"New" 1999 528iT 5-sp Owner Qs

[DickoftheNorth]

Mates: Greetings, I am new here. I have owned a bunch of BMWs in my life. I just finally persuaded a neighbor to sell me his '99 528iT 5-speed stick, 140K miles, alpine silver/gray, non-sport package, premium package, pull-out luggage tray. I am the third owner, and I have spent a few months getting it right mechanically and in interior trim. It's in very good cosmetic shape. The interior is almost perfect (like, even the readout pixels are all there!). The exterior is all original and looks amazingly good, but, this car having lived in Minnesota all its life, it has the beginnings of a few rust blisters in the usual places (wheel arches, rocker panel, and inside the tail gate). I would like to keep the car more or less stock, though I would love the M54 engine, a smaller and heated steering wheel and the halo lights. Questions:

1. Anybody have any experience dealing with beginning rust, short of a glass-out restoration?

2. Does anybody have a list of the options that were available and when on the E39T, particularly nav, HomeLink, the luggage net, in-dash CD vs tape.

3. Does anybody know a good E39 whisperer in Minnesota?

Thanks!

[CPHES]

Sounds nice.

The Tailgate is the weakness on the wagons. Watch for rusted tailgate hinges. I had one break in a parking lot. The Pin rusted thru. It's well hidden. The struts for the gate are also fun to change. I bought a rust free tailgate, and I got rust free hinges.