RE: SOTW: BMW 528i (E39)
Discussion
yip E39's are superb cars, i've had a few BMW's in the past and loved my 525i Sport E39. IMHO the sport's are far nicer to drive than the SE's, the SE's can feel a bit too floaty, plus that bus steering wheel is horrific, although can easily be changed to an M sport one just need to make sure if it's a stage 1 or 2 air bag type.
Great cars over all though. The interiors are nice, the straight six 528/525/530's are really nice engines, with very few foibles as well. other than radiators/water pumps. Plus no timing belts to worry about.
The real achillies heels of these cars in auto form is the ZF box, change the oil at around 100k though and it should do another 100k. Handbrakes are a complete bugger, they either seize from lack of use in auto's or wear out too quickly in manuals through too much use? Rear bsuhes are a PIA to change and if the car creaks at all from the rear then they need done. Standard non xenon headlights are a bit grim. BTW that one in the add doesn't have a heated windscreen lol the button is for quick defrost of the screen using hot air not an element through the sceen.
electric wise they can have hedgehog problems as they get older, wipers usually being the fist to succumb to problems. Air bag seat sensors fail. Pneumatic bags fail in the tourings when they get a bit leggy. Abs sensors are another common fail point and brake pipes can corrode quite easily. Paint wise they do rust quite quickly, especially on the tailgate areas, the paint is very thin, dont go expecting Audi quality paint finish, because it just isn't as good. Diesels suffer from swirl flaps on the autos and turbo failure is another common feature as well.
Superb cars and i'd love a late E39 Sport touring. Which i may look at next year as they're becoming excellent value cars and they drive/handle excellently.
Great cars over all though. The interiors are nice, the straight six 528/525/530's are really nice engines, with very few foibles as well. other than radiators/water pumps. Plus no timing belts to worry about.
The real achillies heels of these cars in auto form is the ZF box, change the oil at around 100k though and it should do another 100k. Handbrakes are a complete bugger, they either seize from lack of use in auto's or wear out too quickly in manuals through too much use? Rear bsuhes are a PIA to change and if the car creaks at all from the rear then they need done. Standard non xenon headlights are a bit grim. BTW that one in the add doesn't have a heated windscreen lol the button is for quick defrost of the screen using hot air not an element through the sceen.
electric wise they can have hedgehog problems as they get older, wipers usually being the fist to succumb to problems. Air bag seat sensors fail. Pneumatic bags fail in the tourings when they get a bit leggy. Abs sensors are another common fail point and brake pipes can corrode quite easily. Paint wise they do rust quite quickly, especially on the tailgate areas, the paint is very thin, dont go expecting Audi quality paint finish, because it just isn't as good. Diesels suffer from swirl flaps on the autos and turbo failure is another common feature as well.
Superb cars and i'd love a late E39 Sport touring. Which i may look at next year as they're becoming excellent value cars and they drive/handle excellently.
Tango13 said:
My brother was looking for a new cheapish car last year and I found him a 528 auto for £1200. As he wasn't insured at the time I test drove it for him so he bought the car without driving it which was brave.
He was not dissapointed.
Nice work!He was not dissapointed.
Sometimes it can be hard to drive a bargain.......
I've done about 300K miles in 3 E39's ( m5, Alpina B10 and Alpina B10 V8s ). They really are fine cars, and I can echo what other people have said that when you drive more recent BMW's, you really do struggle to see where the improvements have been. No car is 100% reliable over that many miles, but my running costs with these have never been extreme.
Great cars !
Great cars !
neil_bmw said:
offendi said:
Chavtastic, coming to a council estate near you
Chavtastic? I have to assume you are trolling?Not a hint of aftermarket
styling, completely standard, aged well and pretty elegant for a 90's barge. neil_bmw said:
That is a serious bargain (assuming its not hiding a nasty bill soon)
I have a 2003 530 sport (Champagne Individual II) i cant bring myself to buy anything newer as its superb. Still hanker for a V8 with a bit more poke every now and then but i just cant think to get rid of such a great car.
To be honest, 528i / 530i with high-20s mpg is all you need in everyday driving. Otherwise, the next step up would be the M5.I have a 2003 530 sport (Champagne Individual II) i cant bring myself to buy anything newer as its superb. Still hanker for a V8 with a bit more poke every now and then but i just cant think to get rid of such a great car.
I am still puzzled by the point of the 535i / 540i V8s as they are not that much faster than the I6 engines yet comes with high-10s mpg fuel bills ?
Just a slight negative point - automatic 528i / 530i uses 25% more fuel in town than the manual version, though no much different on the motorway. Also, get the autobox oil and filter change immediately if you want the box to last as this generation of autobox are "sealed for life".
If relevant, crack on and buy these...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Twin-VANOS-seals-rep...
Made a huge difference to mine, sorted out the cold idle and just rekindled my love for the E39.
It's not a hard job to diy, pretty straight forward actually.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Twin-VANOS-seals-rep...
Made a huge difference to mine, sorted out the cold idle and just rekindled my love for the E39.
It's not a hard job to diy, pretty straight forward actually.
6potdave said:
Good shed! Had this engine in the E36 I don't know how it would cope with that extra weight but it was a lovely lump, very smooth, torquey and responsive.
Contrary to many believe, the E39 is the last of the "light-weight" execs. Petrol 528i manual is only 1,530kg according to autocar link below and from memory, the diesel 530d manual was only about 1,600 kghttp://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/RoadTestsData/...
This E39 is almost identical to the E46 with the same engine in terms of weight.
Even the pre-facelift E46 330d is 1,595kg -> http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/RoadTestsData/...
Why has the E46, E60, E90 grew so fat, so quickly between 2001 and 2006?
LewisR said:
Yes, that was a stupid comment. Chavs are typically young and so couldn't insure, if they were to insure, something this big. More like a Corsa or a Saxo for them.
That's not strictly true. They either 1) not bothered with insurance at all or
2) insure the older "gentleman's" large engine exec very cheaply.
When I was in uni, I loved by 3-litre Nissan QX, Ford Scorpio Cosworth, Volvo S60 2.4T and 528i. All cheap to buy and only slightly (c.10% - 15%) more expensive to insure than small hatchbacks but a lot less than hot hatches. All of them did 0-100mph in well under 20 seconds and on par or faster than hot hatches.
neil_bmw said:
That is a serious bargain (assuming its not hiding a nasty bill soon)
I have a 2003 530 sport (Champagne Individual II) i cant bring myself to buy anything newer as its superb. Still hanker for a V8 with a bit more poke every now and then but i just cant think to get rid of such a great car.
I love those. I have a 2003 530 sport (Champagne Individual II) i cant bring myself to buy anything newer as its superb. Still hanker for a V8 with a bit more poke every now and then but i just cant think to get rid of such a great car.
My dad had one of the last E39s, a 2004 530d in Avus blue with Champagne leather! Yet to see another one like it.
McSam said:
HON2A said:
McSam said:
Bugger, I voted 5 by accident on my phone when it should be a 9.
StevieB said:
(unfortunately I pushed wrong button and rated it a 5, doh!!!)
Feeling smug. I meant to vote 9. And voted 9. 
Am I right in thinking this is the very same M52B28 as in the E36s?
I know someone who drives e39 530d auto, over 190k miles. The gearbox needs heating up before drive off or it will go into limp mode. It had suspension work for over £1k.
At this price I would look very hard, suspension work is expensive as well as gearbox. The car might be clocked if there are no previous MOTs. So I would check with DVLA.
I drove it a few times and I did not like it. The suspension is hard for my liking. The car seems to be huge, but cramped inside although not as bad as e34. The seats seem to be short and uncomfortable.
I would rather get GS300. It is so quite inside, but looks like a frog from outside...
At this price I would look very hard, suspension work is expensive as well as gearbox. The car might be clocked if there are no previous MOTs. So I would check with DVLA.
I drove it a few times and I did not like it. The suspension is hard for my liking. The car seems to be huge, but cramped inside although not as bad as e34. The seats seem to be short and uncomfortable.
I would rather get GS300. It is so quite inside, but looks like a frog from outside...
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