Tell me about... E39 525d

realscot

realscot

realscot

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Ok so I mot'd a 2003 BMW 525d (sport or se, cant remember) today and the guy that owns the car sales place it came from knows im looking for something like this, and has offered it to me for £3500

It's an '03' plate 525d Auto, 61k on the clock, cloth interior, no sat nav, but does have parking sensors. Has nice alloys not sure if they are 17 or 18 inch.
Car never needed a thing for mot, and is in top notch condition. Has full BMW Inverness service history.

I'd maybe be able to get a pic on later so some BMW expert (fox) can tell me exactly what model it is etc.

Prices seem to vary, i've seen same car anything from £3500 to £7000+ but as far as I know it seems to be a decent deal.

Opinions?
hope i got the E39 bit right btw... i'm not up to scratch on my E numbers ;)
 
Well i think it's the SE with the sport alloys. Nothing dodgy about it, as I say I just mot'd it and it's spot on mechanically. Dealer will probably sell it for high £5's, this is just an offer to me since i've known the dealer for most of my life and he's a family friend. Tbh I'd prefer not to have leather, its cold first thing in the morning!! And idc about sat nav and the likes.
 
realscot said:
Tbh I'd prefer not to have leather, its cold first thing in the morning!! And idc about sat nav and the likes.
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Heated leather solves that problem, and unless you are getting in wearing your kilt, you won't notice anyway.

As for the sat nav, retrofitting it is expensive and a pain in the ass; so if you know you'll want it, wait for one with it.
 
You havn't met my missus, she's always cold! And even heated leather takes time to heat.
It solves my quest for torque, and its much more grown up and responsible than the honda!
 
This sounds like it might be an ES to me. This was a runout edition of the E39 and came with interesting split rims of the same design as the 330Ci Clubsport,

If its £3500 because its a genuine through a friend deal then it's well worth the money. If its £3500 because there is something wrong with it then you should run, not walk, away.

You'll find it'll average 30something to the gallon in mixed usage - the automatic box goes someway towards cancelling out the fuel economy benefit of the diesel but the autobox works well with the torquey nature of the engine.

Usually I advise against the 525d as it costs the same to run as a 530d but offers less performance but at this sort of price thats not a concern. It's low mileage which means you should buy a warranty for it - there are numerous things on a 525d Auto which will leave you with a repair bill the wrong side of £1000 but with mileage of 61k Warranty Direct or similar will happily give you a warranty meaning you'll only really have to fork out for servicing, tyres and bits of suspension etc.
 
thanks for the info fox. Yeah any repairs would be done by myself anyway. Both the front wishbones looked pretty new so i'd imagine they were done in the last 6 months. It'll surely get more than the 110miles to £20 that my civic's currently returning!
I knew my next car had to be a german diesel, as working on cars every day, they always come out on top. With the exception of the Passat the E39 seems to be the best value for money. I honestly do prefer the auto too, even though i've never owned an auto before. Maybe thats just because i'm moving 20+ cars a day and the auto's are just easier.
 
It's the parts that cost the money so I'd still not recommend running a BMW diesel without a warranty. It's only 300 quid a year so not a big deal.
 
realscot said:
It'll surely get more than the 110miles to £20 that my civic's currently returning!
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Probably not as much as you'd think if you are only using it on short trips. Mathematically, £20 is 4.07 gallons of diesel, averaging 30MPG will see 122 miles to that £20.
 
OllyM said:
Can you repair the inner workings of an automatic gearbox?
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no but one of the other guys i work with can, so i'd get him to do it :D

paradigm said:
Probably not as much as you'd think if you are only using it on short trips. Mathematically, £20 is 4.07 gallons of diesel, averaging 30MPG will see 122 miles to that £20.
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From what i've read the 525 can do 40+ on a long run, the civic could only do that down hill with the wind behind me.
 
we had a 525d for 4 years, i really liked it, although it had sat nav, tv, dsp, etc and that was all rather exciting back in 2001 :p

sounds like crappy spec, but at that price you can't really complain. the auto box isn't a bad one, but the economy will suffer.
as long as you have a warranty and it is a good example, should be an enjoyable experience :)
 
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