BMW E39 or E60

[edition]

Hi,

I've been looking at E39 touring a in petrol versions and it seems there are many rough ones about with patchy history's. Also rust and gearbox issues on many.

E60's are coming down nicely in price and in wondering if these have any well known issues?

Basically I'm after people's thoughts on why they would pick either.


Thanks in advance!

[AudiSport]

May get a better response in the BMW section - I too would be keen the hear people's thoughts. Maybe a mod will move it for you...

[hornetrider]

I've had both. E39 530i Sport, E61 550i Sport. You will get died in the wool BMW fans posting about how the E39 is the best car ever made and the E60 is cheap tat.

From my point of view the E60 knocks the E39 into the middle of next week, the E39 is getting very long in the tooth now. Looks, equipment and drive all far superior on the newer car.

If you sign up to forum bmw 5 they have buying guides on there which are far more comprehensive than I can type.

[Motorrad]

For me the choice is either the best E39 you can find or an E60lci dependent on specification.

[billywhizzzzzz]

Go for the E60. I bought an E39 last summer as a barge to run around in and for long journeys when I don't want to use the Defender - got the best possible M Sport touring I could find from an enthusiast who'd really looked after it, and so far, the gearbox has gone (£2500) and the air suspension (1K). Keep thinking I'll cut my losses but then something else goes wrong and I think (foolishly) I'll keep it and get another 6 months out of it... Should have gone for an E60! Rust, too is likely to become an issue. E60 every time...

Edited by billywhizzzzzz on Monday 6th January 21:09

[MattOz]

I've had both and I'd go E60 every time. It's just better in every area.

[eltax91]

I've had both. The e61 is better in every respect, except in my case reliability

My e61 did me for about £2500 in maintenance in 6 months and THEN the head gasket went.

[mwstewart]

In three to five years time, swathes of people will be lamenting the E60 as 'the best 5 ever', when the value drops to the point where people can move across from a Focus, Astra or something of significantly less quality. Whilst I'm not a fan of Bangle cars, there is no denying that BMW keep on improving and (mostly) producing better cars for daily driving.

I would buy the latest, lowest mileage version you can.

[edition]

Thanks for the replies.

My budget is 4-5k so kind of at the bottom of the e60 tree. I was thinking a 523, 525 or 530. I think the 540i maybe mega money to run and service?

How are the auto boxes on these? Any more or less reliable compared to e39? Also is rust a problem on them?


Thanks so far!

[TheAngryDog]

I'm an e39 owner (albeit an m5), but if I was just looking for a decent estate and it had to be a 5 series, then the 39 wouldn't get a look in.

[chrisw666]

I'd probably take the E39 if my budget only got me a very ropey E60, but the E60 is probably the better car.

[boz1]

edition said:

Thanks for the replies.

My budget is 4-5k so kind of at the bottom of the e60 tree. I was thinking a 523, 525 or 530. I think the 540i maybe mega money to run and service?

How are the auto boxes on these? Any more or less reliable compared to e39? Also is rust a problem on them?


Thanks so far!

Go for a six cylinder, they're comfortably quick enough and better on fuel, even if service costs turn out to be similar. You should not need to spend 4-5k to get a decent E39, so you should aim for an E60 with that budget, or get an E39 for £3k and keep the cash in reserve for any required repairs.

Focus on what engine you want/can get - the early E60 engines are the same as the E39 ones, so a bit older tech.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_E60#Lineup_and_en...
Newer engines have more power and are better on fuel and, again, the older engines are not significantly less complicated, so not significantly less likely to go wrong. (Your budget wouldn't stretch to a very modern turbo-charged one, so that's not relevant.)

Displacement has reportedly little impact on fuel economy so the 530i is most desirable (but costs slightly more) - from experience I can say I wish I had a bit more torque in my 525i sometimes.

Clearly on average an older car would be less reliable; there's plenty to go wrong on E39s, it's not like they're much more reliable because they're simpler. In particular, you should know that the touring E39s have rear air suspension as standard, same as the E60 (the saloons do not) and that presents additional sources of problems in addition to the usual ones.

Browse autotrader and see what you can get for your budget. I would imagine you can get a decent N52 engined variant (the replacement for the M54) but I'll leave the browsing to you! I know it's a cliche, but buy on condition and service history, not mileage - high miles are not a problem for a well-maintained example.

Have a browse on forum.bmw5.co.uk and the US BMW forums to get more detail, as others have suggested.

[matthias73]

How about an e34