[crAbb]

Buy this. Run for five years at say, 8k miles a year. Surely it's going to be worth broadly the same?

IMO, one of the most elegant family cars BMW ever made, with probably the best six cylinder engine.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312194940843

[TodmordenLad]

Peak 5 series.

Had an E61 and an F11 but they didn't have this unfussy yet sporty design, which used to be BMW's trademark.

[SkyJawa]

Told the father in law if he ever gets rid of his 2001 530i Touring I want it!

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by crAbb

Buy this. Run for five years at say, 8k miles a year. Surely it's going to be worth broadly the same?

IMO, one of the most elegant family cars BMW ever made, with probably the best six cylinder engine.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312194940843

It's lovely; don't get me wrong, I'm a huge E39 fan and always will be

But that price is just laughable and realistically, no matter the mileage, it's a £6-£8k car MAX

You'd lose 50% of it's value buying it as you'd never sell it for any more than that; even if it were to go via a /C&C Auction etc

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by SkyJawa

Told the father in law if he ever gets rid of his 2001 530i Touring I want it!

Had some regret in selling my Jap import 530i Sport touring, but alas it was the right time to sell it on (for the right price too) as the market was starting to change and prices were dropping again...

I'd owned it 2.5 years and 2 lads contact me regularly to ask if I was selling it and it was one of those that bought it...

Paid £5k for it, sold it for £10k but did a huge amount of work to it (more preventative than necessary) but still; it was nigh on rebuilt

Lovely car; superb drive and a fantastic load space...

But; it wasn't that much bigger than my current F31 bar the load space; just shows you how much bigger cars are now really!



And the day it left my possession:

[Sasquartch]

I used to have an E39 530i and loved the car but even when I had it there were always things wrong.
The problem is finding a good one, even the newest ones are well over 20 years old and rust can be an issue especially around the rear arches and jacking points - which for most people would be harder to sort out than any mechanical issues
They're smooth, perform OK (for the standards of 25 years ago) but are pretty uneconomical and probably none of them are ULEZ compliant which will become more and more of an issue
On the upside there is a wealth of knowledge out there, parts are easy to come by (make sure you buy OEM quality parts, lots of rubbish out there, especially suspension and cooling system components) and the cars themselves are generally easy to work on.
Whether they'd be a good investment - who knows ? I think you'd have to budget a fair bit to keep on top of everything ayway - £15k is a joke. Even the advert boasts that the tyres are original, that'd be the first expense you'd have, a set of Michelins or similar would be £600 to start.

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by Sasquartch

I used to have an E39 530i and loved the car but even when I had it there were always things wrong.
The problem is finding a good one, even the newest ones are well over 20 years old and rust can be an issue especially around the rear arches and jacking points - which for most people would be harder to sort out than any mechanical issues
They're smooth, perform OK (for the standards of 25 years ago) but are pretty uneconomical and probably none of them are ULEZ compliant which will become more and more of an issue
On the upside there is a wealth of knowledge out there, parts are easy to come by (make sure you buy OEM quality parts, lots of rubbish out there, especially suspension and cooling system components) and the cars themselves are generally easy to work on.
Whether they'd be a good investment - who knows ? I think you'd have to budget a fair bit to keep on top of everything ayway - £15k is a joke. Even the advert boasts that the tyres are original, that'd be the first expense you'd have, a set of Michelins or similar would be £600 to start.

It'll need (IMO) at a minimum

New tyres; probably new brakes & brake lines. It'll need the DISA rebuilding, more than likely the vanos rebuilding, rocker cover and oil filter housing gaskets doing. New spark plugs whilst you're at it

New vanos oil line as they all leak; potentially a new sump gasket as they start to leak with age. It'll need new air intake boots (MAF to TB) and new vac lines as they'll have perished now through age

New FSU; new air filters/pollen filters & new heater valve in the engine bay etc

It'll more than likely need new shocks all round, new rear SLS bags unless its on springs (unlikely) - it'd be wise to fit it with Mtech II spec suspension IMO as it's not stupidly firm like F3X suspension is, but it's hell of a lot better than SE spec suspension that makes it handle like a barge

That there is a good few £k without trying, with labour on top (unless you're a savvy DIY'er)...

It'll be a superb car for someone to take on as a project, to put work into and cherish and enjoy a superb drive. But it's stupidly overpriced...

[SkyJawa]

Originally Posted by Sasquartch

They're smooth, perform OK (for the standards of 25 years ago) but are pretty uneconomical and probably none of them are ULEZ compliant which will become more and more of an issue

FIL lives inside the ULEZ zone and apparently it is compliant!

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by SkyJawa

FIL lives inside the ULEZ zone and apparently it is compliant!

Quite a few of them are; a lot are not though and Jap imports can't be verified

[Pond]

Originally Posted by crAbb

Buy this. Run for five years at say, 8k miles a year. Surely it's going to be worth broadly the same?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312194940843

Nah, that doesn't add up.
It's only silly money cos of the mileage. You put 40k on it, it will be worth pennies IMO.

[boba-fett]

£15k! is this serious? I can think of many, many more cars that will be a better place to put your money if you want free motoring.