Redpill me on the E39 BMW. Thinking of picking up a '99

>>15574199

Also, will be my second car, and first BMW. So just general E39 / late 90s-early 2000's BMW ownership stories / problems thread I guess.

Toyota has a dipstick

I would pick up an LCI 540i if your budget allows it. They're fairly rare but if they don't get much worse mileage than the 535i and you're still putting premium in (or atleast you should you cheap fuck). So any car other than a corolla is gonna be worse for you money. But you buy BMW because you enjoy driving and if thats worth the extra cost then by all means

>>15574211
so does the BMW you memelord

Never buy a old bimmer. They are a money pit.

>>15574199
http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/bmw-engines-are-gigantic-pieces-of-shit-1784684330
>slower than a corolla

>>15574208
I don't know of an e39 535i - is that a euro only thing? Here the only V8 we got is a 4.4L.
The V8s have a specific issue with a timing chain guide that wears out, I would make sure it's been done already or do it immediately after purchase.
Other than that, the only major issue is the same flaw with all BMWs, namely the plastic components of the water pump and radiator. A full cooling system overhaul is advised if it hasn't been done.
Also general age related components that fail around that mileage
>control arms
>window regulators
>door lock actuators
>MAF
>fuel pump
And the auto trannies are garbage, don't even think about buying one in anything other than manual.

>>15575887
Are you going to post the picture of the corolla getting lapped by the 3 series again?

>>15575880
Some of us enjoy driving our cars instead of jerking off over how it only costs us ten percent of our autism bux to keep it running. Unless you have another vehicle with similar power, driving dynamics, interior quality, and looks.

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>>15575932
>he thinks it was being lapped

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>>15575942
Hell yeah!
Corolla!

>>15575984
>power
No.
>driving dynamics
No.
>interior quality
lel
no
>looks
no

>>15575887
>jalopnik
stay there dumb redditor

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>>15575995
Same as a bmw m8 :)
>>15576006
>implying that makes it less true

>>15575887
>compares the reliability of a BMW M car to a Toyota Corolla
This always makes me kek, this article is the epitome of clickbait.

>>15576016
How does 130 == 300 exactly?

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>>15576016
>Same as a bmw m8
Nah, better.
Corolla interior holds up better

>>15576016
>poorfag shilling his corolla shitboxes in a BMW thread

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>>15576034
>$10,000 30 year old car
They cost more than a mid 2000s bmw poorfag

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>>15576031
Right.
If I were home I'd go take a picture of the interior of my 98 Camry my parents bought me.
Actual, non cherrypicked picture of my E39's interior.

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>>15576054
Not my fault you treat the camry like shit.
Bmws fall apart without any help though

>>15576054
not pictured: pristine, tight headliner
immaculate carpets
the rear seats are perfect
The driver's seat has a few imperfections, I don't think the previous owner cleaned the leather every month like I do.

>>15576064
>i-it's good! You just have to fix the rattles when they turn up every other week!
Don't give me that shit, fuckboy. I've owned both of these cars and the toyotas don't compare.

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this is now a sexy BMW interior thread

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>>15576073
Lol sure

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>cinnamon E39
goddamn that's fucking sexy
Has anyone ever seen one of these in the flesh? I didn't know they made E39s in cinnamon.

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sand is a good color too

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>>15576106
Excellent

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>>15576116
Can you make a Dropbox link for your meme folder? You post the same pictures every time. Maybe people can help you add some new ones?

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>>15576137
Thats not a bad idea. Its not like i spend all day every day looking for broken bmws. They arent harr to find. But i get busy and such.

Buying a 99 540i wagon with M package. What are somethings I need to look for that may cause me problems?

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>>15576164
>What are somethings I need to look for that may cause me problems?
The whole car

>>15576164
Timing chain tensioner. Cooling system.
Random miscellaneous sensors, but none of them are a huge deal.

I wish janitors would ban faggots like OP.
It's one of those threads where no matter how many reasons we give they've already convinced themselves it's a good purchase or they've already bought it and they're defending it with their lives because they made a shit purchase.

>>15576183
I don't recall anybody with any experience with it giving any reasons. There's just a fag posting about how it's a money pit.
We just have to wait until googlecarfag gets here since he's one of the only people who actually own one of the V8s.

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>>15576183
And they wont stay in their containment thread because they crave attention

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>>15576193
>bmw owners telling people to buy bmws
Blind leading the blind and deaf

>>15576179
Oh, and they have this annoying issue where the instrument cluster information display loses pixels due to a poor choice of adhesive for a ribbon cable in the assembly.
You can get it fixed for about a hundred dollaridoos, it's worth having that display because it tells you if any fluids get low or any bulbs are out.

>>15576193
Because it's a money pit if you've ever worked at a fucking dealership. We thrive off idiots like Chinese people who bought into the BMW meme. Doesn't sound like you even have a job since you buy old garbage.

>>15576215
Well fuck you i own a BMW and I'm going to give my opinion anyway.
It's an awesome car, but it would be incredibly annoying and prohibitively expensive to own if I didn't know how to do my own work. I recently had a local shop quote me $2500 for a clutch and flywheel job. Euro specialty shops will rape you for everything you have.
It's well worth the additional money and time I spend on it compared to when I drove a civic just for the better driver experience and additional power.

>>15576229
I mean I kind of have a job
I operate nuclear power plants for the navy
It's gubmintbux but it pays the bills

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>>15576242
>its a great car
>proceeds to tell me its a terrible car
Why do bmw fags have such delousions?
Ive never met a sane one. Not once.

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>>15576242
>I moved up from a car with no power to a BMW
I just got a porche 911 turbo guys. It's well worth the additional money and time I spend on it compared to when I drove a BMW M3 just for the better driver experience and additional power.

>>15576249
Sure I believe you.

>>15574199
Hey, a thread I can actually contribute to.

My first car was an E39 528i auto, about two months ago I bought an E39 540i manual. I fucking love this car. I test drove E46's as well, and I love them and acknowledge that they're monsters around corners whereas my E39 is just good, but holy hell I fucking love the E39.

Best interior that BMW ever had IMO, next to the slightly older 7. The E39 is also a heavy car that still manages to maintain a sporty and tight feel to it. I take it up on the touge regularly.

Now, part of my love for the car is for the V8 in the 540i. It puts out over 300 horsepower if you do a simply exhaust mod. Supposedly it's stock 298, but BMW seriously underreported performance in this generation of BMW's.

Now, for reliability. It depended on the car and previous owners. The Vanos seals eventually all need replacing, especially in older E39's, this is considered a must do on the BMW forums. The cooling system is also worth and upgrade. These two are the trouble spots in the E39. You don't need to do them right now, but when the car gets closer to 200k you probably will. Other than that, take care of engine codes and strange noises. It's not a particularly unreliable car, it's just the type of car you don't want to abuse. A decently maintained E39 won't give you much trouble unless the previous owner fucked something to begin with.

>>15576064
BMWs interiors fall apart like crazy i dated a girl all of her family drove them all of their interiors fell apart

>>15576284
Forgot to add a few more things on top of the exhaust mod. Air filter and spark plugs as well, which are a good idea to do on a recent purchase anyway.

>>15575942
>10% of autismbux
I'm pretty sure it costs me less than that to maintain my Corolla, no autism

blue pill here:
BMW's are the ultimate driving machine
can't beat German precision
precision=reliability
the Germans are the most innovative in the car industry, so you'll probably get features before any other company
definitely hold their value better than any other brand

>>15576284
>heres this great drivers car good power meme meme meme
>but you don't want to abuse it!

you can redline any japcar or amerishit POS all day every day and throw them into the corners, the shit doesnt break

yet you're supposed to prohibit yourself from enjoying your german car because itll probably break, crippling you with costs


LOL enjoy your lawn ornament status symbol

Should I buy a 525tds with 145,000 miles?

It's cheap as fuck and I'll be near it next week anyway

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C773553

>>15576741
I don't think he meant don't drive it hard. I think he meant "don't drive it around with a check engine light and a misfire for months"
If you've ever met a BMW driver you'd know we all drive like cunts, redlining off stops and taking corners like Germany took Poland.

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>>15574199

>>15576197
That's heat damage, what's your point?

>>15579877
30 year old toyotas dont have this issue

>>15576741
I meant abuse as in not replace the oil on time and let the car throw codes and noises without checking them.

You're really deluded into defending your $500 Japanese shitbox, aren't you? Funny thing is, I love Japanese cars, it's the poorfags like you who constantly go on about the memes that annoy me.

>>15576016
sorry new corolla interiors are fucking shit
>>15576031
this is goat with the 89-91 prelude tho

>>15579880
there's 30 year old bmws with mint interiors also

>>15574199
You will always be wishing you got an E46 M3 instead.

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>>15574199
>but the car itself is known for being reliable, no major issues?

Said no one, ever.

>>15576741
>>15579880
>>15576258
bimmer haters are either trolling or fucked in the head
in this very moment you can buy a 500-700k km 1990-2007 bmw running with no issues or anything
they are very reliable cars, more reliable than most amerishit or japshit

>>15575922
I was gonna say this. I only ever see the 530i and 540i here, no 535i for that era.

If it comes with a 6cyl, go for it. Especially with one owner, it shouldn't be bad at all. But the V8 engines are kinda a mess.

My friend's parents have an E39 530i with like 35k miles on the thing. It stays in the garage all the time and his dad takes car of their cars so well. I told him to sell it to me before they ever think about trading it in because you know the dealer will try and give them like $3k for it.

>>15581307
Shhh, don't ruin the hard work that Toyota marketing has done in the US.

>>15574199
Swap an LS into it.