E39 high milers

[tonyinbrighton]

Called into an ICE shop nearby to check out a radio problem - the engineer told me he's got an E39 with 260k miles on the clock and still loves it to bits..........
Yesterday I was in Dobles Motorcycles in Coulsdon and again an engineer came over to look at my car - turns out he's got a late '90s 528 with 230k miles on it which he uses for towing the caravan and it still pulls like a train.
I only have 130k on mine so I feel quite junior.
Anyone else struggling to find a better car than an E39?
Happy days
Tony

[Depthhoar]

I've got two.

Can't shake the habit off.

My two are a bit 'chalk & cheese' but both excellent in their own ways.

My 530d is on 165k miles so still in its infancy. Ha!

(Driving my M5 on a road trip north of the Arctic Circle next month. Can't think of a better car for the job.)

Edited by Depthhoar on Thursday 17th August 18:03

[bmwmike]

Depthhoar said:

I've got two.

Can't shake the habit off.

My two are a bit 'chalk & cheese' but both excellent in their own ways.

(Driving my M5 on a road trip north of the Arctic Circle next month. Can't think of a better car for the job.)

Wow that sounds cool. Jealous!!

[Depthhoar]

Did northern Italy and the Alps last summer in the M5 as well.

Re. Norway and the Arctic Circle: epic journey requires an epic car!

Can't wait.

[garibaldy]

Only 153K on my 2001 530i which i've owned for 10 years and I love it :-)

[minimods]

144k on my E39 and hope to take it much further if it is still economic to stay on the road. Fantastic car. Although I wouldn't say no to a newer car, the E39 is such a great all rounder, comfortable, quick, drives really nicely, has enough kit without things you don't need (digital dashes, stop start, lane assist, etc).

I do fancy taking mine down to France/Italy on a road trip, my only fear is breaking down and not being able to get the car repatriated.

[Higgs boson]

296k miles on my (recently parked up) diesel. Engine still sweet as a nut, but electrical issues mean it's not worth spending money on to get another MoT.
Its replacement (V8) e39 has only 120k miles, so, hopefully, I'll have it for another few years / miles.

[SebringMan]

I know of a 520i that went to 240k. By the same outfit they also had a 525d which went to 525k. A faulty gearbox (it would say in first unless it was floored or manually shifted) and a squealing tensioner were the maker of that car ; it was meant to drive quite well to be fair.

Mileage isn't an issue. It's a question of what you are willing to repair or live with.

[Synchromesh]

185k on my old E39 530i when I traded it in

207k on my current E39, a 530d. You'd only guess it'd done a quarter of that though. Shall get a thread up soon.

[80quattro]

Just clicked over 155k on my 530i SE Manual. Does like a drink of oil though. CCV and rear main seal done as well.

[Pommy]

214k...km on mine. What's that 130k miles?

2000 528 sport, no rust, everything works including no dead pixels. Love it, love it so much.

Tempting to get an E60 530 sport until my Mustang turns up as the 530 seems like the only 'like minded' replacement and that's only because have an e60 itch.

[kiethton]

Sold my 540i last month with 135k on the clock after being written off and (cheaply) repaired for £2.5k and signs of rust were beginning to make themselves known and he vanos was a little noisy...

Now back on sale by the driveway trader I sold it to, wheels refurbed but no mention of the Cat-C listing...he wants £4.8k...

Good car overall but can't think he's being a bit wrong there not telling people about the cat-C, just to try and get a bit more cash!

[bmwmike]

kiethton said:

Sold my 540i last month with 135k on the clock after being written off and (cheaply) repaired for £2.5k and signs of rust were beginning to make themselves known and he vanos was a little noisy...

Now back on sale by the driveway trader I sold it to, wheels refurbed but no mention of the Cat-C listing...he wants £4.8k...

Good car overall but can't think he's being a bit wrong there not telling people about the cat-C, just to try and get a bit more cash!

Apart from being illegal, won't the cat C show up on a search?

[lythaby]

My 99 528i SE is now sitting on 207k.
I only purchased it to get me to work when I knackered myself from a bike accident.

Now it just won't die, use it as my daily driver into London and M25. Comfy and easy.

[kiethton]

bmwmike said:

kiethton said:

Sold my 540i last month with 135k on the clock after being written off and (cheaply) repaired for £2.5k and signs of rust were beginning to make themselves known and he vanos was a little noisy...

Now back on sale by the driveway trader I sold it to, wheels refurbed but no mention of the Cat-C listing...he wants £4.8k...

Good car overall but can't think he's being a bit wrong there not telling people about the cat-C, just to try and get a bit more cash!

Apart from being illegal, won't the cat C show up on a search?

Will show up on a HPI check, guess not all will do one....

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/23553172...

I know he's been back off to Poland in it so likely pushing toward 140k miles now

[aka_kerrly]

My E39 hit 100,000 miles a couple of weeks ago.... and didn't explode

It feels superb.

Up for sale to.

[tonyinbrighton]

Great cars aren't they?
Like Minimods said above, they have all the creature comforts you need without the extraneous nonsense like lane assist etc. etc.. I'm convinced the E39 is just about the best thing BMW ever did!
One thing I do want to do is replace the headlights and I heard there's a guy somewhere in the southeast who does nothing but replace headlights: anyone know who it is?
Cheers
Tony

[rayyan171]

SORN E39 528i SE on the driveway. The speedometer stopped working about 6 years ago, and stopped at 165,000 miles. Must be on about 210,000 miles right now.

Do have plans for a full restore when possible.

[anonymous-user]

Great timing, this thread. A couple of weeks back I picked up a 2001 530i SE with an auto box, 78k miles on the clock.

Looking forward to pushing on with the miles. Fancy a Scottish roadtrip soon

[njw1]

tonyinbrighton said:

I'm convinced the E39 is just about the best thing BMW ever did!

Tony

You're not the only one! I'm on e39 number 4 at the moment, my first was a 535i which was still going strong on 185k when I sold it to buy number 2 which was an M5, I regrettably sold that after a year (for a profit!) as I just couldn't justify the running costs, it was on 154k when I sold it. Number three was a 150k 540i which I only had a few a months as the previous made me a good offer to buy it back. I decided I was done with e39's after that until I had chance of another 540i for a good price and that was that, number 4 was parked on the drive, this one's just ticked over 150k and is the tidiest of the four.