Wife's "New" Car

[glewis80SC]

2001 BMW 530i 84,000 miles Second Owner with excellent maintenance and records. We had a 2003 of the same but sold it several years ago, always regretted that decision. We love the look/style and the drive of the E39 model. FYI car was found and bought from Craigslist the transaction was flawless.

[HardDrive]

Meh. Doesn't look perfect. Has it been on a dyno?

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Meh. Doesn't look PERFECTED. Has it been on a dyno?

Fixed it for you.

[redstrosekNic]

There's no primer on the grill trim. Not PERFECTED!

Hahahaha

[cairns]

The best four door sedan I ever owned. I still miss it.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Great looking car, congrats! The last really timeless BMW in my opinion.

[Steve Carlton]

Lifetime warranty?

[dtw]

Nice ride! I have the exact same car down to the year, sport package, and color. Mine is a 5 speed. I have about 185,000 on mine now. It is the best all-around car I have ever owned.

Unfortunately, as much as I love mine, it is not PERFECTED or DYNO TESTED, nor does it come with a LIFETIME WARANTEE - so there's no way I could get $6K for it. Guess I'll just keep it.

[Rick Lee]

I would so love one of those if it came with a lifetime warranty. I hate the newer ones.

[Mrmerlin]

might you tell how much that speed bucket cost?
I like that car and the color and the styling is terrific

[RANDY P]

I did the same thing.... Bought one, traded it, missed it, got another.

Brilliant choice.

rjp

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by Mrmerlin

might you tell how much that speed bucket cost?
I like that car and the color and the styling is terrific

LA Craigslist is littered with 'em- I think I saw the OP's in there the other day. Was a good deal.

rjp

[sc_rufctr]

Nice car... I do like the classic BMW face. Much better than the later cars IMO.

They're almost giving them away locally. I know a dental hygienist who drives one, paid for it herself and she's 23.
It seems that the 3 series hold their value better.

Do theses suffer from the gearbox issues of the later cars?

[Nostril Cheese]

meh. not PERFECTED.

Way to go, fail sauce.

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Do theses suffer from the gearbox issues of the later cars?

later years are pretty solid- esp. the V8. Trans failures are sort of rare.

rjp

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by RANDY P

later years are pretty solid- esp. the V8. Trans failures are sort of rare.

rjp

Rare? I thought the newer autos were failure prone at around 90,000 miles.

Am I wrong?

[glewis80SC]

No lifetime warranty or Dyno -_- but still happy with the purchase. Paid $8700, the previous owner was truly OCD about taking care of it, older BMW prone to some overheating issues but usually if not maintained well. Love the car.

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Rare? I thought the newer autos were failure prone at around 90,000 miles.

Am I wrong?

no, not really- it could happen but there are many that keep on going past 200K as well....I singled out the 540 since it's tranny (5HP24) is pretty damn durable- mine's got 150K on it and just did a fluid change - still perfect. There are reports of failures, but those were the early 5hp24 (prior to 2001) - newer ones have been updated from the factory-

5HP19 is what's used in the 530I- and mine (sold car at 105K) was still ticking along just perfect, but it had fluid changes done...

Bottom line, I wouldn't sweat one that's shifting perfectly...

rjp

[onewhippedpuppy]

The BMW slushboxes, like most modern transmissions, seem to last if you ignore the ridiculous "lifetime fluid" recommendation.

[matt711]

I love the wheels on that car. Wish our 330Ci (E46) had a set like that.