Deminem

Hi everyone So I'm selling my much loved 1999 BMW E39 as I've bought a new car and no longer need this one. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=725699663 You can see the car on this trademe link, as you can tell from the pictures this car is very well taken care of and I spent a lot of time and money making sure it would be in prime condition for its new owner. This car is a german built manual which my father bought brand new in South Africa and imported into New Zealand a few months after buying. I bought it off him a little over two years ago and it has been a great car to our family. I'm asking for $10,500 or near offer in my trademe link but I am open to any reasonable offers and you are more than welcome to arrange to come see the car and take it for a drive. The windscreen seal on the car has deteriorated and does need replacing but I'll be happy to have this all sorted for the new owner.

I had a look at that VF supercharger option, that's definitely something to consider! I probably wouldn't buy a 540i just because if I was going to get a new car I'd rather get something newer, more around 2005-2007 range. It rules out most BMW's because of price unfortunately.

Thanks for the tip there! I've trawled heaps of forums and none had mentioned that before. I've had most of the cooling system already replaced which is why I was beginning to think it was something more serious. I hope it does turn out to be a simple (and not wallet busting) repair.

I've had a look at forums for what other people have done, and really with this car, any method is going to be very complicated. Like I mentioned the v8s don't fit without changing the steering and front suspension set-up and there didn't seem to be many options for supercharging. What's also interesting is the 335i engine is generally cheaper than engines from the same era as the e39 (this is from looking on ebay). It might come down to selling the car and getting something newer and more powerful being the most practical choice. The other element is that this car has been in my family since brand new so there is some sentimental value attached too.

Damn I didn't mean to post this three times. I had error messages each time I clicked post but it looks like it was going through anyway..

I've got a 1999 BMW 528i manual which I'm looking at getting some work done to. I've had an what I've been calling a phantom overheating issue which has been caused by air getting into the cooling system and building up behind the sensor, fooling it into thinking the car is overheating. I'm taking it to BM workshop to get a full scan and find out how the air is getting in and from what I've read two of the most likely places are through a busted gasket or through cracks in a cylinder head. I had been planning over the last few months to get this sorted and then sell my car to get something newer but given that any repairs could be expensive enough to negate any profit I'd receive from selling it, I'm thinking I'll look into putting a new engine in it. My preferred choice (dependent entirely on costs of course) would be to source the twin turbo N54 engine (from the 335i) and put this in. I know this will incur all sorts of complications in making things matchup etc and I'll probably need a new clutch too. My question to anyone who might have an idea is, would this engine fit in the car? I'm asking because my car has the rack and piñon steering set-up which was not used in the v8 e39s due to the engines being too big to fit this steering system. From what I've found online the n54 is a similar size to the m52 (what my car has) but it'll also have extra bulk from the turbos and associated parts. Any other ideas or recommendations are appreciated. ps: If I am going through with an engine swap I'd like to get a decent power hike and the aforementioned e39 era v8s present too many complications. My other reason apart from wanting a newer car is wanting something faster and I love the idea of a "sleeper" 528i.

Yeah I've had a look at a few of those, I'd much rather go for the 335i though, I'd really like something with that push the head back acceleration and I'm not really a big fan of the rear look of the sedan. I am keeping those on the radar but atm I don't think its worth spending all that money when it won't be a huge upgrade from what I've got. Cheers for the suggestion though!

Would absolutely love a car like yours.. Unfortunately they're a "little" out of my price range right now.. Looking forward to seeing the pics though!

Hey everyone So I'm currently driving a 1999 BMW 528i manual which has been in the family since brand new and I love. However I'm currently looking around at what options there are for a newer and faster car. Ideally around the 18-25k range and 2004 or newer. Now I'd love a BMW 335i coupe but unfortunately they're still 30k+. I'm open to cars other than BMWs but I do want something that has a nice interior as well as being fast, for example Subaru WRX STIs have ugly interiors so I'm not interested in them. Cars I have come across that I am interested in are like the 2005 Mazda 6 MPS which goes for around 20k but I thought it'd be interesting to see what other ideas people have. A car I think people will suggest that I'm not really interested in is the Golf GTI and R32, so not those. Cheers!

Awesome, thanks for that! this is an older pic, I'll get some new ones soon

Thats a mean e46! We had an ice blue one in the family back in the day, great car!

Oh I don't have a wagon, the link I used was from a previous thread where someone else posted and I noticed it had the same spoiler my car had. Mines a dark navy blue sedan thats got some really nice TSW wheels, been lowered and window's tinted so it has a great profile. I've found an image but it's too big to upload onto here and I don't know how to downsize it so it'll fit so I'll take some new ones asap

I should have joined this place ages ago, you guys are all so helpful it's great! Thanks for all the help, I'll take and put up some pictures of my car after I wash it today and if I do find that m5 I'll be sure to let you know!

Awesome thanks! Having the part number should make this hunt much easier, it pains me to walk up to the car and see it missing

Maybe one of you guys can help me with this too. My car used to have a rubber front spoiler on the bumper that was like the one on this car. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=564403899 Look closely at the front bumper and you can see it inbetween the wheels from the front on picture. Now it was held on by two lead strips that you'd clamp together with pliers and was very sturdy, however I noticed a few months ago that it was gone! Needless to say I was p****d off because I was very diligent in checking it at least once a month to make sure it was still on tight and if I even suspected it might have touched a kerb I'd check it. Now the problem is, is when I went to several BMW parts stores to try find a replacement, they had never even heard of the part. I'd also never seen it on another BMW until just now so this gives me hope I can possibly find a replacement! If anyone knows where I can go to find one please let me know

I don't know it but it looks pretty tidy, does have high kms but with a full service record that could be alright. I've got a 528i sedan thats got 152,000kms but its been owned by my family since brand new, my dad bought new in South Africa and I bought it off him and it runs just beautifully.

I actually have looked into putting a new engine into my car, the problem is the costs would really rack up quickly with having to purchase an engine, and running gear, probably a new gearbox and clutch and then have all the work done. I spoke to the a guy at I think it was BM workshop about maybe putting an m3 engine into it (cheaper and easier to find than a m5 motor!) and he just said it wouldnt be worth it for the cost.

I gotta agree with you on all of the new shape BMWS, they're awesome! I particularly like the new m6 to be honest but if I had the money (come on lotto!) I'd probably go for the m5 for practicality's sake. I've always loved the e46 m3 but I think the e39 is and will continue to be one of the best BMWs ever and it's also just a more practical car.

I'm not a fan of the e60 shape to be honest, I think the e39 is a timeless classic shape. I think my best bet could be to try import one from the UK, it'd probably wind up being around the 35-40k mark to do so though and thats out of my range at the moment. Otherwise an e46 m3 is the way to go for me.

Yeah the ones I have seen on trademe have mostly had high kms and been going for around the mind 20's mark. I can only recall seeing one with lower k's and a bit newer that was asking for low to mid 30's I think. It might be easier to look for an e46 m3 but I'd much rather the m5.

Thanks for the link QUBE. There are some nice ones in the UK, I wonder how much it'd cost + difficulties to get one to NZ? might be worth looking into. Preliminary cost just for shipping looks to be around the 3-4k mark, but then theres things like insurance and compliance and such too.

Hi so I've been looking into possibly getting a BMW e39 m5 but I can't for the life of me find any for sale in NZ or even Australia! I've been checking the normal trading websites, trademe, ebay etc plus doing google searches. Over the last couple of years of idly trademe browsing I would have come across less than 5 and most of them had high kms. I'm currently driving a e39 528 manual that's been in my family since brand new. I love the car but I've always wanted the m5 so I've been looking to try see what could be available and what the price would be likely to be. Any ideas on leads? Any help is appreciated! (I'm not looking to definitely buy if I find one but I'm veeeerrryyyyy interested)