Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 13

Thread: 2001 530d touring Good or bad?

  1. #1

    2001 530d touring Good or bad?

    Going looking at a 2001 530d automatic

    What gives trouble in them?

    What should i look out for when viewing it?

  2. #2
    BMWHaus Guru
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    1,012

    RE: 2001 530d touring Good or bad?

    Quote Originally Posted by owly
    Going looking at a 2001 530d automatic

    What gives trouble in them?

    What should i look out for when viewing it?
    What's the mileage?

    Rust, they are he'll for rust around the rear boot lid, rear arched and sills.

    Coolant system gives bother in them, see if there has ever been anything repaired or replaced.

    I think the touring has rear air suspension which also gives trouble (I think) so definitely worth checking.

    Rear control arms, ball joints etc are common wear and tear issues on the e39.

    Over all the e39 530d is a great car and I'm yet to meet someone who regretted buying one.

  3. #3
    Moderator
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    8,000

    RE: 2001 530d touring Good or bad?

    +1 on all the above and also the autobox its about +1500 to put right if it bites the dust

  4. #4

    RE: 2001 530d touring Good or bad?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mackers
    Quote Originally Posted by owly
    Going looking at a 2001 530d automatic

    What gives trouble in them?

    What should i look out for when viewing it?
    What's the mileage?

    Rust, they are he'll for rust around the rear boot lid, rear arched and sills.

    Coolant system gives bother in them, see if there has ever been anything repaired or replaced.

    I think the touring has rear air suspension which also gives trouble (I think) so definitely worth checking.

    Rear control arms, ball joints etc are common wear and tear issues on the e39.

    Over all the e39 530d is a great car and I'm yet to meet someone who regretted buying one.
    It has over 200k on it. Its being priced accordingly but is that too much would it be beyond repairing.

    Are parts generally expensive for them are parts easy got?

    Never delt with this model before

  5. #5
    BMWHaus Guru
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    1,012

    RE: 2001 530d touring Good or bad?

    Quote Originally Posted by owly
    Quote Originally Posted by Mackers
    Quote Originally Posted by owly
    Going looking at a 2001 530d automatic

    What gives trouble in them?

    What should i look out for when viewing it?
    What's the mileage?

    Rust, they are he'll for rust around the rear boot lid, rear arched and sills.

    Coolant system gives bother in them, see if there has ever been anything repaired or replaced.

    I think the touring has rear air suspension which also gives trouble (I think) so definitely worth checking.

    Rear control arms, ball joints etc are common wear and tear issues on the e39.

    Over all the e39 530d is a great car and I'm yet to meet someone who regretted buying one.
    It has over 200k on it. Its being priced accordingly but is that too much would it be beyond repairing.

    Are parts generally expensive for them are parts easy got?

    Never delt with this model before

    That's pretty high but engine wise it can definitely take it.
    I had all those issues and I sold my car with only 120k.

    Parts are expensive if you go to BMW but don't, for a car that age and value it's not worth it.

    I'll put it this way, I'd still much prefer to buy another e39 than the newer e60.

  6. #6

    RE: 2001 530d touring Good or bad?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mackers
    Quote Originally Posted by owly
    Quote Originally Posted by Mackers
    Quote Originally Posted by owly
    Going looking at a 2001 530d automatic

    What gives trouble in them?

    What should i look out for when viewing it?
    What's the mileage?

    Rust, they are he'll for rust around the rear boot lid, rear arched and sills.

    Coolant system gives bother in them, see if there has ever been anything repaired or replaced.

    I think the touring has rear air suspension which also gives trouble (I think) so definitely worth checking.

    Rear control arms, ball joints etc are common wear and tear issues on the e39.

    Over all the e39 530d is a great car and I'm yet to meet someone who regretted buying one.
    It has over 200k on it. Its being priced accordingly but is that too much would it be beyond repairing.

    Are parts generally expensive for them are parts easy got?

    Never delt with this model before

    That's pretty high but engine wise it can definitely take it.
    I had all those issues and I sold my car with only 120k.

    Parts are expensive if you go to BMW but don't, for a car that age and value it's not worth it.
    Auto box 1500 if it goes wrong? Can parts be got second hand. Seen as there 2001 i would be expecting them to be in a lot of scrap yards

  7. #7
    BMWHaus Guru
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    2,554

    2001 530d touring Good or bad?

    Quote Originally Posted by owly
    Quote Originally Posted by Mackers
    Quote Originally Posted by owly
    Going looking at a 2001 530d automatic

    What gives trouble in them?

    What should i look out for when viewing it?
    What's the mileage?

    Rust, they are he'll for rust around the rear boot lid, rear arched and sills.

    Coolant system gives bother in them, see if there has ever been anything repaired or replaced.

    I think the touring has rear air suspension which also gives trouble (I think) so definitely worth checking.

    Rear control arms, ball joints etc are common wear and tear issues on the e39.

    Over all the e39 530d is a great car and I'm yet to meet someone who regretted buying one.
    It has over 200k on it. Its being priced accordingly but is that too much would it be beyond repairing.

    Are parts generally expensive for them are parts easy got?

    Never delt with this model before
    At a certain age they need a lot of money thrown at them, you'll need to do a suspension refresh - 2.5k, injectors - 1.5k, turbo - 800 and I guarantee you that it will need some other hits and pieces done, I'd put another 1k aside for bits and bobs.

    Depends on what you're looking for, difficult to beat an E39, I'm on my 4th!

  8. #8

    RE: 2001 530d touring Good or bad?

    Wow so your saying all new suspension would be 2.5k! 1500 to do injectors? So the car could make me or break me within the first week. I would expect to spend 1k on tidying it up alright

  9. #9
    Moderator
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    8,000

    Re: 2001 530d touring Good or bad?

    Not quite yes it can cost huge money to bring an e39 back to as new condition but if you just want a good daily driver they are a great reliable car that wont cripple you the 2.5k would be for someone wanting a full suspension refresh for a long term keeper, its not a requirement you can just replace parts as and if they fail


    Dont let the big figures above put you off as its unlikely you will need all this work the lads are just sharing knowledge after years of owning them a good clean shell and running gear in great condition is all id be looking at the gearbox would be my main concern

  10. #10
    BMWHaus Guru
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    2,554

    RE: 2001 530d touring Good or bad?

    Quote Originally Posted by owly
    Wow so your saying all new suspension would be 2.5k! 1500 to do injectors? So the car could make me or break me within the first week. I would expect to spend 1k on tidying it up alright
    Not trying to scare you but the E39 is not a car to own on a budget, the suspension is 2.5k to do, there's a lot to it when you include sub frame bushes, engine mounts, prop shaft guibo and little things like spring pads, new nuts and bolts, Mcung did his and did an excellent itemised list of what needs to be changed.

    If you do your own maintenance you can tip away at it, I did a full overhaul on my 525 and will be doing the same on the M5, I don't have the time or inclination to do it myself so in terms of labour costs and time, it's not worth my while tackling it piecemeal.

    With the low levels of sulfur in modern diesels injectors are more common to failure, all of mine were completely shot at 118k. I did it the more expensive way at first, thought it was one injector, bought a brand new injector and then when that didn't solve the problem had the rest pulled and rebuilt, that car is now as smooth as silk and averages about 47 mpg.

    Those are really the only two big tickets items I tackled in 3 years and 50k of ownership. The only reason I sold it was to bury money into the M5, if it hadn't become available I would still have it.

    Outside of the above and tyres, it's not an overly expensive car to own, servicing is very reasonably, the M57 is an absolutely lovely engine, is incredibly reliable.

    Even if you needed to tackle all of the above, the E39 gives you massive amounts of warning and time to get it sorted, they fail over time and the car gradually feels more and more loose, same story with the injectors, you'll start to get a rich smell of diesel in the cabin, fuel consumption will enter petrol territory and then finally the car will miss on idle, my injectors were going for a year before they finally bought the farm.

    Buy it with open eyes, if it's worth investing time and money, get it right and enjoy it, they are a marvelous car.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •