Has anyone had ne of the above?? Im kinda looking to buy one. Around P or S reg. Cant decide whether to get 525 tds or the 2.3 or 2.8 petrol, manual or auto.

Any experiences good or bad? Anything to watch for? What sort of mpg's can i expect.

I've never had one.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Chris

i had a 540 R reg 4.4 V8 on LPG, still the best car i have ever owned. The auto is very good and i would recommend it over the manual as you get the steptronic gears with the auto.

the 2.8 is the one to go for, not much more mpg than a 2.3 but a much better engine all round.

Great handling car and will cruise superbly but will entain through the twisties

Shop around and get one with the sport seats, they are sooo comfy compared to the normal seats, you can tell the proper sports seats as they have the extendible under thigh supprts at the front base of the seat. I had an M5 with stock seats and they would give me a numb bum, but 540 i could drive all day and get out feeling fresh. I preferred the 540 over the m5

If you find its a bit vague on the steering, you can get poly bushes for the front which transformed mine, easy to change and no negative effects, just really sharpened the front end up, chances are the stock rubber bushes will be knackered by 80k.

[Edited on 1-6-09 by Antnicuk]

I had a 540i Touring, 4.4 litre V8 Tiptronic.

Was on an R plate. Total disaster of a car. It was like an intercontinental ballistic missle. Fantastic to drive. Could do London to Newcastle in VERY little time, and get out feeling like you hadn't covered more than 5 miles.

155mph on the clock and a very respectable 0-60 sprint. Autobox was great, with the option to monkey about with the buttons on the dash or the stick when the mood took you.

Very tail happy when loaded up / wet roundabout / marginal tyres / heavy right foot!!

MPG wise would average 20 mpg which equated to a 300 mile range. Not unknown for me to need 2 tanks a day at times!

Then there was the parts. In the 18 months I had it, it had several sets of brake discs, several sets of tyres (a full set of 4 lasted no more than 7,000 miles), water pump, fuel pump, radiator, cam position sensor.

When I was a lad I used to borrow my bosses 525td which was equally fast / silly, but managed to go more than a few hours without breaking / needing fuel.

well, o've got an N reg 328, which i think is the same engine as in the 528 you're talking about. mine's on over 14k miles, and still very strong. a bit smokey now and then (only on full throttle in 2nd gear. not sure why), but i think thats because i overfill it by accident when i top it up.

drove mine down to nottingham and back last year, and by my calculations (very very rough...) got almost 50mpg on the motorway

and i'd say the E39 is the best looking 5 series they've made. i say do it.
but the 2.8 in manual

A lot of car for the money at the moment. I got out of various new golfs etc and bought a 2001 530 and it's the best car I've ever owned.

From the ones your looking at I think the 528 is supposed to be the one to go for but make sure it's had the nikasil issues (do a google search for lots of info) dealt with.

528 is probably about same MPG as mine - I can get 31-33 on a run but only about 23 pushing on around the back roads.

I've done 20,000 miles in 6 months and it's been great. Servicing doesn't need to be expensive.

This is a good forum and has buyers guide somewhere - http://forum.bmw5.co.uk

David

[Edited on 1/6/09 by DavidW]

Got that very model sitting outside!

528i Manual e39

Surprisingly good MPG - I can average mid to high 20s and will get mid to high 30s on a run.

Not bad for a big old barge.

Handles well after an eibach / Msport suspension swap and MSport 17" alloys but to be honest it was pretty good before I did any of that.

Watch out for any wandering at speed or any wobbles throught he steering wheel.

It should be very very smooth and no wandeirng at all. Any wobbles at around 50 - 70 and budget for rear suspension bushes. Any movement under braking and acceleration same goes for front thrust arm bushes. Not expensive as a part but need to be pressed into the alloy lower bones and so I left it to the local BMW independent.

Generally very good cars - drivers side door seal will squeak over bumps unless its had the later felt seal. Also try the headlights and watch for any pulsing. I have heard of some cases (including mine) where on dipped beam the headlights pulse slightly. Sooo annoying on a long trip and only rectified by an expensive LKM replacement and reprogramme through BMW dealers.

Erm.....thats all the probs Ive had (apart from hydraulic-ing the engine last winter!) and its been pretty good.

Even tolerated the ring last summer and was reasonable fun!

Get it but dont pay over the odds!

Hope that helps somehow?!

Geoff

The last few cars I've had have been BMW's. I had a 740i for a short time, then changed to a 528i SE with Msport kit.

The 740 was nice (4.4 V8), auto model, and a bit of a barge. I bought it having done my research, and avoided the nikasil engine problem range. Fast pickup, even for an auto, but with a heavy right foot you could watch the fuel guage move as you drove. Leather inside was nice, full electric seats, with compulsory worn drivers bolster. Sold with 96k on the clock for a lot less than I paid for it! (Damn high fuel prices at the time.)

Now I've currently got the 528i with M-sport kit (17" wheels, -25mm suspension, and sports cloth seats with wrap-around side bolsters on the upper and leg section of the seat, not to mention the extendable leg section for longer cruises). It costs £70 to fill up with super unleaded, and I get between 450 and 500 miles out of a tank. It's a lovely car, on a '99 T plate, and the odometer has just hit the 140k mark (but it had a new engine from BMW at circa 35k miles, due to a water pump failure which warped the block - common failure on earlier models). It's got FSH, and the only thing I've had to change since owning it for 2 years is the cyclone valve (think it's BMW's name for the EGR valve), and a small plastic pipe that perished slightly. Brilliant smooth ride from the auto-steptronic gearbox, I'll be sad to see it go when my GTS is completed.

Always check for service history, as people have a tendancy to reset the green/red service indicator lights with cheap eBay tools, and all other issues noted above!

The best car i ever had and wish i hadn't got rid, very fast easy to drive great cruiser, still see it around and it still looks great.
W reg 5 series 528i M Sport Package auto silver black interia.

I have an Alpina B10 3.2 Manual.

Alpina
Essentially its a 528i that was supplied to Alpina sans engine, suspension etc and then fitted with a derivative of the pre-Evo E36 M3 engine (Schrick Cams). It produces 260bhp at an average of 26.4bhp. I love everything about the car. Servicing is very reasonable indeed - much lower than the V8 cars and I use a BMW Independant (a proper BMW Master Tech) where the service is brilliant.

I've just bought a Corsavan to stop me from putting too many miles on the Beemer (85k at present.)

The E39 is fabulous. Buy one.

[Edited on 2/6/09 by TimC]

I love my E39 530d tourer, it's fast, torquey, very comfortable, beautifully made (compared to volvo's etc that I've had) looks good, people get out of the way on motorways, handles lovely and is hugely practical.

HOWEVER - mines on an '02 plate and done 88k miles, and I've had to have a new turbo fitted (nearly a grand) and new rear air suspension bags - £400.

So as long as your ok with the fact it's not as reliable as a Japanese car they're an absolute joy.

And I boot it everywhere and still get 30mpg, which ain't bad.

The only thing I'd replace it with is a newer 535d.

BTW - had the 525d in the previous shape and it's NOTHING like the 530d to drive, the 525d had pretty bad turbo lag making it a pain to pull away from junctions and roundabouts, if you can afford it go for the 530d - pulls like a train at any revs ....

[Edited on 2/6/09 by Jasper]

Here is a thread from a while back detailing my experiences with my e39!

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=104550

I've had one for eight years and just gone from a 528i SE to a 530i Sport.

They are simply the best all round car EVER made!