RE: Shed Of The Week: BMW 535i
Discussion
Always fancied E39 BMWs although I never owned one. At the shed level I think we need to set aside a significant budget for possible gremlins, but I still like it a lot. Much better looking (to my eyes) than the blob that replaced it, and without that iDrive rubbish. More good work Mr Shed, keep it up.
iloveboost said:
I'd rather have a facelifted 530i or 540i than a 535i. It's got similar weight and fuel economy to the 540i, with similar power and torque to the 530i. At this end of the market I don't think the small cost saving over a facelifted E39 is worth it.
The only real advantage, is that I think there are far more 535i manual cars than 540i manual cars.
I'm sure it's a nice car for £995 though, and that's the point of SOTW.
I agree, i'd rather have a 530i or 540i but decent cared for cars are hard to come buy in my experience. I'd not get too hung up on 530i/535i/540i and focus more on buying the best car you can find. After all a neglected E39 is going to cost a few £ to get right.The only real advantage, is that I think there are far more 535i manual cars than 540i manual cars.
I'm sure it's a nice car for £995 though, and that's the point of SOTW.
Old BMWs are IMHO something of a lottery...I've had two E39 M5s and a 530i and it was the 530 that cost the most to run, with a seemingly never ending series of repairs and niggles. There's nothing more frustrating than knowing there's potentially a very good car underneath, but never quite managing (or being able to justify) the constant upkeep.
For a grand I suppose you can't go too wrong, but it depends how much time and money you want to invest in getting it to drive properly. It's an interesting SOTW but I'd be inclined to spend two or three times that and get an enthusiast owned car with a good history.
For a grand I suppose you can't go too wrong, but it depends how much time and money you want to invest in getting it to drive properly. It's an interesting SOTW but I'd be inclined to spend two or three times that and get an enthusiast owned car with a good history.
djdestiny said:
Second pic has another SVX in the background.JD2329 said:
Old BMWs are IMHO something of a lottery...I've had two E39 M5s and a 530i and it was the 530 that cost the most to run, with a seemingly never ending series of repairs and niggles. There's nothing more frustrating than knowing there's potentially a very good car underneath, but never quite managing (or being able to justify) the constant upkeep.
For a grand I suppose you can't go too wrong, but it depends how much time and money you want to invest in getting it to drive properly. It's an interesting SOTW but I'd be inclined to spend two or three times that and get an enthusiast owned car with a good history.
My brother owned what seemed like a nice 100,000 miler 2001 520i (facelift 2.2) for around 6 months in 2009.For a grand I suppose you can't go too wrong, but it depends how much time and money you want to invest in getting it to drive properly. It's an interesting SOTW but I'd be inclined to spend two or three times that and get an enthusiast owned car with a good history.
Needed new radiator and water pump,
Window regulator.
ESP/traction control used to flicker on an off
Think there could have being one or 2 other bits too...
Btw I think the radiator and water pump were two separate issues rather then simply doing both at the same time
I do wonder if there was a nice solid car behind it all had he stuck with it.
He however was used to an LS 400 which didn't do "going wrong" at all.
Still man maths meant he upgraded to an LS 430
The BMW was actually a very nice car overall - faults aside - and I still wonder how the next owner got along with it.
Probably quite well....
Wilseus said:
A nice E39 to go for, if you can live without the V8, is the Alpina B10 3.3:
280 bhp straight 6, rack and pinion steering.
I doubt you'd find one for £1K though.
Yes totally agree. The B10 3.3 is not that expensive to buy now considering what it is really. They occasionally appear for less than 5k.280 bhp straight 6, rack and pinion steering.
I doubt you'd find one for £1K though.
Just to chime in on the Nikasil issue. I covered 35'000 miles in 2 years in a '98 Jaguar XJ8 (X308)that I used to own. I bought the car with 115'000 miles on the clock and it still had it's original Nikasil engine under the bonnet. High Sulphur fuel was phased out 15 years ago so any scare mongers out there are talking out of their harris. As soon as some people hear the 'N' word :-) they instantly feel doom and gloom is not far away Lol
Edited by V8 TEJ on Friday 16th January 16:30
V8 TEJ said:
Just to chime in on the Nikasil issue. I covered 35'000 miles in 2 years in a '98 Jaguar XJ8 (X308)that I used to own. I bought the car with 115'000 miles on the clock and it still had it's original Nikasil engine under the bonnet. High Sulphur fuel was phased out 15 years ago so any scare mongers out there are talking out of their harris. As soon as some people hear the 'N' word :-) they instantly feel doom and gloom is not far away Lol
Tell me about it.When I bought my 10 year old 328i (7 years ago now) I was worried about the Nikasil issue. My indie assured me then that it was several years since he'd last seen a case of it.
To this day I have no idea whether it has a Nikasil engine or not, and I don't much care!
For those saying go for the 540i they were not common in the beginning so now its a case of what's available when your looking.
In also surprised at the lee rev limit 5,800 red line mentioned on page 1 -- that's near on (top end) diesels red lines these days. How performance has moved on.
Also 230bhp from a 3.5v8 1.6ltr petrol turbos get this in cars these days progress is amazing but all that said the E39 saloon in sport guise looks very good even today not out of place.
Top shedding.
In also surprised at the lee rev limit 5,800 red line mentioned on page 1 -- that's near on (top end) diesels red lines these days. How performance has moved on.
Also 230bhp from a 3.5v8 1.6ltr petrol turbos get this in cars these days progress is amazing but all that said the E39 saloon in sport guise looks very good even today not out of place.
Top shedding.
X5TUU said:
Had my champagne silver coloured E39 51plate 530iSE all of 12 weeks, got it for a steal from a Citroen dealer that took it as a partex and totally hated it, I've never got the love for these at all
I had the opposite experience with a mint 535 I bought. Silver with grey heated leather, we ran "Gunther" to 275,000 miles both as a daily driver and European driving holiday car. Delightfully quick in kick down, super secure handling on Continentals, I never had a heart stopping moment in years of spirited driving. Only issues were a water pump and the gearbox dropping into limp home mode a few times laterly. So impressed with the E39, I bought a low miles M5 which I still have. Absolutely great car!Pickled said:
Your correct on the early E38s having 4.0 & 3.0 V8 (M60 along with early 840) but I'm 100% certain the E39 only came with the 4.4 (M62B44 and later M62TUB44) and of course the 3.5 version (M62B35)
RE:Fuel around town the difference is negligible, but on a run theres around 5-8mpg difference, the most disappointing thing is probably the noise, or rather lack of noise. I actually thought my 535 was a better motorway cruiser due to the higher gearing it was more relaxed at higher speeds than the 540.
I'm surprised it had higher gearing, my last 540 only revved at 1900rpm at 70 mph.RE:Fuel around town the difference is negligible, but on a run theres around 5-8mpg difference, the most disappointing thing is probably the noise, or rather lack of noise. I actually thought my 535 was a better motorway cruiser due to the higher gearing it was more relaxed at higher speeds than the 540.
Edited by Pickled on Friday 16th January 12:37
I've been in a few now and owned 540 for a while (now looking for another one). The sensible hat says the 530 is almost as quick, but better on fuel than the 535. But i'm not bothered about fuel so i'd prefer the V8........
Devil2575 said:
Lowtimer said:
jl34 said:
The author has kindly forgotten that the cylinder liners of these late 90's v8's are made of cheese.
Some of them were cheese - in fact very similar cheese to the Jag V8 cheese of the same era. By definition, the cheese ones all died years ago.Liamt4 said:
I'm surprised it had higher gearing, my last 540 only revved at 1900rpm at 70 mph.
I've been in a few now and owned 540 for a while (now looking for another one). The sensible hat says the 530 is almost as quick, but better on fuel than the 535. But i'm not bothered about fuel so i'd prefer the V8........
IRC 535 had 2.93 diff and 540 had 3.15I've been in a few now and owned 540 for a while (now looking for another one). The sensible hat says the 530 is almost as quick, but better on fuel than the 535. But i'm not bothered about fuel so i'd prefer the V8........
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