Cheap BMW 5-Series (E39?)
Discussion
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.
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
The E39's are good cars (I am on my second) - however as with all cars the key is how well they have been maintained.
To start with, even at this money they exist with fsh (whether BMW or specialist) so be choosy.
BMW dealers will give you details of service history if you supply a chassis number - helpful to verify what you are being told by the vendor
Go for a 528 if you can find a nice one as they are no less economical than a 523 - but don't walk away from a good 523 if it ticks all the other boxes. I would avoid a 520 personally.
Be aware of the Nikasil (bore wear) issue for 6cyl cars produced before early 99 (www.bmwland.co.uk has lots of info) and check for vibrations through the body at 50 - 85 mph as they can be a bugger to solve.
Ensure it doesn't overheat and that both viscous and electrical fans are operational and the aircon works.
Silverback Mike has had hundreds so PM him for a full rundown....
To start with, even at this money they exist with fsh (whether BMW or specialist) so be choosy.
BMW dealers will give you details of service history if you supply a chassis number - helpful to verify what you are being told by the vendor
Go for a 528 if you can find a nice one as they are no less economical than a 523 - but don't walk away from a good 523 if it ticks all the other boxes. I would avoid a 520 personally.
Be aware of the Nikasil (bore wear) issue for 6cyl cars produced before early 99 (www.bmwland.co.uk has lots of info) and check for vibrations through the body at 50 - 85 mph as they can be a bugger to solve.
Ensure it doesn't overheat and that both viscous and electrical fans are operational and the aircon works.
Silverback Mike has had hundreds so PM him for a full rundown....
I've had mine for coming up to five years (528) and I have no inclination whatsoever to change it. The prices your are quoting are a fraction of what I paid five years ago but make the E39s an absolute bargain today. I agree with all the points above. I would recommend a 528 over a 523, get as many bells and whistles as you can. Auto and leather are highly desireable. The only downsides are fuel consumption and because they are big heavy cars they can go through brakes and suspension components quite quickly.
I bought mine to transport my family and it really is an effortless way of doing this. Even now I get out of it with a feeling of "yep, that was good".
pp
I bought mine to transport my family and it really is an effortless way of doing this. Even now I get out of it with a feeling of "yep, that was good".
pp
Again, buy on condition... Which is why I bought a 520 instead of the 523 I was looking for - it was just too much of a bargain for the quality of history and care that had been lavished on it...
I got a lovely 520SE Touring in June this year, and am loving it. Could do with more power, but to be honest most of my miles are on the motorway with the cruise control set to 80, so I wouldn't notice it most of the time. Gets about 31mpg when it's motorway only too...
Thirsty around town, and a little lethargic away from the lights - better over 2000rpm, but safe, reliable (so far), very very comfortable and so refined on long journeys. Can see myself having this for a while.
And my girlfriend actually enjoys driving it (says she ages 10 years when she gets in it from her MX5 though)
I got a lovely 520SE Touring in June this year, and am loving it. Could do with more power, but to be honest most of my miles are on the motorway with the cruise control set to 80, so I wouldn't notice it most of the time. Gets about 31mpg when it's motorway only too...
Thirsty around town, and a little lethargic away from the lights - better over 2000rpm, but safe, reliable (so far), very very comfortable and so refined on long journeys. Can see myself having this for a while.
And my girlfriend actually enjoys driving it (says she ages 10 years when she gets in it from her MX5 though)
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.
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.
I've had my s-reg 535 auto for 10 months now. It's been pretty much faultless - the odd electrical niggle aside (inevitable in a car of its age and complexity), nothing has gone wrong with it. The problem I had is related to the wheel sensor, which are notorious for getting grubby and reporting faults in the abs/traction control.
Be advised that the dashboard displays ("high obc" in e39 parlance) are prone to losing their pixels, and the rain-sensing wipers are a bit gash (IMHO). Apart from that, they are astonishingly competent cars. The (saloon) boot is massive, it's comfortable, generally well-equipped, demolishes long journeys with singular teutonic contempt, looks fantastic, drives well and is a bit of a bargain. High-mileage examples are commonplace - mine has done 105k but doesn't look any worse for wear than a 50k car - as is FBMWSH.
The concensus among owners seems to be that 528's are the optimal choice (with regard to power vs economy) but each model has its particular advantages. With the 535, although it suffers on economy vs the 6 cylinder models, and doesn't have the power of the 540, it is quick enough, and comes with more standard kit than the 6cyls (pretty much everything except sat-nav/tv and electrically adjustable seats).
There appears to be quite a few low-spec (manual w.cloth) 6 cyl models on ebay and autotrader, which are probably best avoided, if only because the choice available is so good, and the "toys" are part of the fun of an executive express such as this! Also, 16" wheels look too small, so try and get 17"s minimum.
£6-8k gives you a whole world of choice. £4-6k should buy an absolutely smashing car. Less than £2k and I'd exercise caution, if only because it would be fair to assume there's a reason for such a price.
Be advised that the dashboard displays ("high obc" in e39 parlance) are prone to losing their pixels, and the rain-sensing wipers are a bit gash (IMHO). Apart from that, they are astonishingly competent cars. The (saloon) boot is massive, it's comfortable, generally well-equipped, demolishes long journeys with singular teutonic contempt, looks fantastic, drives well and is a bit of a bargain. High-mileage examples are commonplace - mine has done 105k but doesn't look any worse for wear than a 50k car - as is FBMWSH.
The concensus among owners seems to be that 528's are the optimal choice (with regard to power vs economy) but each model has its particular advantages. With the 535, although it suffers on economy vs the 6 cylinder models, and doesn't have the power of the 540, it is quick enough, and comes with more standard kit than the 6cyls (pretty much everything except sat-nav/tv and electrically adjustable seats).
There appears to be quite a few low-spec (manual w.cloth) 6 cyl models on ebay and autotrader, which are probably best avoided, if only because the choice available is so good, and the "toys" are part of the fun of an executive express such as this! Also, 16" wheels look too small, so try and get 17"s minimum.
£6-8k gives you a whole world of choice. £4-6k should buy an absolutely smashing car. Less than £2k and I'd exercise caution, if only because it would be fair to assume there's a reason for such a price.
Egbert Nobacon said:
Silverback Mike has had hundreds so PM him for a full rundown....
From 523i / 528I / 535I and 540i
My favourite, the 540i for it's sheer grunt. Best all rounder by far is the 528i, it's not far off the 535i in performance, it's lighter on the front end so handles a little better. Mine was a manual which is nice, the 540i was an auto, which suits the big engine perfectly.
Problems with them? As mentioned above, pixels tend to go on the dash, rear bushes tend to go, and aren't the easiest to fix, but other than that they are fantastic cars and quite literally good at everything. The auto boxes are good, and pretty much problem free, the manuals are good as well, but check for clutch slip.
My current 535i has left a bad taste in my mouth but that's no fault of the car, the dealer I bought it from 'shaved' 50,000 miles from it, so that's testament to how good these cars are, mine had 120k on the clock, but in reality had done over 170k, it drives like new, no noises or anything nasty (mind you it's had a new engine)there is no wear at all on the inside, so, be careful when buying one, as they can hide the miles so well, check check check the history with the dealer before buying.
I'm currently in legal procedings with mine so can't say too much, but my advice on the cars is to buy one, they are great.
Pick up a 528i with leather and you won't believe how good it is for the money - make sure you look up 'nicasil' in search, it basically is the premature bore wear some early e39's suffered with due to bmw (and jaguar) lining the cylinder bores with nicasil, uk fuel sometimes broke the liners down resulting in the car running like a bag of snot, needing a new bottom end..
ehyouwhat said:
Is fuel consumption for the 528 really not all that different from the 523?
I think there might be 3mpg in it.
ehyouwhat said:
A leather interior in decent condition is an absolute must, and an auto box would be a very nice bonus (but not essential).
As far as leather goes, try to get heated seats.
Cold leather in winter isn't fun and hot leather in summer
isn't fun either.
I went for cloth seats - loads less aggro with toddlers and
babies to consider.
The auto is IMHO one of the best. You lose about 2-3 mpg
and gain a lot of convenience.
ehyouwhat said:
One thing that confuses me with these cars concerns the spec levels, as it seems every car has a slightly different level of equipment.
The style in Germany is to build them with very basic spec,
then give the customer a long list of options. That way they
get what they want.
ehyouwhat said:
I've read of some models having 'summer windows' that can be electrically moved up or down from the keyfob,
I had this and I got the dealer to switch it off. I kept getting
the windows opening every time I was near the car and I put
my hand in my pocket.
ehyouwhat said:
and soft enterior lighting that bathes the cockpit with subtle lighting at night
I think you mean interior, but this is standard. You get a complete light show when you unlock it and switch it on.
Seems more bother that it is worth to me, but it keeps
someone in Munich in paid work.
ehyouwhat said:
Also do all the models come with air-con and/or climate control?
AC is IIRC optional. IMHO worth having. Climate control
is I think standard with the AC.
I also have the memory seats on mine, which are about £2,000
and pointless for me since I am the only driver.
I've just a 1,200 mile trip to Northern Ireland & Eire and
no problems. Check my profile for more.
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.
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.
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