Advice on buying an E39

[Evan]

Greetings from South Beach, Gents

My E34 has been a great car for the past five years but as I approach 170K miles, I'm feeling the pain in my pocket from more frequent repairs and I'm contemplating buying an E39.

So I've taken a look around and I see some great 2000 528i with Sport packages among other cars but I'm wondering what really is my best bet in making this purchase?

Does anyone have a suggestion or some experience in buying one of these cars? Are there any issues I should look for? Which model has the best rep? I'm approved for up to $25K and I'd love to hear your advice/suggestions/etc.

Cheers,
Evan

[Martin in Bellevue]

So, you're spending more than a car payment on maintenance, each month? My experiences with the wife's x5, lead me to believe the newer models may have more mainetance issues. The crappy plastic is making big strides with the newer models.

[Evan]

Yeah I'm spending about $350 a month. Thanks, Martin -- anyone else?

[Craig]

Greetings from South Beach, Gents

My E34 has been a great car for the past five years but as I approach 170K miles, I'm feeling the pain in my pocket from more frequent repairs and I'm contemplating buying an E39.

I am not positive, but doesn't BMW offer a drivetrain warranty on all "Certified Pre-Owned" cars up to 100,000 miles? That's what I'd shoot for, buy one from a BMW dealer and see if you can't get a CPO car with a warranty.

I wouldn't touch a new one without a warranty. Too much weird **** to work on and all those electronics are just waiting to break and cost you some money.

[George M]

my input would be...the newer cars are more complex and therefore are more prone to breakage although much lower in their duty cycle of R&R so many times less likely to need repair at less than 100k miles which most Bimmers will run to without needing too much. After that...hold on....Katie bar the door when parts start to wear...will be shades of the E-32 750iL...only worse...shades of EDC replacement...lol...a veritable flood gate...especially the very new Bimmers which have techno-trick everything....gonna be a real heavy hit to keep them running right.
Just returned from a 500 mile road trip up North for the 4th. My E-32 at almost 150k literally ran perfect. Do think it may be time to swap out rear subframe bushings. Anybody have the BMW spec puller they would like to rent me for a week? Is there an M5 rear sub frame bushing P/N that may be stiffer than the stock E-34 rear subframe bushings?...not unlike a different spec P/N for the front thrust arm bushings?
Thanks,
George
will try to get the CD43 radio installed in the next couple of weeks.

[Evan]

Katie bar the door? That doesn't give me much confidence either lol

Should I just keep my E34 then... it has no rust... it runs solid... I could redo the entire body and interior... upgrade the suspension... freshen up the top of the engine... and get ready to redo the tranny... about $6K and I get to keep my E34 indefinitely!

Are there any E39 drivers here?

Cheers,
Evan

[Robin-535im]

Hi Evan,

While in the midst of a car search (that ended up with a 1990 535im) I test drove most of the used E39's at the local lot. 528's, 530's, 540's, all standard except for an auto 530.

The cars were nice and tight, smelled really good, and felt solid (except the 540 6-speed, that thing had been driven hard and it really showed).

Thing is, it would cost a few hundred more a month for an E39, and the smile on my face was a wee bit smaller with the E39's than with the 535 5-speed. The E34 feels really tight once you get the kinks ironed out and none of the E39's were any better. Only newer, and more expensive, and scarier for the home mechanic because of the newer technology and plastic parts.

I decided to stay with an E34 that was already souped-up (saving me the time) and pay 1/3 the monthly payment. You might consider selling your E34 and buying another that's been refurbished (Gordon, Bruno, - you still got any cars left?). Cars cycle in maintenenace costs, high for a while, low for a while, try to find one that's reaching the low point in the cycle and drive it for a few more years until the ///M5 V10's come out.

- Robin

[George M]

you can go either way really Evan. It would be likely cheaper to hold onto your E-34.
Depends on how mechanical you are and how much time you are willing to spend on a daily driver. Personally I prefer more or less a turn key daily driver and have a hobby car like an old Bimmer to wrench on without a major time constraint. Many are swapping out their aging E-34's for a newer E-39. The E-39 is really a very nice car IMHO to upgrade to...reasonably priced, nice looking, solid driveline and not too complicated if you stick with the six cylinder version. Personally my choice would be a '99 or '00 528i 5speed with Sport package including the beautiful no. 5 X-spoke wheels and winter package...but I don't need a lot of horsepower to be happy in favor of a better balance of fuel economy and make no mistake...gas prices will continue to rise in the next couple of years...as it probably should as we continue to deplete our finite world reserve of petroleum or rely on hostile foreign sources and of course will discourage the purchase of fuel inefficient vehicles if fuel cost continue to rise....
I digress.
George

[mikemaster]

If you go for an e39, hold out for a 2001 530 if you're a fan of the 6 cylinder. The 2001's have updated headlights/tails. If you need more power try the 540/6, or wait a couple years and save for the m5. IMO though, the e39 leans more towards luxury, less towards sport, even though it's faster. It's just the feel you get from the car, boatlike at times.

[Unregistered]

You could pickup another E34. I see many low mileage E34 at rock bottom prices. One of my friends just purchased 1995 525i with 64k miles for $6800. How could you go wrong with this deal? E34s are a bargin compare to E39s and also more reliable. For the money, E34 is a better choice. Important thing is to pick one up with low low miles so you would have to worry about high many expensive repairs!