BMW 530D M sport E39

Jonty

Hi all,

I'm looking at a 03 one of these with 96k miles on it. What should I be looking out for?

There is a partial service history to 65k miles, but I know that the car has been serviced since.

J

ION08

I'd be fairly skeptical about that mileage for an '03 Diesel with a service history only up to 65k

Jonty

Thanks, but I know the mileage is genuine, I know the guy selling the car

Leonard Hofstadter

Check the suspension, make sure you can't hear any squeaks/rattles etc over bumps, and make sure there is no vibrations coming through the steering wheel at higher speeds.

Ask the owner has the cooling system ever seen any attention. With that kind of mileage, I would be looking for the cooling system to be overhauled - BMWs are famous for their weak cooling systems which can cause overheating at around 100k miles.

Check does everything work inside and make sure there are no missing pixels in the dash.

Finally, and most importantly, ask the owner about the swirl flaps. These need to be removed asap if they haven't already been done. An engine that injests its swirl flaps means you need a new engine.

Apart from that, they are an utterly brilliant car. If it's been looked after, and you do the preventative maintenance outlined about, you'll get many happy years out of owning one. I still maintain that the E39 is the best car BMW ever made. It is easily the best car of the 90s, and by some margin as well.

m5alive

mileage seems very high for an 03 tbh, would defintely use that a bargining chip for pushing the price down.

check over the serive history for the below, i nicked this from a diff board i frequent.

General:
Air filter – every 15k miles
Brake fluid – every 2 years, or less
Coolant – every 3 years, or less

Think about at 50k miles, if not already done:
Belts
Transmission fluid

Think about at 70k miles, if not already done:
Fuel filter
Thrust arm bushings
Power steering fluid
Wheel bearings

Think about at 90k miles, if not already done:
Fan clutch, radiator
Fuel pump

Think about at 100k miles / 160k km, if not already done:
Rod bearings

@captainspeed, e34 best built bmw of the 90's imho

frank gooding

both fuel pumps lifter and high pressure

Turbo

suspension

swirl flaps.

road tax will be a nuissance.

bazz26

m5alive wrote: »

mileage seems very high for an 03 tbh, would defintely use that a bargining chip for pushing the price down.

It is an 8 year old diesel car, 96k miles is below average for a diesel of that age.

nogoodnamesleft

m5alive wrote: »

mileage seems very high for an 03 tbh, would defintely use that a bargining chip for pushing the price down.

check over the serive history for the below, i nicked this from a diff board i frequent.

General:
Air filter – every 15k miles
Brake fluid – every 2 years, or less
Coolant – every 3 years, or less

Think about at 50k miles, if not already done:
Belts
Transmission fluid

Think about at 70k miles, if not already done:
Fuel filter
Thrust arm bushings
Power steering fluid
Wheel bearings

Think about at 90k miles, if not already done:
Fan clutch, radiator
Fuel pump

Think about at 100k miles / 160k km, if not already done:
Rod bearings

@captainspeed, e34 best built bmw of the 90's imho

I would consider 96k for a 2003 Diesel car on the low side especially one that is 7.5 years old. Most diesels would do in the region of at least 15k miles pa.


If your mechanically inclined Car Mechanics Magazine did a mini series on the E39 530d in Dec 2010 and Jan 2011 issues covering suspension issues, servicing, heater resistor pack, brakes and crankcase breather pipe changing could prove useful.

Tax is going to be a killer though.

Reloc8

m5alive wrote: »

mileage seems very high for an 03 tbh,

Average annual mileage of 12k miles ?

mickob16

Go to BMW Driver website and the lads there can tell you what to look for

m5alive

Reloc8 wrote: »

Average annual mileage of 12k miles ?

correct, I feel thats very high would only expect annual milage to be 6-8k miles, which works out to be about 35km a day. At 12k annualy works out to be about 55km a day. I'm being generous too and included Sat/Sun un weighted.

I run two cars, a 99 Punto which has 70K miles and a 91 BMW E34 M5 with 131k miles. Both are daily drivers so I feel my humble opinion is on the money :pac:

I guess if your buying it off your friend and you know he doesn't drive the bejesus out of it or you know he has long commutes then you could justify it but I still think its quite high tbh. Would also try and get a look at the previous owners if any, to see if the high mileage was put on by a previous owner, eg sales rep car etc

I think someone else mentioned road tax, you are going to pay through the nose for it. Look it up make sure you factor that in with the running costs. I'd also do a price compare of importing from the uk + vrt + diesel to get it in. It will give you a good benchmark.

Good luck in getting your car, bmw's rock!!

ION08

You do realise we are talking about a 530d here right?? The "d" stands for DIESEL

Annual average mileage would be more like around 20k-30k per annum.

I'd suggest having a look at carzone and donedeal for similar 530d, 520d, 320d's etc to get a more realistic view of your 'humble opinion' regarding mileage

E39MSport

Ours (2002) is approaching 100k and driving extremely well.

Just had Chris in Sandyford do the flaps last weekend. Breather filter was filthy. Possibly never replaced in the lifetime of the car.

Going for a remap next . Will then service twice yearly or every 5k km - whichever is first.

@captainspeed - re: best ever BMW, You need to get out more

Marlow

m5alive wrote: »

correct, I feel thats very high would only expect annual milage to be 6-8k miles, which works out to be about 35km a day. At 12k annualy works out to be about 55km a day. I'm being generous too and included Sat/Sun un weighted.

If you're only driving 35km a day, a diesel is wasted, which is why you probably don't have one. People that buy diesel cars, buy them, because they do a lot of milage. My '01 E39 525d Touring has now 160k miles on the clock and still loads of life left in it.

35 km is easily exceeded if you have a bit of commute. Arklow to South Dublin is for example 60 km each way (120 km a day) and a lot of people do that sort of commute, just as an example.

/M

illegalpower

If you're only driving 35km a day, a diesel is wasted, which is why you probably don't have one. People that buy diesel cars, buy them, because they do a lot of milage. My '01 E39 525d Touring has now 160k miles on the clock and still loads of life left in it.

35 km is easily exceeded if you have a bit of commute. Arklow to South Dublin is for example 60 km each way (120 km a day) and a lot of people do that sort of commute, just as an example.

/M

I do the exact same commute as you except in a 05 diesel mondeo. What kind of milage do you get out of the 525 as a matter of interest. Would be interested to know as doing the commute in a 525 would be much nicer!

Sorry for hijack

Marlow

illegalpower wrote: »

I do the exact same commute as you except in a 05 diesel mondeo. What kind of milage do you get out of the 525 as a matter of interest. Would be interested to know as doing the commute in a 525 would be much nicer!

Sorry for hijack

I used to commute on that stretch years ago, it was only an example. I do however cover a 120 sq.km. wide area, so I drive between 60-100k km/year. The 525d would give an average return of 42 mpg and that's with the engine remapped to 212 bhp. I've seen figures as high as 53 mpg for motorway driving. Also needs to be mentioned, that this is in a manual. Auto might be slightly lower.

/M

m5alive

Marlow wrote: »

If you're only driving 35km a day, a diesel is wasted, which is why you probably don't have one. People that buy diesel cars, buy them, because they do a lot of milage. My '01 E39 525d Touring has now 160k miles on the clock and still loads of life left in it.

35 km is easily exceeded if you have a bit of commute. Arklow to South Dublin is for example 60 km each way (120 km a day) and a lot of people do that sort of commute, just as an example.

/M

Fair point, I guess I didn't think of it like that

TJJP

Check engine mounts; heavy steering and gear stick vibration is a pointer. Also look for prop shaft coupling issues, heavy clunk from transmission area when starting reverse or in first on an uphill incline. Neither are a really expensive fix (but €300 or so for both at non-dealer). Other than those two, I never had any major issues on a 2002 e39 525d up to 100k miles. No turbo or swirl issues. Light control module can cause light problems, it looks like bulbs gone or indicator on permanently, but requires a control module replacement (up to €600!) to repair. Wiper motors can go too so check they work ok.