E39 530d, please talk me into/out of one.....
Discussion
Good morning chaps, as I'm now getting on the wrong side of 30 and having to cover more and more miles for work I'm having to chop in my MK3 GTI and get a proper grown up car, i think cruise control is more beneficial than a bass bin at the moment, I'm getting old.....
Can anyone shed any light on potential issues and pitfalls with getting an es9 530d touring? I'm well aware it might cost more than my golf when things go wrong, are they reliable on the whole? I'm self employed and regularly have to drive between Bristol, London, Manchester etc and all the far flung corners of the countryside in between so a car thats likely to go pop or not start at 4am when i'm rolling out to the big smoke would not be cool!!!
Budget is about 5k max but if its better to spend more this will have to wait until the new year.
Thanks
Chris
Can anyone shed any light on potential issues and pitfalls with getting an es9 530d touring? I'm well aware it might cost more than my golf when things go wrong, are they reliable on the whole? I'm self employed and regularly have to drive between Bristol, London, Manchester etc and all the far flung corners of the countryside in between so a car thats likely to go pop or not start at 4am when i'm rolling out to the big smoke would not be cool!!!
Budget is about 5k max but if its better to spend more this will have to wait until the new year.
Thanks
Chris
Aside from the usual things that can go wrong with a turbo diesel you shouldnt have too many fears about buying one. Obviously how well its been looked after is going to be the main factor in reliability.
If there is anything to worry about it is probably the auto box. Ideally oil should be changed by 100k, you should google this as there are many debates about it. Of course if you can get a manual you wont have that worry.
Personally I like the touring and would buy one over nearly anything else of that vintage.
If there is anything to worry about it is probably the auto box. Ideally oil should be changed by 100k, you should google this as there are many debates about it. Of course if you can get a manual you wont have that worry.
Personally I like the touring and would buy one over nearly anything else of that vintage.
The E39 525 / 530 Diesel Touring is a great piece of kit. I've had mine for two years and it still continues to impress
If you buy an auto have the swirl flaps removed (cheap) or a replacement inlet manifold fitted (expensive) as they can fail with expensive results.
£5k will get you into a decent post-facelift car. There are lots of options so research what there is and make a list of what you want. Sunroofs are fairly rare but the cars all have a/c & cruise
The Sport option is stiffer but the ride isn't too bad at all. Mine's on 17s but I think all Sports versions have 18s - there goes another bit of ride quality
Whatever you buy I'd budget for a bit of immediate work - there are some front bushes that always wear and the oil breather tends to get blocked & blow oil out so it's worth replacing it with the newer version
Nick Froome
If you buy an auto have the swirl flaps removed (cheap) or a replacement inlet manifold fitted (expensive) as they can fail with expensive results.
£5k will get you into a decent post-facelift car. There are lots of options so research what there is and make a list of what you want. Sunroofs are fairly rare but the cars all have a/c & cruise
The Sport option is stiffer but the ride isn't too bad at all. Mine's on 17s but I think all Sports versions have 18s - there goes another bit of ride quality
Whatever you buy I'd budget for a bit of immediate work - there are some front bushes that always wear and the oil breather tends to get blocked & blow oil out so it's worth replacing it with the newer version
Nick Froome
Sounds like it will fit the bill perfectly, Although I do a lot of miles for work and my company have given me a brand new (well it was 10 months ago) Korean rice box and I've already done 28k in it. I'm not sure if I'd want to do that mileage in my 10 year old E39 540i?
How many miles are you doing a year?
How many miles are you doing a year?
I really would buy a manual. They're better on fuel, don't have swirl flaps and don't have an autobox that s
ts itself when the pressure solonoids fail. Also, if the turbo lets go and the engine decides it wants to rev itself to death on engine oil, you can stall it - in an auto, you just let the engine grenade.
The manual 525d is also worth considering as they go nicely enough.
ts itself when the pressure solonoids fail. Also, if the turbo lets go and the engine decides it wants to rev itself to death on engine oil, you can stall it - in an auto, you just let the engine grenade.The manual 525d is also worth considering as they go nicely enough.
Work out the figures, you'll buy a petrol E39 for a fair bit less than a diesel (£1500-£2000) less to go wrong my petrol auto 525i saloon does a genuine 30mpg average (though thats probably 65% motorway driving)a diesel auto would most likely give me 40mpg @ circa 25p a gallon more
I work for a main dealer (cheap maintenace
) doing 15k miles a year and I am not tempted by the black stuff
I work for a main dealer (cheap maintenace
) doing 15k miles a year and I am not tempted by the black stuffThere an article in one of the BMW mags about getting the E39, con't remember the name but it's also got the 1M vs modded 135i review in it. I've had our 2003 Sport 530d since 2005 and it's been great. (It's on 17" wheels by the way). OK, it needs a bit of work every now and again but for the family work horse it's been great. Ours has now done 117k miles.
I have an E39 2 litre petrol Touring, so I can't comment on the engine specifically, but as far as E39 Tourings are concerned, this is what I've experienced:
1 - Check the operation of the rear wash/wipe etc. If it's not working, or working intermittently, it's likely the wiring that's at fault. The wiring travels through the top of the tailgate and gets worn with the continual opening/closing of the tailgate. DO NOT spend £500 replacing the wiper arm and motor only to be told, "oh, that wasn't the problem after all".
2 - Rear air-suspension "cones" can fail at 100k miles or so. Budget on £500 if these haven't been replaced.
3 - Front top suspension mounts wear. Feels like warped disks. Don't just replace perfectly good disks only to discover the problem persists! Budget £300 for replacement (or £450 with disks!).
4 - Ignition barrel failure - intermittent starting issue was traced to this. £100 or so.
5 - Rear hatch "self close" packs up meaning you get the most annoying rattle in the world. There are reset procedures that didn't appear to work at first, but it recovered after a battery reset (or you can stuff a small towel between hatch and boot floor - sort of does the trick!)
I've had my 2000 auto SE model for 4 years now and, as a motorway hack and occasional family wagon, it's perfect. My only regret is not holding out for the 3 litre diesel which would not only have given me better economy, but better performance too. The 2 litre petrol needs far too much pedal to metal action, giving 28mpg at best, whilst struggling to get out of its own way.
If/when mine finally dies (it's on 173k miles and racking up 2k a month) I'd happily replace with a 530d Sport saloon, faclift model as I still think that's one of BMW's best looking saloons of recent years.
Cheers
Paul
1 - Check the operation of the rear wash/wipe etc. If it's not working, or working intermittently, it's likely the wiring that's at fault. The wiring travels through the top of the tailgate and gets worn with the continual opening/closing of the tailgate. DO NOT spend £500 replacing the wiper arm and motor only to be told, "oh, that wasn't the problem after all".
2 - Rear air-suspension "cones" can fail at 100k miles or so. Budget on £500 if these haven't been replaced.
3 - Front top suspension mounts wear. Feels like warped disks. Don't just replace perfectly good disks only to discover the problem persists! Budget £300 for replacement (or £450 with disks!).
4 - Ignition barrel failure - intermittent starting issue was traced to this. £100 or so.
5 - Rear hatch "self close" packs up meaning you get the most annoying rattle in the world. There are reset procedures that didn't appear to work at first, but it recovered after a battery reset (or you can stuff a small towel between hatch and boot floor - sort of does the trick!)
I've had my 2000 auto SE model for 4 years now and, as a motorway hack and occasional family wagon, it's perfect. My only regret is not holding out for the 3 litre diesel which would not only have given me better economy, but better performance too. The 2 litre petrol needs far too much pedal to metal action, giving 28mpg at best, whilst struggling to get out of its own way.
If/when mine finally dies (it's on 173k miles and racking up 2k a month) I'd happily replace with a 530d Sport saloon, faclift model as I still think that's one of BMW's best looking saloons of recent years.
Cheers
Paul
Edited by Twin Turbo on Sunday 2nd October 10:05
Edited by Twin Turbo on Sunday 2nd October 10:06
Thanks again guys this is great to go on! defo going for a manual any way, still very wary of old (er) autos after an old audi of mine ended its life revving and going nowhere with its life juices trickling down the road, a very sorry sight!
@Max m4x I'm not going to be putting quite as many miles as you a year, thats a pretty heroic effort! I've put nearly 60k miles on my golf in nearly 4 years and its never missed a beat really, but its too small and feels a bit wrong to be pounding the old girl up and down the motorway when it should be used as my city car now and be polished and admired instead of full of empty starbucks cups....Its only just tickled over the 100k mark so i'd like to stop abusing it before the mileage gets astronomical.
@Roofer, I need the space of the 5 i think, plus its the best looking car for the dosh i think, spent a couple of days in one with a work mate and couldn't believe how nice it was, that experience pretty much sold me the 5 tbh. plus is no coincidence one of my best mates has just got himself a 3 series (although alot younger and more expensive than my budget will allow) so you know, a bit of willy waving from my part i'm afraid because even though mine older, it will be bigger, therefore better........
cheers
c
@Max m4x I'm not going to be putting quite as many miles as you a year, thats a pretty heroic effort! I've put nearly 60k miles on my golf in nearly 4 years and its never missed a beat really, but its too small and feels a bit wrong to be pounding the old girl up and down the motorway when it should be used as my city car now and be polished and admired instead of full of empty starbucks cups....Its only just tickled over the 100k mark so i'd like to stop abusing it before the mileage gets astronomical.
@Roofer, I need the space of the 5 i think, plus its the best looking car for the dosh i think, spent a couple of days in one with a work mate and couldn't believe how nice it was, that experience pretty much sold me the 5 tbh. plus is no coincidence one of my best mates has just got himself a 3 series (although alot younger and more expensive than my budget will allow) so you know, a bit of willy waving from my part i'm afraid because even though mine older, it will be bigger, therefore better........
cheers
c
Chargerheaven said:
spent a couple of days in one with a work mate and couldn't believe how nice it was, that experience pretty much sold me the 5 tbh
Lots of cars look good on paper but aren't easy to live with. Nothing beats spending a few days in one to let you know if you're doing the right thingNick Froome
Twin Turbo said:
3 - Front top suspension mounts wear. Feels like warped disks. Don't just replace perfectly good disks only to discover the problem persists! Budget £300 for replacement (or £450 with disks!).
This interests me, I keep getting odd wobbles when braking but swear its not my brakes. They were replaced quite recently with Pagid stuff which I believe to be OK.It's likely the suspension control arm bush (or thrust arm, as it's sometime's called)worn. This resulted in very bad brake judder anywhere between 50-80mph......as well as steering wheel "shimmy" around 60mph.
You can replace the bush, but they are a pain to remove, so just as cheap (with labour taken into account) to replace the entire arm.
You can replace the bush, but they are a pain to remove, so just as cheap (with labour taken into account) to replace the entire arm.
Twin Turbo said:
It's likely the suspension control arm bush (or thrust arm, as it's sometime's called)worn. This resulted in very bad brake judder anywhere between 50-80mph......as well as steering wheel "shimmy" around 60mph.
You can replace the bush, but they are a pain to remove, so just as cheap (with labour taken into account) to replace the entire arm.
I am having very similar symptoms on my E60 530d. I presume the setup is similar to the E39. Any idea of the part no's or what exactly to ask for when pricing, is it the upper or lower control arm bush that causes this?You can replace the bush, but they are a pain to remove, so just as cheap (with labour taken into account) to replace the entire arm.
Edited by cjj799 on Tuesday 4th October 12:29
Twin Turbo said:
3 - Front top suspension mounts wear. Feels like warped disks. Don't just replace perfectly good disks only to discover the problem persists! Budget £300 for replacement (or £450 with disks!).
Hmmm 
.. Thats very interesting, my 530d has recently developed this, might be worth investigating further. Would you do this or the link/thrust arm first?Been looking closely at Tourings these last few months as a need arose in the family for one and obviously, what else would you choose given how happy I am with my 530i Sport. My findings were that almost all the £5kish 530d Sport Tourings were junk - patchy history, bad paint, nasty interiors, 8 previous owners, 4 different brands of chinese tyres. This alone is enough to put you off any car but then you remember quite how complex that M57 Commonrail turbocharged diesel is and it just seemed like the 530d was too much of a liability at this budget, especially given that my experience of a 530d SE saloon alongside my 530i Sport saloon for 4 years was that the diesel was only really 6-7mpg better than the petrol.
Ended up with another 530i instead.
If you want a manual though you are making the job even harder because the overwhelming majority of 530 Tourers both diesel and petrol are automatic.
Ended up with another 530i instead.
If you want a manual though you are making the job even harder because the overwhelming majority of 530 Tourers both diesel and petrol are automatic.
Twin Turbo said:
It's likely the suspension control arm bush (or thrust arm, as it's sometime's called)worn. This resulted in very bad brake judder anywhere between 50-80mph......as well as steering wheel "shimmy" around 60mph.
You can replace the bush, but they are a pain to remove, so just as cheap (with labour taken into account) to replace the entire arm.
That's what I heard and exactly the symptoms I have apart from the steering shimmy at 60 mph.You can replace the bush, but they are a pain to remove, so just as cheap (with labour taken into account) to replace the entire arm.
Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff