BMW E39 528i SE
Discussion
* LONG POST AHEAD *
After my beloved (but rusty) shed of a Golf failed it's MOT badly, he was sent up to the great scrapyard in the sky. This meant a replacement was needed, quickly! My budget wasn’t a lot, I had some money that I had scraped together from my job over summer + the scrap money for the Golf.
The search for a new motor was looking pretty grim, Swansea is a s
t place to buy/sell a car. I was considering waiting until I got back home to the West Midlands before searching again, but this would have meant taking a train and taking only a suitcase with me.
It was looking bad until one day I received a text about a car I had previously asked about, one where the owner previously didn't budge on the price. The seller was willing to lower the price as it hadn't sold, which brought it down within the realms of my (rather limited) budget. It was a high mileage E39 (257K!), but I was told that the car had been mechanically looked after very well, recipts & history etc, and that the miles were mostly motorway. The car also came complete with 10 months MOT. The guy sounded like a BMW enthusiast who knew his stuff, which was a nice change from other sellers I'd spoken to.
So I agreed a day to pick it up.. one problem.. the car was in Oxfordshire.. and I was in Swansea
Eventually found a mate who generously offered to take me there. The journey was cursed with pissing rain throughout, to make it worse by the time we arrived in Oxfordshire it was about half past 4, so it was effectively night time. Perfect conditions to view a car in! The advert wasn't the best with only 2 pictures on it, so I assumed that the car would have some dents/rust badly on one side. However, I had decided that if the engine ran smoothly, and the car drove in a straight line that I would have it, I was desperate for some wheels.
The seller lived on what appeared to be a farm, so it was a bit of a trek and the sat-nav didn’t help!
When I first saw the E39, I was pleasantly surprised. Despite only being lit up by the headlights of my mates car, I couldn’t see any dents or rust. The seller came out of his house to greet us, and opened it up for me. What an interior! Full cream leather, wood effect dash, it was a welcome change from the dark plastics of my old Golf. The guy then let me drive it, it took a bit of getting used to driving a large engine car again, but it was so nice to hear that straight six once more!
The car felt drove very well and felt tight, and after giving the bodywork a final once over I handed over the cash, the grand sum of £580. We sorted out the paperwork, and after several attempts to do a 3 point turn with the rear wheels resting on a muddy bank, I was then on my way in a tidy E39. The bloke had even put half a tank of fuel in it for me.
My mate and I headed off in different directions at that point, where I headed off to find the M40 towards the midlands, and eventually, home. The E39 didn’t miss a beat the whole way up, despite being stuck in M42 traffic for 30 mins, before I then took a wrong exit and ended up on the wrong side of the M6, which naturally ended up in being stuck in stand still traffic heading in a direction I had no intention of going, d’oh. I had a bad experience with a 328 before, so my eyes were glancing at the temperature gauge every 10 seconds. Fortunately the barge made it home without a single problem. I had accidently bought what appeared to be a very good car
The only things I can fault the car on is some misting within the headlight units, the lip of the OSR front wheel looks slightly kurbed, and one of the rear wheel speed sensors needs replacing, which means the TCS/ABS is currently disabled. But anyway, time for the pictures!
After my beloved (but rusty) shed of a Golf failed it's MOT badly, he was sent up to the great scrapyard in the sky. This meant a replacement was needed, quickly! My budget wasn’t a lot, I had some money that I had scraped together from my job over summer + the scrap money for the Golf.
The search for a new motor was looking pretty grim, Swansea is a s
t place to buy/sell a car. I was considering waiting until I got back home to the West Midlands before searching again, but this would have meant taking a train and taking only a suitcase with me. It was looking bad until one day I received a text about a car I had previously asked about, one where the owner previously didn't budge on the price. The seller was willing to lower the price as it hadn't sold, which brought it down within the realms of my (rather limited) budget. It was a high mileage E39 (257K!), but I was told that the car had been mechanically looked after very well, recipts & history etc, and that the miles were mostly motorway. The car also came complete with 10 months MOT. The guy sounded like a BMW enthusiast who knew his stuff, which was a nice change from other sellers I'd spoken to.
So I agreed a day to pick it up.. one problem.. the car was in Oxfordshire.. and I was in Swansea
Eventually found a mate who generously offered to take me there. The journey was cursed with pissing rain throughout, to make it worse by the time we arrived in Oxfordshire it was about half past 4, so it was effectively night time. Perfect conditions to view a car in! The advert wasn't the best with only 2 pictures on it, so I assumed that the car would have some dents/rust badly on one side. However, I had decided that if the engine ran smoothly, and the car drove in a straight line that I would have it, I was desperate for some wheels.
The seller lived on what appeared to be a farm, so it was a bit of a trek and the sat-nav didn’t help!
When I first saw the E39, I was pleasantly surprised. Despite only being lit up by the headlights of my mates car, I couldn’t see any dents or rust. The seller came out of his house to greet us, and opened it up for me. What an interior! Full cream leather, wood effect dash, it was a welcome change from the dark plastics of my old Golf. The guy then let me drive it, it took a bit of getting used to driving a large engine car again, but it was so nice to hear that straight six once more!
The car felt drove very well and felt tight, and after giving the bodywork a final once over I handed over the cash, the grand sum of £580. We sorted out the paperwork, and after several attempts to do a 3 point turn with the rear wheels resting on a muddy bank, I was then on my way in a tidy E39. The bloke had even put half a tank of fuel in it for me.
My mate and I headed off in different directions at that point, where I headed off to find the M40 towards the midlands, and eventually, home. The E39 didn’t miss a beat the whole way up, despite being stuck in M42 traffic for 30 mins, before I then took a wrong exit and ended up on the wrong side of the M6, which naturally ended up in being stuck in stand still traffic heading in a direction I had no intention of going, d’oh. I had a bad experience with a 328 before, so my eyes were glancing at the temperature gauge every 10 seconds. Fortunately the barge made it home without a single problem. I had accidently bought what appeared to be a very good car
The only things I can fault the car on is some misting within the headlight units, the lip of the OSR front wheel looks slightly kurbed, and one of the rear wheel speed sensors needs replacing, which means the TCS/ABS is currently disabled. But anyway, time for the pictures!
Edited by getawayturtle on Wednesday 19th December 03:24
Great Post 
Staggering value for money, looks like a great buy especially with the Manual Box. I have just bought a 525d sport, its mearly just run in with 190k compared to yours.
I have also taken a wrong turning on a motorway before and sat for over an hour in a Jam facing the wrong way, at the time i wanted to repeatedly head butt the steering wheel at my stupidity
Staggering value for money, looks like a great buy especially with the Manual Box. I have just bought a 525d sport, its mearly just run in with 190k compared to yours.
I have also taken a wrong turning on a motorway before and sat for over an hour in a Jam facing the wrong way, at the time i wanted to repeatedly head butt the steering wheel at my stupidity
Sweet! You're brave taking a punt with that mileage, but it's ever so cheap, and 10 months m.o.t is a bonus. The E39s with cream leather are just a lovely place to be, mine is just down-right gloomy inside with black leather, black dash, black carpets and mats, black headlining... you get the picture.
Quite like your 16" 'roulette' wheels, it's been kept original for nigh on 300k miles so keep them on!
Quite like your 16" 'roulette' wheels, it's been kept original for nigh on 300k miles so keep them on!
I have a set of 19" CSL wheels. I am undecided if I wish to fit them yet. Lack of m-sport bumpers and such, might look a little bit..well.. barry. Not to mention ride, cost in tyres, possible offset requirement etc.
Should look a little like this though. Need a refurb to bring them up to spec, might see if i can anthracite coat them. As my wheels end up that colour after 50 miles anyway.
Op- Clear repeaters are a must, my car is the same age as yours (near enough), also well in shed territory cash wise, and the previous owner had replaced Front and rear lamps with the facelift jobbies. Make's it look much newer.
Do you know if it's the single or double Vanos motor?
Should look a little like this though. Need a refurb to bring them up to spec, might see if i can anthracite coat them. As my wheels end up that colour after 50 miles anyway.
Op- Clear repeaters are a must, my car is the same age as yours (near enough), also well in shed territory cash wise, and the previous owner had replaced Front and rear lamps with the facelift jobbies. Make's it look much newer.
Do you know if it's the single or double Vanos motor?
Thanks for all the kind words chaps
The motorway moment did piss me off I was sat in it for a good 45 minutes.
It is a hell of a lot of car for the money, I'm not really worried about the engine going pop, but even if it does I could get enough money back breaking it. To think if I didn't end up with this E39 I would have ended up with a Ford Escort
The manual box is very good, though I can see why an auto box would suit this car. In terms of what it is like to drive, it pulls very well given its weight, but naturally it is a tad slower than the 328 was. It is also more cumbersome in the corners, but I don't really mind that. The ride itself is much more refined and smooth, it's a very comfortable place to be. It's very tail happy in the wet though!
I have thought about sticking parallel alloys on it, along with some others. However, as has been mentioned they will cost a good chunk of what I paid for the car
I'm meant to be saving up for an Impreza Turbo, so I will have to decide when I'm going to buy that before I start spending serious money on the E39. However, I am growing quite attached to it, so might well decide to keep it for a long while if it keeps going. Walsh your E39 looks very tasty, I'm considering sticking facelift headlights on it, might do the tailights and repeaters too if I can find any on the cheap.
The colour is growing on me, it has much more of an orange tint to it than the pictures suggest. The car does feel extremely grown up, especially for a 22 year old I've had more nice comments about it from people than any of my other cars though, probably because it is in such nice condition.
Oh and the engine is a double vanos, which the previous owner rebuilt quite recently.
The motorway moment did piss me off
I was sat in it for a good 45 minutes.It is a hell of a lot of car for the money, I'm not really worried about the engine going pop, but even if it does I could get enough money back breaking it. To think if I didn't end up with this E39 I would have ended up with a Ford Escort
The manual box is very good, though I can see why an auto box would suit this car. In terms of what it is like to drive, it pulls very well given its weight, but naturally it is a tad slower than the 328 was. It is also more cumbersome in the corners, but I don't really mind that. The ride itself is much more refined and smooth, it's a very comfortable place to be. It's very tail happy in the wet though!
I have thought about sticking parallel alloys on it, along with some others. However, as has been mentioned they will cost a good chunk of what I paid for the car
I'm meant to be saving up for an Impreza Turbo, so I will have to decide when I'm going to buy that before I start spending serious money on the E39. However, I am growing quite attached to it, so might well decide to keep it for a long while if it keeps going. Walsh your E39 looks very tasty, I'm considering sticking facelift headlights on it, might do the tailights and repeaters too if I can find any on the cheap.
The colour is growing on me, it has much more of an orange tint to it than the pictures suggest. The car does feel extremely grown up, especially for a 22 year old
I've had more nice comments about it from people than any of my other cars though, probably because it is in such nice condition.Oh and the engine is a double vanos, which the previous owner rebuilt quite recently.
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