I nearly bought a E39 Touring last week, but the rust on the sills did put me off as I could not buy a daily car and having to do additional work on it., especially bodywork. Saying that, I now bought a different daily commuter car and when the E12 is up and running, might fee the itch again and start to look at E39's (or even E38's) again.
A lot of E39s are spoilt by being run by people who cannot afford to run them. Neglected servicing and routine maintenance. They are also vulnerable to rust in the sills and around the jacking points, something that many owners ignore until they are an MOT fail. The M57 525d and 530d are virtually bombproof. Unfortunately the pre 2001 model year auto box on the 530d are fragile because BMW chose an autobox (A5S360R) that was overmatched by the torque of the 530d and the weight of the car. The facelift models (2001 model year onwards) had an uprated autobox (A5S390R) which can cope with the torque and weight. The self-levelling pneumatic suspension on the Touring makes them excellent towing cars. I have two 2001 530d Tourings, one manual and one auto. Wouldn't change them for anything.
I've seen your videos about features on an s80. I too have a volvo. Its my first & first sweedish car in general. I've owned E39's for well over 10 years! I know them inside out. I've owned 8 throughout. 5 Tourings & 3 saloons, from a 520 all the way up to a 540. I still have my top spec 1997 528 Touring Manual, as it's my first car. I'm working on a full nut "n" bolt restoration on that. So I still have 4 out of 8. I have an 01 525d Touring auto, 02 530d Auto saloon and a 02 540 Touring Auto with the options list almost fully ticked. I also own 3 E38's. An 01 728 sport, a 95 750iL & a 99 740 (full spec). These E39's are super tough cars. My E39's are nocking on the near 200k mark and still feel solid. Rust is the natural enemy, penny pinching previous owners, another... Tailgate wiring, gas struts, pixles, headlight adjusters, plastic cooling system components, swirl flaps on the diesel auto's and so called "seal for life" gearboxes. The Diesel auto's with the GM 5L40E are underrated on a 530d.
The 530d with the GM 5L40E (A5S360R in BMW terms) auto boxes are unreliable/fragile because they are overmatched by the weight and the torque of the M57 530d engine. The GM 5L50E (A5S390R in BMW terms) are the one you want, it is a far better match with the M57 530d torque and the E39s weight..
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Someone spent a long time designing these cars and used very expensive components is the prevailing feeling if you own one.
I nearly bought a E39 Touring last week, but the rust on the sills did put me off as I could not buy a daily car and having to do additional work on it., especially bodywork. Saying that, I now bought a different daily commuter car and when the E12 is up and running, might fee the itch again and start to look at E39's (or even E38's) again.
A lot of E39s are spoilt by being run by people who cannot afford to run them. Neglected servicing and routine maintenance. They are also vulnerable to rust in the sills and around the jacking points, something that many owners ignore until they are an MOT fail.
The M57 525d and 530d are virtually bombproof. Unfortunately the pre 2001 model year auto box on the 530d are fragile because BMW chose an autobox (A5S360R) that was overmatched by the torque of the 530d and the weight of the car. The facelift models (2001 model year onwards) had an uprated autobox (A5S390R) which can cope with the torque and weight.
The self-levelling pneumatic suspension on the Touring makes them excellent towing cars.
I have two 2001 530d Tourings, one manual and one auto. Wouldn't change them for anything.
I've seen your videos about features on an s80. I too have a volvo. Its my first & first sweedish car in general.
I've owned E39's for well over 10 years! I know them inside out. I've owned 8 throughout. 5 Tourings & 3 saloons, from a 520 all the way up to a 540. I still have my top spec 1997 528 Touring Manual, as it's my first car. I'm working on a full nut "n" bolt restoration on that. So I still have 4 out of 8. I have an 01 525d Touring auto, 02 530d Auto saloon and a 02 540 Touring Auto with the options list almost fully ticked. I also own 3 E38's. An 01 728 sport, a 95 750iL & a 99 740 (full spec).
These E39's are super tough cars. My E39's are nocking on the near 200k mark and still feel solid.
Rust is the natural enemy, penny pinching previous owners, another... Tailgate wiring, gas struts, pixles, headlight adjusters, plastic cooling system components, swirl flaps on the diesel auto's and so called "seal for life" gearboxes. The Diesel auto's with the GM 5L40E are underrated on a 530d.
The 530d with the GM 5L40E (A5S360R in BMW terms) auto boxes are unreliable/fragile because they are overmatched by the weight and the torque of the M57 530d engine.
The GM 5L50E (A5S390R in BMW terms) are the one you want, it is a far better match with the M57 530d torque and the E39s weight..