Buying a high mileage 530i Sport E39

[B234R]

I want to buy a 530i E39 and I´ve seen a manual, two owners from new 530i Sport advertised near home. In the pictures it seems in good condition but the ad says that is has 260,000 km, or about 155,000 miles on the clock.
The M54s had a bit of a reputation for oil consumption, I suppose that will be rather worse in a car with a lot of miles behind.

I would like to visit the seller and drive the car. Apart from a lot of blue smoke on the start up or when flooring the throttle (and a can of oil in the boot!), are there more evidences about a car being a heavy drinker? My 328i E36 drank a lot of oil but it wasn´t easy to spot when there was blue smoke on the exhaust.

Thanks!

[E-bmw]

They don't have a reputation for high oil usage.

It appears to be pretty random, some do, some don't, I have had two of each type and it isn't just the 54, all BMW 6s of the era fall into one camp or the other.

that mileage is not high for the engine at all, it is below average on a 17 year old car, although you don't say how old this one is.

They are a fantastic car to drive & live with.

Rather than oil consumption, I would be more concerned what has been done to keep suspension & cooling systems up-to-scratch.

[helix402]

Check for rust around the jacking points too.

[Collectingbrass]

I'd look for evidence that all the electrics work, including the alarm siren, and that the radiator, thermostat, viscous fan and water pump had all been changed and if there isn't any then budget to change them. It's an easy DIY job to do so wont break the bank, but it is a weak point they are notorious for.

As for oil consumption you just need to go up a weight to compensate for the engine wear

[B234R]

So I´ll have to be lucky and pray "my" car isn´t one of the heavy drinkers. On the internet I´ve read stories of E46/E39 M54 burning oil at a rate of 1 litre/500 miles, and more. They say there´s a theory about the M54´s piston rings design and "blow-by", but I´m don´t know.
I suppose that in a car with that sort of mileage the former owner has made some suspension/engine cooling system work, and clutch/DMF, too. I´ll ask for workshop invoices or some evidence.

Thanks.

[dmarkovina]

Extremely high oil consumption can be tied to a failed oil separator - and oil vapours get sucked into the intake manifold and eventually burn in the cylinder. Cheap to buy if not fiddly to replace.

Also a bit hardened valve stem seals may lead to higher oil consumption and especially smoke - can also be rather successfully mitigated with an oil saver aditive - I use LM Oil Saver together with LM Ceratec - and my very high consumption of 1L/2k km went down to 1L/6k km And the engine runs smoother now at 375k km than when I bought it 10 years ago with 250k km. I am i no shape or form affiliated with Liqui Moly - apart from being a happy Ceratec and Oil Saver user (not using their motor oil as too expensive where I live - happy with the cheap Total Quartz 9000) - BMW E39 525i manual.

My other car is an E38 728i Sport - with M52TU engine - pretty much identical to M54 apart form the throttle body design (cylinder head is the same part number), currently at 440k km - minimal oil consumption despite a leak at the rear crankshaft seal. Not bothered for now.

[Sardonicus]

172k miles with documented history all original M54 2.5 version minimal oil usage but I changed all the CCV system (all gen BMW) as preventive maintenance at 160k I tend to use 5/30 Shell Helix Ultra

Edited by Sardonicus on Saturday 21st April 23:45

[helix402]

The M52tu has a different piston and ring so uses less oil.

[Wayoftheflower]

Mine drinks 1l/1000miles and has done for the 30,000 I've put on it the last few years. It's done 220,000miles total now.

Tried changing the oil filter gasket and CCV system but shouldn't have wasted my time, fiddly jobs and no improvement.

An otherwise lovely car I'll live with the appetite for oil, it's "character".

[B234R]

Heavy oil usage is more or less acceptable if I keep an eye on the oil dipstick (no problem) and if that excessive oil consumption doesn´t foul the spark plugs or damage the lambdas/cats...
I´ll ask the seller "what oil grade do you use?" If he uses 5w30, good. If he uses 10w40 or 15w40,

[SebringMan]

M54s can like a drink of oil.

Thankfully they do have low oil level indicators. The oil pressure light goes amber if the level is low.

[wolfie1978]

My old 530i had about 180k on it when i traded it in and that used about 1 litre of oil every 2k miles. The only engine work it had was cooling system related and a rocker cover gasket that leaked

[Lowtimer]

My December 2000 built 530i is a heavy oil drinker: it is leak free and has had the breather done, but still burns a lot, and has ever since I've owned it. It's on 171K miles and appears perfectly mechanically happy over the last 40,000 miles or so - smooth, quiet, tractable, plenty of go at all revs. Just check the oil every time you fill with fuel and expect to top up. Stck up on oil in one of the periodic Euro Car Parts bank holiday sales. No worries at all.