In 2011, you'd still commonly see E39 daily drivers on the roads. Not so in 2021.

[rbelton]

Off topic to the original question, but I had a second quote from a local speed shop, $2000 labor to replace M54 engine. I can do it, have done m52 and m20 swaps in the past. By past I mean 10+ years ago haha

[DeeDubBeeEm]

Not too many e39's in the rust belt anymore. E39s are seen occasionally from Tax Day to Halloween but mostly M5's at "car" events. Most people don't know how to protect them from the tinworm, don't see the point in driving them for the long haul, and don't ascribe to "old school" maintenance. We have an e36, e46, and e39, two M52's and an M54. Combined mileage? 540,000. Most people want new technology, like a Tesla. Also consider this: VERY few cars (<5%) make it beyond 225,000 miles. An e39 bought new in '01 and driven 12,000 miles a year as a DD is at 240,000. Unless it's been given A LOT of love and old school maintenance it will likely be a BEATER.

[BMW4RE]

Here in the burbs of LA, CA, I see 3-5 per week. Admittedly, they don't let me out much. And I agree that most look either beaten or babied. My '99 528i/a is closer to being babied. Biggest issue with body is that some yo-yo backed into my driver's door and fender, giving it a decent dent. I may have one of those paintless guys see what they can do. I'm sure they could improve it. Still a nice example of the most perfect sports sedan ever made, at least in the looks department in the price range. I loved my E28's, but the E39's looks are more refined and classic, IMO.

[seagreen323i]

I feel like the e39 from a hard parts standpoint is pretty bulletproof. I don't do absurd maintenance I don't think and I beat the life out of it. I change the oil and fix things that break and that's about it. Now I do preventative maintenance alot but in the big scheme of things I've ran over on oil changes before. I'm not perfect, but it starts every day. And it feels just as good as it did 80k miles ago.

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[KeysCoupe]

I've been spending a lot of time in the West Palm Beach area taking care of my elderly mom, and there are a fair number of E39s on the road. I see at least 6-8 per week, sometimes 3 in a day. I even see a few E34s around, including a nice touring.
This is reflected in the U-pull yards that typically have 4-8 E39s at a time. In a few years, they will be drying up, so I'm trying to collect trim items when I find pieces in perfect condition.
-Donny

[taz.]

The e39 is a cult car, the A6 was just a car, I use to want one really bad, a friend of mine bought one and I drove it a bit, I was really disappointed with the plastics inside and the ergonomics of the interior. The 2,5L V diesel engine was smooth but had lubrication problems on the last cylinders and the belt changes were pita. His brother-in-law had a e39 525TDS that I fell in love with, bought and kept until last year as a vacation car in Romania. Had 500500km on the clock and sounded amazing. Loved that tractor clunking. The huge tax and no one taking care of it meant it had to go. Served one last ride on my summer vacation and went to another TDS enthusiast. In Scandinavia they are being killed of by technical inspections, cost of labor, tax, EV and Hybrids. If you can't fix it yourself just give up. Not many are on the road in Denmark and the ones that are, are driven like stolen( you know" it's a bmw" and "bmw = race car" in their mind) and only just a few are taken care of and get the status that they've earned and deserve. Here they are called " just old cars"

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[taz.]

In Eastern Europe are much more appreciated and many more still on the road. And they still turn heads and even more then they did before.

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[scottieducati]

There are at least 3-5 in my area, two I pass by often and the others I’ll see now and again in the road. I’ve caught models including 525, 530 and 540’s. One of the 6-cylinders is another Touring too!

Just about to hit 190k on mine, owned since 150k and it’s my only “car.” I have a van I use to transport motorcycles and such, and ride the bikes whenever possible.

Just got new VikingContact 7’s and can’t wait for the first snow! LSD FTW!


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[theWalkinator]

Not seeing e39 too often, but there is a guy in my neighborhood who bought a 540i wagon couple of years ago, I can see the car parking on the street each time I pass by, I had brief chat with the guy, 2001 with 130k mile he got it for $6800, it is auto non-sport.

[SW530]

The salt on the roads during winter there might have a reason for that as well ... ?
From the small time I was there , it seemed that there’s an extreme amount of wealthy people there , and poor people , but not any middle ground imo , which I thought was weird . It was also very hippy-like .
But , I’m coming from the Midwest ... lol

Me too. Not originally but I've been here 10+ years. It only took one winter to know you have to have a beater for winter and the E39 stays in the garage or storage. Weird weather so far this year, still driving it. I had a rusted out E34 for about 5-6 years I really liked, it had character. Then some blind deaf and dumb guy probably playing pinball on his new iphone rear ended the car on the one day a year my wife decides to drive it. Looking at the aftermath I'm glad she was in the E34 and not her Subaru, it might have saved her life.

A couple years later my son and I fly to Texas (2020 December) a week before Christmas to drive back a decent but rust free 2003 540i, spent 8-9 months and about what we paid for it to sort it out, and now we have a nice car. And it will stay nice as long as it's stored during the months salt is on the roads.

Which really is a heavy trade off to keep it nice. The E34 I previously owned was so rusted we didn't bother with that and it wintered on the road very nicely including one trip where it dropped down to -30f and the car sloughed it's way through Chicago and a bunch of rural Wisconsin during a blizzard, rode big rigs tire tracks for traction, and it kept me on schedule and employed.. I have a picture somewhere of the digital temp gauge showing -33f.. it started that morning half buried in my hotel parking lot on the first crank. The 540i is nice on cold days, if you're only going to leave the car for a little bit you can press a button and the car keeps the heat circulating so when you come back it's still toasty.. So in a way these cars are built for the midwest winters if only they'd perfected the rust proofing by then..

[taz.]

Mine sits quietly in the garage for 2 months now, with the trickle charger on. I'll probably take out for the Christmas trip to Poland.

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[88M6]

I see a several a week here in Monterey Ca. area most are looking to be a good shape. Probably original owners, full records . Affluent area. Never see any for sale though . Probably get traded in and end up on a lot someplace in Bay Area .

mine, 2002 x2 wife’s sterling/sport AT 132k & my Topaz/sport 6spd,115k, both daily’s and one I don’t see in storage(M5)2001,anthracite 102k.

[msvphoto]

I see a several a week here in Monterey Ca. area most are looking to be a good shape. Probably original owners, full records . Affluent area. Never see any for sale though . Probably get traded in and end up on a lot someplace in Bay Area .

mine, 2002 x2 wife’s sterling/sport AT 132k & my Topaz/sport 6spd,115k, both daily’s and one I don’t see in storage(M5)2001,anthracite 102k.

Our 2000 540iT was a Monterey car, one owner with Del Monte Forest (aka Pebble Beach) tag on the front. Likely was a daily down there in my "second home town" until traded in at the BMW dealer in Seaside.

We bought it in Santa Cruz from a friend's used car dealership in 2016 and it has been our semi-daily ever since. Our around town daily is a 2015 eGolf, but the wagon gets driven at least once a week (much more than I can say for our vintage Audis, a 4000 quattro and an Ur Quattro).

Lately the Touring has been racking up miles doing road trips from Santa Cruz to Canby, Oregon to visit our daughter and three grandbabies.

[Ichomancer]

I daily my 528i. Love it. Drives so smooth and really provides the experience. I have a nice soundsystem too.

I'm usually always diagnosing something though- Right now she needs a new CPS, maybe some vanos work, and potentially some intake work from a minor vacuum leak that's somewhat fixed.
Still love it though- it forces me to learn about cars

[sleuth255]

My 530i Sport 5sp has been a daily driver since I bought it new in 2003. In the rust belt too lol! I'm approaching 200K miles currently. Full disclosure: she's been in for corrosion repair work twice and I'm next in line for her third appointment at a notable classic car restoration shop (Bennett Coachworks). You pay these guys $500 non-refundable to get in line and then wait a year or so. The finished job is worth the wait though.

Here's a pic of the car after I completed a 2000 mile road trip with it back in 2019:

[86 shark]

After totaling my 2001 530i Sport 3 years ago I paid 5K for another 2003 530i (no sport ) with 145,000.No repairs except for window regulators which I am now good at. What I like about it is that I took off my Curt hitch off my dead 1993 525i that had 297,000, engine fine, auto trans failed.Moved hitch to 530i Sport and then removed it again to put it on my 2003 530i.

Snob Appeal:
I go boating at a popular Denver reservoir. I have a 15 ft 1972 boat with a 1971 outboard. I have the oldest boat, the oldest outboard and the oldest and only sedan in the parking lot.
Who needs a 50K pickup/SUV to pull a small boat.
I love it.

[sleuth255]

Ha! I have a Curtis hitch on mine too! We tow a JY15 with it.

[kingfisher1]

i see one around here in the Robertsville Mo area maybe twice a yr going through.I seen a freakin Z3 coupe out here this morning! Since I just re-did my 525i and painted it,i drive it most everyday cept' when it rains then the XC70 gets the nod!

[scottieducati]

My 530i Sport 5sp has been a daily driver since I bought it new in 2003. In the rust belt too lol! I'm approaching 200K miles currently. Full disclosure: she's been in for corrosion repair work twice and I'm next in line for her third appointment at a notable classic car restoration shop (Bennett Coachworks). You pay these guys $500 non-refundable to get in line and then wait a year or so. The finished job is worth the wait though.

Here's a pic of the car after I completed a 2000 mile road trip with it back in 2019:

I haven’t searched too hard locally, but I’m trending toward exploring a proper restoration for my 540iT. Mind sharing a ballpark of where their pricing is at?


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[rlordjr]

I'm interested in the wagon prices as well

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[theWalkinator]

Saw a dark green facelift 540i today.

[sleuth255]

I haven’t searched too hard locally, but I’m trending toward exploring a proper restoration for my 540iT. Mind sharing a ballpark of where their pricing is at?

They are strictly time and materials unfortunately. $85/hr flat rate. They do not use bondo or other plastic fillers. All repairs involve custom metal fabrication. The last two jobs I had them do cost about 2K each. First job was fixing the left side rocker panel which had rotted out by the front lift point and also the lower panel on the driver's side door. Second job was replacing the trim piece under the rear trunk lid and above the bumper, repairing a rust spot at the right rear quarter panel and also repairing the right side door panel. This time they will R&R corrosion on the trunk lid itself, remove corrosion around the fuel filler door and at the front of the right side rocker panel (you can see it in the pic), work on a spot above the rocker panel between the front and rear doors on the driver's side, and finally work on spots on the left side of the hood/front quarter panel (also visible in the pic). I'm expecting this will cost a bit more. Literally, they will keep a running total of my bill and can stop at any of the points. My priorities are trunk lid, fuel tank filler, right side rocker panel, spot between front and rear drivers side door, and hood/fender.

What's interesting is that most of the rust spot areas now are not in typical rust-belt locations. The underside of the car is pretty much pristine. I think that's due to the fact that I have washed the car pretty much weekly and also kept it garaged since 2003. Our local car wash has a monthly unlimited plan that includes underbody flush which I have taken serious advantage of over the years.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Ha! I have the news on, and before the commercial break they start talking about the current admins ongoing criticism about combustion cars and the times, I looked up to the screen, and they where showing footage of rush hour traffic on a freeway, and one of the cars that catches my eye? A grey speeding E39 going faster than the rest of the slugs!

[taz.]

Ha! I have the news on, and before the commercial break they start talking about the current admins ongoing criticism about combustion cars and the times, I looked up to the screen, and they where showing footage of rush hour traffic on a freeway, and one of the cars that catches my eye? A grey speeding E39 going faster than the rest of the slugs!

Must've been the safety car

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[SW530]

What hwy? I was on the road earlier and my E39 is Sterling Grey. Sometimes the world is small..