Our next feature is only for the very competent DIYer. I wouldn’t recommend buying this if you don’t understand how to replace valve stem seals or if you are afraid of advanced OBD2 diagnostics. However, the asking price on this next car includes an Eaton M112 supercharger (from a Jaguar XJR) and various misfire issues. […]
BMW made plenty of good sedans, but the E39 540i/6 is the sweet spot—an adult-sized hot rod with M5 vibes and a mortgage-friendly price. This one’s a Sterling Silver, Sport Package, three-pedal car with Shadowline trim, M-Pars, sport seats, and looks good in the photos. Clean title, just smogged, pulls hard, shifts clean—basically the “Ultimate […]
The BMW 540i wasn’t the fastest of the E39 generation 5-series, but the V8 powered machine came awfully close to dethroning its big brother, the infamous tire shredding M5. The 540i M-Sport won’t be a maniac like the M5, but it’ll cost less to buy, maintain, and insure, which isn’t a bad thing. Find this […]
The E39 generation BMW 5-series was one of the last designs from BMW to not be Banglized and overly complicated. Complicated…yes…but not overly so. It will have some needs, but they won’t need to be solved with a fancy computer talking to other computers. Some of the plastic pieces under the hood are going to […]
If we all agree that new cars are too complicated, and really old cars are unsafe, inefficient and difficult to maintain, then there must be a sweet spot for a modern daily driver. You are looking for a car that has enough new technology to be modern, but enough old tech to be robust. I’ve […]
We posted a nice E39 the other day that had two things wrong with it — first it wasn’t a wagon, and second it had two too many cylinders. I know the 4.4-liter V8 (why didn’t they call it a 544i…eh?) in the 540i is a sweet piece of machinery, but it isn’t an inline-6, and BMW is known primarily for its supremacy with the inline-6. Smooth, fuel efficient, and long is an inline-6 and BMW has made some of the best ever produced. So if you are going to step back into a 90s BMW, why not make it a wagon (that is grounded to the ground low) that is manual gearbox and inline-6 equipped, because BMW didn’t make a manual V8 wagon for the USA market. Find this 1999 BMW 528iT Wagon E39 offered for $11,995 in Los Gatos, CA via craigslist. Tip from Jeff.
The BMW 540i wasn’t the fastest of the E39 generation 5-series, but the V8 powered machine came awfully close to dethroning its big brother, the infamous tire shredding M5. Imagine a world where a young Eli Manning juiced some steroids (or more steroids?) and managed to score a victory in one of the games against his legendary older brother Peyton and you get an idea of where the builder of this 540i is going. I like it. Find this 1997 BMW 540i offered for $4,850 in Sacramento, CA via craigslist.
The original BMW M5 was released in 1986 an autobahn cruiser that was only available in black like a Ford Model T, but unlike a Model T, it was monstrously fast. The next generation also featured an upgraded version of the BMW inline-6, but it wasn’t until the 1999 release of the E39 generation M5 that it got an appropriately menacing V8 to tear up the streets. This next car has been modified and the seller claims to have removed 400lbs of worthless weight. Find this 2001 BMW M5 E39 offered for $13,900 in Encino, CA via craigslist.
This next car comes as a tip from MikeB who writes: For those of us who are a certain age, the E39 M5 will always be the “adult dream car” (unlike our childhood dream cars like the 911, IROC, Esprit, etc.). This car appears to be in excellent condition and the list of recent maintenance reads like a wish list of things I’d like to do to our recently acquired ’99 540i . . . over the next 5 years. Plus the undercarriage on this car is cleaner than my living room. Good seller, bucket list car, trip to Chicagoland — what’s not to love? Find this 2003 BMW M5 offered for $20,000 in Northwest Suburbs of Chicago via craigslist.
The E39 generation BMW 5-series was one of the last designs from BMW to not be Banglized and overly complicated. Complicated…yes…but not overly..not many issues will need to be solved with a fancy computer talking to other computers…and most things will require a wrench and some RTV. Today’s example doesn’t have the screaming V8 you get in a 540i, but it does have the usability of a wagon and the silky smooth M52 inline-6 good for 190 horsepower and 207 ft-lbs of torque pushed through a 5-speed manual gearbox to the rear wheels. Find this 2000 BMW 528iT Wagon E39 offered for $4200 in San Francisco, CA via craigslist.