preowned 528i

[jbade]

i'm looking at a '99 528i with 48k miles. pretty standard list of options. this is my first bmw. can anyone give a list of typical problems that will occur during ownership? can you also provide a list of preventive maintenance items that would reduce the first list?
i'd like to take it to a minimum of 200k miles.

[Antiburn]

Nobody can give you an typicial list becasue every car has its own seperate problems. You can never know whats going to happened to a car untill it does.

To keep it running change the oil every time the service light is down. Get inspection 1 and 2's done when necessary. Dont beat on it like its a piece of meat. The more you beat it the less it lives and the more thigns break. Just keep up on the service and always fix whatevers broken asap. If your car is running bad get it fixed. Dont wait untill it becomes worse.

[rsn48]

This is taken from another forum (I did not write it so don't shoot the messenger). It should be noted that all of the problems will not happen to one car, and as newbies contemplating buying a 5 series bimmer should realize, the car is still one outstanding piece of engineering and for most of us, it was love at first test drive. My wife just drove ours for the first time this weekend and loved it, the same with my son. The car is a complex machine so there is more to go wrong with it, but what a machine! And now I quote:

"The Following information is borrowed with permission from Kowached. This is information that applies to the E39 (1997-2003) 5 series. If you have any similar information that applies to the E28, E34, or E60, please e mail me and I can post it here as a stickey.


BMW Similes – A light hearted look at common E39 problems:

The E39 is the bechmark for all Sports Sedans and can accelerate with the pony cars (V-8 E39's anyhow), stick to corners like a sports car, deliver the family to grandma's in comfort, and still manage to be one of the best looking cars in the parking lot. The E39 is also equipped with some of the most advanced safety systems of any road going automobile with features like standard airbags, side airbags, head airbags, Anti-lock Brakes, and Dynamic Stability Control. BMWCAR Magazine can even be quoted as saying the following about the E39 5-Series, "I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that this is the finest car that BMW has ever built" (Oct 2002, page 18). Take the list below for what its worth, some are just observations, some are problems that show up enough on the Forum to warrant their listing.

E39 BMWs commonly do lots of things:
1. Its door seals will “Creak like a wooden sailing ship”, unless you replace the door seals (temp fix).
2. Its Air Conditioning will have the “aroma of a used gym sock”, unless you occasionally disinfect the A/C system.
3. Its front brakes will “Squeak like a scared mouse”, unless you properly lube the brake pad attachment points.
4. Has an electrical system “as stable as MS Windows”, and most electrical glitches can be “fixed” by rebooting the system by removing the appropriate fuses, or disconnecting the battery.
5. The steering wheel will Shimmy like Anna Nicole Smith trying to get into a pair of Guess Jeans (most commonly affects 528/530s) unless you get just the right torque on the lug bolts and PSI in the tires, Maybe.
6. As pixels burn out the MID computer text will resemble the language for the blind known as braille.
7. Electric auxiliary “pusher” fan will make your car sound like a jet ready for take-off, but only if it works.
8. Rear Window Regulator will “let you down” only when it is most inconvenient for you.
9. Radiator Neck will break off with no warning (at driver side top hose)
10. Catalytic Converters will sound like they full of marbles when they are ready to fail, and are good for about 60k Miles.
11. The Camshaft Position Sensor (CPS) is so reliable that you should carry a spare in your trunk.
12. The Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor will (need a little help here)
13. The Final Stage Resistor will have no problem varying the airflow in your car, but the problem is that it does it even when its not supposed to, until to totally quits that is, then you will have no airflow.
14. Don't even think about using the "canholders" to hold any unsealed container lest you prepare to clean your pants, the car interior, and replace any electronics that were damaged.
15. You say that you like the “Dukes of Hazard”? Well I hope so because you’ll be forced to enter and exit your car through open windows like Bo and Luke Duke when the interior door handles break off in your hand. This is the true reason that BMWs can roll the windows up and down from the key.
16. With the manual transmission, no matter how quickly you lift your foot off the clutch pedal, the clutch always engages the flywheel at a constant rate. What’s up with that? I’m not even going to try this one, Dave Z has it nailed. http://www.zeckhausen.com/CDV.htm

Personally, I have only experienced a couple of the minor problems listed above. In the near future, I will be posting fixed or links to fixes for some of these problems."