2000 E39 BMW 528i Sport

[Pommygranite]

Further to this thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I recently bought a 2000 E39 BMW 528i Sport on a complete whim. I had noticed the BMW hanging around at a specialists for a while and after it dropped from $12k down to $8.5k in the space of 4 months it seemed too good an opportunity to miss.

Having got this cheaply a year ago for $4,700 I was able to quickly sell it on for $4,500 after putting 10,000kms on it, didn't service it or do anything but put fuel in it was nice to move it and not lose anything. It was ok but I literally didn't care about it. Over here in Australia they use these for taxis so its, shall we say, workmanlike.

So Ford sold (shortly after the decision was made) I went off to look at the BMW. Here in Australia sport kit versions with matte chrome trim are as rare as rocking horse st. I thought it would be non serviced, a real shambles and rough as a dogs arse. Turns out it had full book service history, was in good condition to say it is 14 years old with 175,000kms (107,000 miles?) and was fully kitted out. Couldn't resist and bought this home.









Clean-ish inside. Note



No dead pixels!



So, so smooth. Absolutely love it. Now cars here in Oz are expensive and especially here in WA where I live - I mean this is a 14yr old BMW for 4600 pounds (no bloody pound sign on keyboards here either...) but this was a good price for this car here in WA. What is great is that its quite heavy/smooth from no speed to speed and out here speeding is policed heavily with bad fines/points (think 100 pound fine & 2 points for 6 mph over the limit and they will do you, no let offs here) so it means nice and cruisy rather than always wanting to go.

Also love the fact its fully specced with M suspension, shorter final drive ratio, leather and full electrics. Its also got a full toolkit and a first aid kit under the passenger seat which was an amusing find.

A few things I just love in terms of attention to detail:
- one touch windows on all - I park in an underground ever day so nice to just flick the switch, no holding up and down.
- one touch sunroof switch
- electric under thigh seat extension
- non slip strips in the boot for my laptop bag
- one touch on the key lowers all the windows and opens the sunroof - great here when its 35 degrees and sat outside before getting in
- electric steering column raises and lowers when turning ignition off and on

A few things I do need to attend to:
- 3 cracked climate control buttons which is quite common I believe and cheap to fix
- had a foggy front headlight - one hour later, 4 grades of sandpaper and a plastic polish and its like new
- leather needs a good clean
- need to find a matte chrome cover for the ashtray as its missing - can I find one anywhere in oz? - can I buggery.

And that's it so far.

Next steps I'm not sure on so welcome any views as don't want to chav it up:

Do I change the chrome kidney grill to a black one?



Black badge and script?



LED interior kit - bit harsh?

[anomaly]

That looks lovely. I'd leave it exactly as it is.

[budgie smuggler]

anomaly said:

That looks lovely. I'd leave it exactly as it is.

+1 on that. Looks nice as it is.

BTW the paint on the bootlid in that last pic is awful!

[RS Grant]

Welcome to the E39 fold.

I'd get black grills and 18" M-parallel wheels if it was mine. No black badges or different roundels though.


Cheers,
Grant

[Amirhussain]

This picture is just perfection for me

[a7x88]

+1 - i'd leave it as it is. I've always loved the E39 5... especially in sport guise

[g3org3y]

budgie smuggler said:

anomaly said:

That looks lovely. I'd leave it exactly as it is.

+1 on that. Looks nice as it is.

+528

Congrats, looks great.

[helix402]

Looks great. I'd leave the standard bonnet badge and grilles. Remove the 528i badge though. LED interior light bulbs-good.

[Pommygranite]

Amirhussain said:

This picture is just perfection for me

Thanks - thats my favourite also - the way it sits is just so right. I've never been a big silver colour fan but I feel it suits perfectly this car.

g3org3y said:

budgie smuggler said:

anomaly said:

That looks lovely. I'd leave it exactly as it is.

+1 on that. Looks nice as it is.

+528

Congrats, looks great.

Thanks - I think on reflection and the comments here, I will leave it as is - I really wasnt sure so easy decision to make.

helix402 said:

Looks great. I'd leave the standard bonnet badge and grilles. Remove the 528i badge though. LED interior light bulbs-good.

For some reason I'm partial to the 528 badge!

With regards to the LED I was unsure if the stark lighting might be quite soulless. I am wondering if the current warm glow suits it better. Its tempting for not much to try and give it a go.

Say that I did just order a bright white LED for the number plate light to see what it looks like...