Any 5 series BMW owners here?

[dtw]

The problem with northern cars - all the wheels look pretty rough and it makes me wonder how the undercarriage is holding up after a few winters. KBB private party at "Good" gives about $19.5k on this car, I'd probably lowball that another thousand or two. Definitely attactive, might have to give them a call tomorrow. Realistically, I'll probably be waiting until the first of the year. Wife will be out of town for a couple months, so I'll sell the truck while she's gone and then hunt around for a 5 after its gone.

[RANDY P]

according to a buddy of mine who used to be a car dealer, he says the best time to buy 'em is right around the beginning of the year - highline autos go through a huge price dump about that time - the new book prices are released.

Good luck

rjp

[D'STARGA]

I went with the v-8. I have a 2001 540i touring with sport package. I bought it with 30K and just turned 62K. I got it CPO with the warranty and it has been great. I have had the radiator replaced at their expense and I just put a set of tires on it. I love the car even though my wife took it from me since I put a approx 25k miles on it in 6 months. The car is great for eating up a lot of realestate in a hurry. And being that it's a wagon it holds a fair amount of stuff. The gas milage isn't too bad approx. 18 city and 22 hwy. But I think part of it is I always have my foot in it. Even though I love the car I would side with Randy on his views except I would get a 530i Touring with sport package. Unfortunately they are impossible to find. Good luck with the search.

[wludavid]

Originally posted by D'STARGA
Even though I love the car I would side with Randy on his views except I would get a 530i Touring with sport package. Unfortunately they are impossible to find. Good luck with the search.

Yep - It'd be just about impossible to find that car in the US. The Six-cyl Tourings were either 525i's or 528i's. If I were to get a Touring, I'd get a 528i from '99 or '00. More torque than the 2.5L and uses an aluminum block so it's very nicely balanced.

[gsxrken]

I love my 03 sport 540. It is solid feeling car with great looks and the 4.4 really moves out on the highway. I drove the 530 sport, and keeping it on the boil forced it to downshift too much for my taste. Go for the eight. These are heavy automobiles.

[dtw]

I am pretty much sold, here, thanks to you guys (especially Randy, you're like the devil poking the pitchfork in my arse- - thanks!). I've narrowed my focus to the 2001-2003 530. If at all possible, my 'ideal car' will be a 5 spd Premium/Sport packages in black on black. Sorta like this car, on which I have thrown a "play" bid: eBay #4582195362.

Are there any resources - online or otherwise - where I can read up on the specs and options of the 530, including changes made year to year?

[dtw]

Originally posted by wludavid
Yep - It'd be just about impossible to find that car in the US. The Six-cyl Tourings were either 525i's or 528i's. If I were to get a Touring, I'd get a 528i from '99 or '00. More torque than the 2.5L and uses an aluminum block so it's very nicely balanced.

My parents have a gorgeous silver on grey 530i, and they get miffed when I comment that the car is comparatively slow. It is though - and that's ok with me - I've got the 911 if I want a thrill ride. This car will be about being "mature" - seating 4 adults and safely transporting our daughter in a reliable automobile. At least, that's the spin I'm using with the wife. Um, though she has been in love with 5s longer than I have...so it's not really a hard sell...

[RANDY P]

almost ditto what Wayne said. I got so into the530 I almost went weird and tried to sell my 911 for something "M".

Then again, I knew i'd miss my 911. I pulled it out of storage the other day, and took one more look. - NOPE, not selling.


rjp

[LeRoux Strydom]

I have the 2002 530i sterling grey (dark grey metallic) with black interior. Prior to that I had a 1999 523i. I also have a 1990 964.

I could not agree more with Wayne. The E39 BMW is probably the best sedan that BMW ever built. Ergonomically it is just about perfect for me. The body style is purposeful, elegant and modern. Both examples I had/have were rock-solid mechanically, with no issues whatsoever. The 530i is super to drive, very responsive, economical, powerful and quiet.

The 530i recently went out of warranty at 100k km (60k miles), but I am not worried at all and will probably drive this car for a long time to come. I cannot convince myself to like the new 5-series, I dislike both the exterior and interior. Dynamically, I do not like the new-fangled variable steering ratio.

I will probably wait for the replacement of the current 5-series before BMW will convince me to replace my 530i with something new. I just bought the wife a new X3 3.0i with the same motor as my 530i, but I took back her 96 328i which I will also hang on to.

I hope you find a nice example to buy.

Le Roux

[dtw]

I think I've found a car, but I'm trying to sort out what is included in the Premium, Sport, and M Sport options. The car I'm looking at has the M Sport package, but nothing else listed. I just want to make sure I'm not forgoing any desireable options...

[wludavid]

Almost every car imported to the US had premium package. If it has the sport package and is a 1998, then it doesn't have premium. But that's the only exclusion example I can think of.

[dtw]

Nope...it's an '01 530 5 spd M Sport...

What does the premium package entail?

[wludavid]

leather, wood trim, cross-spoke alloys. Most premium cars also had 6 disc changers, but many (me included) think that dealers take these out of trade-ins to sell to people wanting to install changers. Most private party cars have changers and almost none that come from the dealer do.

[dtw]

I see...OK, well this car has wood trim and leather, and modular 17s which I assume are an upgrade part of the M Sport package. Are the rain-sensitive wipers a standard item? Not a deal breaker of course, just curious. The car I'm looking at has 85k miles but that isn't scaring me too much. Should it?

[wludavid]

automatic wipers aren't a standard item. The M-sport versions did tend to come with a lot of goodies so the car probably has it.

Between 90-100k you'll probably want to think about replacing the radiator. Many of them last well over 100k, but enough of them fail around 90k that it makes a worthwhile thing to do. Mine's at 91.3k right now and I haven't done it. (But I've thought a lot about it.) Probably time to replace gearbox and diff fluids. BMW has been saying these are now lifetime fluids, but I don't buy it. Random electric equipment failures aren't uncommon. I've had to replace a window motor, but nothing else so far. Unfortunately, if you buy a BMW you have to live with the idea that electric things will go wrong. If it's all working now, then I think you're good to go. But I'd be wary of a car that the owner didn't like enough to fix the moonroof or seat motors.

Also, the M-sport suspensions have very aggressive geometry. Expect to use up a lot of tire. That's the price you pay to make a 3500-lb. car behave like it weighs a lot less.

[dtw]

Fascinating info. So, the M-Sport suspension is even more aggressively set up than the Sport package? More camber? What about steering ratio, shocks/springs? More aggressive there, too? How much tire usage are we talking? 10k?

[wludavid]

Mike Miller (controvertial BMW tech guru) says that 7000 miles on summer tires is not unheard of. But that's probably on the heavier weight 540.

Not sure about differences between m-sport and sport package. Anyway, looks like you've tapped into one of my main sources - bimmerforums.com I've also got the August 05 Bimmer magazine open in my lap. There's a great e39 buyers guide. I'd be happy to scan the article for you, but I won't be back in the office until Friday.

[Tim Hancock]

I am in the market for a '97 or newer 5 also for my wife as she wants to pass our 325i down to my daughter. FWIW, my 325i has 250,000 miles on it and uses little oil. It still has the original oil in the tranny and rear end along with the original clutch! I had to replace the heater core, shocks, muffler, radiator, voltage regulator, belts, brake pads, cleaned the idle control valve and new plugs once since I bought it about 7 years ago. BMW builds good cars!

[Ed Bighi]

You don't need the 8. My mother was looking for a wagon last year and only wanted something that looked like a BMW. She wanted nothing to with the E50 abortion. That meant E39. At first she looked at the 540 touring m-sport package. While fast, really fast actually, we settled on a 525 sport touring. It also helped that there were far more 6's with sport than 8's. While it might seem real heavy for that motor, it's actually plenty quick. Turns out we really don't care for the sound of a V8. While the power is nice, V8's are bread and butter. Every other car has one. But a screaming inline 6 in what is the last good looking body BMW will make is actually something you don't walk away from. Go find another car of similar capabilities, styling and quality with an excellent inline six today. You can find a V8, V6 but not an inline 6. Also, only the 6's have rack and pinion steering. There is a difference. So go for the 6 cylinder I say. My mother found a black sport touring with black carpet and light grey seats and door accents. Never seen another one like it. It's been a year without a single expense other than tires. Great car that looks really good. Get'em while there are enough out there to pick and choose. The last 5 series that looks like BMW.

[wludavid]

Nice sell, Ed. Makes me want to go out and buy another one.