My 38,000 mile 2003 BMW E39 530i Sport

[LetsTryAgain]

andy43 said:

Lovely car, they're just so right those E39s. Then you drop Velvet Blue in at the end as well!

My E46 Clubsport was velvet blue. Absolutely beautiful.

[Mani59]

d_a_n1979 said:

One thing I haven't asked on here or the 5 forums Mani is do you know if the box has been serviced at all?

If not that's worth looking into and putting on the priority list etc

Not sure where in the world you are; but the 2 main places recommended are Automatic Transmissions in Preston & Martin Hind at Dartford Transmissions

B'stard Child said:

Last time I did mine DIY (2007) on the E38 - the gasket and filter plus O'ring was less than £30 from BMW but the Oil was £9 per litre - I think we eventually found the correct transmission fluid from ESSO at £85 for 20 Litres



Makes a huge diffence to the change quality but can take several cold start checks with addition of more fluid until the level is correct

Edited by B'stard Child on Sunday 3rd January 14:49

Thanks guys! Ah yes, good shout! I am fairly certain it has not been done so yes I will add that to the top of the list as its all about the preventative maintenance. Thanks for the recommendations too both.

Fatball said:

Depending on how close to Rix you are, Graham Martin near St Helens did my auto service along with any other work.

Thanks, I am afraid I am no where near Rix Motors (I am in the East Midlands) but thanks for the tip!

LetsTryAgain said:

andy43 said:

Lovely car, they're just so right those E39s. Then you drop Velvet Blue in at the end as well!

My E46 Clubsport was velvet blue. Absolutely beautiful.

Thanks! Do you still have your E46 Clubsport? I've seen some photos in Velvet Blue and they are stunning, especially with their OEM Clubsport wheels. Depending on the light conditions, it comes out as Cadbury's Purple sometimes too in my eyes.

[LetsTryAgain]

Mani59 said:

Thanks! Do you still have your E46 Clubsport? I've seen some photos in Velvet Blue and they are stunning, especially with their OEM Clubsport wheels. Depending on the light conditions, it comes out as Cadbury's Purple sometimes too in my eyes.

Mani59 said:

Clubsport is a car I had wanted since first seeing them, particularly in that colour and a manual.
I only bought one as my second car so when an XJR came up for a decent price the BMW had to go!
Now the XJR has gone and there’s an Accord a Type R in its place.

Edited by LetsTryAgain on Sunday 17th January 21:43

[Mani59]

Just a small update on my E39. I noticed last week whilst driving that when using the washer jets, whilst the headlight ones work fine, the jets for the windscreen were poor. And when I mean poor, clearly not working correctly as it was just a drizzle on the right hand side one and nothing on the left side.

I remember from years ago when I owned my first E39 that the washer jet connector pipes under the bonnet come off easily in really cold weather so after some Googling and searching online to refresh myself, I had a look and sure enough, the connectors had come loose on the left side and only 1 connected on the right side. After some satisfying clicks to connect them back up again and checking all of the other connectors, I tested out the jets and it was all working again.

[Mani59]

So last week, I had the cooling system refreshed which including replacing the expansion tank, both coolant hoses (top and bottom), drive belt, water pump and thermostat (and new coolant).

Since there was nothing wrong with the old cooling system, the car does not feel any different but it certainly is good to get this job done.

A few photos of the parts courtesy of the BMW independent specialist that undertook the work.

[RiccardoG]

I'm the owner of a nice E39 530i SE Touring so am following this with interest, nice car.

Out of curiosity, why didn't you replace the rad as well? I thought it was the first item in a cooling refresh?

[d_a_n1979]

RiccardoG said:

I'm the owner of a nice E39 530i SE Touring so am following this with interest, nice car.

Out of curiosity, why didn't you replace the rad as well? I thought it was the first item in a cooling refresh?

They're generally hardy things and if they're not bowing or signs of leaking (hairline cracks by the top hose connection, or the return feed pipe to the header tank etc); they're generally fine to keep running

They aren't expensive to replace unless you go OEM BMW which is Behr... The Hella Behr or Nissens one is c£110 on eBay via BMWmotormec; you really don't need any more than that, unless you want to spend BMW money

Have you got a Readers Car thread going Riccardo? Always good to see another E39 touring on here

[LosingGrip]

That is a lovely E39.

I miss mine massively. Was my first BMW and made me fall in love with them.

I’d love to have another one.

[Mr Tidy]

Two stunning early 2000s BMWs there, which I also think is when they were at their best.

[Mani59]

Thanks guys. The radiator did not need changing as my specialist said it looked fine.

My car was in for a detail last week and I used the excellent Chris at Slix Car Care. Here is the video he produced of the work undertaken. Suffice to say I am really pleased with the results!

https://youtu.be/SLhxhYdzlsI

I really love the flakes in the paint of Sapphire Black Metallic.

Edited by Mani59 on Sunday 28th February 21:50

[tobinen]

Blimey, it looks new.

[Volvolover]

This is one nice car. Love this a lot. I used to drive my mother in laws ageing 525 tds and I always thought how well screwed together it felt compared to the newer ones I have driven

[MrBarry123]

That is fantastic!

[Court_S]

That looks amazing (well more amazing) after the detail.

[Mani59]

Thanks guys for the kind words!

[Mani59]

Today it is my E39's birthday as it is exactly 18 years old from the production date.

So I decided to give it another quick wash and also brought my E46 330i Individual out of winter hibernation for a short time.

[ChocolateFrog]

ChocolateFrog said:

Peak BMW right there.

They were really on roll from the late 90's to mid 00's.

Didn't realise I'd already commented as I was thinking the same thing again.

Imagine walking into a BMW dealer in circa 2000 and compare that to the volume of hideous looking dross they sell now.

[ChocolateFrog]

Bemmer said:

This is the car Rix Motor Company had advertised for ages.?

I'm surprised a dealer didn't fix the relatively minor issues.

Selling a genuine mint car on mismatched tyres should be a crime and I imagine the dash pixel fix isn't that expensive in the grand scheme of the car.

[swampy442]

Who did your cluster repair? I need mine doing on my E39

[Mani59]

@ChocolateFrog - Thanks. To be fair, whilst they did sell the car with a non-working navigation system and faulty instrument cluster, they did say for me to get it fixed locally and they will pay for the repairs (which they did) so no complaints from me on that front.

And regarding the tyres, I agree regarding mis-match of brands! My offer for the car was taking into account that I would have to spend a bit of money replacing the tyres.

swampy442 said:

Who did your cluster repair? I need mine doing on my E39

I used Autotronics based in Leicester City. Took about a week or so.