400 dollar E39 problems

[tougebmw318ti]

hello, i have just bought a 1997 528i that i bought with the intentions of driving it while i am swapping the motor from my 318ti. the car has many problems, the add said "broken thermostat housing" well, that turned into a head gasket from the previous owners misdiagnosis. i have repaired the head gasket and it runs beautifully even with 250k miles. thats the first on a mountain of other problems. anyone else would have sent this car to the pull a part but, since my mechanical sympathy my heart wont let me.

On the first drive home after buying it i noticed, the sunroof clicks and doesn't move back or forward, it only tilts. the seats have the cover panel thing falling off but, the previous owner decided that it would be smart to use self tapping screws to hold it to the seat. the transmission slips quite a bit but, ill probably just swap a junkyard trans into it that i rebuild myself. 3/4 windows wont roll down and one rolls down and up very slowly, i assume its probably shorting out somewhere and blowing fuses and loading the circuit with resistance from god knows where because it was sitting in a field for 2 years and i found mouse poop in it. also, the climate control buttons are missing, and both the drivers rear door from the outside doesn't open and the latch just pulls up no problem. i assume its a broken latch or cable. also. the drivers door doesn't work too from the outside i am 99% sure its the latch mechanism in the door and maybe the cable too that runs from the mechanism to the latch itself.

IF ANYONE HAS ANY GOOD DIYS FOR THESE PROBLEMS PLEASE POST THEM BELOW. please feel free to make any suggestions, any and all are welcome! thank you

[MotorMouth93]

What is the goal here? To just have something with wheels that moves while you fix the 318? Or to turn it into a nice car and fix all the issues?

[CSMBlack-540i]

the sunroof clicks and doesn't move back or forward, it only tilts. the seats have the cover panel thing falling off but, the previous owner decided that it would be smart to use self tapping screws to hold it to the seat. the transmission slips quite a bit but, ill probably just swap a junkyard trans into it that i rebuild myself. 3/4 windows wont roll down and one rolls down and up very slowly,.... also, the climate control buttons are missing, and both the drivers rear door from the outside doesn't open and the latch just pulls up no problem. i assume its a broken latch or cable. also. the drivers door doesn't work too from the outside i am 99% sure its the latch mechanism in the door and maybe the cable too that runs from the mechanism to the latch itself. IF ANYONE HAS ANY GOOD DIYS FOR THESE PROBLEMS PLEASE POST THEM BELOW. please feel free to make any suggestions, any and all are welcome! thank you

Just learn to do a Google search for E39.... all these issues have been well documented over 20 + yrs

i.e. E39 sunroof fix, E39 seat cover, E39 transmission slip, e39 window stuck, e39 door latch.. etc

You'd be amazed the dozens of DIY writeups for each issue.

[E39 Newbie]

^^^^ What he said...

I've been amazed at what's available on boards and Youtube. Which reminds me, I should post the pix of my DIY sunroof repair. What a PITA that was.

[ross1]

Paragraphs, PLEASE. WTF
Your thread title caught my eye as my E39 ('97 528) was(operative word here)also a $400 car. I'm one of those that has to rescue the orphans.
As it stands after replacing a cracked head, refreshing the suspension, tires, and about a zillion other little CS things it's probably a $4k, not counting my labor, E39.
At the end of the day it is now reliable, comfortable, everything works as intended almost antique that I enjoy driving. If I had to do it over again......?
Good luck, sir.

[balidawg]

This illustrates the false idea of a “cheap” E39. The cheapest one is usually the one you pay more for because it was very well maintained.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

This illustrates the false idea of a “cheap” E39. The cheapest one is usually the one you pay more for because it was very well maintained.

Ahhh, but once in a while, you run into a $500 example that had been maintained since new, original owner, currently at 372,000 miles on the clock, runs like a top, suspension all replaced, Meyle HD bits, new sport Bilstein struts, even the subframe bushings all done and sorted, my silver '03 525 wagon. Even had new tires on it, rear brake pads, a slight oil leak, a wet right rear floor, typical vapor barrier issue, I went ahead and re did all the other doors, which I took care of the a week after I bought it, car has been awesome. I had followed the PO's threads on this car, here on these pages, I kinda knew the car, you could say.

When Poolman aired out that he might finally let the car go after owning and maintaining it since new, I saw the thread, Jim Lev pm'd me about it, Poolman lives about 3.5 hours away from me, I decided to save the car, he was afraid nobody would want to take over the car with so many miles on it, and just end up parting it out. Now, the engine and drivetrain had been replaced from a donor car with a 100,000 miles on it. He placed about 4000 miles on it before his wife bought him a new Acura as a surprise. The car started to sit, sat for 6 months when he noticed the water in the rear floor, decided to finally think about what to do with the car. I sent him a pm, made the deal, drove out there the following weekend with a friend, picked it up, drove it home, hitting 110 mph up in the mountains on the way back. Best $500 car yet.

[balidawg]

Ahhh, but once in a while, you run into a $500 example that had been maintained since new, original owner, currently at 372,000 miles on the clock, runs like a top, suspension all replaced, Meyle HD bits, new sport Bilstein struts, even the subframe bushings all done and sorted, my silver '03 525 wagon. Even had new tires on it, rear brake pads, a slight oil leak, a wet right rear floor, typical vapor barrier issue, I went ahead and re did all the other doors, which I took care of the a week after I bought it, car has been awesome. I had followed the PO's threads on this car, here on these pages, I kinda knew the car, you could say.

When Poolman aired out that he might finally let the car go after owning and maintaining it since new, I saw the thread, Jim Lev pm'd me about it, Poolman lives about 3.5 hours away from me, I decided to save the car, he was afraid nobody would want to take over the car with so many miles on it, and just end up parting it out. Now, the engine and drivetrain had been replaced from a donor car with a 100,000 miles on it. He placed about 4000 miles on it before his wife bought him a new Acura as a surprise. The car started to sit, sat for 6 months when he noticed the water in the rear floor, decided to finally think about what to do with the car. I sent him a pm, made the deal, drove out there the following weekend with a friend, picked it up, drove it home, hitting 110 mph up in the mountains on the way back. Best $500 car yet.

Now that’s the kind of story I love to near. Well done!

[tougebmw318ti]

my goal here is basically to have a comfortable daily while im working on my 318. then after the 318 is finished ill then rip into the e39 and make it nice

[tougebmw318ti]

that sounds like an absolute dream. i keep telling myself "its only 400 bucks, i cant loose money at this point. it cant depreciate anymore, its already bottomed out hahaha

[ross1]

You are correct that they have bottomed out. Quite decent ones are only a couple grand and really nice ones not that much more. ///M excepted.
As much as I bitch about fixing up my old heaps there is satisfaction to be had at the end of the day.
Sometimes I wonder that perhaps I'm just a fool throwing good money after bad. If I were to sell nobody is going to give me what I've spent, much less asking anything for the time invested. Then, when I help out a friend at his repair shop and see the steaming piles of dung that people have paid way more for than my total investment I feel lots better about my $400 car.
Most stuff can be done on the cheap. Be smart and you'll have a decent "$400 car" too.