Reviews of E39 528I

[BimmerMan]

Howzit Guys

Do any of you know where I could find some good owner reviews on the E39 528I?

If anyone has one and would like to give me a review of how the car is to live with, drive and maintain, that would also be very much apprecited :thumbsup:

Thanks
BM

 

[Hellas]

Heavy on the juice. That about how I feel about it.

 

[BimmerMan]

Heavy on the juice.

Hehehe...compared to a 740I or a 320I :thinking:

 

[Hellas]

Good point. Coming from a diesel background, anything less than 12km/l is not good...

 

[Nic_s]

I get about 11km/L in my 318i...

 

[Hellas]

Ok, some more useful info towards this thread: E39 528i, Engine:M52, 6 cylinder, 193 HP, Top speed 236 km/h, Manufactured: 1995 - 2000.

Wiki is always a good read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_5_Series_(E39)

 

[Gizmo]

I find the 528i is sluggish, especially the auto. The manual is a little better but also underpowered for such a heavy car.

 

[Hellas]

What's to be said of the 523 then? I always wondered if it's really good to put a 2.4 or even a 2 liter engine into the 5 series.

 

[msm]

Have you considered a 530i (or D). Vastly superior to the 528i. Also newer and facelifted. However, it depends on your budget as well.

 

[BimmerMan]

Fantastic...thanks for all the replies guys :thumbsup:

I was a bit worried about the fact that the car will be underpowered. I drove and still own an E34 525I Auto, and I must admit that the car did have more power than I was expecting! The only time you wish it had more is on pull off...it seems to bog down slightly...

I still unfortunately have not been able to get a test drive in one, but I have sat in a few. The interior is very similar to my 740I and you can tell it is from the same time era...

I would love an E39 530I, but unfortunately my budget does not allow it. I am looking for a less than perfect condition 528I that I can pick up for around R30 000 - R40 000 and then put another R10K - R15K into it and come out with a perfect car...pretty much the same thing I did with my E34

As much as I am going to miss my 740I, I think it may be time for it to move onto a new owner...with a new bank account and I definately want to stay in the BMW family. I dont want to move backwards on features and gadgets, so the E39 seems the logical progression...

 

[SirSparky]

dude....take it from me....i paid 35k for a 328i which i thought was in good condition and a good price...then when things like propshafts,radiators,gearboxes etc start kaking it cost alot....so paying 30k for a car and hoping to put 10k-15k to fix her up is a bitty optimistic.....my gearbox conversion alone costed about 15k.the autobox crapped out so it was cheaper to go manual.propshaft cost me 8k because the bmw propshafts are sealed units and cant really be worked on successfully.just my 2c

 

[BimmerMan]

dude....take it from me....i paid 35k for a 328i which i thought was in good condition and a good price...then when things like propshafts,radiators,gearboxes etc start kaking it cost alot....so paying 30k for a car and hoping to put 10k-15k to fix her up is a bitty optimistic.....my gearbox conversion alone costed about 15k.the autobox crapped out so it was cheaper to go manual.propshaft cost me 8k because the bmw propshafts are sealed units and cant really be worked on successfully.just my 2c

I dont think it is being optimistic at all?

If you check the car out at the AA and make sure the expensive things like the headgasket are okay, you can easlily get a perfect car inside that budget. As mentioned, I have put in a little over R15K for my 525I and nearly replaced everything on the car...mostly genuine parts too and the car is pretty much perfect and been bulletproof the last 4 years of ownership.

I think it makes a big difference aswell as to whether you run to a workshop everytime something breaks or fix it yourself...like I do ( the only 2 things I wont do on a car is the Headgasket and gearbox work...everything else I can do and have done). What workshops charge to work on BMWs is crazy!

If you want to know about costs of fixing up cars, speak to Uber. He has rebuilt 3 E34's...

 

[Bossman]

dude....take it from me....i paid 35k for a 328i which i thought was in good condition and a good price...then when things like propshafts,radiators,gearboxes etc start kaking it cost alot....so paying 30k for a car and hoping to put 10k-15k to fix her up is a bitty optimistic.....my gearbox conversion alone costed about 15k.the autobox crapped out so it was cheaper to go manual.propshaft cost me 8k because the bmw propshafts are sealed units and cant really be worked on successfully.just my 2c

I dont think it is being optimistic at all?

If you check the car out at the AA and make sure the expensive things like the headgasket are okay, you can easlily get a perfect car inside that budget. As mentioned, I have put in a little over R15K for my 525I and nearly replaced everything on the car...mostly genuine parts too and the car is pretty much perfect and been bulletproof the last 4 years of ownership.

I think it makes a big difference aswell as to whether you run to a workshop everytime something breaks or fix it yourself...like I do ( the only 2 things I wont do on a car is the Headgasket and gearbox work...everything else I can do and have done). What workshops charge to work on BMWs is crazy!

If you want to know about costs of fixing up cars, speak to Uber. He has rebuilt 3 E34's...

I owned 2 528i's, 1997 model and 2000 model, drove both as work horses through whole of Free State and Northern Cape,gave me on average 10.5km /L definetely worth it, these are some of the best BMW's ever built.
The following were the problems i had with a combined travelling distance of around 400000km, and i bought them second hand to begin with. 1: Feul pump (220000km)
2: Aircon compressor (230000km, got second hand one for R1500)
3:Thermostat (Ran too cold)
The rest of the problems were only maintenance, and good oil (I use Shell Helix Ultra)
I now drive a 2002 E39 530d, wow! is all I can say , picked it up for R79000 on Autotrader with 174000km on the clock, Did major service,
replaced or fixed the following,
1: Thermostat
2: Pressure control valve at turbo wastegate
3: Replaced all the vacuum tubing
4: Disabled the EGR valve(Who wants the exhaust shit back in the intake!)
5: Removed Swirl flapper valves in intake manifold.
6: Replaced front discs and Pads(These discs are the same specs as on the 540i , they are Huge!!
Cost R11000, now I have a car with lots of torque and in great shape for about R90000.