Michael.

Finished the exhaust, now with ceramic coated 4-21 headers Mid section, M3 resonator and 745i round mufflers, because every Toyota needs more BMW parts.

So I saw my old car in person today, was parked so had to have a quick look. Utterly neglected, spider webs, mold and gunk all over the place, paint pealing and rust all over the mangled flare wheel arches at the back. While it was despec'd when I sold it in 2014, it's sad to see it like this after I took such good care of it. Look at the state of this back yard pole wrenching on the rear arches, wtf! Even had random holes in the boot lid!

Agreed, the wheels make it look a bit ghetto

That's so funny, a few days ago I was thinking how good an E38 with an S62 might be, but wasn't sure if it would suit auto or manual more.

I kinda like these but they just come across too iffy with the overly bold design cues when it comes to the headlight / tail light lines. If they had more contemporary E46 styling with that swooping body shape they would have been a bigger hit I think. That's so cheap for a 10 year old car of that type, but I think it's a victim of it's appeal.

Nice car, but the lack of motorsport options make's it fairly undesirable imo. You would easily spend 2k on bumpers, paint, trim, and seats to bring it up to that level.

This guy is spot on. In many ways it's a sad time. All the Iphones etc........ and us chatting here... on the internet has stuffed many people. Actually I think the internet on the computer with forums is not anything as harmful as the portable nature of smart phones. At nearly 28, I miss the days when you could only check your emails on a desktop or laptop, for example.

Interior, Idrive was a step backwards far too complicated, now it's dated and annoying to use. The dash board center console is exceptionally boring, has no flow into the lower console, and the design and the door cards as they droop down doesn't add to a positive ambiance, they give off a rather depressing vibe. The E39 interior is such a nicer place to be, it's like it was designed by people that cared about what they were doing, E60 more so a quick coffee break design.

Rather listen to his opinions than yours!

Definitely not. Very different cars, E30 era models were built at a time when simplicity and quality were king - the epitome of BMWs character. The newer era cars are built much cheaper, far less style aesthetically, and have a lot more complication alone, both not good for the longevity.

Yeah I think I'd just bought my gutless 325i at the time, would have been around 2010! Keen to see this again once you've got it sorted. Not many BMWs I like more than a properly sorted E34 V8

2017 M5 weight is quoted at 1855kg without driver Still heavy, but not too bad considering the size / spec of the car. E39 M5 was 1750kg

E39 M5 is the last benchmark to reference. There isn't a new equivalent.

Hmmmm we could do with a neighbor friendly motor for our back up power generator. Do these get good fuel-liter per hour consumption?

Not bad

Soooo basically we can all agree it's just 12k for a pile of rust and a ohh humm 3.4?

Woooo exciting. I remember going in this when you sort of just got the manual all sorted. What type / boost are you going to run with the charger?

I'd say he has rust in his head too. Comment section and replies paints enough of a picture.

Must have about 11k of $1 coins in the boot?

I think all the 5 series since the E39 have got worse. E60 was ok, bit weird but it's not too bad, interior lets them down more than anything. Personally not a fan of the noise the V10 made over the previous S62 V8 but that's just me, an engine in such a car should soothe your ear rather than attack it like bees. Then theres the debate of the diff thumping SMG they had... All the new ones, whatever the chassis codes, are just massive 7 series with dozens of M5 badges, and run click button automatic manual gearbox. Yes they might be hugely fast and full of fancy computers... but why is that good, especially when it comes to age and longevity, or the simplicity of fun? I think true enthusiasts can see the purity of the E39 M5 as the last great M car, Doug got it right, it's just the right blend of old and new. Classy styling, not over the top, real manual gearbox, tried and proven technology. Plus, 400hp and 500nm is plenty, and it's an amount you can use in the real world. It's also worth remembering the E39 is basically the same size as a new M3. It's all gone wrong in the new era!

Considering it's just a short E36 coupe, I could think of many other uglier BMWs E90 non facelift X1 X3 X6 2 Series Active 5 series GT F02 7 series E65 7 series and more!

Very well done. He says the N52B30 from the Z4 3.0si is 231hp.... but from what I read the Si is 255hp stock?

Nice interior, but it doesn't make it double the price of a regular 530i. 174,000ks isn't exactly going to attract buyers either.. Can pick up 530i E39s quite easily for 3-5k in good condition. Might have been worth that a few years ago, but I can't see it getting close to that these days. If it was manual, that would certainly make more sense.. but yeah... tiptronic.

They are constantly variable I've found. Theres usually a front sensor that detects darkness, might be on the glass of the window, or the back of the mirror. Cover that and then try get a bright light on the inside sensor. It might darken automatically anyway, as the ambient light vs covered night sensor would trigger it.

That's very fair!!