E39 530i - issues/weaknesses?

Considering buying 2001 E39 530i Touring SE with auto box and sat nav
(in the UK)

1) Technology changes so rapidly - is the sat nav any good - how might
it compare to the vurrent range of devices which have had 4 or 5 years
more development - is it still worthwhile having?

2) The 530i engine - any known weaknesses or gotchas?

The car has circa 65k miles on it.

cheers

--

jeremy

Hi Jeremy,

On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 10:53:46 -0000, Jeremy >
wrote:

>Considering buying 2001 E39 530i Touring SE with auto box and sat nav
>(in the UK)

Nice car - I drive a 2002 E39 530dA Touring.
http://www.bilgalleri.dk/html/gal_visbil.asp?ID=29266 (In Danish I am
afraid)


>1) Technology changes so rapidly - is the sat nav any good - how might
>it compare to the vurrent range of devices which have had 4 or 5 years
>more development - is it still worthwhile having?

Definately YES - it would say. I got the original BMW nav with 16:9
screen and CD based maps in my car - it works very well I think, and a
lot better than TomTom on a PDA that I used before. It is still
possible to purchase updated maps for it, it does route calculation in
a matter of seconds. If the one you are looking on has the 4:3 screen
you would have to live with looking at that very not-high-tech
cassette deck that has been hidden behind the screen in the 16:9
model.


>2) The 530i engine - any known weaknesses or gotchas?

I do not think so. It is important that it has been serviced, apart
from the the E39 is very often considered as one of the best cars in
it's class ever made.



** Lars

In article >, Lars Knudsen
says...
> Hi Jeremy,
>
> On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 10:53:46 -0000, Jeremy >
> wrote:
>
> >Considering buying 2001 E39 530i Touring SE with auto box and sat nav
> >(in the UK)
>
> Nice car - I drive a 2002 E39 530dA Touring.
> http://www.bilgalleri.dk/html/gal_visbil.asp?ID=29266 (In Danish I am
> afraid)
>
>
> >1) Technology changes so rapidly - is the sat nav any good - how might
> >it compare to the vurrent range of devices which have had 4 or 5 years
> >more development - is it still worthwhile having?
>
> Definately YES - it would say. I got the original BMW nav with 16:9
> screen and CD based maps in my car - it works very well I think, and a
> lot better than TomTom on a PDA that I used before. It is still
> possible to purchase updated maps for it, it does route calculation in
> a matter of seconds. If the one you are looking on has the 4:3 screen
> you would have to live with looking at that very not-high-tech
> cassette deck that has been hidden behind the screen in the 16:9
> model.
>

I don't know if it's 4:3 or 16:9 but I do know that the advert states
only that a cassette player is fitted (i.e. no CD). Here is a picture of
the interior of the car in question:

http://www.compucars.co.uk/carpics/Lg58487-03.jpg



--

jeremy

"Jeremy" > wrote in message
t...
> In article >, Lars Knudsen
> says...
>> Hi Jeremy,
>>
>> On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 10:53:46 -0000, Jeremy >
>> wrote:
>>
>> >Considering buying 2001 E39 530i Touring SE with auto box and sat nav
>> >(in the UK)
>>
>> Nice car - I drive a 2002 E39 530dA Touring.
>> http://www.bilgalleri.dk/html/gal_visbil.asp?ID=29266 (In Danish I am
>> afraid)
>>
>>
>> >1) Technology changes so rapidly - is the sat nav any good - how might
>> >it compare to the vurrent range of devices which have had 4 or 5 years
>> >more development - is it still worthwhile having?
>>
>> Definately YES - it would say. I got the original BMW nav with 16:9
>> screen and CD based maps in my car - it works very well I think, and a
>> lot better than TomTom on a PDA that I used before. It is still
>> possible to purchase updated maps for it, it does route calculation in
>> a matter of seconds. If the one you are looking on has the 4:3 screen
>> you would have to live with looking at that very not-high-tech
>> cassette deck that has been hidden behind the screen in the 16:9
>> model.
>>
>
> I don't know if it's 4:3 or 16:9 but I do know that the advert states
> only that a cassette player is fitted (i.e. no CD). Here is a picture of
> the interior of the car in question:
>
> http://www.compucars.co.uk/carpics/Lg58487-03.jpg
>


The one in the picture is 16:9.

Kyle.
98 740iL
01 525i

"Jeremy" > wrote in message
t...
> Considering buying 2001 E39 530i Touring SE with auto box and sat nav
> (in the UK)
>
> 1) Technology changes so rapidly - is the sat nav any good - how might
> it compare to the vurrent range of devices which have had 4 or 5 years
> more development - is it still worthwhile having?

Worthwhile? Only you can decide. BMW's nav is not the equal of that in the
Acura or Lexus, but it works well enough. IMO, NO automotive sat nav system
has quite got it right in terms of ergonomics, flexibility and features.

With nav you have the high OBC and Check Control. The instrument cluster is
prone to burned out pixels in the info area.

> 2) The 530i engine - any known weaknesses or gotchas?

None to speak of. Insure all the fluids are changed. Brakes at least every
two years, coolant every two (BMW only says 4 now), differential @ 30K miles
(BMW never), trans @ 30-50K (BMW says 100K, used to be lifetime), PS every
30K (forgot that one, eh?). I synch mine with service intervals, but that
tends to be 32K and 2 years for me, so ...

There's a service bulletin on the ignition coils, but the 2001 isn't listed.

There's a service bulletin on the aux fan relay. Insure the bad part is not
in the car (underhood fires a remote possibility).

The cooling system is the weakest link. somewhere around 75K (plus or
minus) a preventative maintenance of the thermostat, its housing, and water
pump would be a good thing. The plastic radiator is a known weakness (it
cracks around the upper hose fitting), but more so on the V8's.

Mechanically, the engine should be good for 200K+ (valvotronic the possible
exception ... but there are no indications of excessive failures on any of
the special interest boards).

The E39 was considered the leader of its class for most of its production
term. You won't be disappointed.

R / John (2003 530i SP)

Hej,

On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 07:45:28 -0600, "John Carrier" >
wrote:

>> 2) The 530i engine - any known weaknesses or gotchas?
>None to speak of. Insure all the fluids are changed. Brakes at least every
>two years, coolant every two (BMW only says 4 now), differential @ 30K miles
>(BMW never), trans @ 30-50K (BMW says 100K, used to be lifetime), PS every
>30K (forgot that one, eh?). I synch mine with service intervals, but that
>tends to be 32K and 2 years for me, so ...

What does it give to change fluids more frequently than the BMW
recommendation?


** Lars

1) BMW NAV is sad compared to the Japanese. BMW should have done what
Jaguar did and specified the Nippon Denso unit used by Lexus in its
cars.

2) The "weakness" of the car you're looking at is NOT the engine, but
the Auto transmission. Those things with their *lifetime* fluid are
expected to only last to 100,000 to maybe, and that's maybe 125,000
miles. Period. That is what BMW considers to be *lifetime*. If I had
to getan automatic trans, would try to find a car that has the tranny
fluid changed every 30-40,000 miles.

Jeremy wrote:

[...]

> 2) The 530i engine - any known weaknesses or gotchas?

It's much less powerful than the 540i engine...

M62 V8 is fairly bomb proof and the autobox is a good 'un.



A

"Lars Knudsen" > wrote in message
...
> Hej,
>
> On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 07:45:28 -0600, "John Carrier" >
> wrote:
>
>>> 2) The 530i engine - any known weaknesses or gotchas?
>>None to speak of. Insure all the fluids are changed. Brakes at least
>>every
>>two years, coolant every two (BMW only says 4 now), differential @ 30K
>>miles
>>(BMW never), trans @ 30-50K (BMW says 100K, used to be lifetime), PS every
>>30K (forgot that one, eh?). I synch mine with service intervals, but that
>>tends to be 32K and 2 years for me, so ...
>
> What does it give to change fluids more frequently than the BMW
> recommendation?

BMW's recommendations are the "new" intervals that were introduced with
"free" maintenance in the US. As the fluids haven't changed and the needs
to change them haven't changed, the schedule I presented is the "old"
interval that BMW recommended prior to free maintenance. Following the new
vice the old probably doesn't matter if the car is to be turned over in 100K
miles, but if you're in it for the long haul ...

R / John

"Alistair J Murray" > wrote in message
...
> Jeremy wrote:
>
> [...]
>
>> 2) The 530i engine - any known weaknesses or gotchas?
>
> It's much less powerful than the 540i engine...
>
> M62 V8 is fairly bomb proof and the autobox is a good 'un.

Except for the oil pump bolts, much higher failure rate of radiator, etc.
Care and feeding of the V8 is more expensive over the long haul. Of course
its extra grunt is addictive, but the 225HP I6 has ample power. If you
REALLY want power in an E39, a tuner M5 is the way to go.

R / John