Eagle

I dont think the X5 is isn't bad per say just different as intended The E60 is done in objectively terrible taste, it's clearly been given the Ford\Holden rice treatment but nothing he's done even remotely works on that BMW. It's truly is an excellent example of whats required to make a BMW harder to sell in a market where they are a dime a dozen. He'll probably realize this and remove most of the tack eventually when it doesn't sell.

True, i dont recall seeing an E39 but silver probably didnt help.

Yeah i know it needs lowering. Ive got ACS springs and Sachs sports sitting waiting but little motivation to do so and i like having ground clearance and suspension travel.

Meant to take one but forgot. I'll put one up tomorrow in daylight.

Always someone going to be offended about something so technically yes but it shouldn't be to anyone on here given its context as factual information. Back on topic - I fitted some OEM fog light blanks, never seen an E39 IRL with them on. They work well with the black trim on PFL bumper to give a cleaner look.

Nothing offensive about it unless you misinterpret the comment. They are the goto BMW for that sort of crowd, RWD manual Japanese cars aren't very cheap anymore so im guessing they start looking at other options.

Been for sale awhile hasn't it? You'd have to get a replacement sport steering wheel and sort out the lights and maybe some sport seats, but otherwise it looks decent and its got the better M62 engine.

Yeah unfortunately morons tend to gravitate towards E36's.

Fair point but i wouldn't consider anyone a friend who operated like that. No one can truly guarantee any car. Helping people who help themselves is the stance ive always taken, i've done a vast amount of work on peoples cars that they care about maintaining for little reward, but that's because they would help me out if i ever needed it.

Yeah when you live a newer=better society that's what usually happens, applies to many things. I do my best to explain to people when i can and that's about all i can do. Despite the number of fools operating under a false economy when it comes to car maintenance, there are normal people who don't mind spending on maintenance and know the reason for it. Hopefully your friend is in this category. As far as suggestions go if you want the cheapest to run\maintain smaller is better, Toyota Yaris\Vitz or Honda Fit\Jazz in manual or CVT are quite decent in sport versions like the RS etc.

Unless he wants something modern then this is just plain wrong. Id never tell anyone to get a BMW for the sake of it and there's is much better selection for the usual makes no doubt. One of my friends is still rocking his E36 318is he bought in 2006 for 10k and its cost him next to nothing. If i bought something like a 10k E36 318is these days off someone who really looks after cars then id trust its reliability would be as good if not better than most cars. I DD'd my old E34 535i manual with 450,000km on it for years without spending or doing hardly any work on it. Plenty of good reliable and cheap to run BMW's

Looks tidy, seats are quite unique. I agree its begging for a manual swap and a nice set of rims

Haha, to be honest you didn't exactly pick a cheap to maintain model\chassis, but you could of done much worse. Many people would happily spend more on the purchase price to buy something newer or more reliable etc, even though buying something cheaper\older and having to spend money on fixing it to a decent standard could up cheaper in the long run. I think everyone hates dealing with cars now and again.

Nice car. Shouldn't be too hard to sell the most reliable and robust 7 series ever made.

Damn On the positive side at least it can be replaced easy if required or you can change to something else

That's why fold down seats are good, you relocate them to the boot easily when you need a break.

Dreams are free

They certainly are the best tyre around for the money in my experience. Tbh once you fit new dampeners and replacement springs (even if std ones) you'll probably be doing some word eating haha.

They sound like 3 series wheels then E39 offsets are around ET20, so i highly doubt it they will work without hitting fender wells when turning and rubbing on brake calipers etc using the correct size tyres. Even if they worked you'd compromise handling with reduced track and the car would look terrible. Assuming typical tyre sizes in 8-9" you'd need a 25-30mm hubcentric wheel spacers and bolts for the front, and a 15-20mm ones for the rear. This would bring it into spec without and you wouldn't have any issues unless you lowered it excessively.

"Non turbo with similar output" Yeah because you left the torque figure out of the equation like the bs'ing car salesman you are.

Yes same word different definition

Yeah and get rid of that that hideous spoiler and it wouldn't be too bad.

Sounds like a grounding issue to me. Being a BMW id check all the connections like holders, plugs etc at rear lights first.

Yeah Mercedes was always the higher quality and more refined ride back then but that why ive never liked the concept of them, that and the W201 looks weird to me with tacked on sporty bits. The E30 was far more natural looking.

200,000 is nothing really, it maybe a positive in fact if the water pump etc have been done. The N52 appears to have less overall issues than the M54 but the ones it does have are more costly to fix. Neither engine bulletproof in my book but they certainly aren't bad per se. Id rate them similar reliability wise taking into account that N52 are generally newer and have less mileage, they use much of the M5X design. M54 isn't great to work on but the N52 generally worse in my experience, more compact, more things to remove and even more stupid fasteners to worry about.