Hello, just introducing myself as a new member, although I've been lurking this forum for awhile with all the useful information here.
I've owned a E39 530i since 2003 as a daily driver, and my Sunday car is a 2005 M3. This has led me to the realization that the E39/E46 era cars are arguably the best combination of maintainability and modern that BMW has ever produced. So last spring, we retired my wife's Toyota and replaced it with a clean, well-maintained 2004 Imola on black cube 6MT ZHP sedan and she's been on cloud nine ever since. She even blogged about it here.
I did an Inspection 2 once I got it home, and since then have replaced FCABs with the Z4M parts, added a Bluetooth TCU and factory alarm. Koni Sports are so cheap right now, I bought a set and will install them soon, and will have to do the RTABs at the same time.
The 530 has always burned a lot of oil, gradually increasing from about 800 mi/qt to a consistent 400 mi/qt. Over the winter I installed a catch can setup and saw oil consumption drop to 2500 miles/qt. Now have about 3000 miles on the setup with no issue or codes. The ZHP is currently burning about 2000 miles per quart with the standard oil separator but I'll be keeping an eye on it.
I'm pretty regular over at M3Forum, and I occasionally post on the e39 bimmerforum and e46fanatics, but I do really appreciate the concentration of information and knowledge that is evident here. Looking forward to sharing the ownership experience with a great community.
Tim (Sacramento, California)