Gabe79 410 Report post Posted January 28, 2017 (edited) Hi. I'm looking for a nice e39 msport 530i or 525i with the m54 engine. 2001 and newer. Must not be black or gold coloured. (Wife insists on not either of those colours) My unicorn would be a 2003 530i e39 msport touring in red. I'd like a car with service records as well Touring preferred, but could live without. I'm just north of Auckland, in Stanmore Bay, can travel within Auckland to see, but rather not go more than 40-45 minutes. Thanks! ps. I think I am after a unicorn. Someone please prove me wrong! ? Edited January 30, 2017 by Gabe79 Ammended unicorn factor. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotwire 352 Report post Posted January 28, 2017 You probably are after a unicorn by stipulating what you have. I all honesty, I wouldn't discount the "right" car on its colour. Ours is Titan Silver, not a colour i would particularly have chosen if there was a choice. It has proven though to be the "right" car & you can get used to a colour. Definitely DO NOT buy on price, but the best you can get. As Allan alluded to - a badly maintained car can be a money pit. A car maintained with "proper" parts will serve you well. They are certainly higher maintanance than a comparable simplistic Jap car but would I swap - NUP! I've also had to replace all rear control arm links, rear wheel bearings, front sway bar links in the last couple of years 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe79 410 Report post Posted January 28, 2017 2 hours ago, hotwire said: You probably are after a unicorn by stipulating what you have. I all honesty, I wouldn't discount the "right" car on its colour. Ours is Titan Silver, not a colour i would particularly have chosen if there was a choice. It has proven though to be the "right" car & you can get used to a colour. Definitely DO NOT buy on price, but the best you can get. As Allan alluded to - a badly maintained car can be a money pit. A car maintained with "proper" parts will serve you well. They are certainly higher maintanance than a comparable simplistic Jap car but would I swap - NUP! I've also had to replace all rear control arm links, rear wheel bearings, front sway bar links in the last couple of years Thank you for your post! I agree with you entirely on the colour aspect. Here is where that part comes from: We need a second car. My wife generally does not care what kind of car I get, I can basically get whatever I want, within our relatively generous budget. Her thing is that she doesn't care about much about the car, beyond "comfortable and looks nice" with that in mind, she has stated she dislikes black cars (and gold, but I don't think that will be an issue...) So, given I basically get to buy whatever I want, I don't see a problem with excluding black based on her preference there. I have no intention of buying on price alone. I do want to buy based on condition with an understanding I will certainly have to do some work on the car. I accept this. To assist with this, I very much want service history. Without that, it's a bit too much of a crapshoot really. There is only so much a PPI can find... PS. How much did them rear wheel bearings run you? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotwire 352 Report post Posted January 28, 2017 I have never actually kept a record on service history like I really ought to have. I recall filling out the first few in the book then forgetting about it. That said, the car is serviced anually & the service reset done accordingly. Bearings, about $100 ish for the pair from memory, then a bitch to change them! I bought in FAG bearings from overseas. As I do for most parts. Using either BMW boxed or OEM supplier brands to BMW - often a cheaper option. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe79 410 Report post Posted January 28, 2017 3 hours ago, hotwire said: I have never actually kept a record on service history like I really ought to have. I recall filling out the first few in the book then forgetting about it. That said, the car is serviced anually & the service reset done accordingly. Bearings, about $100 ish for the pair from memory, then a bitch to change them! I bought in FAG bearings from overseas. As I do for most parts. Using either BMW boxed or OEM supplier brands to BMW - often a cheaper option. I've met quite a few people who themselves don't keep records, but who use the same garage year in and year out and the garages do keep records, so it isn't strictly speaking about having a folder with receipts, as being able to show maintenance is done. I will need to learn how to source OEM parts in New Zealand. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe79 410 Report post Posted January 30, 2017 After some advice and guidance here on the forums I've amended the original post to account for unicorn factor. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allanw 1071 Report post Posted January 30, 2017 You know you'll end up buying a Gold 7 Series V8 now, right??? Just remember too: The prefacelift jap import "525i" was really a 523i, and some are registered as 2001's, just as some facelifts are registered as 2000's - like our 525i facelift. It was built November 2000 but is a 2001 "model year". You need to watch that overlap if you only want a proper faceliift (the lights and grilles can be changed on the prefacelifts too). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe79 410 Report post Posted January 31, 2017 3 hours ago, Allanw said: You know you'll end up buying a Gold 7 Series V8 now, right??? Just remember too: The prefacelift jap import "525i" was really a 523i, and some are registered as 2001's, just as some facelifts are registered as 2000's - like our 525i facelift. It was built November 2000 but is a 2001 "model year". You need to watch that overlap if you only want a proper faceliift (the lights and grilles can be changed on the prefacelifts too). Haha, yeah, I had a lot of fun showing my wife some 7-series last night. I need to barrage her with some gold car ads and then I might be able to get a sensible idea on black. On car model year, I go my what the vin decoder says, actually. I get carjam on the plates, grab the VIN from there and then look up what model year and build year it is from the decoder. I just test-drove a really nice 2001 530i msport. Trying to talk myself out of it, actually. I might have this car by the end of the week. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotwire 352 Report post Posted January 31, 2017 10 hours ago, Allanw said: You know you'll end up buying a Gold 7 Series V8 now, right??? Just remember too: The prefacelift jap import "525i" was really a 523i, and some are registered as 2001's, just as some facelifts are registered as 2000's - like our 525i facelift. It was built November 2000 but is a 2001 "model year". You need to watch that overlap if you only want a proper faceliift (the lights and grilles can be changed on the prefacelifts too). Our 99 Jap 525i IS a 2.5L M52TU (correctly badged) - same engine as the equivilent Euro spec badged 523i Also it shows on RealOEM as a 523i. The 525i badge is just a Jap thing but incidentally correct 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe79 410 Report post Posted January 31, 2017 1 hour ago, hotwire said: Our 99 Jap 525i IS a 2.5L M52TU (correctly badged) - same engine as the equivilent Euro spec badged 523i Also it shows on RealOEM as a 523i. The 525i badge is just a Jap thing but incidentally correct What info do you get when you use a vin decoder on it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotwire 352 Report post Posted January 31, 2017 Not sure what are meaning? RealOEM lists all relevant parts for the VIN entered Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe79 410 Report post Posted January 31, 2017 7 minutes ago, hotwire said: Not sure what are meaning? RealOEM lists all relevant parts for the VIN entered Disregard me. I got confused as to what RealOEM was/is. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
