E39 BMW 528i (a learn me thread)

After months of getting aggravated by my 1998 E36 323iS coupe (it even caught fire today), I still haven't learned to hate BMWs. A friend offered me his well maintained 1997 528i/manual for a great price. What does the GRM braintrust have to say about six-cylinder E39s? I've driven an E39 M5 and an E34 540/6spd. I really liked them both, but I've never driven a base E39 528. I am becoming a big fan of the sport-sedan idea, as I have a baby on the way and, apparently, taking the little guy in my Boxster isn't an option because dual airbags and no rear seats = not car seat safe.

Excellent choice. I have a 525i/manual myself. How many miles? Typical BMW cooling system plastics that require preventative maint, as well as breather issues. Dead pixels in the OBC and radio are an inevitability. The car is generally rock solid otherwise, less power and price than the M5 and 540 but less maint and wear/tear as well

I did alot of research into the E39 530I because I wanted the straight six reliability and mpg. I found nothing of note besides the cooling thing eebasist mentioned above. I should clarify nothing negative of note, and still one of my favorite body styles

The I6 E39s are great cars. In some ways I'd prefer the 528i to my 525i; well, one way, really: iron vs. aluminum block. No real problems with mine yet, but if they overheat they often rip the head bolts out of the block, trashing it. The iron block M5x variants don't have this problem.

If you figure the cooling system and suspension are 100k mile wear items, you'll be fine.

I was really happy with my 99 528i. Stuff I had to deal with included cooling system maintenance, abs pump, fan clutch. All pretty much normal maintenance/wear & tear stuff. In really cold weather a couple of things would show up - like part of the ccv system freezing closed and pressurizing the works, which in turn popped the valve cover gasket along with making it idle weird. It was comfortable, fast enough for public streets & traffic and all around a nice place to be. Little stuff - world's worst cupholder design - if you use it, you will be wearing your drink, hvac buttons tend to fall off. Annoying radio design that won't look quite right with an aftermarket one in place.

Previous owner hacked up the headlight wiring and put in awful smoked headlights. I thought the price of headlight units for these were outrageous, then I got an e61. Now they seem reasonable. Vanos seals can wear causing some driveability issues, there's a well-documented fix for a couple hundred bucks. I'm deep in the rust belt. No issues with mine, but I have seen some crusty e39s that lived outdoors and weren't cared for - looks like the common rust spots - wheel arches, rockers and door bottoms.

Much more of a sporty feel than the e60/61s IMO. Feels smaller, more nimble - although a much less modern car than an e60/61 (not necessarily a bad thing).

Loved ours. Sold at 174k. It was a 99 528I. Just found a 2000 528I with 60k original miles and bought it. Great cars.

I imagine it has all the trim issues that the 2001 525i I flipped had. Check my post history to read up on the stuff that seems to be common on these cars. Other than that the ABS modules are prone to issues and can sometimes be repaired, sometimes not.

It was a nice driver once I got all the poor maintenance issues fixed with it and all the issues I had seamed to be well documented on the bimmer forums.

I bought it (1997 528i 5spd). I love it. It's a fantastic street car. How absurd would it be to take it to a BMWCCA HPDE track day?

Every year the local BMW club has a fiver fest. Track day auto x and concours at road America so no shortage of hpde. A little hefty so doing it regularly could get expensive on consumables

Good choice. They are good cars. Easy to work on and generally reliable.