Thinking of an E39 Sport as a daily runner

[Kos]

in my one year or e39 ownership i've not has a single problem.

it came with one problem though and thats an intermittent airbag warning light which is down to the passenger seat.

it needs the front TCA bushes doing soon as there is a slight judder at 60mph when braking. thats it.

the key to these cars is buying one with a well documented service history. as every with any used car, go out and drive a few and get a feel for them. even the ones you wouldn't normally fancy may give you an idea of what a good car should feel like.

there is a huge difference between a 2k e39 530i sport and a 4k 530i sport

we all know how e30's vary in standards, the e39 is the same. who here would want to buy a bruv'd up sport for 2k ? so why buy an e39 thats owned by scum and chav'd up ?

for the record, my cars on 140,000 miles and feels nice and tight and as some one said being a facelift sport still looks modern and smart and not out of place with some newer cars as company in a car park.

[B7]

in my one year or e39 ownership i've not has a single problem.

it came with one problem though and thats an intermittent airbag warning light which is down to the passenger seat.

it needs the front TCA bushes doing soon as there is a slight judder at 60mph when braking. thats it.

the key to these cars is buying one with a well documented service history. as every with any used car, go out and drive a few and get a feel for them. even the ones you wouldn't normally fancy may give you an idea of what a good car should feel like.

there is a huge difference between a 2k e39 530i sport and a 4k 530i sport

we all know how e30's vary in standards, the e39 is the same. who here would want to buy a bruv'd up sport for 2k ? so why buy an e39 thats owned by scum and chav'd up ?

for the record, my cars on 140,000 miles and feels nice and tight and as some one said being a facelift sport still looks modern and smart and not out of place with some newer cars as company in a car park.

It's a lottery Kos. Theres issues and issues. Mine has a full BMW history and a file as thick as your arm. the reason I bought it was because the history was so full and fat. 1 company director owner from a nice part of Oxford.

I think it's true though that one on 140k has had issues sorted so will drive well. I bought mine on 92k and it's needed all the usual maladies rectifying. Maybe that was my mistake??

[pony]

in my one year or e39 ownership i've not has a single problem.

it came with one problem though and thats an intermittent airbag warning light which is down to the passenger seat.

it needs the front TCA bushes doing soon as there is a slight judder at 60mph when braking. thats it.

the key to these cars is buying one with a well documented service history. as every with any used car, go out and drive a few and get a feel for them. even the ones you wouldn't normally fancy may give you an idea of what a good car should feel like.

there is a huge difference between a 2k e39 530i sport and a 4k 530i sport

we all know how e30's vary in standards, the e39 is the same. who here would want to buy a bruv'd up sport for 2k ? so why buy an e39 thats owned by scum and chav'd up ?

for the record, my cars on 140,000 miles and feels nice and tight and as some one said being a facelift sport still looks modern and smart and not out of place with some newer cars as company in a car park.

Mine has a full BMW history and a file as thick as your arm. the reason I bought it was because the history was so full and fat. 1 company director owner from a nice part of Oxford.

Cannot believe a FBMWSH - 1 owner - from a good neighbourhood and the car gives you problems

Maybe the faults that you are suggesting - did you get it connect to BMW Computer before buying or anything? Maybe the fault codes were already stored but only show up when you connect it to a computer?

[B7]

in my one year or e39 ownership i've not has a single problem.

it came with one problem though and thats an intermittent airbag warning light which is down to the passenger seat.

it needs the front TCA bushes doing soon as there is a slight judder at 60mph when braking. thats it.

the key to these cars is buying one with a well documented service history. as every with any used car, go out and drive a few and get a feel for them. even the ones you wouldn't normally fancy may give you an idea of what a good car should feel like.

there is a huge difference between a 2k e39 530i sport and a 4k 530i sport

we all know how e30's vary in standards, the e39 is the same. who here would want to buy a bruv'd up sport for 2k ? so why buy an e39 thats owned by scum and chav'd up ?

for the record, my cars on 140,000 miles and feels nice and tight and as some one said being a facelift sport still looks modern and smart and not out of place with some newer cars as company in a car park.

Mine has a full BMW history and a file as thick as your arm. the reason I bought it was because the history was so full and fat. 1 company director owner from a nice part of Oxford.

Cannot believe a FBMWSH - 1 owner - from a good neighbourhood and the car gives you problems

Maybe the faults that you are suggesting - did you get it connect to BMW Computer before buying or anything? Maybe the fault codes were already stored but only show up when you connect it to a computer?

You don't get fault codes with suspension, water pump, plastic top hose, intensive wash system falling apart etc etc. You also don't get a fault code when you lose all sight of the mileage, trip and o/s temp display in the dash. Which happened today

[lugy]

in my one year or e39 ownership i've not has a single problem.

it came with one problem though and thats an intermittent airbag warning light which is down to the passenger seat.

it needs the front TCA bushes doing soon as there is a slight judder at 60mph when braking. thats it.

the key to these cars is buying one with a well documented service history. as every with any used car, go out and drive a few and get a feel for them. even the ones you wouldn't normally fancy may give you an idea of what a good car should feel like.

there is a huge difference between a 2k e39 530i sport and a 4k 530i sport

we all know how e30's vary in standards, the e39 is the same. who here would want to buy a bruv'd up sport for 2k ? so why buy an e39 thats owned by scum and chav'd up ?

for the record, my cars on 140,000 miles and feels nice and tight and as some one said being a facelift sport still looks modern and smart and not out of place with some newer cars as company in a car park.

It's a lottery Kos. Theres issues and issues. Mine has a full BMW history and a file as thick as your arm. the reason I bought it was because the history was so full and fat. 1 company director owner from a nice part of Oxford.

I think it's true though that one on 140k has had issues sorted so will drive well. I bought mine on 92k and it's needed all the usual maladies rectifying. Maybe that was my mistake??

So an E39 is really the only car where you should buy one with good history but with higher miles? If it's done, say 120k and all the issues have been remedied then you should get another 120k before they come back around, by which time it'll be worth scrap value!
Yeah, I know, it doesn't really work like that!

[B7]

Just check the history file for the work thats been done. Thats all you can do.

[bss325i]

Pah! You lot think E39's are problematic and an hard to diagnose and fix!

E60's are in a whole other league, trust me!

E39's in the grand scheme of things are a good reliable car that are relatively easy to fix IF you know what you are doing and all the correct equipment.

Ad said though, look through the history for any work carried out previously and look for big bills.

2 years ago i was looking for a 530i Sport auto for my mate and we traveled all over the country looking for the "right" car, we looked at 7 or 8 and they were not bottom end of the market ones either but all were rubbish with faults and poorly looked after.

In the end we found a nice 52 plate black one with TOTAL history with plenty of bills and it still needed a few bits doing.

[B7]

2 years ago i was looking for a 530i Sport auto for my mate and we traveled all over the country looking for the "right" car, we looked at 7 or 8 and they were not bottom end of the market ones either but all were rubbish with faults and poorly looked after.

In the end we found a nice 52 plate black one with TOTAL history with plenty of bills and it still needed a few bits doing.

Ricks one was a nice car. I'm not a fan of black but that did look the part on 18" M parallels. Also have to say he was very fussy and adament on spec. But also take note, that was 2 years ago. Imagine what the rough ones are like now.

[TPS]

My mate has got a E39 523i, its a lovely car, just has silly faults, he had the airbag light on, which was a wiring fault, the cruise control didn't work, its just needed the steering wheel greased, currently the dash keeping saying the drivers door is open all the time!

I know someone with an E60 530i, 1 owner with 100k, the Desa flap broke up & went through the Inlet manifold-£845, the I-drive needed re-programming-the dealer first thought it needed a complete new unit, that potentially would have been £900!

[Kos]

it is lottery with any used car.

mine had 130k when i got it and now at 140. its still pretty tight bar a what i mentioned. i did hear a squeek earlier today from it lol

i know a few things were changed, and i also had a good idea how it was driven. the trip is used to do was from farnham to heathrow, sat there for a few days and back to farnham. all motorway miles which is kind on the suspension

now i drive it harder in more build up areas and through a car park with speed bumps, which will take its toll. i'm lining up some fresh bilsteins or sachs shocks

[pony]

Pah! You lot think E39's are problematic and an hard to diagnose and fix!

E60's are in a whole other league, trust me!

E39's in the grand scheme of things are a good reliable car that are relatively easy to fix IF you know what you are doing and all the correct equipment.

Imagine the recently launched 5 Series in years to come. Your going to need a degree or something to sort that out.

Bit of a troll question here but i ask anyway. Are BMW Master Technicians alot more better at fault-finding in general than all the other technicians?

It takes 6 years or something to become Master Technician I think.

[bss325i]

Bit of a troll question here but i ask anyway. Are BMW Master Technicians alot more better at fault-finding in general than all the other technicians?

It takes 6 years or something to become Master Technician I think.

BMW master techs that have current Master tech status (All BMW technicians have to sit and exam every 5 years) would be your best bet at diagnosing some of the more problem faults, they tend to get the shitty jobs.

It takes 5+ years to become a master and most people who go for it dont make the grade. It is hard!

[TPS]

The SAS of Technicians then!

[pony]

Bit of a troll question here but i ask anyway. Are BMW Master Technicians alot more better at fault-finding in general than all the other technicians?

It takes 6 years or something to become Master Technician I think.

BMW master techs that have current Master tech status (All BMW technicians have to sit and exam every 5 years) would be your best bet at diagnosing some of the more problem faults, they tend to get the shitty jobs.

It takes 5+ years to become a master and most people who go for it dont make the grade. It is hard!

Master Technicians are F***ing legends.
If you go on the BMW UK website and click on Careers and Apprenticeships. Then case studies there is a guy who works for BMW UK and helps develop prototypes, evaluate suitability of new components and even hydrogen vehicles.

Master Technician, BMW Product Development and Test Centre, BMW (UK) Ltd
http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/about/dealer ... stimonials

How many exams in total to become master technician as i think there are several types of qualification leading up to Master Technician?

For a qualified actuary to become Fellow of The Actuarial Profession there are 15 exams and they are all complete bitches.

[Rich_W]

BMW master techs that have current Master tech status (All BMW technicians have to sit and exam every 5 years) would be your best bet at diagnosing some of the more problem faults, they tend to get the shitty jobs.

It takes 5+ years to become a master and most people who go for it dont make the grade. It is hard!

What is the BMW structure between Apprentice and Master?

VAG run Apprentice/Service/Qualified/Master
JLR run Level 1,2,3,4 etc

I also seem to be getting a shed load of shitty jobs these days. Back handed compliment if ever there was! i.e. we know youy can sort it, but as a result kiss the cream (and bonus!) good bye. We'll give all that to uselss fucks who take 6 hours to do clutches! Or 3 hours to do cambelts!

Back OT to E39s.
It would forever bug me that the wipers went the "wrong" way on RHD cars.

[h7fal]

I've owned an e39 for over 4 months now, with no issues. I was surprised at just how good they are to drive, never fails to put a smile on my face when I put the foot down, even although I might as well be burning tenners in the garden with the mpg returned.

[bss325i]

BMW master techs that have current Master tech status (All BMW technicians have to sit and exam every 5 years) would be your best bet at diagnosing some of the more problem faults, they tend to get the shitty jobs.

It takes 5+ years to become a master and most people who go for it dont make the grade. It is hard!

What is the BMW structure between Apprentice and Master?

VAG run Apprentice/Service/Qualified/Master
JLR run Level 1,2,3,4 etc

I also seem to be getting a shed load of shitty jobs these days. Back handed compliment if ever there was! i.e. we know youy can sort it, but as a result kiss the cream (and bonus!) good bye. We'll give all that to uselss ***** who take 6 hours to do clutches! Or 3 hours to do cambelts!

Back OT to E39s.
It would forever bug me that the wipers went the "wrong" way on RHD cars.

With BMW,

Service technician
Technician
Senior technician
Master technician

When you first start with BMW your not even a service tech until you have done the course.

The other three levels require completion of 4-5 courses and an assessment.

Where are you working now Rich?