What to look for when buying an E39

[agent]

Pre-facelift can have the self-leveling xenons as well, have them on my wagon since it comes with the sport package. They came without the angel eyes of course

I was not aware of that - thanks!

[shameson]

I was not aware of that - thanks!

Yep! '99 was the first year they offered xenon, and came on sport package cars which I believe there weren't a whole lot of. From then forward they came on all the cars

[BillBrasky]

Yep! '99 was the first year they offered xenon, and came on sport package cars which I believe there weren't a whole lot of. From then forward they came on all the cars

My dad ordered a '99 540i black/black 6 speed fully loaded before the M5 came out. That light feature was the coolest thing when it hit the market. We made so many high speed trips through the mountains at night with that car and they were really effective.

[Kevinl]

buy a crown vic /grand marquis and save yourself the headaches

cheaper to maintain, less nonsense to break and more comfy!

with all the $$ you save, you can invest in hookers and blow ;D

Really??? I have never driven a bigger piece of shit than a grand marquis terrible gas mileage, no power, dog shit handling and not even that comfortable because you slide all over the place

[Stanley Rockafella]

Really??? I have never driven a bigger piece of shit than a grand marquis terrible gas mileage, no power, dog shit handling and not even that comfortable because you slide all over the place

dude, it's got a 4.6 v8...how can it not have power? if you want more, just upgrade the rear gears and throw a shift kit in.

There's cheap upgrades for the handling. cheaper than the necessary repairs on a 5 series.

sliding all over the seat is part of the fun. it makes you have fun, while not really going that fast. that right there will save you $$ in speeding tickets!

if you enjoy spending more $$ and time in fixing a car, buy a BMW
If you enjoy using a car as a cheap and comfy cruiser, get a CV or GM

Better yet, find the sport pack ones. they came with floor shifter and bucket seats ;D

[agent]

If you enjoy driving and the driving experience is important to you, buy a BMW.

If you enjoy driving a car that corners like a barge and was built as cheaply as possible, get a CV or GM.

Fixed.

[Stanley Rockafella]

lol

[Kevinl]

200hp in a 4500lb car is slow v8 or not

pretty much anything with a 4.6 is underwhelming unless we are talking a terminator cobra but those have nothing in common with a regular 4.6

I'm not saying buy an e39 but almost anything is better than the panther twins

[henryki]

buy a crown vic /grand marquis and save yourself the headaches

cheaper to maintain, less nonsense to break and more comfy!

with all the $$ you save, you can invest in hookers and blow ;D

Or with the extra money I spend on it the hookers will realize that I don't need to pay a penny in order to get a little action, and pay for blow? ha! its almost an obligation as an owner of an E39 (if its black on black like the one I found) to become a drug dealer and then have people in crown vics/grand marquis come and chase you, aka. the police.

in short, I will never buy a ford (or any american car for that matter) as a daily driver.

Not stupid at all. Those three things were on my must-have list as well.

You'd be surprised how hard it is to find a clean car for a decent price with all three of those, I've just been looking on craigslist and people want up to $8-9k for an auto 525 with the sport package and black interior.

But! I did find a 99 or a 2000 I can't exactly remember right now, 525i (5 speed, black on black, 140k on the odometer) for $3500. The thing is pretty clean, the paint is fading slightly on the roof and a little bit on the rear bumper, but for how straight the rest of the car is I think I'll offer him $3k and take it as it.

[TSI]

I have a 2002 540i, has 120k miles on it now (bought it at 100). Main issues were the valve cover gaskets, dead pixels, (water-cooled!) alternator dying, and I broke one of the halfshafts. I got very lucky with mine, it's in excellent shape and was well maintained, and I got it for a song. I will have to do the timing chain guides, cooling system and oil pan gasket within the next 20k miles.

For a DD, i would recommend the 530i with the m-sport package. Looks great, and the steering system is more responsive than the 540's. I drive all highway, so the v8 is a must for me (i also have the shorter diff, so it's great in the twisties). Get a manual if you can, and make sure that the suspension bushings aren't worn out anywhere on the car. The e39 has a very complex suspension setup, and any wear in the rubber transfers stress to multiple components, which are very, very pricey to replace. Regulators, as mentioned, tend to go bad, and rust can accumulate in the forward ends of the rockers, around the rear arches, around the trunk handle and at the bottom of the doors.

They are great cars, big and heavy but quick, relatively nimble and ever so comfortable without being excessively complex (ahem, idrive). They're more expensive than your average bmw to maintain, but as they reach the bottom of the depreciation curve, parts are easy to find and junkyards are starting to get more examples. 528 was made 1996-2000, 525 2001-2003, 530 2001-2003, and 540 1996-2003. Facelift in 2001, new v8 engine in 1998.

[flyboyx]

thought i would leave this here:

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/4673217260.html

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/4659467461.html

[Swanny]

Awwwww that 2nd one was just like mine. Someone better snag that before it gets ruined

[keefy6]

By this time and I guess depending on the year, the Inspection I and II should have been taken care of.

Check the A/C system, my fuel piump failed a few years ago and I was at 180k~.
Window regulators as some have said
Pixel issue, there was a deal BMWCCA had w/BMW NA almost a decade ago? where you could take it to BMW to have fixed at little or no cost. I've lived without a few images for quite a while now with my cluster.

I'll have mine until I just want to spend more money for some reason on another car. The E39 in any variant is ALOT of car for such a little bit of money these days. Hell, you can now find an M5 now for ~12,500-20k which will become a collector in time.

[md-va]

I know it's gonna sound stupid but a big thing for me when buying one of these is having a face lift one with the sports package and black interior. As long as I have those 3 things I don't care which one it is as long as it's a e39 and is pretty clean haha.

Ha that is exactly what I was looking for when I bought mine back in 2007. I ended up getting a 03 530i. The only options were 5sp, sport package, black leather and xenon headlights. Couldn't have been more perfect.

[agent]

Hell, you can now find an M5 now for ~12,500-20k

And you'll get exactly what you pay for. Unless of course you have $5k+ to spend on parts and can/want to do all the work yourself.