"Aloha Milkyway" (alohamilkyway)
05/29/2014 at 06:00 • Filed to: BMW, E39
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"Aloha Milkyway" (alohamilkyway)
05/29/2014 at 06:00 • Filed to: BMW, E39 | 6
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I'm surprised that I've said most things in this video already. So, why an E39? At first I wanted an E36 but the rear shock mount issue was always gonna bug me. Why not an E30? Because they're crazy expensive here now. An equivalent of $9,000 gets you a 318i. Oddly enough, I chose an E39 because of Top Gear's River Nile challenge. If it can handle that, I'm sure the mean streets of Manila wouldn't be a problem. Also, I play golf (don't judge!) and the bigger trunk space was very much appreciated.
A big car that handles well, a Camry this isn't
I first picked mine up with just over 60,000 kms. A 16 year old car with mileage that low was bound to run into a few problems. It was on Yokohama Geolanders for crying out loud
Now for some reason, 225/6R15's are difficult to find. Instead, I replaced them with 205/65R15's
In a country like the Philippines, these things are rarely brought out. This leads to a huge amount of people saying these things are unreliable. The simple solution? Drive them and use them! People here normally do about 10,000 kms a year. Me? I've now done 17,000 already. So what have I learned?
Doug DeMuro once said that when you own a used luxury car, people think you are rich. It's true that people will always ask you about cost and stuff how maintenance will always be a problem, etc. In the span of a year, I'm surprised that it was no more than my old CR-V. Hell, even my old car had a nastier habit of eating its bushings every 4-6 months. I was really happy if I made it a year without dealing with the undercarriage and I'm glad to report that the E39 delivered. Yes, things get expensive but they take another eternity to replace. You don't need to be rich to own one.
In the span of a year, have I been called an asshat? Of course I have but it has something to do more with the brand's reputation rather than my driving. Yes, I still use my turn signals. Yes, I still follow the two second rule. Yes, I still obey traffic laws and road rules. Hell, some people have even called me out as not a true BMW driver for using my turn signals. Honestly, the asshat jokes get old and you eventually get used to it. Owning one of these make other people feel like you own the road they tend to think that you are an ass the moment you screw up. Try it,drive a BMW carefully and you will still attract the attention of these automotive racists.
Treat your car like a daily and bumps and scrapes are really bound to happen. Just because own a German car doesn't mean that people will respect your car. Some people just don't care although for some reason, your blood boils a little bit earlier when you see hit and run dents from a parking lot.
Ah yes, the long life oils. What's your stand on this?
I get asked this a lot. Is it fast? It isn't. It's a humble 523i and no, it's not an M5. I would best describe its power as "confident enough for overtaking".
A year into European car ownership and I'm a happy camper. Go, take Doug's advice. Get yourself a W210 Mercedes or an E39 BMW. They're great on fun runs, road trips and de-stressing you after a tiring day at work. These things will put a smile on my face.
Trust me. They're bloody brilliant
Jobjoris
> Aloha Milkyway
05/29/2014 at 06:27 |
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You clearly saved the best for last! Is that you smoking up the last pieces of rubber of those Geolanders or is that already those 205s? Great picture!
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Aloha Milkyway
> Jobjoris
05/29/2014 at 06:31 |
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The Geolanders were hilariously easy to light up! There's no better way of killing off old rubber than in an autocross!
Squid
> Aloha Milkyway
05/29/2014 at 06:42 |
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Ah yes, the long life oils. What's your stand on this?
A good quality synthetic like Mobil 1 or what ever flavor of synthetic BMW now recommend are good for 10,000 miles or 16,000 km. Ir rook me a while to realize that I was basically throwing the extra money away by doing a shorter interval. Synthetic oils are really good now and can easily go 15,000 miles or 24,000 km, I just have a hard time pushing my oil that far and feel bad because I know I'm not nice to my motor. As long as you invest in a good quality oil filter you got nothing to worry about on the long oil change intervals.
Now that I typed that out I'm wondering if this was a rhetorical question. But anyways, enjoy your E39 and congrats to making it a year with the car.
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Aloha Milkyway
> Squid
05/29/2014 at 07:06 |
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I asked for reals. Also, I'm wondering about the long life ATF
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Squid
> Aloha Milkyway
05/29/2014 at 07:17 |
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ATF I would rather get out sooner than later to help preserve the pumps and friction plates. All of the ground up metal ends up in the fluid and doesn't always get caught by the filter so you wind up with an abrasive hydraulic fluid pumping around adding wear. I'd rather at least get a drain and refill around 50,000 miles and if the tranny filter is easy enough to get to by dropping the pan I'd change that out and clean the magnet off. ATF has really good detergent packages and keeps stuff clean for a long time, but there are no "lifetime" fluids out there, no matter what the manufacturer says.
That's my opinion on ATF. Some may have a different view, but I just hate dropping tranny's down. Pulling them apart is actually quite fun though. But just hope you never have to do it out of necessity.
davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> Aloha Milkyway
05/29/2014 at 08:53 |
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Ha! Nice.
PardonMyFlemish16
> Aloha Milkyway
05/29/2014 at 17:24 |
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"65s are so hard to clean" elicited a real life lol.