My 38,000 mile 2003 BMW E39 530i Sport

[Mani59]

Hi all,

I thought I would share my 2003 BMW E39 530i Champagne Edition II with you all which has done just 38,000 miles.

I purchased the car a few weeks ago after verifying the mileage carefully (vcheck, HPI, MOT history and service history with BMW since it is a full BMW service history car). It all checked out so that was great.

I always loved the E39 (I had one back in 2007) and I think most on here will think I am mad for spending so much maintaining what is an old car but I love these and want to keep it maintained and going for as long as possible! For me, it is a timeless design (the touring too) and from an era when it was very much driver orientated card (in my opinion).
I have had all sorts of other BMWs (E39 525d, E90 330i, E60 525i and 530i / 525d/535d, E65 730d, E90 M3, F20 M135i, E63 and E64 630i) but for me, I have always wished I never got rid of my original E39. Nice examples of the E39 are getting hard to find now so when I found this, it just ticked all the boxes for me. Being a Champagne Edition II was a bonus as I like the black/creme combination (similar to my E46 330i Individual which I also own).

Here is the car at the dealer on collection day:



Condition wise, it was fantastic given its almost 20 years old and the interior hardly had a scratch on it. Most importantly, there was no rust on or under the body so that was great!

The only problems I noted were the below:

-Dashboard pixels not working
-Navigation screen not working





Not a major issue in my eyes since the supplying dealer would pay me back to get these issues sorted so that was good.

On the 2-3 hour drive back home, I also noted vibration coming from the steering wheel when at 60-70MPH and braking hard. Since I had the car booked in for a Inspection 2 in a few days (and to get the car checked over), I would ask the independent BMW specialist I had it booked in with to take a look.

Upon getting it home, I undertook a quick detail of the car and interior.



Note the instrument cluster is missing since it was away for repair at the time of the photo:


During the Inspection 2, the garage also noted the below:
- Intake pipe split (common on the M54s)
- PAS cap leaking
- Front bendy control arms, front brakes and discs, both front tie rod and ends (which were seized) and Hunter 4 wheel alignment recommended to be replaced to fix the vibration issue

So I approved all of the above and the the difference it made to the ride was astonishing! Super comfortable and just glides along the road now.

The tyres on the car were a mix of Hankooks on the front and Toyo's on the rear so I corrected that. They were also 10 years old and whilst there was plenty of tread left, I did not feel comfortable driving on such old tyres given that this E39 is my daily. So after a lot of research and checking out the E39 forums in Germany, I decided to go with Falken FK510s which had good reviews (also the excellent M539 Restorations on YouTube has them on his E39 M5).



A few days later, I received the repaired instrument cluster back. I used a local automotive electronics shop to repair the instrument cluster with a lifetime warranty so that was good.



After doing some digging, I managed to get hold of the previous owner who was a great guy. He told me a little bit of history of the car (it was originally a Sytner car and then he purchased it in 2003) and for the last few years, he has had it in storage hence the low mileage. Really fascinating to hear his thoughts on the car, additions he asked Sytner to make to it (such as adding a CD Changer) keeping it all within the BMW network and the fact that he would love to see the car again! I said we will keep in touch and I am sure we can arrange something after Covid-19.

I then turned my attention to the navigation. Now the excellent guys on Forum5 (and Dan who is also a member on here) were a fantastic help in this. The problem was that there was no display being displayed on the screen. The Radio and CD worked fine. The navigation DVD unit in the boot seemed to be working as the red light was on and I could hear the disc spinning.
Anyway, I sent the DVD unit off to be looked at / repaired and once I got that back and adjusted a few connections, it was working fine!



It was then time for another mini-detail:





That brings us bang up to date.

What's left to do:

-Cooling system overhaul. This will be done within the next couple of months.
-Leather refurbishment. The leather is not in bad condition at all but it is something I would like to get refurbished. However, it is quite low on the priority list since I also need to spend some attention on my E46 330i Individual.





Apologies for the length of this and thanks if you managed to make it this far!

[Mani59]

Hi all,

Thanks so much to ALL of you for your comments, really nice to hear so many of you guys like it too, thanks! I will indeed keep this updated with progress.

One thing I forgot to mention was that I also applied a liberal amount of Gummi Pflege to all of the seals to make them all supple again.

I will try to answer some of the questions below.

si_xsi said:

Very very smart, what a find. I'm currently looking for a 530i spoft too so following with interest. A timeless design. Which dealer was selling the car and where did you find it?

Thanks. I was looking for sometime and the one I purchased was on sale for about 9 months or so but due to Covid-19, it was taken off sale for a few months in the summer I understand. I purchased it from Rix Motors in Warrington (who obtained it from Sytner BMW).
I have a contact at Sytner BMW who was able to verify a few things for me including a printout of all the warranty history on the car so that gave me the added confidence to go with this one since it was still known in the BMW network.

I was looking daily on Auto Trader, Munich Legends, Car and Classic and Pistonheads Classifieds.

njw1 said:

I'm biased having owned four e39's but that is lovely. My current one had an all beige interior when I bought it so I got hold of some black interior parts and sort of did my own version of a champagne interior;

Thanks. That looks lovely! The black really helps break it up. You really do have yourself an "individual".

Mattiebmw said:

Can you recommend a product to clean your leathers with mate? I have the same or very similar in my 3 series and I really want t make them immaculate.
Thanks in advance

Thanks. I use Auto Finesse Leather Hide Conditioner followed by Auto Finesse Leather Conditioner which works well in my opinion. I then keep it cleaned with their Interior Quick Detailer.

Polarbert said:

Such a lovely motor. Apologies if you already said, is your plan to keep the mileage down or drive it and enjoy it? I bought my M Roadster at 42k miles and I always had thoughts to not drive it as much, but now its on 103k I definitely have enjoyed it every time I've driven it.

Thanks. Wow, an M Roadster! Truly stunning and back from an era when BMW M cars were at their greatest in my opinion.
It is being used as my daily car so I am enjoying it. My E46 330i Individual (which is currently in hibernation) is my spring/summer Fridays/weekend only car.

Hagus said:

Two absolutely gorgeous proper BMW’s mate, I’m a little biased as I have a mint e46 cab and e30 325i, I’ve had later ones but for me it was all downhill from the 46/39 era, my 3 year old Volvo daily is a reflection of this.... ha ha

Thanks. I remember going from my E39 525d to a E90 330i and whilst the N52 was a wonderful engine, I just found the quality of materials used in the interior were really poor in my opinion so got rid pretty quickly. I suppose it helped that my E39 525d had an Alcantara interior which I absolutely loved.

Kettmark said:

Great low miler. I too have a low owner & low miler bm. Mines an e36 with 25k on from new. Feels like sitting in and driving a brand new car despite being registered in 1993.

Thanks. Wow, 25k miles! Pretty much factory fresh then!! Enjoy!

Alfahorn said:

Like both by love the E46. The last good looking 3 series IMHO.

On the E39 I think I'd not want to drive it with such low miles.

Thank you. I purchased the E46 a couple of years ago and spent quite a bit of money on it so far. It drives perfectly but I just need to get round to doing the front brakes/discs and also some cosmetic things as I would like to get the wheels refurbished. Earlier this year, I had it in the bodyshop to remove some paint bubbling and rust spots which are all too common on the E46. I also had under body protection applied at the same time too (Waxoyl).

mcg_ said:

Great car, can't be many left in that condition now.

A friends Dad stopped when passing our house the other day, he had the dark blue E39 M5 with equally low mileage and has owned for a while. What a car!

Thanks. The E39 M5 is absolutely awesome and still looks fresh in my eyes!

zek said:

That's lovely, I have a 330ci in similar time warp condition that I bought last March - also with 38k!

Thanks. That sounds awesome. Do you use your's as a daily too?

200Plus Club said:

I had a remapped 2002 530D Sport in Imola Red with virtually every factory option including the motorised rear blinds! Loved that car it drove so well and had the E39 looks and appeal even though it was a diesel it handled so well. Wish I'd never sold it tbh

An Imola Red E39 is gorgeous! This is exactly how I felt when I sold my very first E39 around 2010. Maybe it was the build quality and the looks but for me, all of the other BMWs I have owned always had something missing from them and I would always compare them back to the E39.

Bemmer said:

This is the car Rix Motor Company had advertised for ages.?

Correct. They had it for about 9 months but they took it off sale during the summer due to Covid-19 and put it into storage I believe. So when I was looking, it was back on sale again.

[Mani59]

d_a_n1979 said:

One thing I haven't asked on here or the 5 forums Mani is do you know if the box has been serviced at all?

If not that's worth looking into and putting on the priority list etc

Not sure where in the world you are; but the 2 main places recommended are Automatic Transmissions in Preston & Martin Hind at Dartford Transmissions

B'stard Child said:

Last time I did mine DIY (2007) on the E38 - the gasket and filter plus O'ring was less than £30 from BMW but the Oil was £9 per litre - I think we eventually found the correct transmission fluid from ESSO at £85 for 20 Litres



Makes a huge diffence to the change quality but can take several cold start checks with addition of more fluid until the level is correct

Edited by B'stard Child on Sunday 3rd January 14:49

Thanks guys! Ah yes, good shout! I am fairly certain it has not been done so yes I will add that to the top of the list as its all about the preventative maintenance. Thanks for the recommendations too both.

Fatball said:

Depending on how close to Rix you are, Graham Martin near St Helens did my auto service along with any other work.

Thanks, I am afraid I am no where near Rix Motors (I am in the East Midlands) but thanks for the tip!

LetsTryAgain said:

andy43 said:

Lovely car, they're just so right those E39s. Then you drop Velvet Blue in at the end as well!

My E46 Clubsport was velvet blue. Absolutely beautiful.

Thanks! Do you still have your E46 Clubsport? I've seen some photos in Velvet Blue and they are stunning, especially with their OEM Clubsport wheels. Depending on the light conditions, it comes out as Cadbury's Purple sometimes too in my eyes.

[Mani59]

Just a small update on my E39. I noticed last week whilst driving that when using the washer jets, whilst the headlight ones work fine, the jets for the windscreen were poor. And when I mean poor, clearly not working correctly as it was just a drizzle on the right hand side one and nothing on the left side.

I remember from years ago when I owned my first E39 that the washer jet connector pipes under the bonnet come off easily in really cold weather so after some Googling and searching online to refresh myself, I had a look and sure enough, the connectors had come loose on the left side and only 1 connected on the right side. After some satisfying clicks to connect them back up again and checking all of the other connectors, I tested out the jets and it was all working again.

[Mani59]

So last week, I had the cooling system refreshed which including replacing the expansion tank, both coolant hoses (top and bottom), drive belt, water pump and thermostat (and new coolant).

Since there was nothing wrong with the old cooling system, the car does not feel any different but it certainly is good to get this job done.

A few photos of the parts courtesy of the BMW independent specialist that undertook the work.

[Mani59]

Thanks guys. The radiator did not need changing as my specialist said it looked fine.

My car was in for a detail last week and I used the excellent Chris at Slix Car Care. Here is the video he produced of the work undertaken. Suffice to say I am really pleased with the results!

https://youtu.be/SLhxhYdzlsI

I really love the flakes in the paint of Sapphire Black Metallic.

Edited by Mani59 on Sunday 28th February 21:50

[Mani59]

Thanks guys for the kind words!

[Mani59]

Today it is my E39's birthday as it is exactly 18 years old from the production date.

So I decided to give it another quick wash and also brought my E46 330i Individual out of winter hibernation for a short time.

[Mani59]

@ChocolateFrog - Thanks. To be fair, whilst they did sell the car with a non-working navigation system and faulty instrument cluster, they did say for me to get it fixed locally and they will pay for the repairs (which they did) so no complaints from me on that front.

And regarding the tyres, I agree regarding mis-match of brands! My offer for the car was taking into account that I would have to spend a bit of money replacing the tyres.

swampy442 said:

Who did your cluster repair? I need mine doing on my E39

I used Autotronics based in Leicester City. Took about a week or so.

[Mani59]

Thought I would update this since its been a few months.

Major highlight has been the appearance of a little bit of paint bubbling and rust (it had to happen I guess!) when doing some work on the car in late April. So rather than wait for it to get worse, I have decided to get it sorted now. For now, I have applied loads of wax in the areas to slow the spread (hence white marks in the photos).

I have to say though that it has been a bit of a pain contacting and finding a bodyshop I feel comfortable with.

First bit of paint bubbling and bit of rust is just under the boot grab handle / above the number plate.





Next little bit of paint bubbling is inside the fuel tank area.



So the car is booked in for next week to have the above sorted and should take a few days.

[Mani59]

yavz said:

Cracking pair of motors there. I'm partial to an e46 and that colour combo, coupled with the extended leather is something special.

Thanks!

[Mani59]

Rust repair and repaint has successfully been carried out and am very pleased with the work:







Apologies for the poor photos, it was raining.

[Mani59]

A small update.

After thinking about whether to reseal the existing rear water vapour barriers, for the relatively low cost of the barriers themselves, I decided to buy new ones and replace the ones in the car. I also bought some of the butyl cord tape too.

Due to lack of time, it was not going to be possible for me to do the work myself so I had it booked in with my local BMW specialist last week and they replaced the seals for me.

Last weekend, I washed the car and very pleased to report that there is no slash of water when the doors open and also no water pooling on the sill.

So glad to say another item ticked off the list!

The water vapour barriers:




The butyl cord:


The car when dropped off at the specialist:

[Mani59]

Quick update.

Happy to report that the car passed it’s MOT a couple of days ago with no advisories.
As well as an annual oil service, I also decided to get the windscreen washer fluid tank and filters replaced.

[Mani59]

Thanks both!

[Mani59]

Thanks both! I will need to get round to updating the E46 topic I have on here at some point.

bolidemichael said:

What's the outlay for the bodywork and the vapour seals, etc? It'd be nice to know the costs of keeping the E39 to an enthusiast's level.

To sort out the rust issues properly (including applying some sort of Waxoyl where they did the repairs), it cost around £700.00. I had various quotes (including a BMW dealer who wanted to respray the entre rear half of the car) but the chap I used (mentioned in this thread earlier) did a brilliant job.

In terms of the vapour barrier seals, I think they cost about £35 each and the butyl cord was about £20 (all from BMW). Then there was the labour on top to get them fitted; about 45 minutes - 1 hour.

It has been expensive to maintain but most of it is actually preventative maintenance. And then once it's done, it's done.

[Mani59]

Thanks both!

The car passed 39,000 miles today.



To celebrate the occasion, I decided to replace the driver side door sill plate as the old one was not very nice.

Old one:







New one:







Thanks, Mani

[Mani59]

Thanks! I'm doing my bit for recycling!

[Mani59]

Thank you both!

Recently, my E39 Champagne Edition II met my friend's E39 Champagne Edition II.
Mine is H, my friend's is N.

Edited by Mani59 on Thursday 18th November 21:05

[Mani59]

Hi all, a small update.

Whilst I had the headlights restored when I had the car detailed last year, I thought it was time to get them done again since it's been almost one year and they started looking a little poor again.

Here is the before and after (sorry, I did not take any before photos of the right side headlight).
Very pleased with the results.

Before:





After: