gingeRS

Right I am looking for a nice 530d, mileage isn’t too important as they are pretty bulletproof, and often are used as rep-mobiles, so not expecting anything sub 100k.

I was looking at the diesel for the torque and the economy, my commute isn’t long but its 15 miles or so in traffic so was thinking auto. Now I haven’t seen many 530d’s but there are lots of 530i’s for sale. For the same price as a 2001 530d or possibly less I can have a 2003 530 petrol, maybe even a last of the line special edition with all the toys.

Right I only do around 5000 miles a year so the difference between diesel and petrol equates to roughly £3-400 a year in fuel. So I would need to keep the car for a few years to make up the difference. I am also concerned about turbo and injector failures, as they are expensive, the 530 petrol engine will go on with less risk.

Your thoughts?

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

at that yearly mileage I'd have a petrol. All engines go wrong, diesels are generally more expensive to fix when they do. Servicing costs are usually higher on a diesel, plus 15 miles each way of sitting in traffic won't do a diesel a great deal of good. Worth it if you are doing 15k plus a year, but if it were me I'd have the petrol!

Rick

Petrol! Such a stunningly smooth engine

Nath

For the mileage your doing I'd buy a petrol. Less things to go wrong maybe and cheaper fuel?

IMO the E39 were amongst the best build quality BMW made and the 3.0 is a great engine and not too bad on fuel. An auto will drop the mpg but both are good and a pleasure to drive.

Edited to add, I prefer manuals. Just watch for any clutch judder and it goes in gear smoothly.

gingeRS

hmmmmmm i get annoyed at the mpg on my focus, around town that does 19 so i wouldnt expect the 3.0 litre to be much better.....

there is more to go wrong on a diesel, but the remapping for more mpg appeals to me

my mileage isnt high though.....so maybe even with a derv i would be still filling it up almost as often??

Nath

I used to average early to mid 20's round town and mid to late 30's on a run in a 530i.

That's not too bad for a 3.0 200bhp+ armchair that weighs 2 tons. We've got a soft top 330 auto and that's late teens round town, then late 20's/early 30's on a run. Just don't plant it everywhere

martynhomer01

iTrader: (1)

You will never beat a bmw six or eight cylinder petrol engine ! Go for the 530i and try and get the sport model, this will have all the m tech bodykit and m sport goodies on it matey. Well worth the money.
One fault to look for on any e39 is the front lower thrust arms. The bushes wear prematurely as there is quite a lot of weight at he front, and the mileage you are looking at buying, these will probably need changing. Drive the car up to about 60-70 mph and then brake very very hard to a standstill. If the steering wheel shakes violently, they will need changing ASAP. Not very expensive, but it is a problem that can hide from you on a test drive.

Check for rust inside the fuel flap and along the top edges of the quarter panel, where the bumper meets, and also around the boot lock.

D16PJM

when looking for a e39 check inside fuel cap as they tend to rust in there and if possible jacking points as again they are rot traps holding all the crap in the plugs, iv had 530i sports and M5's lovely cars to drive but getting old now so choose wisely.

rog

iTrader: (2)

Petrol all the way, and my preference is manual. (if you wnet diesel you'd strugle to find a manual one and it'd likely befcuked anyway).

Not sure on the real world MPG of an E39 530i but the M5 gets 18mpg and thats mostly urban, so it's got to be alot btter than that.

Also, if i may suggest, look for a champagne edition one IF you can find one decent and in your price range, great spec!
Here are a few examples, I'm not saying these are the best out there, it's just to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-530I-M...item19d8f0adda

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-52-BM...item4ac0f7b476

gingeRS

The champagne editions are nice.....but really fancy the derv for the extra economy and the lazy torque

cossie04

iTrader: (1)

If you do go for the diesel, common things are...

Swirl Flaps - Fitted to some 530d's, but not all. These can come flying off in the inlet, destroying the engine. Can be de-flapped easily with a blanking kit.

Turbo Breather - These get blocked up suffocating the turbo, this needs to be replaced with a revised vortex style breather

EGR Valve - Again, gets clogged up reducing power, easy job to clean though

Thermostat - Thermostat tends to stick open causing over cooling. Temp needle should sit at 12 o clock, if not, it needs changing.

Turbo - Normal stuff, check for play in shaft, smoke, noises etc

gingeRS

Cheers, nice list of bits to tinker with when the right car comes along. Nothing expensive, just a few hours in my garage

Cosworth Lad

Hi mate iv got one mines a 530d sport well chuffed with it its got 150k drives like 10k and the mpg isent that bad im looking at the flapps to be removed maybe mapp it mines black with black leather il put some pics for you mate tommorow.Oh the best thing about the e39s is there classic now lol,

jim_robson

Im looking to replace my xj40 with an e39, would prefer a diesel but obviously the petrols are cheaper.
But i keep getting drawn back to a newer x308 jag 3.2v8 sport, same age and spec roughly as the bmw but half the price. Havent made my mind up yet.

fordsportjay

iTrader: (6)

e39 bmw 5 series is one of the best put together cars bmw have ever made.
i loved all the ones i owned including a 525 sport,a 530sport,a 530d and of course the awesome m5.