Cheap BMW 5-Series (E39?)

[ehyouwhat]

Hi all,

My girlfriends brother is about to become a father and is thinking of replacing his much-loved Mitsubishi FTO for something with a bit more space. He's always liked BMWs having owned a 318iS when he was younger, and on looking at prices on Autotrader he's decided that an N-S reg 5-series (E39?) is the way to go. Prices seem to be around £2-4k for these cars, which seems really good value to me.

Are these cars reliable, and are the ones at these kinds of prices likely to be reasonable? He favours a 523i I think, but would consider a 520 or 528 if they were a better bet. He'll also want an auto gearbox - are the boxes strong on these cars?

Also, is servicing reasonably priced on these cars?

The example he pointed out to me last night was a 97 P-reg 523i with tiptronic auto box. 100k miles, FSH and excellent condition, with full leather, all for a shade over £3k. Seems excellent value to me...almost too excellent, given that I seem to remember the car being rated as one of the best ever when it first came out.

Edited to add: whilst he doesn't expect a faultless car for such little money, it will need to be reliable as he and his girlfriend will be ferrying the new-born about. So a typically temperamental car is not the order of the day.

Edited by ehyouwhat on Wednesday 20th September 10:17

[ehyouwhat]

I've had a good look for him on autotrader over the past day and, I have to say, they seem excellent value for money. I didn't realise £3k could buy something like that nowadays...mind you, I'm continually suprised by the second-hand price of cars. But £3k for a nice example can only represent great value for money.

Is fuel consumption for the 528 really not all that different from the 523? If so then I would suggest he go for the 528, and prices for the models seem pretty much identical. He hasn't completely discounted the idea of a 520, although whatever he gets is likely to be slower than the FTO that it's replacing so he doesn't want something too sluggish. A leather interior in decent condition is an absolute must, and an auto box would be a very nice bonus (but not essential).

Obviously he will buy on condition as well as price, and I think he will go for a compromise of the two. These models seem to start at just over £2k, with excellent 1996/1997 examples making up to £4k - I think he will look at spending around £3k-£3.5k.

One thing that confuses me with these cars concerns the spec levels, as it seems every car has a slightly different level of equipment. I've read of some models having 'summer windows' that can be electrically moved up or down from the keyfob, and soft enterior lighting that bathes the cockpit with subtle lighting at night - were these extras on all the models, or standard on some? Also do all the models come with air-con and/or climate control?

Any further comments of advice would be great. Cheers all.

[ehyouwhat]

Thanks for all the comments

I'm going with him to a few garages later in the week to have a peek at a few, and get an idea of what is available. Then we'll spend a couple of days having a look at as many as is needed until on at the right spec/condition/price pops up. He might as well get a fully-loaded example as the prices don't seem to reflect these varying specs.