BMW 5 Series E39? worth it?
Discussion
evening all
looking at investing in a e39 bmw. really like the understated looks of it. yes it's old, but my god, in my opinion, it's aged well. I've been hooked on this video of late... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmv1k88i3NA (can't afford M5... as much i'd want one)
i've a budget of around 4k and ideally looking for a sport variant. guess I'd be looking at higher milage cars? what's the ideal limit of miles before they can become troublesome?
is it big enough for a family. can a baby seat fit in the back comfortably? are the boots big?
i've considered a e46 saloon/estate but would these be too small?
what engine should i look at? i don't do many miles at the moment...
thanks
looking at investing in a e39 bmw. really like the understated looks of it. yes it's old, but my god, in my opinion, it's aged well. I've been hooked on this video of late... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmv1k88i3NA (can't afford M5... as much i'd want one)
i've a budget of around 4k and ideally looking for a sport variant. guess I'd be looking at higher milage cars? what's the ideal limit of miles before they can become troublesome?
is it big enough for a family. can a baby seat fit in the back comfortably? are the boots big?
i've considered a e46 saloon/estate but would these be too small?
what engine should i look at? i don't do many miles at the moment...
thanks
530 sport is probably the sweet spot for these cars. I have same car as in link below in black and at 97k miles and there have been a few bits and bobs to sort but for 4k I would press anyone to find something as well put together that ticks so many boxes. Boot is pretty big and should be fine if you need to fit a family
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...
That colour looks superb.
Most E39's will need the cooling system looking at if it hasn't been replaced by now.
Good cars, the 530 uses a steering rack as opposed to a steering box on the V8's which is why the 530 is a good shout.
Not any came with folding rear seats but otherwise they can take a decent load in the boot. I moved house in one pretty much.
Most E39's will need the cooling system looking at if it hasn't been replaced by now.
Good cars, the 530 uses a steering rack as opposed to a steering box on the V8's which is why the 530 is a good shout.
Not any came with folding rear seats but otherwise they can take a decent load in the boot. I moved house in one pretty much.
KingOfTheRodeo said:
evening all
looking at investing in a e39 bmw. really like the understated looks of it. yes it's old, but my god, in my opinion, it's aged well. I've been hooked on this video of late... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmv1k88i3NA (can't afford M5... as much i'd want one)
i've a budget of around 4k and ideally looking for a sport variant. guess I'd be looking at higher milage cars? what's the ideal limit of miles before they can become troublesome?
is it big enough for a family. can a baby seat fit in the back comfortably? are the boots big?
what engine should i look at? i don't do many miles at the moment...
thanks
Condition is everything. There are plenty of dogs out there. Caveat emptor.looking at investing in a e39 bmw. really like the understated looks of it. yes it's old, but my god, in my opinion, it's aged well. I've been hooked on this video of late... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmv1k88i3NA (can't afford M5... as much i'd want one)
i've a budget of around 4k and ideally looking for a sport variant. guess I'd be looking at higher milage cars? what's the ideal limit of miles before they can become troublesome?
is it big enough for a family. can a baby seat fit in the back comfortably? are the boots big?
what engine should i look at? i don't do many miles at the moment...
thanks
Auto gearboxes can become troublesome after circa 140k miles but some run to higher mileages without issue. Manuals carry a price premium and are becoming quite difficult to source; long throw change actually quite suits the car. A major problem with the auto box will in all probability scrap the car.
Look out for rust: wheel arches, sill ends, fuel filler area, boot lid etc. but pay careful attention to the jacking points - £600-£700 min for repairs (and those are mates rates). Cooling system needs overhauling on the petrol 6s (diesels less troublesome in this department) at higher miles.
Electronic niggles - the cars are circa 15yrs old so to be expected.
The biggie is the suspension. Sophisticated multi-link suspension needs fettling every 60k miles to maintain beautifully compliant ride/handling mix; neglected cars will 'shimmy', judder, tramline etc. Look for plenty of evidence (receipts etc.) of recent work here.
Big enough for 6 footers in the back seat. Boot space is generous in the saloons. Tourings are big in the back but not cavernous like same age Volvo/Merc estates.
The petrol sixes are silky and go well apart from the entry level models though these too are smooth. The 535i V8 gives little measurable improvement in performance over the 530i and uses more fuel. The 540 and in particular the M5 have massive grunt though you pay for it at the pumps! All the diesels are well regarded but be wary of swirl flaps on the auto versions (the manuals don't have them) since they can wreck the engine if ingested. Diesels now getting thin on the ground. For your sort of mileage a petrol would be fine.
As others have mentioned, these cars require work to keep them reliable and performing in the way designed.
I've got two E39s so of course I think they're bloody marvellous! They're not cheap to own if use them as daily drivers and want Japanese/Korean standards of reliability.
The upside are the I6 and V8 engines (provisos above excepted), the overall feeling of quality, the handling/ride mix and understated & elegant looks. The E39 is the antithesis of 'shouty'. The cabin is an utter delight - they just don't design and make interiors like this any more. Continent-crossing ability in total comfort. The M5 is 'below the radar' compared to nearly all other performance cars, an utter weapon when you want it and a pussy cat at other times.
Go buy one but do your homework and make sure it's a good one.
Second what everyone says, they're a nightmare and always have electrical problems, and break down and everything fails and they have had their day, this wasn't mine last week at all.
Serious reply, I've owned 3
98 528i Tourer which I did 44k miles in to 206k miles what broke, all around 194k miles
Door handle
1x spring
1x Alternator
1x Radiator
Everything worked, never once broke down and apart from the above (which at that mileage was consumable imho) all it needed was tyres and fuel. I killed it in a lane, hit a huge rock and blew the airbags out, still drove fine afterwards, too much to put back on road.
98 540i Saloon, which I did 6k miles in and sold because it was a saloon and no good to me, to be honest I had a thermostat problem on it, which when I stupidly replaced it with a pattern part from a distributor of parts for European cars and it set my wiring loom on fire and wouldn't run, rewired and never had another issue after putting a BMW part on, but I hate saloons so sold it
01 525i Tourer which is my current one, bought it at 192k miles, everything works on it, well there;s one dicky parking sensor, but everything works, put it in for an MOT at 198k miles, needed two balljoints and advised on a tyre, put a tyre on it, put two balljoints on it and now over 200k miles with no issues, no signs of breaking.
What have I replaced in 8k miles? Alternator, died at 196k miles so good innings and a rocker cover gasket.
A well sorted E39 will not see you wrong, I have no doubt my original 528 would be on the road if I hadn't hit that rock. A good E39 with a bit of time put into it just to do a cooling system refresh then it wont see you wrong.
They are solid cars and will do everything you want and more and are still fantastic to drive, just don't buy a s
t one that has little service history or has been dicked around with too much.
Serious reply, I've owned 3
98 528i Tourer which I did 44k miles in to 206k miles what broke, all around 194k miles
Door handle
1x spring
1x Alternator
1x Radiator
Everything worked, never once broke down and apart from the above (which at that mileage was consumable imho) all it needed was tyres and fuel. I killed it in a lane, hit a huge rock and blew the airbags out, still drove fine afterwards, too much to put back on road.
98 540i Saloon, which I did 6k miles in and sold because it was a saloon and no good to me, to be honest I had a thermostat problem on it, which when I stupidly replaced it with a pattern part from a distributor of parts for European cars and it set my wiring loom on fire and wouldn't run, rewired and never had another issue after putting a BMW part on, but I hate saloons so sold it
01 525i Tourer which is my current one, bought it at 192k miles, everything works on it, well there;s one dicky parking sensor, but everything works, put it in for an MOT at 198k miles, needed two balljoints and advised on a tyre, put a tyre on it, put two balljoints on it and now over 200k miles with no issues, no signs of breaking.
What have I replaced in 8k miles? Alternator, died at 196k miles so good innings and a rocker cover gasket.
A well sorted E39 will not see you wrong, I have no doubt my original 528 would be on the road if I hadn't hit that rock. A good E39 with a bit of time put into it just to do a cooling system refresh then it wont see you wrong.
They are solid cars and will do everything you want and more and are still fantastic to drive, just don't buy a s
t one that has little service history or has been dicked around with too much.I have just come back from a ring trip in a 528i that I bought for under £1000.
All I did was change the oil and filters.
Car was faultless, everything still works, doesn't overheat etc.
Very comfortable for the motorway sections, and great at the ring.
About to sell it, and will really miss it.
All I did was change the oil and filters.
Car was faultless, everything still works, doesn't overheat etc.
Very comfortable for the motorway sections, and great at the ring.
About to sell it, and will really miss it.
They do have possible problems, but just about squeeze into the era where it's possible to fix most of them yourself.
Parts are no problem and they're popular enough that pretty much every problem has a DIY photo write up on a forum somewhere.
The only real killer, in my book, is the auto gearbox on most of the range (not the V8s) which can fracture off a big chunk of the reversing drum, and the cost of replacement generally = write-off.
Either spend some time looking for the nicest you can find (they are out there), or go cheap and disposable and cross your fingers (which is what I did - although my purchase was driven by the need for an automatic at fairly short notice; I didn't count on liking the car as much as I do!
So I may be going option 1 when this one does throw up a major problem!).
Parts are no problem and they're popular enough that pretty much every problem has a DIY photo write up on a forum somewhere.
The only real killer, in my book, is the auto gearbox on most of the range (not the V8s) which can fracture off a big chunk of the reversing drum, and the cost of replacement generally = write-off.
Either spend some time looking for the nicest you can find (they are out there), or go cheap and disposable and cross your fingers (which is what I did - although my purchase was driven by the need for an automatic at fairly short notice; I didn't count on liking the car as much as I do!
So I may be going option 1 when this one does throw up a major problem!).Yes, they are great cars. I ran a 52 plate 530i sport touring from July 2009 to January 2015. Mechanically it was perfect - sold at 155k. Absolutely nothing went wrong. But, rust was begining to appear in the usual places, both door seals had perished and there was a puddle of water in both rear footwells. go with open eyes, most cars are approaching their 15th birthday, so there are lots of niggles that require attention.
lovely cars, though I do HATE the autobox slushness on these with a passion but there is a man who can update the gearbox ecu to make it run with a locked torque converter much more of the time.
However I'd love a Saloon for the looks but a tourer is way more practical. Tourer's have all the airbag issues though.
The 530d's you can diddle the Webasto heater to fire up remotely for less than £20
Electrical gremlins seem rife on these I must say
However I'd love a Saloon for the looks but a tourer is way more practical. Tourer's have all the airbag issues though.
The 530d's you can diddle the Webasto heater to fire up remotely for less than £20
Electrical gremlins seem rife on these I must say
Between my wife and I we've had six E39s (4 Tourings and 2 Saloons). Maybe we've just been lucky but aside from servicing (essential) and wear'n tear items the only major things we've had go wrong are a head-gasket and radiator go a 528i Touring and an alternator on a 540i Touring. We bought the 528i Touring on Ebay for just under £4K with about 60K miles on the clock. My wife drove it for 6 years (all family jobs, school runs, trips to the supermarket, dumps and even three family holidays to the South of France) and added 75K miles and we still got £1600 back for it selling it on Ebay. So given the above service it gave us over those years, I think we can forgive the things that did go wrong?
Yes, one hears all the internet horror stories but one rarely hears about all the hundreds of cars that basically just get on with the job and cause no problems...because there's nothing to say. A car doing its job properly isn't really something interesting to write about or read. That's the danger of internet forums.
Often the problems people encounter are because they've either neglected themselves or bought cars which have previously been neglected because they seemed cheap.
We keep one E39 abroad (a 525i Touring) and we've just bought another...a 525i Saloon. It wasn't 'cheap' by current E39 standards but with sub-50K miles on the clock, FSH and near new condition I know it was worth it. It was under the OP's budget.
If the OP's budget is £4K he should be able to get something really quite nice now.
http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/gallery/index.php?spg...
My only particular big gripe with the ones we've had was a 523i Saloon that I had quite a few years ago (and actually sold to a PHer). The early ones, if not fitted with Xenons have absolutely atrocious headlamps. To the extent that I just wouldn't buy one fitted with those headlamps.
One other small warning...beware of manual Tourings. This may or may not just apply to the 525i..but I suspect it doesn't. They are very noticeably under-geared compared with the automatics. I wrote about this elsewhere. But the difference I noticed driving our 525i Touring Manual vs our 525i Saloon Auto is huge. This makes a big difference not only to fuel consumption on long drives but also to how refined and relaxing the drive is.
Yes, one hears all the internet horror stories but one rarely hears about all the hundreds of cars that basically just get on with the job and cause no problems...because there's nothing to say. A car doing its job properly isn't really something interesting to write about or read. That's the danger of internet forums.
Often the problems people encounter are because they've either neglected themselves or bought cars which have previously been neglected because they seemed cheap.
We keep one E39 abroad (a 525i Touring) and we've just bought another...a 525i Saloon. It wasn't 'cheap' by current E39 standards but with sub-50K miles on the clock, FSH and near new condition I know it was worth it. It was under the OP's budget.
If the OP's budget is £4K he should be able to get something really quite nice now.
http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/gallery/index.php?spg...
My only particular big gripe with the ones we've had was a 523i Saloon that I had quite a few years ago (and actually sold to a PHer). The early ones, if not fitted with Xenons have absolutely atrocious headlamps. To the extent that I just wouldn't buy one fitted with those headlamps.
One other small warning...beware of manual Tourings. This may or may not just apply to the 525i..but I suspect it doesn't. They are very noticeably under-geared compared with the automatics. I wrote about this elsewhere. But the difference I noticed driving our 525i Touring Manual vs our 525i Saloon Auto is huge. This makes a big difference not only to fuel consumption on long drives but also to how refined and relaxing the drive is.
A little bit over your budget...but with a little negotiation? There's always going to be a little reticence on the part of the UK buying public about a car imported which may help you in these negotiations.
This looks like a possibly very good buy in the long run...just listed:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C662197
This looks like a possibly very good buy in the long run...just listed:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C662197
I had a 98 528 touring for 18mths or so and while it was competent and comfortable i didn't really get what all the fuss was about and why the E39 is put on a pedestal - its an old BMW repmobile/middle management car in normal guise - something like an M5, 540 is more special and I'd get why you might covet one - but for the more mundane models there are better cars out there IMHO. I can't see anything other than a M5 provide any sort of investment and it won't be a quick return either.
I'm sure I will be in the minority on this thread!
I'm sure I will be in the minority on this thread!
I have a 530i manual. It is a really quick, comfortable, long distance commuter and handles well for a big car. Certainly way better that the 325i Saloon I had previously.
With a massive mix of driving all over the country and I get a solid 32mpg, which I'm happy with.
Refreshing the heating system is definitely advice I would agree with as it's failure can be fatal (to the car).
With a massive mix of driving all over the country and I get a solid 32mpg, which I'm happy with.
Refreshing the heating system is definitely advice I would agree with as it's failure can be fatal (to the car).
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