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pamp

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A car has come up for sale in my 'hood....2002 540i M/sport. 2 owner car with 150000 miles on the clock. This car is cosmetically perfect, 2 owner, highway driven, etc. I have talked to the people who serviced this car and am told the owner is quite fanatical (sound familiar?)
Garaged and babied....$8750 asking....any comments before I have this gent over to drool on my E9?
 
I've known a number of folks with this exact car and they all love them. Close to M5 performance without M5 cost-to-own. If it strikes your fancy and is otherwise perfect, I'd go for it.

My E39 M5 was to date probably the best all-around car I've ever owned, and the E39 platform might be the best one BMW has ever made.
 
Well....just talked to the guy. 65 years old and bought the car after a search....wanted the 6 speed and found this one in Arizona. Drove it back here to Canada. He is a real estate guy and on the road quite a bit. He comes to find out he needs snow capability and buys a new
M5 ute. (says the 5 is for crap in the snow, go figure) Now his wife is stuck cause she can't do the stick (unlike my bride who can ruin the cogs with the best of us) So he buys a 330i convertible w/auto that she loves and all is good....
'cept now he never drives the 5 and needs garage space (for the 330 no doubt) The previous/original owner was afraid to fly, so drove the 5 to NJ and back regular, hence the high odo. This car looks and drives well according to my mechanic friend (he does the work on my wife's Volvo XC when the rare occasion arises and I am out of town myself)) He will buy new tires as well, it has a new battery. He is in no hurry and neither am I yet I need to replace my old road warrior some day soon (500000 +km) This sounds like a good bang for the buck replacement as I probably only put 5000 km a year on the road at this point. Trouble for me is to clear space for a new ride. OK, salesman guy selling but he seems a good sort and is anxious to see my E9. Insists to bring his car to me so we can B.S.
I have remembered accolades for the E39 in the past. My only experience was with a 8 series with a V-12, customer car at a friends shop and I helped pull the dash for a climate control issue.... broken plastic bit but the labor on that one was near the value of the car as I remember.
 
While the E39 was fine to drive, I did find they had more "odd" problems than E24s, or E34s. Things like the exterior trim popping off while driving, or spontaneously refusing to start, then deciding to after an hour of attempts. Then there are the established cluster/MID issues.
 
rb1971 said:
I've known a number of folks with this exact car and they all love them. Close to M5 performance without M5 cost-to-own. If it strikes your fancy and is otherwise perfect, I'd go for it.

My E39 M5 was to date probably the best all-around car I've ever owned, and the E39 platform might be the best one BMW has ever made.
Click to expand...

100% agree with rb1971. My '03 E39 M5 is the greatest car I've ever had, it does everything right. My wife's E39 Touring (5 Speed with Sport Package) was also an incredible car. I still regret selling it.

Many believe the E39 was the last real BMW. They all have a dipstick and they don't have IDrive, run flats, piped in via stereo exhaust notes, etc...
 
New Baby

Well....I decided to buy the "bluBell" This is for sure the best car I have owned, although it will take this old school guy a while to figure out all the buttons not to push! Blows my mind that this car sticker'ed for $59970 upon import in NJ. I bought it for $8400. Talk about depreciation....hopefully in 25 years it will get up there again....like the coupe! Bang for the buck on this one. It does have 240 K on the clock, however, it drives like new. I am told that this motor design was run on the dyno by the factory engineers, at red line, for the equivalent of this milage with no appreciable wear noted at tear down....amazing if true. After the sale I let the seller take me to lunch with him behind the wheel of my coupe.(First time shotgun for me!) Hey, the guy has been a life long bimmer fanatic and a coupe drive was on his "bucket list" Nice sunny day and we had fun for sure. My coupe is a bit of a beast in the present state of tune, nowhere near the refinement of the E39. I kind of compare it to riding the R90S vs my R1150 RT. Pretty different experience. Both worthy.
100_1910.jpg
 
As a Rust Belter, I can say that the E39 is a ruster, especially the wagons, especially if neglected or given re-sale paint jobs. Similar Mercedes E Class are also really rusting quickly with rust through in Toronto. My 2002 E46 Wagon has been very good by comparison and it has lived in Montreal for a while. I would think Montreal had the quickest destroyed E9's of anywhere in the world really.

The E39 is certainly about the nicest looking Sedan ever made. Love the Wagon too.
If you are annual with Cnd style rustproofing (light oily Mist) The E39 will last pretty nicely I would think. A Turbo Diesel E39 would be pretty neat. This car sounds like a great car to own for that money.
 
Nice E-39

I have a 2002 E-39 as well in the same color combo--however it's fitted wIith the base engine of 2.5L so while not a great amount of power it is still a very nice ride.

Bought it from Chris Macha a year and a half ago--so it was/is in finely preserved running condition at 158,000 miles with no signs of wear or deterioration--and I plan to keep it that way--it's a great and comfortable road car that performs adequately and delivers fair economy while doing so. I plan to keep it as long as I'm around to enjoy it.
 
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bluBell

Thanks Vince!
Murray....I remember that sedan of yours, and what a steal you got on that one! When trying to figure a name for the new family member the wife came up with "bluebell" So I figured that is good, and since she is a a bit of a high milage queen I would make tribute to the "blumax" at the same time if OK with you. I figure this will be the last car I will need for quite a while. Now have to find some space around here. Not much of a market for a W126 turbo diesel with close to 400000 on the clock!
 
e39

Pamp, this months Bimmer magazine has a comprehensive everything would need to know article on the e39. Good read. Nice car.

Doug
 
E39

Cool. Thanks Doug. Go figure eh? I will be on the look out for that issue. Hope things are not too frozen there on the prairie! Been pretty mild here so far, the snow has stayed on Mt. Washington, as it should be!
 
E39

Thanks....been there for sure as to other forums. This car gets a lot of attention for enthusiasts. Should be fun as the prices for upgrades seem to be reasonable....of coarse the coupe is not to be neglected, the proverbial never finished project! Need to measure for my casket....
 
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