BlackAngel

They look awesome - hope I can get my paint looking that good

Oh man wish I had seen this yesterday - was up in Aucks this morning too. Yeah as soon as that car came up on trademe I knew it wouldnt last long. Took time off work and went down and bought it. Slowly sorting the few issues it has ; front tires, wheel alignment, re-attach some busted undertray (looks like it was driven off a curb or something) battery drain problem - tracked it down to a faulty FSU and have 2 on the way from overseas. Found a reciept inside for a new battery replaced 3/3/16 and also noticed the boot lights had been removed. I think the previous owner was trying to solve (but couldn't) the battery drain problem. Couple that with low voltages likely to cause all sorts of trouble codes . . . . and they probably thought it was time to get rid of it. All the better for me . Replacement FSUs are way cheaper than new batteries Silver is the color I would have picked - way easier to look after, but Mrs likes the black ones Tell ya what tho . . . having the motorsport is giving me a new appreciation of the 520. It handles but has that inch or so of boat in the suspension that irons out all the little bumps in the road along with the comfort seats. It really is quite a chuckable car. . . . and they do say its more fun driving a slow car fast than driving a fast car slow. Last thing on the list for the black car is get it detailed and some sort of long lasting coating on it to keep it nice - maybe at the ming center here in hams or maybe I'll cough up for OCD. Any other recommendations for good detailing/coating would be most welcome.

Seen this car up close a couple of weeks ago . . . . droooooool http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1060966107.htm

I used to always use VTNZ but the last few years has made me change to make specific workshops. 1. VTNZ does not have all the specs - have had a Nissan fail on rack end play - took it to the Nissan dealer to fix - guess what - totally within spec. 2. Different checks on the suspension/steering often require the vehicle is supported in a specific way for the make/model. Specific make workshops are more likely to know the correct procedure. 3. I was pleasantly surprised when my local BMW dealer did 1.5 hours worth of diagnostics on my car for no charge - none - zero - zilch. I will be going back to them from now on.

Saw 2010 760 v12 twin turbo the other day in the garage at a dealers yard. Dealer reckoned it was worth about $50k.

Is it the one currently on trademe? http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1049175747.htm Been looking at that, seems a very special car - then thought for the same money I could get the one we did for the wife and the Silver 540 manual thats on there. They'll never be M5s but probably be more practical for us and more likely to get driven. Unfortunately I dont think I have the funds to do an M5 justice on an ongoing basis unless I garaged it and took it out only for WOFs and shows. . . . . and I think you are right - we did some research while thinking on your car and I think that is the cheapest we are ever going to see an E39 M5 in roadworthy condition anywhere in the world. Good luck with the sale

. . . . and has a Bangle Butt? . . . . Oh yeah forgot to say its an NZ car. Thanks for the welcome

Hi everyone, Thought we'd join up here since we now have a couple of e39s. We love these cars. We think that they are the best looking BMWs ever and that Chris Bangle is the prince of darkness We got into these cars a couple of years ago after buying a white 1997 520i for no other reason than it was cheap and looked nice. Didn't even need it - already had 4 vehicles. Fast forward to today and we have just added a metallic black 2003 530i Msport to the fleet for the wife. We knew what we were after it just took some time for the right car to come up. 130,000km, leather, full documented service history and not least of all - NO sunroof!! We now have 6 vehicles and tempted to add a 540i manual 6 speed to the fleet. Would keep the 520i though as a runabout and garage the others to keep km down - maybe take em out on nice days. Look forward to learning from and maybe meeting some of you Sandy