BMW E39 Estates/Touring - Opinions

[gadgetgricey]

Basically looks as though I've got to have a change with the current fleet as we now need an estate car. Thinking about selling my 9-5 Aero, and buying an E39 Estate.

 

Prefer the look of the BMW Estate to the 9-5 Estate, and would be nice to get back into a RWD car again.

 

Problem is I've been around Saabs for a while, so know what to look for when purchasing, but never owned a 5 Series so feel a bit in the dark.

 

Known Problems?

Best BMW forum for advice/bits?

Parts prices?

Second hand parts available?

Avoid Auto's?

Best Engine?

 

Any advice/opinions would be great.

 

Thanks again

 

- Dave -

[dollywobbler]

I've only driven an E39 523i saloon. Was quite leggy but smooth to drive apart from an annoying habit of being too eager to kick-down. Not very quick though. Autos need the fluid changing, which they're not designed for. Later diesels are rightly lauded, early ones are rather agricultural and low on oomph.

[Rocket88]

The modern four pot diesels are not the last word in reliability, the six pots seem to be good. The old six pot diesels are not that economical. Rear axles [E36] also suffer from various unpleasant maladies.

[gadgetgricey]

Would be a petrol, as if going down this route would keep my Xantia Hdi as a daily hack for work.

This would purely be for weekends, or holidays etc.

 

- Dave -

[dollywobbler]

Would be a petrol, as if going down this route would keep my Xantia Hdi as a daily hack for work.

This would purely be for weekends, or holidays etc.

 

- Dave -

 

In that case, go large would be my recommendation. Surely one of these is ultimately about the waft? V8s had Nikasil issues, but they must surely all have been dealt with by now. I found the 523i just far too reluctant for a car with a 'driver's car' pedigree.

[Spiny Norman]

Think autoboxes like a fluid change every 100k no matter what the book says, they can rust quite alarmingly, particularly the tailgate, and they suffer from the usual lack of maintenance from owners who wanted a BMW but couldn't afford to run them. I think by now it's probably going to be quite easy to tell a proper sorted E39 from a snotter, given the newest one is 10 year old.

I can't honestly say I'd give up a nice 9-5 Aero for one, but if the 9-5 was sick and the 5 series Touring was a 530i in a nice colour then I might be tempted.

[Bren]

523 really is a bit of a plodder, even with a manual box. 170 bhp is'nt a massive amount of power. My mate had one and it was a good boat - needed a few touch ups due to rust and the valve for crankcase ventilation needed to be replaced.

[ChinaTom]

I had a 528 a while back - decent drive at >170k miles. mpg not too bad for a 6, but I would have a 530 or 530d next time. I doubt the seats will be as comfy as the 9-5. Just make sure you get one with the Business Pack sound system. Just for the reverb setting. It was like You and Yours was being broadcast from a cathedral. It did eat brake pads though.

[andrew e]

Get a six not an eight petrol - parts get a lot dearer on the bent eights (water cooled alternators anyone?) and you get ponderous steering box too. They need quality tyres and 4 wheel alignment for a really surprising handling car - 523 and up have all the power you need unless you get a stinker. Boxes needing ATF changes is an old wives tale till they hit BIG miles. Buy the best you can is the best advice, BMWland and the 5 forum are good bets. I still own my E39 I bought in 2005 despite it having 199k on it now, and having been stationary two years. I should flog it but I can't!

[HMC]

I had a 528 manual touring. Not that fast due to weight and tall gearing which made it a nice relaxed cruiser. The rear suspension on a touring has air bags and a compressor and if all is not well the wheels adopt more negative camber and the tyres wear through rapidly on the inside edges, which also happens if the bushes in the multi link rear get tired, and the car will feel baggy to drive.

[Pete-M]

My old 305,000 mile 528i had one autobox oil and filter change in its life (at around 190k). The autobox in it was perfect.

 

That car had received a huge amount of spending over the years though. £17k worth of receipts for ten years / 200k.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

E39 Estates?

 

1.Avoid diesels at all costs. Great when new, but they're old now and are money pits.

 

2. Best engine? Any six cyl petrol. Nikasil was pre March 1998 but any Nikasil motor still running in 2013 will be fine. 520i is pedestrian, 523i is better, 528i is reasonably fast. But they're a big estate car. 520i 2.2 was quite good, 525i is the 523i with more power and the 530i is pretty good. These post 2000 cars have electronic fly by wire throttle, another expensive potential issue. They also have twin vanos, not as reliable as the old single vanos.

 

3. Autos. Generally reliable. You can change the oil at 100k but plenty go to 200k without a change. When they fail it's because a brake drum has split. New oil can improve the shift and it's a plan to fiot a new filter anyway.

 

4. Air suspension. A pain in the rectal orifice when it goes wrong. Expensive airbags and a pump in the boot. A conversion to steel springs is possible.

 

5. Cooling system. Needs to be top bollock - remove and check water pump for wanked impeller (plastic), tired old rads and header tanks.

 

6. Electrics - these love to eat ABS modules, and cars with DSC have a pump that can seize and wipe out the ECU. All $$$$$$$$$ to fix. Airbag lights can be fixed with a 10 quid Ebay resistor.

 

Overall the E39 is a nice car, but it marked the point at which BMW started to concentrate too much on soft feel plastics and less on making sure previously reliable bits on the E34 would last as long. If you're not handy with spanners, they don't make a good banger imo.

[alf892]

I ran one a 530d touring for a couple of years. The only problems I had were due to the previous owner using eurocrap parts..........I had to do the discs all round and middle fuel pump. Other than that it was great, wafty and economical (ish) and just nice to drive. I got rid when it gobbled its turbo on the way home from work. This is often not the end of the world.............I got a good secondhand turbo for 300 and fitting was straightforward enough.

 

As with many other 'premium' brands history is key...........they are built from decent quality stuff and therefore need decent quality spares fitting which will not be cheap.

[gadgetgricey]

Thanks for everyones advice/comments.

 

Is going to be a sub £1000 car, as its a second car as have a diesel as a daily driver.

 

Comments re the rear suspension are a little worrying. Is that on all of them or just 528's etc?

 

Thanks again..

 

- Dave -

[ChinaTom]

I wouldn't worry too much about the rear suspension. I had one sphere failure and the part cost was £250. I'm sure it would be ruinous for labour cost, but a friend managed to change mine in less than 2 hours. The pump is in the spare wheel well under the boot floor. If you open the boot, sit down on the lip, then get someone to turn the key to position 2 (the one before it starts up) you will be able to hear the pump compensating for your weight. You can hear whether it is struggling or not.

 

I think all of the models you will consider (528 and 530) will have them.

 

One other thing: they all seem to rust under the boot badge. This means the rear washer jet at the top of the screen will be shot too. Pretty easy fixes though if appearances are important.