What to look for when buying an E39

[henryki]

Sup r3v,
Looking to buy a E39 as a comfy daily while putting my E30 into full project mode. Wondering what are some things to look out for when buying one. Looking only at sedans and I have no preference on either 528 or 540, preferably I'm looking to get a 540 with a 6 speed but any clean one will do for carting my ass around in style

Thanks in advance!
Henry

[E30NJ]

E39's. Probably one of the best (and most reliable) 5 series ever made, before all that computer controlled BS. Anyway, suspension- sway bar links, control arms (ball joints), tie rods, thrust arms, and the wheel well panels that sit behind the front valance- they always go missing. Look for a good maintenance history and you don't want to get involved in someone else's project. 540's are nice but they are expensive and hard to find a very well maintained one for cheap and they leak like crazy. 530's are good because they are more powerful than the 525/528 and they don't leak as much. The 525/528 are pretty common but are awesome daily drivers and they can be found for CHEAP. Keep us informed on what you decide!

[agent]

You want a 530i.

Off the top of my head, the most common issues are:

Pixel loss in the MIDs and "high" clusters
Cooling system failure (completely replace every 100k)
Suspension (replace every 100k)
Thrust arm bushing failure (causes the E39 shimmy, particularly under braking)
Torque converter seal failure (~100k; facelift I6 models)
Broken headlight adjusters
Oil filter housing gasket failure (I6 models)
CVV failure (over 100k; I6 models )
DISA failure (M54 engine)
External temperature sensor broken/missing
Broken can holder
Power seat cable binding/failure

Someone who has experience with the 540s should weigh in too. From what I understand they're more costly to maintain than any of the I6 models.

[Swanny]

Oh hi there. 530 is by far the more superior daily. Having had each engine(besides an s62) the m54 is great.

Other failure on the i6 models would be the valve cover and gasket . Being plastic its become a wear item.

Ummm but agent summer things up nicely. Obviously theres going to be vanos to look at some point but take what youd pay for in costs for any i6 model and mark up at least 1.5 times the cost for parts(more of them) and time (more complicated) on the v8.

The torque is addicting in the 540 but i like getting solid 3mpg average better in the 530.

[agent]

Other failure on the i6 models would be the valve cover and gasket . Being plastic its become a wear item.

Yep, I knew I forgot something. I've replaced my valve cover once and its gasket twice.

I've also rebuilt the Vanos using the Biesan kit.

[Stanley Rockafella]

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

[shameson]

I've had a '99 528i wagon for about a year and a half now. Bought it with only about 126k miles and it's been good to me. Bought it knowing it had some minor issues.

Based on what's been mentioned here's my issues:

-Window regulators. (My drivers one failed on the way home from picking it up LOL)
-Pixel loss on my cluster (from what I know there is a strip you can replace it with to fix that)
-Headlights: plastic gets cloudy, adjusters break/or broken and seals fail and you get water condensation. Fixed that with depo angel eyes so I'm content for now.
-Cooling: I still need to overhaul mine, but everything works fine atm
-VANOS: supposedly something you should replace every 60k. Need to replace mine to make it accelerate and drive smoother. First thing on my list right now
-Suspension: bushings need to be replaced. Already replaced one of my rear airbags

Overall I love the car and I like I don't see any e39 wagons on the road here. I'd stay away from 540i personally just cause I don't want to deal with a v8. Definitely look for 528i/530i with a proper service history.

[AWDE30]

Get an M5 and be done with it.

[henryki]

Thanks for all your input. I've been driving around my buddy's 03 528 and I love it. Not the fastest thing in the world but I get better Mpg's in his car than my E30. Gonna look at a few 530's and 528's locally to me and hopefully score a great deal.

Any other suggestions or things to be mindful of? I'm mainly concerned with mechanical and suspension and typical rust spots (even though there probably won't be any on the cars I look at but you never know.) window motors going out sucks but not the end of the world, same thing with the pixelated screen. Thanks for all your posts again! Really helps

[agent]

I've been driving around my buddy's 03 528 and I love it.

Eh? The last model year for the E39 528 was 2000.

[henryki]

Eh? The last model year for the E39 528 was 2000.

Didn't know that, I was told it was an 03 528i. It's debadged and I hardly know anything about E39's (obviously) still his 525 was a beautiful car to drive.

[agent]

Unless they've been replaced, a quick and easy way to distinguish a facelift car (01-03) from an early one (97-00) is the lights.

Early cars will have halogen headlights (four regular-looking round ones inside the housing), yellow turn signals on the tails and square fogs.

Facelift cars will have Xenon ("eyeball") headlights with angel eyes, clear turn signals on the tails and round fogs.

[shameson]

Unless they've been replaced, a quick and easy way to distinguish a facelift car (01-03) from an early one (97-00) is the lights.

Early cars will have halogen headlights (four regular-looking round ones inside the housing), yellow turn signals on the tails and square fogs.

Facelift cars will have Xenon ("eyeball") headlights with angel eyes, clear turn signals on the tails and round fogs.

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

[henryki]

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.

[agent]

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