E39 BMW 530D M-Sport

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Donza

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The old man is after a BMW Diesel.

He has a budget of around 10-12k. I have looked into these models and they look very tempting. Fully loaded, prisitine examples with only 60-80k on the clock. Thats barely run-in..

I'll be honest and maybe Contreversial (When am i never). But i prefer the styling of these BMW's to the E60 variant.

Anyone own a 530D? Any opinions?

Have a decent weekend.
 
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E39's have a well known problem with their turbos failing as standard so i would steer clear of these and go for an E60, much more reliable, with more power/torque and nicer to drive.
 
You can pick up a nice E60 now for £12k.

You want to be paying about £8k max now for an E39 with that mileage, for £9k you can get a low milage special edition one.


Now, I know I have gone on about this and must be pissing the diesel boys right off and boring them silly, but he really should consider the 530i M-Sport.

I would say it is the best all round BMW ever made, I still have one that my brother is using.
They are bullet proof engine wise, the balance of them is just incredible, the ride is sublime and they are only 3mpg behind the diesel in all types of driving.
My brother took me down to Milton Keynes the other day and we got 36mpg in it, not bad for a 231bhp auto straight six petrol.
The noise it makes is also sublime.

One thing I would say though is they are not quite as good a buy as they were 12 months ago, if you were paying £10k for the diesel you would be getting the petrol for £7k, however all the talk on the BMW forums has been about the diesel vs the petrol and demand for the petrol is as strong, if not stronger, then the diesel now. So the price gap is starting to narrow.

There are cars like this....

Agean Blue 530i special Edition

2003 53 Reg BMW 530i Sport Champagne II Edition
Price: £9,995


And then the E60's...

BMW 5 SERIES 530i SE 4dr Auto,Sat Nav,Heated+cold Leather,
Price: £13,495
 
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I'd go for the 530i all the way, BM diesels do have a tendancy to be trouble. And that 3 litre I6 petrol is the best in the business.
 
Steer clear of the E39's dog of a car but the next model E60? WOW Have a look at this http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3A9CVIkFrr0 We drove a 530d on the last visit to the ring in August and the link gives you some idea of the composure and handling of the car, Fantastic car, turbo problem still exists but is limited to a particular range of Chassis numbers will get you them if you are going down this route, they also have minor problems with suspension geometry, inlet manifold and are a bit of an animal in eating rear tyres. The car we had we drove over from the UK on a nice steady run but including some 100mph + Autobahn running and it still averaged 47 mpg. Sit pretty for a while and prices will be tumbling as this and I hate the word as it's all hype "recession" starts to bite and dealers start to offload cars to get cash.
 
Was that a Mk2 Golf GL and a CG125 overtaking him in the forest? :devil: :D

It was indeed well spotted, there are some really quick tuned Mk2's out there. This was the first time on the track though so we were very cautious and did not take any risks at all. But more impressive did you spot the Noble he overtook?:bannana:
 
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Point taken. Many thanks to all on here..

I'm seeing him tonight, he wants a sportier version of the 5-series (M-tech kit etc). I think he could stretch to 15k.

I was on the autotrader today. Christ, the E46 M3 is going cheap now! Its even got me thinking about selling my W211 and A4. Autotrader is unhealthy lol!!

M3 is very very tempting...for myself that is..
 
It was indeed well spotted, there are some really quick tuned Mk2's out there. This was the first time on the track though so we were very cautious and did not take any risks at all. But more impressive did you spot the Noble he overtook?:bannana:

Sorry, didn't realise it was you driving (dyslexia, big chunk of text, no paragraphs etc.)
Was only joking about the CG125 (top speed 63mph ish) :)
 
I'd go for the 530i all the way, BM diesels do have a tendancy to be trouble. And that 3 litre I6 petrol is the best in the business.


Bm diesels trouble? I'm on my 3rd 330d. 2 e46 tourings did 60k in one, 90k in the 2nd, now got e90 saloon on 63k miles - no engine trouble on any of them, and they get some stick I tell you. Middle one needed a new gearbox though and the dealers are crap.
 
Steer clear of the E39's dog of a car but the next model E60? WOW

Really, you surprise me. Never heard the E39 called a dog of a car before.
Bit like saying the only E to avoid is the W124. :confused:

Loads of us on the BMW forums moved to the E60 after the E39 and although newer the general feeling is the E39 is the better car as a drivers car, where as the E60 is more refined.
 
Point taken. Many thanks to all on here..

I'm seeing him tonight, he wants a sportier version of the 5-series (M-tech kit etc). I think he could stretch to 15k.

I was on the autotrader today. Christ, the E46 M3 is going cheap now! Its even got me thinking about selling my W211 and A4. Autotrader is unhealthy lol!!

M3 is very very tempting...for myself that is..


Do it mate.
Get yourself a nice facelift W210 for wafting and an M3 for having fun in when you want to.

My perfect combo. :bannana:


If he can stretch to £15k tell him to go and look at this....

54 Reg BMW 5 SERIES 535d Sport 4dr Auto With LEATHER AC
Price: £15,994 45k miles


Get the thing remapped and it just makes you chuckle, I debadged mine and it shocked quite a few!! ;)
 
Really, you surprise me. Never heard the E39 called a dog of a car before.
Bit like saying the only E to avoid is the W124. :confused:

Loads of us on the BMW forums moved to the E60 after the E39 and although newer the general feeling is the E39 is the better car as a drivers car, where as the E60 is more refined.

I heard this too, and TBH the E39 was BMW's best-much better than the newer ones. I heard from an ex 540i owner that he wished he kept his after going into a 4.4i X5. My pal had a E39 530d and loved it, only a few RWD in winter in Aberdeenshire caused him to sell it.

Refinement maybe up on the E60 but IMHO part of refinement is an plush cabin, and the materials on my X5 and the E39 are ahead of those in the newer BM's.

Bm diesels trouble? I'm on my 3rd 330d. 2 e46 tourings did 60k in one, 90k in the 2nd, now got e90 saloon on 63k miles - no engine trouble on any of them, and they get some stick I tell you. Middle one needed a new gearbox though and the dealers are crap.

Really, in a small X5 forum we worked out that it was 1 in 4 with turbo failures. It was mainly the 184bhp engine going. And the petrol I6 wasn't too bad honest

DSC00958.jpg
 
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Sorry, didn't realise it was you driving (dyslexia, big chunk of text, no paragraphs etc.)
Was only joking about the CG125 (top speed 63mph ish) :)


you might have been right! 63 mph might have been fast for us at that point :) Still got some more footage to sort for youtube inc Audi RS4, Maserati Spyder, and Porsche 911. They were all fantastic cars to drive but my favourite? The Golf Mk5 I posted earlier so much fun:bannana: :bannana: :bannana: :bannana:
 
Steer clear of the E39's dog of a car but the next model E60? WOW Have a look at this http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3A9CVIkFrr0 We drove a 530d on the last visit to the ring in August and the link gives you some idea of the composure and handling of the car, Fantastic car, turbo problem still exists but is limited to a particular range of Chassis numbers will get you them if you are going down this route, they also have minor problems with suspension geometry, inlet manifold and are a bit of an animal in eating rear tyres. The car we had we drove over from the UK on a nice steady run but including some 100mph + Autobahn running and it still averaged 47 mpg. Sit pretty for a while and prices will be tumbling as this and I hate the word as it's all hype "recession" starts to bite and dealers start to offload cars to get cash.

e39 dog of a car?... I am sorry to say, you really do not know what an E39 is.
 

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