Helping to shop for a 5

[Asiah119]

One of my friends just killed his Landrover Discovery; he gold the old chocolate milk treatment. The repairs were going to be a few thousand more than the car is worth, so I'm helping him on his odyssey for a new car.

I'm trying to talk him into a 3 of a 5 series. I know the E46's quirks and bugs fairly well by now, but dont know much about the E39 and less about the e60. Do you fine gents have anything to pass on that I should be on the look out for? One of my friends has mentioned that the V8s werent the best, reliability wise, but he may just have a big soft one for the I6s.

[Hermes]

sounds like time for an E39 530i

[Asiah119]

He's bouncing between the E39 and E46. I've been trying to explain to him that Bimmers have a different build quality than Honda. There are two E39 540i in the general area. I just don't know anything about that V8.

[Torxuvin]

I can't imagine that either would be worse than owning a Landrover

[Asiah119]

I can't imagine that either would be worse than owning a Landrover

Quite true. Apparently one of the recurring electrical\sensor glitches is so common that the Landrover forums have created a catchy name for it.

[Sockethead]

Good choices... the e39 and e46 are some ofthe last of the relatively uncomplicated BMWs.
e39 with the 3 liter has all the same issues as the e46 with the 3 liter. The 4.4 V8 is pretty reliable but I believe all the V8s of that era have an issue with the alternator bracket leaking oil. It's a 9 hr job by the book but it can be DIYd, it's just a PITA. Valve cover gaskets are the typical BMW. Suspension has the typical bushing issues.
Stay away from the air suspension.When it goes bad, it's a nightmare to fix.... we've spent thousands on the air suspension on our X5 and it's still not fixed.

[Asiah119]

Thanks for the heads up on the suspension.

[terraphantm]

My biggest fear with the V8 model would be the timing chain guides. I don't think the M5 has that particular issue though

[Torxuvin]

Stay away from the air suspension.When it goes bad, it's a nightmare to fix.... we've spent thousands on the air suspension on our X5 and it's still not fixed.

+1 It keeps me from looking at used E55 amgs too closely every time I start to stray

[BCS_ZHP]

On the e39 540, underneath the intake manifold are two relatively minor maintenance items but you have to remove the damn intake manifold to get to them. Removing the intake manifold is a 5 hour job. Underneath is a oil return line that hardens and should be replaced every 90-100K miles. Also the valley pan gasket, can get a coolant leak here but you can't find the leak unless you remove the intake manifold.

Suspension with sacrificial rubber bushings was already mentioned but its more expensive to correct this on an e39 as compared to a e46 as there are more bushings and they are twice as expensive, thus about 4x the cost of an e46.

Cooling system needs a refresh just like the e46s, there is a rear cooling manifold on the back side of the heads which makes this tricky on a 540. Costs a bit more and takes a little bit longer to accomplish than the e46 cooling refresh.

On the timing chain, there are externally accessible timing chain tensioners that are easy to replace and should be done by 80-100K miles. If they aren't done when needed, then the internal timing chain guides get eaten up. Now you have to pull the timing chain covers, basically the whole front of the engine, lots of labor and hope your timing chains and gears aren't damaged, or even more money.

I know where a 2000-2002 530i 5 speed with sport package is located here in northern VA, PM me if interested and I'll feed you the guy's number.