What to look for when viewing/buying a E39 manual

[jr@]

Hello BMW people

looking to enter the other side of german car ownerish and potentially purchase a 520 or 523 manual(to avoid any auto trans problems + i prefer manuals) to sit on the motorway at 65 for a few hours a day and genrally be my daily driver

is there anything i should be checking for over the obvious ? rust in places if there isa common place for 39's to go etc ?

any help would be excelent

jr

[davel*]

You may as well get the 528, uses the same amount of fuel but won't feel as overwhelmed by the shell that its sat in

[Wilseus]

Agreed. The only reason for not getting the 2.8 is the slightly dearer insurance. The fuel consumption on all those 6 cyl engines is near enough identical. If it's an older one (pre '98) it can easily be souped up quite a bit as well.

These cars are usually very reliable, and are arguably the best car BMW have ever made, but the cooling system on them can be a weak point. It's said there are only two types of E39 owners. Those who have just replaced the radiator, and those who are just about to! The rads tend to bow at the bottom with age and eventually leak.

Edited by Wilseus on Friday 5th March 13:25