Apocrypha 0 Report post Posted June 21, 2009 Anyone know what sort of mileage can l get out of an average BMW? In this case, its an E39 with already 174 thousand on it. thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jochen 4 Report post Posted June 21, 2009 Anyone know what sort of mileage can l get out of an average BMW? In this case, its an E39 with already 174 thousand on it. thanks. Firstly: the E39 is not an "average BMW", it's one of the best ever made. With regular preventive maintennace, with the odd bit of reactive maintenance, you should easily get 500,000 kms out of an E39 with the bigger engines (V8, six, etc). You could easily get 1 million kms as well, as long as you take care of the body and keep it garaged. Stay clear of the little underpowered 520. The best is the 530 (due to weight/handling = driving pleasure), 2nd best is the 540i Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
39KiwiTouring 2 Report post Posted June 21, 2009 Yeah as above 174k is not to many for one of those, don't skimp on the oil changes, and look after it, hell you could use it as a taxi, it will just go and go. My mate in Ozzie has a 96 528i sedan done 468k heaps wrong with it uses and abuses it, knocks and clangs coming from the front looks after the motor but no Wof's over there so knuckle joints basically have to colapse before he changes them haha. Interesting debate on those as the trans have lifetime sealed so he has never changed the trans fluid he bought car at 180k hadn't been done till then, the paint is still imac as it's garaged and washed regualy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted June 21, 2009 or are you talking fuel economy?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
39KiwiTouring 2 Report post Posted June 21, 2009 Well to answear that between 10.1 and 10.9k per 1 litre of fuel. 70 litre tanks gets you about 645k if you let the fuel light stay on comes on with about 120k DTE or that last 15 quater. Run it on 91 as they have cats on those. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
laadeelaa 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 I'm liking this news!! Just hope electrics don't crank out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
39KiwiTouring 2 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 (edited) Best thing is there a few dead ones around now, so ECU's and the likes are far more resonably priced why pay $2500k for one when you can get a higher K early nineties complete car with Wof e39 for about $6k. I know of two down the road and Australia has cheaper parts than here, shop around and they are no different to maintain than any jap car really. Best advice I've had is to plug them into a BMW computer and if no historical electrical fault codes logged, they tend to not get them ever by rights, obviously always a first for everything but how often have you heard, ecu been changed 3 times etc. etc. oh yes the gremlins or the Friday car. Remember there are good cars and there are better ones. Edited June 22, 2009 by E39KiwiTouring Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 1941 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 When I was looking into E39's to purchase I wanted the 535D Estate or Sedan. Same amount of tourqe as the 540. But they rarely come up for sale. 540 Estates are also rare. Or a rip off. Drove to Wellington on one tank of Gas from East Auckland on Friday. Some heavier driving and passing was done. 10.7 was the average according to the trip computer. Light came on around Paraparam. That was in my 540. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allan 295 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 Acherus, what cc rating is the E39 first?. The 530 I own gives me 700 to 750k( 75% highway running) on a tank that is running 95 or 98. The 91 issue I cannot comment on as I have never used it and wouldn't as I believe it is not recommended by BMW for my engine. Some high kilometers have been attained in e39's longevity is like anything you look after it it will look after you abuse it and it will severally bite you. An e39's with 174k's and the service history to back it up should present no problems. As Jochen mentioned stay away from the 520 the e39 is not a light car. my two cents worth or is that five now Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonylauno1 7 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 It's interesting that there is one with 468k kms and has never change transmission fluid, I guess some are lifetime Like alot of cars these strong and it goes on and on if well maintained, go drive it and if acceleration is comparable to others with lower mileage and transmission is silky smooth then buy it. Drive the car when it's cold and see how it transmission shifts in lower gears. These cars does need to be fix as nothing last forever, searching through forums, common problems for the e36/e39/e46 6 cylinder M52 engines are cam sensor, crank sensors, cooling system (some say replace entire cooling system rather than wait for each part to fail like idler, tensioner, waterpump, fan clutch, thermostat etc) The problem that I have with buying a high mileage car is that repairs might amount to the purchase price of vehicle. If I had the vehicle for a while and had put some miles on it myself then I wouldn't mind spending the money if I was keeping the vehicle. I would assume that alot of these common problems would have been addressed between 100k - 150k kms so at 174k kms it might be relatively trouble free for a while. Just my opinions. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 I had a guy phone me up about my touring last week who thought 125k was huge that the car would start to fall apart any time now. After I had stopped laughing I hung up.....I mean honestly some people have no idea. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
39KiwiTouring 2 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 Yes the cam and crank sensors are common faults, and the cooling systems are as well, can't win them all. It depends who you talk to about the trans some say service it others say it will never be the same once you break the factory seal?? so I don't know name a make of car that will never give problems and I will buy it make that 2 of them tomorrow. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jjs 60 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 When I was looking into E39's to purchase I wanted the 535D Estate or Sedan. Same amount of tourqe as the 540. But they rarely come up for sale. They don't come up for sale as there is no such thing as an E39 535D. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Forrest 35 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 ^ I assume Dan wasn't meaning a e39 for the 535D? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 1941 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 Yes of course I meant the 530D. Was an obvious typo you would think. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apocrypha 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2009 Acherus, what cc rating is the E39 first?. The 530 I own gives me 700 to 750k( 75% highway running) on a tank that is running 95 or 98. The 91 issue I cannot comment on as I have never used it and wouldn't as I believe it is not recommended by BMW for my engine. Some high kilometers have been attained in e39's longevity is like anything you look after it it will look after you abuse it and it will severally bite you. An e39's with 174k's and the service history to back it up should present no problems. As Jochen mentioned stay away from the 520 the e39 is not a light car. my two cents worth or is that five now Think the CC rating is 2800. l'm new to BMW hence the question. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apocrypha 0 Report post Posted June 23, 2009 Thank you all for the tips and insight. Its been really helpful. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nobimmer 694 Report post Posted June 24, 2009 I had a 520i with 210 ks on it. Drove sweet as,only problem I had were the electric windows crapping out every now and then. Got me from rotorua to Auckland for $20 from empty and that involved some fairly spirited driving. Features on them are freakin cool! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
w0lfy 0 Report post Posted July 29, 2009 Got an 2001 facelift 520i (2.2l) get about 10.1 average,cruise open road at 8.6,around town average 11.4km/l. Not as grunty as the bigger size engines but alot better than the pre 2001 2.0l machines. At least the twin VANOS upgrade engine provides some better relief but not the quickest in accelerationbased on the bigger engines. Still a good all round car and reliable so far.Coil pack,radiator replaced...the parts are suprisingly cheaper than my Honda. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
