E39 528i

[beeeamer 0]

besides the E36 323 i'm looking at next week, i also looked at a 97 E39 528i which was a really nice car, but a little more than i wanted to spend (but awesome).

one thing i noticed was over big road bumps, the drivers door seemed to move around a little in the frame. only a little and very minor, but is this a common thing? the doors feel pretty heavy so guess they would get a bit of play in the hinges over a while?

[Yuen 16]

besides the E36 323 i'm looking at next week, i also looked at a 97 E39 528i which was a really nice car, but a little more than i wanted to spend (but awesome).

one thing i noticed was over big road bumps, the drivers door seemed to move around a little in the frame. only a little and very minor, but is this a common thing? the doors feel pretty heavy so guess they would get a bit of play in the hinges over a while?

No, it's definitely not supposed to do that. I'd at least get it checked out, worst case scenario it could indicate the car's been in an accident before?

[beeeamer 0]

No, it's definitely not supposed to do that. I'd at least get it checked out, worst case scenario it could indicate the car's been in an accident before?

ah ok then. it was only slight noise from the door. whereas an Alfa 156 i looked, both front doors were pretty much flapping around on big bumps.

also, i thought all E39 528s were Steptronic with 5speeds, but this one wasnt Steptronic and seemed to be 4sp? it's shift quadrant was like D-S-2-1 or something to that effect

[Yuen 16]

ah ok then. it was only slight noise from the door. whereas an Alfa 156 i looked, both front doors were pretty much flapping around on big bumps.

also, i thought all E39 528s were Steptronic with 5speeds, but this one wasnt Steptronic and seemed to be 4sp? it's shift quadrant was like D-S-2-1 or something to that effect

Maybe it sounds worse than it is, but either way I'd bring it to a BMW specialist to get a verdict. If you're in Auckland, you should see Glenn @ Botany Motorworx.

Earlier E39s didn't have Steptronic, and although I haven't come across a 4-speed E39 Wiki says they exist - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_E39

[beeeamer 0]

Maybe it sounds worse than it is, but either way I'd bring it to a BMW specialist to get a verdict. If you're in Auckland, you should see Glenn @ Botany Motorworx.

Earlier E39s didn't have Steptronic, and although I haven't come across a 4-speed E39 Wiki says they exist - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_E39

cheers ears. it's my backup car in case i dont find anything else for cheaper, so will check it out more when i know what i am buying

[beeeamer 0]

the Alfa was a POS, despite being NZ new and looking to be in very good cond. it was not at all rigid over big bumps and had really bad torque steer with the slightest bump in the road.

the 528 doors didnt flap like the alfa, over very rough roads that had other cars i took down there banging and crashing through the suspension, the fiver was silent and unfussed with no suspension noise, but there was some noise from the drivers door, like you could hear it rubbing on the door seals slightly or something. i've been in several passats that did a similar thing but worse.

but i will definitely look into more before buying it (if i go that way)

[318Touring 40]

but there was some noise from the drivers door, like you could hear it rubbing on the door seals slightly or something.

Unfortunately rubbing noises are quite common in BMWs. All of my NZ new ones had had 'special' cellotape applied on the body where the rubber meets the metal.

[beeeamer 0]

I think that with some serious cleaning in the door jambs and new rubbers this will go away , but your description was "doors flapping"

i was referring to the 156

[kiwi535 538]

i have heard of this "micro door movement" on E 39s...I beleive there are different door rubber part numbers in response to this...