2000, 528i se estate

[widdyst]

Hi all
I am considering a BMW 528i estate
I have been weighing up all kinds of estate cars and I think I have settled on one of these.
I have a 4 grand budget and have seen a few nice ones that come within budget
This one in particular caught my eye http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...icleYearOfManufacture=2000&vehicleRegLetter=W

Now as far as buying a BMW with 100,000 miles on it goes I am a complete noob

So can you guys help me out as to any things in particular I should be looking out for AND am I making a good choice with this budget by going for one of these ?

 

[Ricochet J]

I don't know much about BMWs but a 100,000 miles with the correct services shouldn't be a problem.
I'm sure Fox, Lucero et al will offer better advice

 

[[TW]Fox]

Have you budgeted for how much its going to cost to run? It's 9 years old and tbh it's going to be due at least a suspension refresh by now. The Tourings have air suspension at the rear as well.

That one is an SE with Sport bumpers and fake Style 37 wheels although presumably the owners budget didn't extend to the facelift rear lights to go with his retrofitted angel eyes (Which look really quite badly scratched lense wise so probably fit for the bin).

Not sure thats a particularly brilliant example.s

 

[Howard]

That one is an SE with Sport bumpers and fake Style 37 wheels although presumably the owners budget didn't extend to the facelift rear lights to go with his retrofitted angel eyes (Which look really quite badly scratched lense wise so probably fit for the bin).

If I ever buy a BMW I'm going to make sure I employ you to spot things like this

 

[widdyst]

well I have to be honest I am not 100% on running costs apart from fuel, Insurance and standard service costs.
Regarding the suspension refresh you mention what is involved and what sort of costs ?
I thought the wheels and angel eyes where a bit wrong :? But wanted conformation

 

[[TW]Fox]

The Angel Eye headlights have polycarbonate lenses which are virtually impossible to remove scratches from without being good at wet sanding. The degredation in quality that occurs as the the lenses get scratched/pitted reuslts in quite badly reduced light output.

Replacing mine with new ones was one of the best things I've done to my car, imho.

 

[[TW]Fox]

well I have to be honest I am not 100% on running costs apart from fuel, Insurance and standard service costs.
Regarding the suspension refresh you mention what is involved and what sort of costs ?

Once they get to this sort of age you'll find the bushes and dampers are past their best. Budget about a grand or so to replace them (Best off replacing the upper and lower control arms in one go rather than stripping the bushes off).

The other weakness is the cooling system but I would expect that at 9 years old somebody else will have forked that particular bill out already - but be aware that the radiators and header tanks are weak points and it's recommended that you replace the rad, header tank, waterpump and top hose at the same time to save future hassle. 400-500 quid.

 

[widdyst]

OK those sort of things I could probably handle as and when the time comes to sort them, And as you say potentially previous owners could have already swallowed some of that
Regarding engines and gearboxes are there any particular common faults or just the general things to look for in any car ?

How does this one look http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...icleYearOfManufacture=1997&vehicleRegLetter=R

 

[[TW]Fox]

Your best shot at a good one of these is to find one thats been owned by one person for a long period of time. A 1 owner car is virtually impossible at this budget but a 2 owner with the current owner having had it for 3+ years is possible and means you can get a feel for how its been looked after. A good one is an exceptional car, a bad one is a complete and utter relentless money pit.

For a nice Touring, get one thats totally standard. They never came with those wheels, so although they are nice (Well the genuine ones are not the crappy fakes) give them a miss. Find a completely stock one even if it means those horrible 16's with comprehensive service history, 4 matching premium tyres, etc etc - you want to be able to beleive its a car where money has not been an object in how its looked after.

If your budget is 4k spend no more than 3k on the actual car. You'll need the rest to get it up to scratch or keep as a reserve for future problems.

 

[[TW]Fox]

OK those sort of things I could probably handle as and when the time comes to sort them, And as you say potentially previous owners could have already swallowed some of that
Regarding engines and gearboxes are there any particular common faults or just the general things to look for in any car ?

How does this one look http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...icleYearOfManufacture=1997&vehicleRegLetter=R

That one is much better. It's 4k for a 12 year old car but to be honest at this budget its condition, condition, condition. Looks like a particularly lovely example which I'd care about more than whether its a 'bargain' or not. He's replaced the front door seals, this is the sort of thing only people as ridiculously anal as myself would bother doing, your average run a beemer cheap ***** innit won't even think about buying new door seals.

Although cooling systems etc can't be ignored and there is a chance the previous owner will have replaced it already suspension is a bit different. Most people dont notice the suspension degrading over time so you are very likely to find a car with suspension thats past its best. If it handles like a complete and utter boat, the suspension probably needs doing.


Engines - 96-97 M52 engines (Thats 520i (Which is crap, do not buy one), 523i (Pointless) and 528i (You want this one) are potentially affected by Nikasil bore linings which wore excessively due to sulphur content in fuel in the 90's. BMW replaced MOST of these under warranty, look for evidence the engine is not a Nikasil one. Otherwise the engines are very reliable indeed provided you don't blow the head gasket by ignoring a faulty cooling system.

Gearboxes are fundamentally reliable but the oil in the gearbox is 'filled for life' which is complete rubbish and its recommended the oil is changed at 100-120k.

Buying an E39 5 Series for 3-4k is, objectively speaking, a stupid thing to do. It will be reasonably old, reasonably high mileage, things will break. It is not a sensible thing to do in the slightest and there are numerous cars which, though technically not better (The E39 was indisputably the best executive saloon on the market until its replacement in 2003) there are many more trouble free alternatives.

That said if I had 3-4k I would... buy an E39 5 Series. You can pay to fix broken things but you cant pay to make a boring car interesting.

 

[widdyst]

FOX You know your stuff

That is some excellent advice you have already given me there, I already feel more confident in going out and getting one .
I think I'll start having a look at a few and getting a feel for what a good one is and isnt.
I realise a 4 grand budget isnt a lot for one of these but hopefully with some careful informed decisions I wont end up with the "utter relentless money pit" you mention

edit - How would I know about the Nikasil engines ?

 

[widdyst]

Buying an E39 5 Series for 3-4k is, objectively speaking, a stupid thing to do. .

I Like this quote and couldnt agree more . I know I could get a more sensible option but as you say That would be very boring indeed

 

[OllyM]

High sulphur in fuel isn't a problem any more so IF for whatever reason there was still a Nikasil engine around, it won't all of a sudden break so to be honest it's not really an issue. Most of them were replaced under warranty.

The auto gearbox oil thing is an interesting debate, I've read multiple reports of people changing the oil only to find the gearbox dies 10-15k miles later so I haven't had mine changed (although my car did have a new gearbox under warranty so it's 'only' about 85,000 miles old).

 

[jamoor]

The Angel Eye headlights have polycarbonate lenses which are virtually impossible to remove scratches from without being good at wet sanding. The degredation in quality that occurs as the the lenses get scratched/pitted reuslts in quite badly reduced light output.

Replacing mine with new ones was one of the best things I've done to my car, imho.

how much???

 

[[TW]Fox]

They are about £300. But morons on Ebay will buy your crap pitted old ones for at least £200 making it only a £100 change.

 

[Scania]

High sulphur in fuel isn't a problem any more so IF for whatever reason there was still a Nikasil engine around, it won't all of a sudden break so to be honest it's not really an issue. Most of them were replaced under warranty.

The auto gearbox oil thing is an interesting debate, I've read multiple reports of people changing the oil only to find the gearbox dies 10-15k miles later so I haven't had mine changed (although my car did have a new gearbox under warranty so it's 'only' about 85,000 miles old).

Many Nikasil engined cars had new blocks replaced, mine did - 1996 328i Auto - , with another Nikasil block!

My Dads 1997 528i had a new block also, yet his has the later steel liners.

Like Olly has said, High sulphur fuel is no longer available so assuming your Nikasil block has lasted this long, theres little chance of it suddenly becoming an issue.

As for the autobox & fluid, its a tricky one.

My Dads e39 is way past 250k now and has never had the gearbox touched to my knowledge, I topped up the oil on my 1997 728i Auto and a few months later it lost the will to change into 5th automatically although it would change up if I manually forced it to do so.

My current 328i Auto has done 121k miles and changes smoothly so I intend to leave it alone!

 

[Scania]

He's replaced the front door seals, this is the sort of thing only people as ridiculously anal as myself would bother doing, your average run a beemer cheap ***** innit won't even think about buying new door seals.

My old man's far from anal, the door seals have been replaced 3 times in the time he's owned the car (250K + miles) its a common issue with e39's and he's far from alone in having the problem re-occuring.

I had a door seal replaced on my e38 not because I'm anal, more it looked crap with a piece of missing trim on the n/s/r door.....

The "average run a car cheap ***** innit" won't give a toss be it a BMW or not.

Edit: Oh **** double post.

 

[[TW]Fox]

My old man's far from anal, the door seals have been replaced 3 times in the time he's owned the car (250K + miles) its a common issue with e39's and he's far from alone in having the problem re-occuring.

I had a door seal replaced on my e38 not because I'm anal, more it looked crap with a piece of missing trim on the n/s/r door.....

Aaah I was wondering how long it'd be before you came along posting random gibberish in a desperate attempt to pick holes in what I've posted whilst chasing your holy grail of proving me wrong in a BMW thread. Do you not get bored?

Generally speaking corner cutting cheapskates will not go to the trouble of replacing door rubbers to reduce draughts and suchlike. Now you've said before your Dad looks after his cars so I'm really not sure what your point is, I guess as per usual you don't really have one but you had to have a try anyway, eh?

My point was that in general, if somebody goes to the trouble of doing the seals, they probably care about other areas of the car as well. Your Dad didn't get his 528i to 250k by not servicing it and driving it up curbs so all you've really done is prove me right.

The "average run a car cheap ***** innit" won't give a toss be it a BMW or not.

And your point is what?

Edit: Oh **** double post.

Can we make it a zero post in future unless you actually DO have something to offer the OP?

 

[Rilot]

One thing to check with a touring is the rear subframe bushes. They will be shot by 100k miles if they've not been replaced and result in a really horrible ride from the rear end. Very crashy. Budget on £400 to £500 to replace them at an indy or £200 + the tool to do it yourself.
The air suspension at the back is nothing to be afraid of. The bags cost £100 each and they seem to be reliable. Mine is on it's original bags at 147k miles and they show no signs of splitting yet. Do check that the car sits level before you start it up. If the car rises up at the rear when you start it then you're possibly looking at a leaking bag causing it to drop when idle.

 

[[TW]Fox]

The only expensive issue with the rear air suspension is the pump, otherwise as rilot says it's no more expensive (Infact perhaps less so, M-Tech rear shocks are over £100 each) than conventional dampers.