Shite wanted, Tell me about BMW E39s please.

[Spiny Norman]

Tasha the Volvo is off to a new home tomorrow and owing to a cock-up in the transport department I'll be without a car for the first time since about 1996, so has anyone got anything decent going for a suitably shite-friendly sum? (3 figures rather than 4)

 

I'm open to offers and suggestions, the two types of car I tend to like are big German auto barges and teeny little Italian hatchbacks but if anyone's got an MR2 or a Range Rover I could be persuaded. Don't care about fuel economy and actively don't like diseasels.
Ideally after something with a decent bit of MOT that can be pressed into service straight away, not a project, 'cos I'm shit at DIY.

I'm trawling Ebay & Gumtree but obviously I'd rather deal with a human being so if anyone has anything reasonably near Glasgow let me know.
(I don't mind a bit of a trek, but I'd rather not have to go to the south of Englandshire if I can avoid it)

 

Cheers peeps.

[cort16]

I've just sold 2, 3 series that would have done you a treat . Have you seen that Alfa 155 I'm paisley I posted on the tat thread?

[dome]

Cough My Jag in Edinburgh Cough

[Spiny Norman]

I've just sold 2, 3 series that would have done you a treat . Have you seen that Alfa 155 I'm paisley I posted on the tat thread?

 

Aye a 3 series would be ideal, that red one on RR was you wasn't it? 

That Alfa caught my eye earlier but the fucked suspension rules it out unfortunately, and he seems to have been trying to offload it for quite a while.

The only Jag I really fancy at the moment is the one everyone tells you to avoid, the Mondeo X type. Are they that bad?

[dome]

Can't comment on x types, i'm not a big fan so never paid them any attention. Mine is an xj40. If an xj40 isn't for you how about an s type?

[Barry Cade]

Aye a 3 series would be ideal, that red one on RR was you wasn't it? 

That Alfa caught my eye earlier but the fucked suspension rules it out unfortunately, and he seems to have been trying to offload it for quite a while.

The only Jag I really fancy at the moment is the one everyone tells you to avoid, the Mondeo X type. Are they that bad?

Yes.

[Richard]

Was it an X Type you had up to three pages before it expired on the ramp and you had to abort the test?

[Barry Cade]

Was it an X Type you had up to three pages before it expired on the ramp and you had to abort the test?

Yes, and last I heard it's being repaired. The number plate is worth a few quid I'm told. I expect to see it for its retest sometime in 2016, sadly outwith the 10 working days allowed for a partial re examination.

[Spiny Norman]

Ah well, that knocks the X type on the head then, I didn't realise they were THAT shit given they're Mondeos underneath* and Mondeos are usually OK.

 

The cars I've felt happiest in over the years have tended to be medium-large sized automatic barges. The E class Merc I quite enjoyed and I've had a couple of 5 series too, what's the gen on the E39 5 series? (straight 6 petrol engines only)

I'd prefer an auto but have heard the gearboxes can go phut after a while if they're not treated to fresh fluid, which isn't in the service schedule so never gets done. Apart from the obvious slipping & jerky or delayed changes, how can you tell if a box is on the way out?
Any of the OMGALLMODERNCARSIZSHIT stuff that costs a grand a throw for some computer chip on these or are they old enough not to be affected by that stuff?

[320touring]

Re e39. .buy an e34 instead.

[Spiny Norman]

Finding a decent E34 these days is getting hard, or is that a hint that you're local and have a good one for sale, if so sing up.

[320touring]

There's a nice one for sale/swap on here late model with an m50 2.0 in it. Decent red 518i on Gumtree in Fife for 500 ish

 

Collection thread awaited. .

[Spiny Norman]

The 520 is IIRC at the other end of the country and I'm a lazy bastard who considers 100 miles too far to go to get a car. Particularly if I don't like it when I get there.
518? Just no.

[hairnet]

eewar to the batphone.........

[eddyramrod]

Already done!

[EssDeeWon]

E39 are great cars, had a 523i straight six with bullet proof engines, yes there are one or two things that have been issues for the E39 like water pump impellors but they would all of been rectified long ago by now. Mine was a 1998/S Auto 523I SE, never a problem, very comfy, reliable tough car. Miles better built than the new ones (and that was told to me by a BMW Technician).

 

E34s are good cars but feel rather ancient now compared to the E39 IMHO.

 

Find one with service history and no silly M5 wannabe mods and you should be fine.

[HMC]

I've always fancied a 540 auto, a mate had one and was won over by its discrete speed. I had a 528i touring manual, reasonably quick but definitely a car to drive if poss before you buy as there's so many rubber bushes to wear out a neglected one can be really disappointing and baggy.

[320touring]

The 520 is IIRC at the other end of the country and I'm a lazy bastard who considers 100 miles too far to go to get a car. Particularly if I don't like it when I get there.

518? Just no.

 

Get on the F&^%King train! I've done glasgow to Farnborough for a £250 e30, so you have no excuse:-)

 

Also, how can you refuse this?  http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/1995-n-reg-bmw-518i-se/1066095400

[320touring]

Because its two cylinders short.

 

Also red, on chavvy alloys, cloth interior and rusty front wing.

 

But mainly because its two cylinders short!

but by god is it autoshite in nature?!

 

the most depressing version of a car, in an unloved colour, with no creature comfort and shagged bushes due to years of abuse/large wheels?

 

Winning, surely?

[Spiny Norman]

That 518 looks utter shit.

 

I lost out on what looked like quite a decent E39 523i auto this afternoon when it eventually went for £750 ish. I'd only noticed it with a few minutes to go and wasn't really sure enough about them (hence the question) so I bid low, but it looked good for the money.

 

Also available locally is a 2002 first gen Subaru Forester. Anyone got any gen on what goes phut on them after 10 years 130k miles?

 

 

 

I probably do need to point out that I'm not after something shite. I'm looking for something I can just get in and drive around in, not an old heap or a project.

[cort16]

There's a guy selling a 530d tourer on the 5 series forum for 650 quid in Forfar. Needs some welding done for the MOT, I'd be surprised if you couldn't get it for 500 quid.

It's an early one so no swirl flaps or any of that bollocks so pretty bomb proof.

 

 

The facelift one aren't that much different but the 2.2 in the facelift 520i is liveable with unlike the one in the pre face lift models.

They're pretty tough cars for sub 1000 quid and the interiors still feel modern (in a good way). I'd be looking for a nice 528i as they're pretty quick.

[Spiny Norman]

I'd drive that shitty 518 before I'd look at a diseasel....

I'm not that fussed about what engine is in an E39 so long as it's an I6 petrol. I REALLY don't do tractor engines and the V8 is just unnecessarily juicy IMO. Ideally a facelift 525i auto in a nice dark metallic blue would fit the bill, but they seem to still be quite pricey.

 

There's a Subaru Forester advertised locally & I've been doing a bit of reading up on them, they sound quite fun.

[Luckythirteen]

Good cars, are Foresters. Bit bland inside usually, and a Turbo S will have its' hand in your wallet more often.

At 130k it should be good: look out for the common oil leak from the cylinder heads (not hard to do, but fiddly, so doesn't always get done right), stuff like alternators and power steering pumps. Walk away from a whiny gearbox.

Get one from the suburbs, or a WI granny further out. They value the 4wd and practicality, but tend not to go mud plugging!

[hairnet]

buy the rover 600 on here

[cort16]

WCPGW?

 

http://www.centralcarauctions.com/private/vehicles/details/8915J2ST

[gordonbennet]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Legacy-3-0-H6-Lux-Pack-auto-Outback-/151308333081?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item233aadf019

 

I've got one of these a year older and twice the mileage.

They are the dogs bollocks, for a dealer this low mileage one is at a fair price, might get it dropped a couple of hundred.

3 litre is the one to have, real auto box, goes like hell, chain cam...around 24mpg unless you belt it about.

 

 

This is bloody nice too for a waftbarge, again fair price IMO for its mileage from a trader..http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-HONDA-LEGEND-3-5-V6-4dr-Auto-/271504444868?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3f36ed0dc4

 

 

 

 

 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

E39's are one of the best cars ever.

 

Sweeping statement I know,but I've never driven anything else that's so refined and comfortable but can still be thrown around like a mk2 Escort.

E34's are feeling their age now , one of my brothers has a late 3.8 M5 and whilst still fast it just feels old fashioned and that 'hewn from solid' over engineered feel seems to have faded away a bit.

I've only owned dizzler e39's but have driven pretty much every type except M5 and would suggest a manual 530i saloon on standard not sport suspension would be an un beatable 140mph+ 30 mpg long term proposition, just look out for rust ,my last 03 525d had lots of scabby bits and that was in 2009.

[martybabes]

I had an E39 528i saloon for about five years and it was absolutely wonderful.  Nothing else gave you the sense of presence that this one did except maybe the E39 535 V8 that has replaced it!  In terms of economy, the V8 can be thirsty at times but can also be more economical at other times.  There's nowt to beat the sound of a V8 tho...

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

E39's are decemt old buses and the E34, as great as they were are just a bit too old. 530i's involve electronic throttle bodies DSC and crap like that so a 528i makes a better shitter. They're all old cars now and a £600 example is much the same as a £2000 one. Rusty bootlids, wobbly headlights and dead ABS ECU's are the common issues and the early cars (P, R and early S plate) are the most robust.

[Spiny Norman]

Cheers guys, all good stuff. I've driven a couple of E39s, a 520 and a 528 and while the bigger engine was undoubtedly faster I was surprised at how nippy and light on their feet they felt for such big buses. All I need to do now is find a decent one locally and things will be good.
 

How are they as manuals by the way?

 

 

These Scoobies aren't for me I've decided. What research I've done suggests they're an absolute nightmare when they go, and most bits are dealer only. The guy selling the one I was interested in has emailed me back saying the clutch is slipping so that's a no for that one, and he one in the ad above just seems terrifyingly complicated for what is basically an ugly big Jap estate car.