Some questions re an E39 5 series I'm considering
Discussion
Hi all,
Bit of a long time lurker, so I know there's a lot of expertise on this board. I've read some excellent buying guides, but would appreciate the PH view on a couple of matters on a car I went and looked at today.
1. The car has a steady idle, which is good and the crank case valve seems to be fine at the moment (suction from oil cap etc.). However, there's quite a noticeable rattle from the engine, which becomes less audible when you rev it and can't be heard when you're in the car. It sounds pretty clearly to be coming from the top of the engine, I therefore think this probably is the HVA tappets. I recorded the sound but the microphone on my camera is too crap! It sounds sort of like this video:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UloCLiqVd5M[/media]
If this is the tappets, how much would it cost to fix do you reckon? Perhaps more importantly, is there any other cause of this kind og rattle other than the tappets?
Performance on the test drive seemed fine.
2. Both the left hand side doors seemed substantially stiffer than the right hand side ones. I didn't see any evidence of overspray from an accident repair or anything and I'm told HPI is clear (will be checking myself anyway), so hopefully this isn't indicative of an accident. Is this a known issue at all on the E39 5 series? Googling found a suggestion that doors that get used more could be stiffer on these, but that doesn't make sense here.
3. The last MOT has advisories relating to the anti-rollbar/balls joints and corrosion the brake pipes above the fuel tank. Don't think the anti-rollbar thing is so major, but the guide explains the brake pipes is common. How much, roughly, should it cost to get them done?
4. The plastic handbrake handle is quite worn, paint has come off on underside - I'm assuming this is normal for a car that's done 130k miles?
5. This one has the known MID problem. What should this cost to fix? This looks cheap, anyone heard of these guys before? http://www.bmwpixelfix.co.uk/
Thanks in advance for any help or advice!
boz
Bit of a long time lurker, so I know there's a lot of expertise on this board. I've read some excellent buying guides, but would appreciate the PH view on a couple of matters on a car I went and looked at today.
1. The car has a steady idle, which is good and the crank case valve seems to be fine at the moment (suction from oil cap etc.). However, there's quite a noticeable rattle from the engine, which becomes less audible when you rev it and can't be heard when you're in the car. It sounds pretty clearly to be coming from the top of the engine, I therefore think this probably is the HVA tappets. I recorded the sound but the microphone on my camera is too crap! It sounds sort of like this video:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UloCLiqVd5M[/media]
If this is the tappets, how much would it cost to fix do you reckon? Perhaps more importantly, is there any other cause of this kind og rattle other than the tappets?
Performance on the test drive seemed fine.
2. Both the left hand side doors seemed substantially stiffer than the right hand side ones. I didn't see any evidence of overspray from an accident repair or anything and I'm told HPI is clear (will be checking myself anyway), so hopefully this isn't indicative of an accident. Is this a known issue at all on the E39 5 series? Googling found a suggestion that doors that get used more could be stiffer on these, but that doesn't make sense here.
3. The last MOT has advisories relating to the anti-rollbar/balls joints and corrosion the brake pipes above the fuel tank. Don't think the anti-rollbar thing is so major, but the guide explains the brake pipes is common. How much, roughly, should it cost to get them done?
4. The plastic handbrake handle is quite worn, paint has come off on underside - I'm assuming this is normal for a car that's done 130k miles?
5. This one has the known MID problem. What should this cost to fix? This looks cheap, anyone heard of these guys before? http://www.bmwpixelfix.co.uk/
Thanks in advance for any help or advice!
boz
Edited by boz1 on Saturday 21st April 21:35
Chaps, thanks for the replies so far - good to be reminded there are plenty more fish in the sea! First post does make it sound a dog! There are some good things about it too, so if I could find out for sure what the source of that engine noise I was thinking could be worth making an offer that takes account of what needs doing.
To give a bit more info, it's a 130k car, but there's quite a lot of BMW service history, which goes past the 100k mark (which it reached in only just over 3 years). My general impression is it's been looked after quite well for most of its life. It's a manual, so that's less likely to go wrong than an auto and doesn't have the electric seats or climate control or cruise control to go wrong either.
On Monday I think I'll ask the last BMW dealer that serviced it what was done at that time, but I'll also keep watching the classifieds - I'm by no means set on this particular one!
To give a bit more info, it's a 130k car, but there's quite a lot of BMW service history, which goes past the 100k mark (which it reached in only just over 3 years). My general impression is it's been looked after quite well for most of its life. It's a manual, so that's less likely to go wrong than an auto and doesn't have the electric seats or climate control or cruise control to go wrong either.
On Monday I think I'll ask the last BMW dealer that serviced it what was done at that time, but I'll also keep watching the classifieds - I'm by no means set on this particular one!
Had my E39 for 5 years now when it is was only supposed to be a stop-gap car.
Not many major issues in that time, just the cat going at 120,000 miles.
Like others have said, this one sounds like hassle you could & should avoid. Why put yourself through it when you can get another..with leccy seats etc..for not very much at all.
Great cars though. One of BMW's best.
Not many major issues in that time, just the cat going at 120,000 miles.
Like others have said, this one sounds like hassle you could & should avoid. Why put yourself through it when you can get another..with leccy seats etc..for not very much at all.
Great cars though. One of BMW's best.
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