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Thread: Thinking of moving from E39 to F30. Thoughts?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    AZ
    Posts
    9
    My Cars
    2001 540i/6spd

    Thinking of moving from E39 to F30. Thoughts?

    Hi all,

    I've been daily driving a 2001 E39 540i 6 speed for the past 6 years or so. I've purchased the car at 130,000 miles, immediately replaced the entire cooling system, and since it has been nothing but oil changes and other miscellaneous things here and there. It's coming up on 190,000 miles and within the past 10,000 miles, I've replaced the entire suspension. It has had a minor oil leak from the lower timing chain cover for some time and the brief rattle at start up has become slightly more prominent. Given the notoriety of sudden timing chain guides failure in M62 engines and the aforementioned mileage, I feel it's time to take on getting the timing chain guides replaced as well as fixing the oil leaks.

    The thing is, the timing chain guide job is fairly a labor intensive job which translates to high costs. I test drove an early (2012 and 2013) F30 320i as well as a 328i and was pleasantly surprised by how much pep they had despite only being a 2 liter 4 cylinder (albeit with a turbo)! Cars have grown over the years and the F30 is surprisingly similar in its dimensions to the E39. They were plenty comfortable and I could definitely see myself switching over to daily driving a F30.

    Arguments for keeping the E39:
    - E39's are revered as the last of the great analogue sport sedans. I still think it's still one of the best looking sedans around and I really like the torque-y V8 with the 6 speed manual drivetrain.
    - I think they will continue to age well and once I tackle the timing chain guide issue, there really isn't much to go wrong with the car for another 50,000-100,000 miles. My limited research hasn't shown any significant reliability issues with the F30 320i/328i or the N20 motors but perhaps you guys can educate me.
    - Cost of the timing chain guide replacement will still be lower than switching to a F30.

    Arguments for getting the F30:
    - It's newer by more than 10 years! Hopping back into the E39 after test driving the F30, the age of the interior was markedly noticeable. I've found good examples under 100,000 miles in the $11,000-$12,000 range which seems reasonable. Although gas consumption isn't a huge issue for me, I've heard owners say that they typically get around 30MPG which would be an improvement over the approximately 20MPG that I get in the E39.

    I'd be interested to hear your thoughts and opinions. Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    Houston
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    2015 328i M Sport
    I ordered and received my 1999 E39 540it in April of 1999. After 19 years and one month my beloved wagon was totaled by a red light runner. This was the best car I ever owned and had no plans to replace it. There are no 5 series wagons imported to the US anymore so I started looking at used 3 series wagons. They are rare and expensive relative to the sedan. I drove a non M Sport 328i sedan and liked it ok. Then the local salesman called me and they just received a lease turn in on a 2015 328i M Sport CPO with 16,000 miles, it looked and drove like new. I bought it. I do miss the old wagon but really like the new car. Very sporty when you want it but also a great daily driver. Much more fun to drive than the 5 series ever was.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Location
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Posts
    16
    My Cars
    99 540isT, 91 M5, 15 F34
    I have a 2015 335ix GT that replaced my 2002 325xiT. The car is fast, roomy in the back seat and has more cargo capacity than my old wagon and the new 3 series wagon. Drove it for 10 months and blew a rod. Under CPO, so they gave me a brand new engine under warranty. The car has 37k, the engine 500 miles. I am looking to move into a 2001-2003 540iT because I miss the feel of my old wagon, but need more space. Test drove a 2001 540iT sport and was giddy. There is no comparison to the new cars. They simply do not have the UDM DNA. I'll be selling my GT after detailing and picking up the wagon this week after PPI. FWIW, I was originally going to replace my 02 3 series wagon with a new 3 series wagon, but after test driving both the diesel and gasoline M-sport models, couldn't get over the non inline 6 and less connected feel. Only inline 6 with cargo capacity was the GT, which is very fast and when in sport+ mode better than the wagons. During new car test drives, I was surprised by the X4 M40i, but it has no space. Final driving thoughts on loaner cars while dealer installed new engine: X1 x28i Msport drove closest to the E46 wagon; 330i (total disappointment), X2 x28i was similar to X1, but has massive blind spots, tiny rearview and less cargo than X1, X1 s28 (FWD? really?). Hope this helps.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Boston, MA, USA
    Posts
    62
    My Cars
    '81 E21,'14 F30,'17 F87
    if you are interested I got mine for sale: https://worcester.craigslist.org/cto...719065475.html

    and by the way I average 35 mpg in city and 40 mpg on highway

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