love this car. Love it.

[[TW]Fox]

This is a simple fix - it's the membrane between the rear door and the door card. Remove the door card and you should be able to identify the problem

[bazking69]

I think I may be tempted by a 530i Sport soon. They are coming up for bargain money these days, have proved themselves as generally rock solid cars, and I think they look fantastic. Awful lot of car for the money.
If it doesn't come with the sublime M parallels, you always have the option of a set of M5 wheels and 4 pot backbox conversion a la M5.

[wakehurst2]

@[TW]Fox - hey thanks. Booked in this week to garage, this will be their second attempt. Will report back. Appreciate the note.

[Neil.D]

[TW]Fox said:

Silver is a nice colour but black leather with silver interior trim is the most boring interior ever put into an E39, ever.

Thats a damn fine looking car - but then it does look like mine!

NB - I love the black/silver.
As Mercedes would say, 'If you have to shout about it then you probably havent got it...'
Something said at the launch of the SL65 I think. LOL.

[[TW]Fox]

Neil.D said:

[TW]Fox said:

Silver is a nice colour but black leather with silver interior trim is the most boring interior ever put into an E39, ever.

Thats a damn fine looking car - but then it does look like mine!

Would you like to swap!

[wakehurst2]

[TW]Fox said:

This is a simple fix - it's the membrane between the rear door and the door card. Remove the door card and you should be able to identify the problem

Bang on. Wasn't sad enough to print out your message but sent it to myself on text. Showed the garage, their reaction was: 'Oh, ok... ummm... we'll check'. Two hours later they called me and admitted my 'source' was right...having first cut a small section of the rubber seal off the very bottom of the door then tested. So thank you. £19 for each part, one hour labour (they didn't charge for the first hour which I was impressed with). So £120 all in inc VAT, for both doors (London prices). Have no idea if this is good or not but feels ok? Also had a service and found a few other problems (one tyre perished? Replaced that. Replaced brake fluid. Tyre pressure sensor needs 'attention'...) but happy I'm dry! And they cleaned it - happy now!