To buy or not to buy?

[///MALCOLM325]

Thanks guys, spoke to dealer today they replaced the water pump and belts. He also said waiting for other invoices from owner for other services. But I know, I know seeing is believing.

As for a 540i would love one but its going to be a daily driver to fuel usage springs to mind.

The consumption is not as bad as you may think, it's definitely not as economical as a 318 or similar but if you drive it with care you can get good economy, then problem comes in when you need to over take, and you hit the pedal, the roar and torque is so addictive that you forget all about economy and say 'F&^% it, I need this" LOL, well thats just me.

 

[Henry330i]

Thanks guys, spoke to dealer today they replaced the water pump and belts. He also said waiting for other invoices from owner for other services. But I know, I know seeing is believing.

As for a 540i would love one but its going to be a daily driver to fuel usage springs to mind.

The consumption is not as bad as you may think, it's definitely not as economical as a 318 or similar but if you drive it with care you can get good economy, then problem comes in when you need to over take, and you hit the pedal, the roar and torque is so addictive that you forget all about economy and say 'F&^% it, I need this" LOL, well thats just me.

Whats not bad 12-13 l/100 or worse?

 

[jeff_denning]

What year model is this? 2002 or 2003?
Looks like a really good car otherwise, I picked up an E39 525i with a similar kit on it - and loving it!

Maintenance wise, these cars are solid. I did a cooling system overhaul yesterday and she's running better than ever.
Mileage wise, mine is a 2002 E39 525i with 192k on the clock - I managed to pull the dealer down to R65 000.

 

[Henry330i]

Its a 03, If I buy it I'll give it to the wife to drive daily. I'll take back the 330i as I do more mileage. She only does maybe 15-20km a day. I do more like a 100km start stop a day. Then weekends its for the fam got twins.

The problem is I can't remember when last I bought a car with my head and not my hart. Been burned before as well. Going back tomorrow again for another look. With a pal. We'll see not going to rush.

 

[///MALCOLM325]

@Henry - Consumption between 12 - 14 1/100km, on the open road you can get 10 l/100km

 

[jeff_denning]

Try get him to drop the price a bit, what he's asking for is a bit steep. If the waterpump has been replaced, check out the thermostat too - don't want her overheating. Trust me, I learnt the hard way

The E39 is by far the best car I've ever driven, really comes into it's own on long road trips. Daily traffic driving I'm getting between 14 - 14.5l/ 100km. Long drives it'll drop down around 10l/ 100km.

 

[osiris]

its a beautiful looking car and its nice in white.

I can say that owning an E39 is definately one of the best cars I have ever owned, its smooth and has the power when you need it and its a very comfortable ride and they really do handle extreamly well. I only have a 525. and I am pretty happy with the power she puts out, its allot quicker than both my E36 325's that I used to own and thats quite something as they were both manual. must be the Duel Vanos system in the E39.

Anyway if the mileage is 175k then I think the price is way to high! you should send the car to the AA or something for a full look over because I just did a major service on my E39 and it came to 10k!!! and my car only has 106k on the clock! and its really been looked after well. but just a few wear and tear items went like power steering pressure hoses, the radiator bottle had a hair line crack in it, the rubber booots on the steering rack were worn, the power steering bottles hoses were worn and had a slight leak. the tapppet cover gasket had a small leak in it(Apparently a common problem on these engines) and a few other small things and I got slapped with a huge bill and that was not at the dealers.

So all I can suggest is that you get the car properly checked over before taking ownership to make sure you dont get a nasty surprise as parts for these cars dont come cheap!

Goodluck with everything its a beautiful looking car, and it has the nice clear indicators.

 

[Solo Man]

If you really want a E39 then i would suggest go for the 530d as you get economy as well as awesome torque. I know of a lady that wants to sell her car which is a 2001 with about 145k on the clock and se wanted about R100k but i am sure she will be open to negotiations. Problem could be financing if you are not a cash buyer. I have had both the 528i and 540i E39's and now drive a 2003 530d e39 which is an awesome car! I am very economy consious and would go for the diesel even though they can get expensive if things go wrong (turbo/injectors/gearbox), but when i compare it with my previous fives then it comes out tops! I have seen 16,5 km/l on my last trip (ok, it was downhill from Bloem to Durbs) but normally 15km/l is normal on the open road at 120kph. My 528 gave 11,7 km/l and the 540 did 9,9 km/l on the open road at 120. However, they are all heavy when driving in town, even the diesel.

 

[Henry330i]

Thanks to everyone that posted. I decided to walk away from this one the dealer wasn't willing to come down with the price.

The car also had some oil underneath the engine.

The dealer also never came back to me, never phoned back as promised.
I don't like doing business like that.:thumbdo:

 

[Sith]

Sorry to hear about that, Henry, but fully agree with you. Also cannot understand how some people do business these days. I have a list as long as my arm of so-called professional business people who have never bothered to get back to me. Best part is, I am giving them business, so obviously they don't need it. Hope they don't moan when they have harder months.

 

[Henry330i]

I know its as if they don't want your money. I'm in the service game- I give allot so I only expect the same in return.

 

[De@nO]

Thanks to everyone that posted. I decided to walk away from this one the dealer wasn't willing to come down with the price.

The car also had some oil underneath the engine.

The dealer also never came back to me, never phoned back as promised.
I don't like doing business like that.:thumbdo:

Also walked away from this car for similar reasons, and the fact the there is no service history since 110k kms. IMO that motor was too rough aswell. It's a shame as its an awesome looking car

 

[Henry330i]

I know could be a nice car for less $$ so that there is spare cash for that nasty surprise under the bonnet I think.

 

[De@nO]

Agreed. Unfortunately the dealer is asking too much. Not realy worth the risk. Hope you fond a decent one mate. Good luck with the search.

 

[Henry330i]

Thanks I found a car but almost to scared to say on this site.

C230 sport Kompressor.

 

[De@nO]

Nice car that :=):

 

[osiris]

I had a look at that 530 yesterday too. I asked why the price was so high and the dealer said "Well we have spent allot on the car to get it into this condition, Wheels were refurbished, new discs and pads etc etc"

If the mags had to be refurbished then the previous owner clearly didn't take very good care of the car, hence the rough idle. I have noticed that people who tend to scrape there mags along curbs are generally the type of people who don't give a shit about their car and dont really service it when needed, hence why the last known service was at 110k km. The car may have minor things wrong with it now, but it wasn't looked after so things will generally go wrong with this car.

thats my opinion anyway.

 

[Henry330i]

I had a look at that 530 yesterday too. I asked why the price was so high and the dealer said "Well we have spent allot on the car to get it into this condition, Wheels were refurbished, new discs and pads etc etc"

If the mags had to be refurbished then the previous owner clearly didn't take very good care of the car, hence the rough idle. I have noticed that people who tend to scrape there mags along curbs are generally the type of people who don't give a shit about their car and dont really service it when needed, hence why the last known service was at 110k km. The car may have minor things wrong with it now, but it wasn't looked after so things will generally go wrong with this car.

thats my opinion anyway.

Its sad when I see cars that people don't or didn't care about. What they just don't realize is that it might just be a car to them but a dream for others. No mater what the value.

I saw a 996 GT3 Porsche once in the worst condition ever. Now tell me who doesn't dream of owning one.