NPoCP: BMW E39 Wagon

"vicariousILive" (vicariousILive) 08/19/2015 at 16:32 • Filed to: None

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In two years, my !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! will be paid off and when that happens I am going to get rid of my ugly ass 2004 Camry (its actual color is beige) and upgrading to a wagon. Since an impulse buy for me is something I have been thinking about purchasing for a month or less, I start researching the next car I would like to own a good couple years in advance. I was researching trucks to buy for a good 3 years before I bought the Tacoma. Because of a slow day at work I have been brushing through the local classifieds to see what is out there and get an understanding for the market.

I am still trying to break out of the mindset that mileage should be the top consideration when buying a vehicle. I wouldn’t have even considered looking at anything less than 75k before but after joining Oppo I have since “seen the light” and I am looking into cars I would not even considered buying before.

I stumbled across this beauty 2000 540i wagon. I sure am not going to buy it now but I just wanted to see what everyone else thinks. What say ye...nice price or crack pipe?

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HammerheadFistpunch > vicariousILive 08/19/2015 at 16:44

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Well, I didn’t picture you as a BMW man.

vicariousILive > HammerheadFistpunch 08/19/2015 at 16:49

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I didn’t either until I realized I could get this sweet V8 for better gas mileage than my Camry, on the highway at least.

LoveTheWagon > vicariousILive 08/19/2015 at 16:50

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Another savvy KSL shopper. I have spent much time and money on that website. Very nice looking wagon BTW.

MrThayer > vicariousILive 08/19/2015 at 16:54

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If you’re buying this to save on gas, you might want to reconsider since you’ll probably be finding yourself more than making up the difference on random electrical repairs.

HammerheadFistpunch > vicariousILive 08/19/2015 at 16:54

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Pictured - The BMW experience. Shane represents the joys of BMW ownership. Ingrid represents the costs of parts and service.

vicariousILive > HammerheadFistpunch 08/19/2015 at 17:10

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Haha. I fully understand but I hear good things about the E39 but thats the other thing i want to find out. What parts on them generally fail? High consequence failures or just failures to annoy. I like to take that kinda stuff into consideration when before purchase. It was easy with the Tacoma because there was nothing to consider

If I only have to pay $5k for a car and spend another couple grand in parts I have no problem because I pay $600 a month to pay off the Tacoma right now anyway. So I have a lot of room to work with in a years time.

finn's arm > vicariousILive 08/19/2015 at 17:18

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CP. Unless they want to keep the style 5’s and lower the price $1K, I wouldn’t bite. Wagons don’t sell well... which is a jalop’s dream negotiating tactic.

The V8’s are great, but mileage would play into my purchase. I would want to see if they have had the timing chain + tensioner work done and i normally look for cooling system receipts when i look at BMW’s... This is about the mileage when the autotragic boxes will start giving out. These have a different front suspension set up than I6, and more often than not, were optioned with a more expensive SLS air suspension in the rear (easily fixed or deleted) than comparable I6’s. Preventative maintenance is a bit more effort than on the I6 variants... but worth it.

I bought my ‘00 528iT for $3K inclusive of tax. 160K miles. Pristine condition - exterior is great, good suspension all around (had been refreshed w/ OEM Sachs, but I upgraded last year). Figure that equates to about $2750? It’s a loaded glacier green metallic w/ perfect stone grey leather that has matching inserts in the door. I had $5K budgeted for car + parts. It’s been perfectly reliable and I did preventative maintenance for things I felt would be prudent to do early (CCV/top end clean up - killer of these era BMW engines). Have spent $600 on Bilstein HD’s through AJUSA and am currently eyeing $1200 in suspension refresh parts (Take a gander at the cost of aluminium lower control arms...).

vicariousILive > finn's arm 08/19/2015 at 18:03

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I just looked into the control arms. Seems on part compared to my truck but it’s doubled compared to parts on my car.

Awesome feedback though! The V8 is quite temping but this would be a family car so the I6 would be a more practical. But if I could get a good fun car for total $5k after upgrades I would be pretty happy. Have you owened other bimmers before or is the 528iT your first?

finn's arm > vicariousILive 08/20/2015 at 12:52

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This is my fourth. I have had 2 E36’s before my current E36 DD over the last 10 years.

I think $5K is a very realistic budget for car purchase along with a tune up & suspension overhaul. There are 3 around me that are listed for less than the sedan variant which surprises me b/c the wagons are always optioned & maintained better.

For 2001+, (Post-LCI) the only offerings were the 525iT and 540iT in wagon variants. 2.5 might feel like a dog since I believe those were detuned and restricted on the exhaust side.

vicariousILive > finn's arm 08/20/2015 at 15:10

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I have only been able to drive a BMW once. It was a 3 series model a friend had. I can’t remember if it was an E36 or E46. I drove it a around aneighborhood so I wasn’t comfortable with really seeing how it it performed. So have not reference to really anything else so the 2.5 I6 will feel like a drag racer compared the beige I currently own. I have always been fascinated with the BMW but never found it practical because I was always set on buying low mileage vehicles until lately.

finn's arm > vicariousILive 08/20/2015 at 18:23

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Lots of BMW nerds on oppo, so we’ve got you covered for super esoteric questions :D

In my experience, the engine is never the thing to go, but like a Chevy, things fall around it. Autoboxes aren’t as robust, the suspension wears down & the cooling system fails. If maintained, they can easily last 300K miles.