E39 528i

[coopman]

It's about time I stopped taxiing my kids around in the convertible E30 (NCAP rating, zero) and put it on historic plates. So I've purchased a nice modern E39 528i - one owner from new, great condition, 130,000 km / 80,000 miles on the clock, ~$96,000 less than the original purchase price.

[martauto]

Sorry but I had to do it

Mart.

[coopman]

Here you go...

[martauto]

Being in "Blighty" can you explain what the price means in "proper" money .
Hell , how much do they cost from new and how old is this please ?

Mart.

[coopman]

This is an older one from 1996. It cost just over A$100,000 new, which is around 50,000 quid at today's exchange rates (no idea what it was at the time). I bought this for just under A$4,000, which is around 2,000 quid.

It's an astonishingly nice car for its age. The step up in quality from a 1989 E30 to a 1996 E39 is huge (the E30 is still more fun to drive though).

[martauto]

Unsung hero`s they are

Mart.

[Cloggy Saint]

I'm sure they're very capable cars but they just look so dull.

[coopman]

I think they look pretty good from the right angle. Not as good as an E24/E30/E34, but not bad. It's meant to be a bit dull - in a daily driver sense.

The E39 is seen as the last mechanical BMW - the last model that the average Joe can maintain without specialist tools and a deep knowledge of electronics.

[DanThe]

They make fantastic daily drivers, ive put almost 200,000 miles on my 1997 540i touring since I bought it 11 years ago!

Bigger wheels will make it drive a lot nicer by the way

[Mitchen]

I got my lowly 523i to 220,000 miles before I had to sell it because of ULEZ. That was a fantastic car.

[DanThe]

I got my lowly 523i to 220,000 miles before I had to sell it because of ULEZ. That was a fantastic car.

Pretty much all E39's are ULEZ and CAZ compliant, my 1997 540i is, you just need to get the required data from BMW and forward it to TFL

[Mitchen]

I got my lowly 523i to 220,000 miles before I had to sell it because of ULEZ. That was a fantastic car.

Pretty much all E39's are ULEZ and CAZ compliant, my 1997 540i is, you just need to get the required data from BMW and forward it to TFL

Well that's shit.. I loved that car

[flybynite]

I think they look pretty good from the right angle. Not as good as an E24/E30/E34, but not bad. It's meant to be a bit dull - in a daily driver sense.
The E39 is seen as the last mechanical BMW - the last model that the average Joe can maintain without specialist tools and a deep knowledge of electronics.

Chris Harris was waxing lyrical about the E39 on the latest (collecting cars) podcast

[coopman]

Chris Harris is a wise man.

As with every BMW, I've encountered a few issues so far:

Three of the four electric windows are f**cked
Lots of dead pixels on the dash
One tyre has a slow puncture. Spare wheel is covered in grease - wtf?!?
Very slow off the mark - VANOS issue?
Windscreen seal is in terrible shape
Fluids were all very low - which is surprising given the car has been serviced by BMW every six months.

[Mitchen]

Chris Harris is a wise man.

As with every BMW, I've encountered a few issues so far:

Three of the four electric windows are f**cked
Lots of dead pixels on the dash
One tyre has a slow puncture. Spare wheel is covered in grease - wtf?!?
Very slow off the mark - VANOS issue?
Windscreen seal is in terrible shape
Fluids were all very low - which is surprising given the car has been serviced by BMW every six months.

My experience of M52's is that they're pretty slow. Once you build up speed they're good.. but they certainly don't pull off well.

Re. cluster issues.. We have companies in the UK like Cartronix who repair the display strip on clusters. Might be worth seeing if there's a company in your neck of the woods.

[coopman]

Chris Harris is a wise man.

As with every BMW, I've encountered a few issues so far:

Three of the four electric windows are f**cked
Lots of dead pixels on the dash
One tyre has a slow puncture. Spare wheel is covered in grease - wtf?!?
Very slow off the mark - VANOS issue?
Windscreen seal is in terrible shape
Fluids were all very low - which is surprising given the car has been serviced by BMW every six months.

My experience of M52's is that they're pretty slow. Once you build up speed they're good.. but they certainly don't pull off well.

Re. cluster issues.. We have companies in the UK like Cartronix who repair the display strip on clusters. Might be worth seeing if there's a company in your neck of the woods.

Once it gets going it pulls really well. It seems to get bogged down in low gears - it's a big heavy lump, but it doesn't feel quite right.

There are companies over here that can fix the cluster display / ribbon issue. I was thinking of doing it myself, but it looks like a bit of a pain.

[DanThe]

Slam the door while holding the window button, they stick