Tell us about your common problems and the repair cost of your E39

[1983530i]

Please list...

what had to be changed @ xx,xxx miles
the price of the repair
where was the repair done at
any mods to your e39
any known problems w/ e39's
the coast of owning a e39 a month or year

thanks...

[CobaltFire]

Don't know about specific costs, I bought my car at 27400 miles as a CPO. Here is what has gone wrong since then (~32000 miles now):

27500: Passenger SRS sensor needed replacing, including computer module.
30000: Upper radiator elbow (sensor part) fractured, then disentigrated, causing catastrophic loss of coolant. No other damage caused.

That's it so far, as for my mods, check my sig. The car see's city driving almost exclusively, and I average about 19mpg.

[kaliimc]

Bought my car as a CPO 1 1/2 years ago. Items that needed repair/replacement so far:

Both rear window actuators - 13,500 miles
Pixel display - 13,500 miles
Front end alignment 15,000 miles
Front tires - 22,000 miles (rear tires are very close)
Radiator - 24,000ish miles
Power steering (everything) - 25,000 miles
Water pump - 27,500 miles
Thermostat - (2 times) 24,000ish and 27,500 miles

There is probably more... just don't have time to reveiw all of my receipts from the dealership. The cost to me was nominal as it is a CPO car.

Mods are in the signature below. These costs would scare me if I added them up...

[Htownmobaudio]

Damn ... i had my car for a month and just changed the valve cover seal ... approxx 300 dollars w/my oil change

[MontanaRob]

replaced

water pump twice (93k miles and 5x,000miles)
radiator(5x,000 miles)
one cat converter 93kmiles ($1000)
pixel display (not done yet but needed)
sunroof parts (in process)
power window parts (in process)

[The Beastmaster]

Owned my 97 540 for 2.5 years and put on @ 12k. Only repair was a leaking expansion tank...so far.

[Nero530i]

Postings related predominately to 540i. So I thought I would put down 530i. I bought mine new in 2003 and I have had zero drivetrain issues.

[dy540i]

BACKGROUD: I purchased my 2000 540i 6-speed in May of '04 from a woman in Alabama who was tired of shifting. It had 46K miles on it. I've now had it 19 months and have 70K miles on it. Here's a list of what I've spent on repairs and mods (all prices include tax):

REPAIRS: (total = $5,720; or avg of $301/month)
Replaced leaking radiator and expansion tank - $411
Replaced faulty MAF sensor - No Charge (was still under 60K mile warranty)
Replaced Faulty Vent Valve and manifold gaskets (included oil service) - $556
Replaced leaking valve cover gasket - $431
Inspection II service, plus brake system flush - $1480
Replaced faulty thermostat - $346
Replaced faulty rear window brake light socket - $12
Replaced fan clutch - $189
New engine insolation under hood - $125 (This developed a large hole in it as a result of an earlier radiator leak. Acid desolved the material)
Noticed small coolant leak; needed to replace water pump - $680
Clutch burned out early, probably due to the previous owner riding it too much. Installed a UUC performance clutch kit - $698 parts + $792 for total install

MODS: (total = $7,420; or avg of $390/month)
Angel eye, xenon - $900.00
M5 lip spoiler - $254 (included painting)
M-Parallel staggered 18" wheels w/tires - $1470
M5 chrome grill - $88
AFE Cold Air Intake - $325
Axxis low dust brake pads - $156
Drilled Brembo Brake rotors - $291
M5 front and rear bumpers - $1900 (included painting)
Eisenmann Race exhaust - $891
Installed UUC short shifter while installing the new clutch above. Short shifter was $355, install cost me another $150
PowerChip Gold engine s/w upgrade - $640

So, there you have it. A real life scenario of how expensive these cars are. It's actually kind of shocking that I've spent over $13K on this thing and I'm still making payments on it. If my wife knew how much I've been spending, I'm sure she would flip!

The good news is that I don't have any other mods in mind (at the moment), and hopefully I won't have any other cooling system or engine problems for another 50-60K miles.

[1983530i]

Thanks to all of you guys replys, but i would like to see more though...

Its kind of a shame that these things happen to such high end cars, such as the e39. For the price that we buy our cars for we shouldnt have to go through all this. As far as the wear and tear i wouldnt mind but the things that are listed above its not common with other cars at those miles. But again we love and still buy them..

[gj1968]

I bought a 2002 530i 4 months ago from a BMW dealership. It is a CPO. Was worried at that time since it had 54K miles on it and I thought it was a little bit on the high side. Dealership replaced the brakepads and bushings prior to my purchased . I had it ppi by an indy BMW shop and passed with flying colors. After more than 3K miles that I have driven the car, it still problem free. The transmission is just as smooth.

I have done both an oil change and coolant flush. Will replaced the manual transmission fluid soon and the differential. I was thinking of also changing the radiator this summer as a preventive maintainance since the cooling system looks like a problem on BMW cars. However being a CPO Im afraid it might void my warranty.

[RonaldH]

Purchased April 2004 at 36000 miles from dealer under CPO

DIY Left thrust control arm ball joint loose. Replace arm and bushing DIY $120

DIY Replaced all shocks at 40000 miles with Bilsteins - unbelievably difficult compared to other cars. $350

ABS Controller failed under CPO at about 45000 miles - dealer replaced and fixed for $50 flat fee.

DIY replaced cabin filters $80 - huge improvement in air quality in our sooty filthy Washington DC commuting environment. Love the automatic air recirculation feature!!!

DIY Replaced water pump at 61000 miles purely for prevention since I heard about the seals loosening and failing - DIY $65 plus sliced thumb knuckle - really bad slice!!!! Scar is Lifetime reminder of dumbness.

Headlamp bulb - $20 SilverStar

DIY Flushed brake fluid 55000 miles (black, really filthy, never changed before) DOT 4 fluid $20

DIY Flushed coolant 40000 miles (brown, really filthy, never changed before) 5 year-Coolant plus distilled water $35

DIY oil service at 60000 miles. RedLine synthetic. $65. Will begin changing at 3 green lights and at one red light on the SII.(twice the recommended frequncy - still about 9000 miles between changes)

DIY Replaced transmission fluid and filter at 60000 miles (Grey, really dirty, supposedly lifetime) Redline Synthetic ATF $50. Filter kit $35. Tremendous improvement in shift quality.

That's it after 29000 miles and 20 months, mostly routine.

Love the routine 22 1/2 mpg commuting. Got 30 real mpg once on the highway. (These are real numbers, not from the OBC)

RonH

[sabbos1]

Please list...

what had to be changed @ xx,xxx miles
the price of the repair
where was the repair done at
any mods to your e39
any known problems w/ e39's
the coast of owning a e39 a month or year

thanks...

Bought the car almost 2 years ago with 53,000 miles. Currently have 89,000 miles on the car.

Since then, the only true repairs have been:

Replace rear driver's side window regulator @ 70,000 miles
$250
in my driveway
Replace two plastic bolts that hold on the rear license plate
$5.00

Nothing else besides maintenance.

Brakes last month - cost was $120 for front and rear pads from Zeckhausen Racing - did the work myself.
Bled brakes - $55 for bleeding kit from Bavarian Autosports and $20 for brake fluid.
Oil changes - $40 - done myself

No mods as yet.

[RonaldH]

Please list...

what had to be changed @ xx,xxx miles
the price of the repair
where was the repair done at
any mods to your e39
any known problems w/ e39's
the coast of owning a e39 a month or year

thanks...

Tells Us About Your Car And Its Mods Or Problems <==== this is a nearly identical question posted 12/29/03 on the Lexus ES300 forum.

Saying that BMW has so many problems is all relative. I recommend that BMW owners go to the above site where you will find that the same issues occur on the vaunted Lexus marque.

My only surprize is that the people who wrote in about their lexii seem to be able to DIY more often than BMW owners. If more BMW owners would DIY, there would be alot less attitude that Bimmer's are high cost to maintain.

That said, I acknowledge that the 540 is definintely prone to problems, but those problems are the true cost of getting that much power out of a 4 liter engine.

Best,
RonH

[1983530i]

it seems that the 530i is a less problem matic car then the 540i? true?

[94silverbullet]

subscribing

[rph74]

Tells Us About Your Car And Its Mods Or Problems <==== this is a nearly identical question posted 12/29/03 on the Lexus ES300 forum.

Saying that BMW has so many problems is all relative. I recommend that BMW owners go to the above site where you will find that the same issues occur on the vaunted Lexus marque.

My only surprize is that the people who wrote in about their lexii seem to be able to DIY more often than BMW owners. If more BMW owners would DIY, there would be alot less attitude that Bimmer's are high cost to maintain.

That said, I acknowledge that the 540 is definintely prone to problems, but those problems are the true cost of getting that much power out of a 4 liter engine.

Best,
RonH

DIY Rear window actuator
Replaced Pixels at dealership $75
DIY Trunk Actuator
DIY Radiator (Nissen's), Expansion Tank, Water Pump, T-stat, Drive Belts as Preventative Maint.
DIY all 4 brake pads
DIY Crankcase Vent Valve $100 (Would have been $900 at an indy)
Thrust arm bushings
DIY Center Vent and Driver's side Plastic molding on seat (both cracked)
DIY O2 sensors





Well said regarding DIY. I've found my 540 to be very easy to work on, and I'm sure any amateur wrencher out there can do most work for themselves. I imagine that if I took my car into a shop for everything it needed, I'd be bitching too about the cost.

But I will say that my 93 Lexus SC300 has been much more reliable than my 540. But the 540 is still much more fun to drive!

[HIYATA]

'03 530i sport/premium pkg purchased new in June '03.

No problems, except that people parking next to be like to ding my doors and fenders.

Original set of tires lasted 28/29K miles. All regular maintenance came with the car for the first 4yr/50k mi.

Oh wait, there was one thing. The driver's side visor let go of it's mount a few times. Just stuck it back in.

BTW, if you look at Consumer's Reports, they STILL recommend NOT buying a car the first year it is introduced. The repair record on the '03 E39 is average, but on the '04 (E60?), it is pretty bad.

[94silverbullet]

Replaced Radiator - upper plastic near hose cracked, then radiator craked
Replaced Valve cover gaskets
Need o2 sensors & Cats

166k on the clock. bought with 161k.

[alexbeerman]

[That said, I acknowledge that the 540 is definintely prone to problems, but those problems are the true cost of getting that much power out of a 4 liter engine.

Best,
RonH

That doesn't say much about the brand..... Seems anything German has a lot of issues ... My MB , has some issues, VW people have issues.... both of those brands seem to be electrical issues.. On my MB , its always something "small" , but when you are stranded on the side of the road, or the car won't start, its a BIG issue!

I was entertaining BMW, but , I think bottom line, you can go with BMW or MB as long as you lease / new car

[540i6sport]

Bought my car in July of '04 with 59k. Since then:

Service Repairs
@ 65k replaced cam position sensor and thermostat $350
@ 69k had Inspection 1 done at the dealership $850
* Had to replace CPS again - throwing fault code
* Had the instrument panel pixel display replaced (thru BMW NA)
* Small misc. items inspected or replaced (i.e. oil)
@ 70k had a leak in the expansion tank $1,300
* Replaced expansion tank
* Replaced radiator (pro-active maintenance)
* Replaced water pump (pro-active maintenance)

I like to think I've been getting off lucky compared to some of the other stories I've read here on BFC. I'm not dissappointed at all. If properly maintained these things will run well past 150k.....or so I hope

....oh, and got a credit for the first CPS ($167.00).

[325is1993]

1999 540i

Purchased on Aug. of 2004.
Previous owner replace radiator during warranty period.

Since then,
replaced bad pixel via BMWNA : cost 100.
'coolant level low' error: venting trapped air did the trick: cost 20 (BMW coolant).
Rear windshield shade stopped working. not fixing this.

Misc.
replaced in-car phone cradle with a storage bin (cost 20)
'ultimate up holder' : 35
enginer air filter and cabin air filter: total ~60
oil changes: ~60 per change.

that's about it. So far it has been relatively trouble free.

[e394me]

Purchased Jan. 2004 w/ 69k miles.

Replaced:
brakes
AC compressor and condensor/dryer
rear window motor assembly
cam possition sensor
instrument cluster (burn out pixels)
HID headlights - and then had to modify the electrical system to prevent headlight code
CD changer
radiator, expansion tank, water pump, and thermostat (in progress)
SRS light is on - i'm afraid to go to the stealer to have the code read
something new next month will break.....the bank that is.

[Htownmobaudio]

damn man ... what is diy ? seems to be common

[cramer]

DIY = Do It Yourself

I had the common E39 fan control modual go out for the HVAC, around $100 IIRC

M5 specific, I had one of the exhaust cam sensors go out $102 at 39k - also common

[exmaxima1]

Please list...

what had to be changed @ xx,xxx miles

Bought CPO at 28K. Since then:

Water pump at 45K (DIY $50)
Water pump pulley (DIY $40--my fault during above)
Camshaft sensor at 50K (DIY $90)

Everything else seems fine on this car after 57K, and I would buy again.

Matthew