Stay E30 or go E39?

[Widm3r]

i have an e39 540 sport and id rather drive my e30 any day of the week. e39 is a nice road car if you want to drive like an old man

;)

I enjoyed driving a 540im, very comfortable, good powerband, but like others said put aside some money for maintenance. Did any other models of the e39 come in manual?

Brian

[ejnight]

I have both and I would pick the e39 for any road trip other than the picnic. keep the e30 if you can.but buy e39 you will love it one the road.

[Spec]

As much as I love every one of you for saying keep both, I just don't think I can do that. I would hate to get myself stuck in a situation where I've got 3 vehicles but not quite enough $$ on hand to deal with problems that arrise. If I DO sell the E30, I know I'll be hunting for another one in a few years, ready to throw an engine swap in.

Either way, I think one car is enough for me right now, though I want to keep both, I'd rather have a few thousand on hand for any emergencies. I'm going to talk to my financial advisor tonight and see what he thinks.

And on the E39, if I can end up doing most minor work myself I'd think I could reduce the cost in maintenance quite a bit. Besides internal work I think I would be able to figure out how to replace most things, especially with a Bentley guide. The E30 is an excellent car in-town, but it less than desireable during highway stints. I would think the E39 is vice versa, having not lived with it on a daily basis.

[02stu]

I love e39s, however the bottom line e39s like the non sport 528i really don't feel like BMWs at all. If you can afford a nice example get one. As a side note the 530i was voted best BMW of the decade by autoweek and I think Roundel.

[strad]

Keep the E30. You've got tons of miles left in it (probably around 200k left), you've got it fixed up how you want it, it costs less to insure and to license, and it is capable of meeting your needs just fine. You'll never get even close to what you've put into your E30 out of it either if you decide to sell.

If you get an E39, you'll have another project on your hands, only it'll be a project at a much earlier stage than where your E30 is currently.

[TwoJ's]

i have an e39 540 sport and id rather drive my e30 any day of the week. e39 is a nice road car if you want to drive like an old man

But your e30 is track prepped with an s52.

[PiercedE30]

Unless the E39 is a 540i/6 sport, keep with the E30.
E39 Sport 540 with a 6 speed is absolutely fucking amazing to drive. My boss has one, I drove it to get something from my house once. I didn't tell him what I did. It's got torque out the ass, pulls nicely, and is comfortable as hell.

[cramer]

My boss has one, I drove it to get something from my house once. I didn't tell him what I did.

Haha, thank you for reminding me not to lend out mine :D

[PiercedE30]

Haha, thank you for reminding me not to lend out mine :D

:up:

[Spec]

Keep the E30. You've got tons of miles left in it (probably around 200k left), you've got it fixed up how you want it, it costs less to insure and to license, and it is capable of meeting your needs just fine. You'll never get even close to what you've put into your E30 out of it either if you decide to sell.

If you get an E39, you'll have another project on your hands, only it'll be a project at a much earlier stage than where your E30 is currently.

Good points. New suspension and HIDs would do this car well, and I know it has a ton of life left in it. It's inexpensive transportation. I know, just know, that when I get the E39 I'm going to have multiple thousands of dollars put into maintenance and/or getting the car to optimal running condition.

After talking with my friends last night, I think I'm going to look into the cost of getting things done to my E30 first. I can always come back in a year or two and purchase an E39. By that point I'll be making more $$ to buy an even lower mileage example and would most likely be able to keep my E30 with it. 8)

As for the E39, I'd be getting the inline 6. As much as the 540 and M5 entice me, I just don't need the speed in a car, as my bike is much faster then even the M5, and I don't want the headaches of maintaining a V8.


...I'll be opening my own agency (I sell insurance) in the next couple years so maybe I'll just wait till I pass the $65k mark. I just feel dumb driving a bottom-of-the-line E30 when I make decent enough money. Such a fun car though! Just needs more power!

[mrl325i]

I'd recommend both.

[VacMan]

Do both. I have an E39 for a DD and an E30 for a "fun" car. You'll have a car that's quiet, smooth and has plenty of power for your daily and a light, nimble driver's car for the weekends.

I love having both and they balance each other perfectly. The E39 is happy to run at 80+ all day long and does it quietly and effortlessly. It is always tempting me to go just a bit faster. On the weekends I hop into the E30 and have a blast running it through the gears and welcome the noisier cabin and tighter fit. Then I go back to driving the E39 the next week and am thankful to have it for my DD again.

The E30 is a blast but not (IMO) an easy car to commute in, especially if you do a lot of talking on the phone. The E39 is a fantastic car but not one that you want to go out and do any spirited driving in, since it weighs a ton and modifying the suspension to get it to handle properly will compromise the reason I bought the car in the first place.

Bottom line: I couldn't imagine not having either of the cars.

Good luck,

Tim

PS Stop by the E39 forum on bimmerforums.com. It is the best E39 forum and you might be able to find one of the PNW guys to let you drive his car so you can get an idea before you start shopping.

[808BMW]

My dad went from and 86 325, to a 97 528i...
We're looking for another e30.

When we first sat in the e39, we both fell in love, the interior & the ride quality were astounding. I'm used to my 325i with a bad wheel bearing, GC's and and all kinds of stiff suspension stuff, and I just wanted a blanket and a pillow.

As we've owned it, we've grown to hate the interior. The plastic dash falls apart, and all the buttons in the AC area are broken (which seems to be a common problem).
The wheel speed sensor wire broke, and proceeded to put the car into limp mode, the transmission had major shifting problems and lots of CEL's. After 2 mechanics told us it would be thousands of $$$'s because the tranny is most likely shot, we just started tracking things down and noticed the wire. After a quick splice job and $.50 of wire later, everything works perfect.
Not an expensive fix, but more and more we're realizing that for our low budget, the E39 isn't a car for us, and some of the build quality issues are appaling.

Still very pimp, very comfortable, but I wouldn't break the bank on it until your sure of what you're getting into.

PS: airbag reset + CEL reset tool are like $500 for the combo, that should be included in maintenance tools :P I love jumping the pins for my e30's CEL reset :P

[gearheadE30]

Great cars, but like everyone else has said, they are a couple planets away from the e30 in repair cost. My friend had a non-sport 528i stick, and he had to sell it within two months because he couldn't afford to keep it on the road. Unfortunately he now drives a Malibu...

I love the way they look as well, and I would love to have a 528i sport, but i can't reccomend them with good concience unless you have a lot of extra cash lying around...

[blunttech]

But your e30 is track prepped with an s52.

i have 2 e30's, 2 02's and id rather daily drive anyone of them rather than the 540. but i like raw old junk. e39 is a really nice road car. just not for me