BMW 1998 Black/Grey E39 528i Sport Package – Great Condition!

[jakeyb]

I'm posting my mother's E39 for sale and thought I would post it here in case anyone is interested. I think a lot of the guys here know her from picking up parts when I wasn't home, or just hanging around our house on the weekends. She's a BMW enthusiast just like the rest of us and has taken great care of her car.

History
This has always been an extra car for us. My mother drives her Dodge Durango daily, and wanted a nice sedan for going to dinners, highway driving, etc. She bought the car 3 years ago from a private dealer in Naperville after searching high and low for a clean, accident free, sport package, black E39. It currently has 137k miles. The E39 has always been maintained by Demetrios' guys at Chicago Auto (Chicago Auto Center - Maintenance and repair of domestic and import vehicles.) or Anthony and the guys up at A&L Autobody in Palatine. The car has been driven sparingly, and she is now selling both her vehicles to upgrade to a luxury SUV.

Maintenance under her ownership
Full alignment (50 miles ago)
New plastic wheel well covers and undershield (50 miles ago)
Fully synthetic oil and filter change (50 miles ago)
4 wheel balance (1k miles ago)
Rear window regulator (5k miles ago)
New windshield wipers (5k miles ago)
New water pump (10k miles ago)
New thermostat (10k miles ago)
New thermostat housing (10k miles ago)
Coolant flush (10k miles ago)
New front and rear brake rotors (10k miles ago)
New front and rear brake pads (10k miles ago)
New belts (10k miles ago)

Before she bought the car, it had all 4 tires replaced and a full pre purchase inspection done. I'm sure there is more maintenance that has been done under our ownership, but this was just off memory. The car will come with detailed service records from her ownership.


Interior - 8/10
The interior is very clean, no stains, rips, tears, etc. The leather feels and looks the way it should, but expect some normal wear. There are no pixels out on the cluster and everything works as it did from the factory. The rear cupholders have been replaced under our ownership, but alas like all E39's, they again seem to be off-track. The power seats work as they should, as well as the AC power adapter and other electronics. The plastic seat surround on the driver side seams to have come a bit loose, but isn't noticeable unless looking for it. The sport dash trim and surroundings are in great shape with no cracks or wear and tear. The door panels are also in good shape, and the rear fold down seats work as they should. The trunk is clean and all panels as well as the tool kit are present.

Exterior - 8/10
The E39 shows very well. For a 12 year old car, it is considerably better than average. The black paint is in good shape, not perfect, but better than most. The front bumper was recently resprayed at Patrick Jaguar because of rock chips, small scrapes, etc. There is a small dent with a scratch on the rear driver quarter panel, about the size of a dime or nickel. There is some normal wear on the rear bumper and a few small dings, but overall the car's paint looks very nice. The 17" Style 5 wheels have some curb rash, but are straight and clean up well. The car has no rust. The door and window seals keep the cabin very quiet, and all but the driver side look new. Again, the exterior is not perfect, but much better than the typical black E39 for sale.

Mechanical - 8.5/10
The car tracks straight, accelerates well, and brakes as it should. The engine sounds great, and the car does not leak a drop of any kind of fluid. At 130k miles, I'm sure the suspension could be refreshed, but my 50 year old mother isn't taking the car Autox'ing every weekend. As a daily driver, the car is extremely reliable and has no issues. The car's heat and A/C both blow the correct temperatures. It has had fully synthetic oil changes with new oil filters every 3k miles or 4 months (usually 4 months). The final stage resistor is showing age, every once in a while the air conditioning unit gets the typical hiccup in fan speed. I noticed a very very small vibration between 81 and 83mph after having the summer tires swapped over. After swapping wheels, and some testing, the shop suggested we get the front wheels road balanced on a special "Road Force" balancing machine. This has not been done and it is up to the buyer to find one of these machines locally if it’s important to them. The car just passed emissions flawlessly last week.


I drove this car to and from Missouri last year while I was in between cars and it was a pleasure; extremely smooth, comfortable, and great gas mileage surprisingly (I averaged 28mpg). The E39 has never left us stranded, and I would take it anywhere. We still get compliments on how great the car looks, and I think most BMW enthusiasts would agree that the E39 style is timeless.

Overall, the car is in very nice shape. I have tried to be as upfront and honest with potential buyers, as well as look at the car with a critical eye. If you're looking for a reliable, comfortable daily driver that cleans up very well, as well as a car that fits 4 adults or a pair of car seats, you should definitely take a second look. If you're looking for a project car, race car, show car, or any of the like, it's probably not for you. This E39 has been taken care of over its lifetime and it shows. The car is completely unmodified and considerable preventative maintenance has been done to keep it in great shape.

Sorry for the subpar photos. My mother is on vacation in Jamaica with her camera, and I managed to leave my DSLR at my apartment in Minneapolis. These shots were all taken with an old 3.2 megapixel Sony from the stone-age.





































Price - $5,450 OBO

Location - Aurora, IL

Title - Clean and in-hand, the car is ready to be sold

Payment Options - Cash, cashier's check, personal check, no paypal. The car will be held (and not driven) until payment clears. An appropriate bill of sale will be completed.

[jakeyb]

Had a couple people take a look today - hopefully it's sold. In the meantime…


BUMP!

[jakeyb]

Bump!

Sold!