BMW 5 Series

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My family and I have owned this 5 series since 2016 and has been garaged everyday, and washed at least once every two weeks. This car has been daily driven and after four years, I can say this has probably been the best car we have owned. The in-line 6 cylinder twin-scroll turbo M Sport BMW has adjustable suspension according to different driving dynamics. The different modes are Comfort, Eco Pro, Sports and Sports Plus. The connected drive system is impressive. The system is connected to the head up display when using the navigation. It also has a television streaming function which works when the car is in park. The only negative side to the connected drive system is that it does not connect to the BMW remote app. Newer models of the 5 series do have this though. The BMW looks amazing on the exterior when it's clean. However, there are two main parts of the car which are become dirty within 3 minutes of driving after a car wash. The first are the brakes. Brake dust is a huge problem which BMW needs to sort out weather it means different brake pads or something else. The second one is the rear bumper where it meets the bottom of the boot. This area collects dirt really easily, especially in the rain. Beside the beauty of this beamer, she is also extremely practical. My family and I use this car as a daily driver going to work, picking up the kids from school or training and doing all the shopping. It has the ability to put the rear seats down, opening up a large amount of storage. I am not really a fan of using run flat rims and tyres, I would rather have a spare tyre in the rear just for safety purposes. This 5 series however does not come with option to fit a spare tyre under the boot. Overall, my 2013 f10 535i is an outstanding vehicle. She drives like an absolute dream and I would love to see more of these on the road, especially with the M sport package!

Undoubtedly one of the best BMWs ever made Converted me from Honda to BMW after just a few weeks of driving.. Yes I really love driving this car and the person who sold me this car really regrets selling it he upgraded to a later model BMW but keeps informing me that his current BMW isn't as good as the one he sold me and he can't believe it but I certainly can. Without a doubt the best car I have ever driven. From the moment I brought the car some 12 months ago I was won over by the driving experience the car just drives so smoothly with the option of sports mode which just increases the driver experience. No wonder these cars are going up in price because I will not be selling this car some time soon. It is just such a well designed car and I have since found out that it was designed by a Japanese gentleman who really knew what he was doing. Although the technology used 20 years ago is somewhat outdated the engine and transmission combination is as good as it gets even by today's standard. So far this car has proved to be both very reliable and very practical just a few upgrades to its outdated technology and this car will still match it with the best out there. Though I'm still looking for a better buy than this car so far I have not found it so I will continue to enjoy the ultimate driving experience for sometime to come. Everytime I compare my car to one that I think of buying I realise that my BMW 530I EXECUTIVE E39 is something special that I do not really want to lose. I just look at it and the first thing that comes to mind... https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OGC.61f79b92f2c706b11d601d00b8d12dcd&pid=Api&rurl=https%3a%2f%2fmedia.giphy.com%2fmedia%2f5GoVLqeAOo6PK%2f200.gif&ehk=jansrfVfrIsNSOvfz8Zxf5s%2fCKJXLiYgMRgFCJOh5N0%3d Yes finally a car that I not only enjoy owning but also enjoy driving and also enjoy talking and writing about and I could go on and on about it but the best advice I can give someone is go out and experience this car for yourself and you will know what I'm on about.

If you decide to do a quick, cursory Google search for ‘E39 5 Series’ (or any similar phrase, really), you’ll notice that contemporary road tests and latter-day internet forums all come to the same conclusion – that the mid 90s to early 2000s mid size sedan from the Bavarian automaker is a benchmark - and is a car that’s still used as a yardstick to this day, when it comes to the development of new models. But what exactly makes this generation of 5 series so appealing; 16 years after the last ones were sold new? A good place to start is the place where most spend their time, the interior. As befits a car that sold new for about $160,000 in 2001, there’s gadgets and luxury galore, with plenty of dead cow and tree inside, and the build quality is impeccable (with carpeted door pockets, no less!) with nary a rattle or squeak after 17 years and just over 200,000km. The E39 5 Series is a wonderful place to sit, with the major controls falling easily to hand, and controls on the steering wheel; something that some cars a decade later didn’t have. Other highlights include a driver-focused dashboard and large, clear instruments with excellent visibility in most directions, save for rather fat C-pillars (something which the parking sensors front and rear help to mitigate somewhat). My particular car also has a combined GPS/TV/Phone setup (with a 6 disc CD changer in the boot!), which is a great conversation piece (especially the quaint old Motorola flip phone); the graphics on the monitor are awfully dated, as it reminds me of the graphics from Windows 95 of all things! The system is still user friendly and easy to navigate, and is adequate in 2019 for what was cutting edge in 2001; just don’t go in expecting Bluetooth or Apple CarPlay, and you’ll be fine. Another bugbear inside is the storage inside; there isn’t a great deal of it (aside from the boot, which at 460 litres, is plenty of room). There’s no centre console cubby hole (as the phone gets in the way) even with the adjustable armrest. But the worst feature of the interior has to be the cup holders, which are flimsy and pretty much hopeless to hold any drink you’d care to name. Other gripes on the inside, is that some of the plastics can feel a touch cheap in some places, and the dashboard has the common pixel burnout issue that plagues many BMW’s of this era (though it’s not as bad in my car than what I saw when I was shopping around, thank goodness!), and the sunroof can be a bit funny at times, but is a problem that can easily be fixed. Being an older car, and especially being painted a subtle shade of dark blue, it tends to hide in traffic amongst the typical soft-roaders and hatchbacks, but the BBS wheels fitted to this particular car as standard and the flared wheel arches and wide, low stance hint at what it’s capable of. Despite the oh so-90s rounded design and orange indicator lenses dating the car, there are modern touches in this face lifted version, most notably the famous ‘angel eye’ parking lights on the front and the LED lights on the back, and while the use of xenon headlights date it somewhat, it all still comes out looking rather sophisticated and fresh for what is an almost 25 year old design. But the greatest thing about any car is its oily bits; engine, gearbox and suspension. These oily bits are a 4.4 litre V8 with 32 valves and variable valve timing (called VANOS by BMW) is called the M62TUB44 and is mated to a ZF 5 speed auto with a manual/sports mode, developing 210Kw of power and 440Nm of torque at 5,400RPM and 3,600RPM respectively. While the engine is butter smooth with a linear power band and a metallic growl past 3,500RPM, it’s not as you’d expect, especially economical in town; with an average of 14L/100KM, costing circa $100 to fill the 70-litre tank with 98 octane, but it much prefers the open road where consumption drops to around 9 litres/100KM. But the best feature of this and any BMW really is how it drives. Compared to its predecessor, the E34 (which sold from 1988 to 1995, being replaced by the E39 in 1996), this model is 40% stiffer in the chassis, but weighs slightly less thanks to the extensive use of aluminium in everything save for the steering and sub frame; which on the V8 models use a recirculating ball steering gear and steel, to cope with the extra heft from the engine and lack of room in the engine bay (as opposed to the 6 cylinder models, which use a rack and pinion and aluminium set up instead). You do feel this at work when you drive the car (especially in fast turns), the sheer weight of the engine and the slightly dead centre of the steering does take the edge off of an otherwise stellar drive, you can’t fight the laws of physics, even with 50/50 weight distribution and an aluminium chassis and suspension. But for a large, heavy (1735kg), leather lined luxury car, the handling is still exceptionally tidy with a well controlled (yet rather firm, especially on Sydney’s poor roads) ride, with an enthusiasm that belies its size; it feels like a much smaller car than it is, and it tends to ‘shrink’ around the driver. While it’s not perfect, the E39 5 Series is still an incredible car with character and practicality in spades, with fastidious attention to detail on the things that matter, that is - grace, pace and space (to quote Sir William Lyons) - along with reasonable dependability (save for worries around a plastic cooling system and timing chain guides, and the technological anomaly of a water cooled alternator!) and armchair levels of comfort, whether on long drives or commuting. People like to rag on European cars for being unreliable, but the only thing that’s gone wrong in the six months I’ve owned the car is an alternator, and while that was expensive ($1200 for parts and labour!), I don’t think I can entirely blame the car for that. But if you are looking for an E39, make sure the service history is comprehensive and that the major problems (focusing mostly on the cooling system and radiator) have been ironed out, as the previous owner did with mine. Find a good one, and in my opinion for the money, it’s incredibly hard to beat as an everyday car…it’s just so loveable that you’d want to keep it until it drops.

If you’ve ever wondered about buying a used prestige car, you might find my experience interesting. There are many articles saying don’t do it – you’ll get burnt and while I’d agree to an extent, if you can handle getting ‘mildly toasted’ rather than ‘completely burnt’ and don’t mind taking a risk, you may find it gives you the change to drive something that little bit more special. So to the car: I purchased my 1999 BMW 535i in 2009. At that time, it was by no means a new car, at 10 years old, warranty long expired and with 165,000km on the odometer. That would already rule it out for many. But I was tempted by the styling, comfort, long list of standard equipment (I’d always wanted a sunroof to feel the wind in my receded hairline) and relative bargain price - $14,000 as set against the new list price of $121,900 and in my car’s case, around $135,000 with options. Depreciation had been savage. The car had been well serviced and this – rightly or wrongly – provided some degree of reassurance. So as I sit here in 2019 and reflect on 10 years of ownership, has it been worth it? In summary and from the perspective of driving pleasure, yes, absolutely. Perhaps most tellingly, I only ever intended to keep the car for a few years but it held its appeal for far longer than expected. Even at 20 years of age and with now close to 270,000km behind it, the car still turns heads and attracts positive comments. More importantly – and putting aside any wank-factor of ‘brand-cachet’ it still feels wonderful to drive – and this more than anything is why I’ve hung on to it. Whether it’s running down to the local shops, a blast through the winding roads of the hills, freeway cruising, or a long interstate trip, it always feels special. The E39 5 series has a reputation for being one of BMWs better designs and I certainly agree with this. With a near perfect 50:50 front:rear weight distribution, it rides, handles, steers and stops beautifully. It is supremely comfortable, particularly with the nappa leather and comfort seats as optioned in my car, which – with a bit of regular cleaning and conditioning – have worn remarkably well. It also has good safety and driving assistance features for its era – 8 airbags, ABS with traction and stability control, rain sensing wipers, xenon headlights with high pressure wash function, parking sensors. About the only thing missing is a reverse camera and modern features like AppleCarPlay, easily retrofitted. You can definitely still see the quality in the car. Thick, lustrous metallic paint, bumpers that have resisted several minor bumps, quality carpets, beautiful detailing in the interior have all stood the test of 2 decades. Performance from the silky smooth 3.5L V8 remains excellent, the 5 speed auto shifts crsiply and for the most part imperceptibly and fuel economy isn’t as bad as you may think. I’ve averaged around 12.5L/100km around town and better than 9L/100km highway, making Adelaide-Melbourne trips a single tank proposition. So what has gone wrong? Well, it hasn’t been exactly failure-free but perhaps no worse than any other car of this age. More importantly, it has only failed to get me home once, when the fuel pump went, fortunately less than 1km from home. All up I have spent a documented $15,000 on maintenance, excluding tyres. This seems hefty, perhaps even insane, and exceeds what I paid for the car! That said, averaged over 10 years of ownership, the cost is not so bad. At purchase, I had in mind I might need to allow around $2000 per year for repairs and maintenance – so I have come-in a bit under budget. The fuel pump and water pump have been replaced. Brake rotors and pads all round. A rear window regulator. 3 of 8 ignition coils (others remain original). Spark plugs and a few cooling system hoses. Minor electrical issues with the electric adjustment for the steering wheel. A few oil seals and gaskets – e.g rocker covers. The odd oxygen sensor and light globe. And some other bits and pieces, plus routine oil, coolant, brake fluid changes and - against BMW's advice, changing the fluid of the "sealed for life" automatic transmission in the interests of longevity. So – a spend of around $30,000 all up, including purchase price. Yes, I could’ve bought a new hatchback for the same money and probably enjoyed greater reliability. But perhaps without the same style and certainly not with the same comfort, refinement and quietness. By far the biggest single expense has been the timing chain, or more specifically, the plastic guide rail for the chain. This broke last year at 258,000km, as evidenced by a loud whining noise from the chain running over the broken plastic. While it didn’t stop the car in its tracks, I was advised that continuing to drive the car would bring the extreme risk of the timing chain itself breaking and turning the engine to scrap metal. Having had several quotes of $5000-7000 to replace the offending part (and almost selling the entire car for scrap on the basis of cost and that it was time to let go), I was saved at the 11th hour by an independent sole operator repairer (recommended to me by a relative) who said he could replace the timing chain guides, chain, tensioners and various other parts for around $2,500 including parts. Job done and the car has never run better. In summary, I think the secret to running any older used prestige car is to be switched on to maintenance requirements, set a realistic budget for annual maintenance, expect the unexpected, know some sources of good aftermarket/OEM supplier parts, build a good relationship with an independent repairer and be prepared to do some basic maintenance yourself. For example, an OBD code reader, synced to an iPhone app enables me to read error codes and determine whether the fault is fixable within my limited mechanical skills, such as changing an ignition coil. It also probably depends on your circumstance. I travel only 10,000km a year, can use public transport for the work commute and have access to another car when mine is being repaired. This might not suit everyone who needs a car to be dependable without fail. Recently I have been tempted to upgrade to something newer, with a budget of $30,000 in mind. There is not much in used BMWs that appeals at this price point so the 'sensible new hatchback' may be the best option this time around. For example, the Hyundai i30 SR turbo seems great buying at around $30k. The other option is to stick with the devil I know, perhaps until 300,000km or so – given I still enjoy driving it and its value being at rock bottom. That’s another 3 years of driving for me and frees up money meantime for a few more overseas holidays…… subject to any more repairs!