Welcome to the information site on the BMW E39.
In the summer of 1988 the original 5 series E34 was launched. This car provided refined executive transport with a silky smooth performance that made an executive chariot that made the top spot on many peoples wish lists. today you can pick these motorway
bruisers up for just a few hundred quid and they still provide respectable transport for many. At the time the
BMW 5 series E39 build quality set new standards and soon became the car that most up and coming executive wanted in their office car park.
In 1996 the sharp lines of the E34 had disappeared and a new rounded shape had appeared making the old model appear quite dated. The image of the old model was not helped by some of them falling into the hands of lets say some less desirables. However this doesn't mean the old ones are a bad car, in fact if you can find an unmolested version with a careful owner and good history then you could have yourself a very lovely indeed. The E39 had a much rounded sleeker styling than it's older sister and bar a few minor tweaks in the bumper and light sections it remained fairly unchanged until the BMW 5 Series E60/E61 model arrived.
Many people bought an earlier models, stuck a private plate on it, and as long as people weren't familiar with the subtle changes, no-one would be the wiser as to what year you had. Now I'm saying the 5 series is just about impressing folk, indeed is main qualities are about impressing the owner. Many drivers have said that once they have driven a BMW 5 series they would not want to drive anything else. One of the five series sublime abilities is how it delivers the driving experience. It has pin sharp steering and a lovely balanced chassis which deliver the right amount of comfort a well as drivability. Prices were always strong until BM introduces a new model and bargains can then be had left right and centre. So which model of E39 to buy. well the only model not to really deliver the goods is the 6 cylinder 520i. The engine itself is quite smooth, but the body itself is slightly too heavy for the engine and it slightly leaves you grasping for that slight bit of extra oomph under your right foot.
If you went for the 523i then you will be much happier with those extra 20 bhp giving the car much better performance and more confidence when going to overtake slower moving vehicles on A roads. However if you opted for the auto box instead of the manual box, then again some power could be sapped. So what's next. Well next on your shopping list can be the 5 series 525i or the 528i. Many reckon one of these two models offer the perfect combination of great performance and reasonable fuel economy depending on what you are comparing it too of course. If you get a 528 this is in fact a swift car as 0-60 time is quoted at less than eight seconds and will still propel you along to just over 145mph, road permitting of course. There was also the E39 535i which should knock another half a second off the 0-60 time of the 528 time. However the downside is that the fuel station would be grabbing more of your money to boot. If you pick up a 2000 model onwards, BMW started putting the 530i in these cars which offered better performance with reasonably good fuel economy.
If you are not worried about fuel economy, then top of the tree has to be the 540i which also had an extra two cylinders thrown into the mix with a v8 motor. 60 miles an hour would pop up in just over 6 seconds and that smooth V8 would gallop on to over 155mph. Yeah one of my favourites. The cream of the crop has to be the M5 though. With a motor like that you have a car that stands up well to many of your sports car Porsche type vehicles but yet get you, wifey and the kids to the shops and other places in total stress less comfort. What if you love an oil burner instead. Fuel economy might be high on your list or the company you work for might insist your BMW will have to be a diesel. Well no need to despair. The 5 series diesels are still fairly refined. Opting for the 525td is a little sluggish and probably not the one to purchase if you can help it. Buying an intercooled 525tds is a much better choice. The better model to go for is the 530d which didn't arrive until the year 2000 but with added tuning you can make these cars as fast as many petrol's, particularly as 530d has a great deal of torque that can be exploited. Even in standard form the diesel version is not much slower than its petrol counterpart but still returns around 40 mpg. So whatever engine choice you choose in your BMW 5 series you have probably made a good choice. For more Details Read More.