Spoiler has to go. But I always thought that was the best looking 5 series of all time. That being said they all burned, and that’s an understatement, oil lots and lots of oil.
I am an owner of an E39 and I totally agree with every word, all the other bmw guys with M cars just don’t get it, I have a 1999 540i with the M62TU V8 6MT and I love it so much
The E39 is German perfection. The 530i with the manual is the best handling and feeling sedan ever created. The 530i gets a decent bump in power over the 525i, and even with the automatic, it’s not what I’d consider slow. With the manual, it’s even faster and more engaging. The 540i might be faster in a straight line, but the v8 cars have different steering racks and don’t feel quite as nice as the 6-cylinder cars. The M5 is great and all, but the 530i manual is a better balanced car.
I got the Alpina B10 3.3, so like the 530i, but with a bit more power and torque. Although it has an M52, so more like a 528i really. It’s such a great car, especially since I sorted all the stuff that needed sorting.
i had a automatic 03 525 black on tan with 200k on it. still the best car I've ever owned. comfortable, silent inside, smooth, efficient, and extremely well built.
Here in the UK I had a 1998 E39 520i Auto. The last truly handsome, classic BMW styling. I loved the way it handled, really wafted about nicely. But yeah, 2 litre 6-cylinder with a slushbox is slow :D
While you can still activate the starter solenoid, it won't do you much good since the immobilizer turns off either the fuel pump or the ignition circuit or both of them through the ECU. So you can crank and crank and crank, and the best you're gonna get is a second of a running engine, which then dies off quickly. So these immobilizer systems do make sense in that regard. By the way, my 1999 Volkswagen Polo based vehicle (it's a Seat, but it's basically the same, just like with all GM brands) already has one of these systems.
16:00 The system cutsoff the fuel pum, not the starter. You can break the barrell of the ignition and crank the ar over, but the immobiiser, will block the fuel pump.
My 3rd Gen 4 runner would rust SO easily, loved it but it didn’t last and honestly not as reliable as I thought. Transmission exploded on it fantastically. My neighbor bought a mint condition 2nd Gen right after I got rid of my 3rd and it’s totally rusting HARD. My other friends 4th Gen from 05 is still going decently strong. Has had issues no doubt but one thing I will say about the 4th Gen is the seats are legit rock hard and uncomfortable. 🤷♂️ 4Runners are durable in a sense but have drawbacks.
Wondering how Regular can’t up and get a good 4 Runner when that Diesel kid in Indiana gets $50-100K trucks and smashes them on his channel. Checked subscribers and saw why. Regular: 809K Whistlin: 2.9M Good luck on the 4Runner, Mr.R.
Yes, once upon a time, and if you were not paying attention you could continue with this old thinking and delude your self into buying a 325i or 525i as a nice sporty daily to restore on the weekends. But you then realize that any modern 320d sh**box will blow you away and if they spend 80EUR on a remap you will look like a fool with your 8000EUR of restoration receipts.
These are the kind of bimmers I actually like. The slow, no big deal, cars. Something you can get into, be comfortable, and just... Cruise. Eat highway miles. Like a panther body but more compact.
@@jordaneggerman4734 do they? I've never owned one. Just thought it might be a nice highway eater, but these also seem more manageable. Then again, makes sense going from a 4.6 V8 in a 4kish pound car to a 2.5 I6 in something... What, 3200ish?
@@MultiTelan yeah, I think they get up around 3600-ish. 2dr Accords push nearly 2 tons these days, so I wouldn't be surprised if these were near to that. But yeah, my grandma used to buy the wore-out Panthers she found at police auctions for rural mail routes. They definitely did that job quite well, but that was the one problem she had with them (and me, when I got to drive my hand-me-down) was that it seems like it went through about a tank every two days, and I'm pretty sure they have a 17 gallon...
@@jordaneggerman4734 ouch. I did paper delivery for a while in small cars and they still burned a tank every two days. Not a job I would consider again. Seven days a week, bad pay, destroy your own cars, nah man, I'm good.
@@MultiTelan yeah, I've done too many "take your own car" jobs to want to destroy them for someone else too often anymore... My ex-fiance has a '19 Fiesta (completely base, not my idea of a good time) but it can do nearly 400 miles, on a 10 gallon tank. I've been astounded at the mileage it was able to get, and neither of us were easy on it. I think, over 22k miles, it averaged about 28.7 MPG, well over half in the city. Again, wouldn't have been _my_ choice, but I'm pretty sure it's not really my problem anymore, so.... 🤷♂️ lol
Hah, in Germany you can get this with a 2L 6cyl (520i) or even a 2L 4cyl Diesel (520d) thoooose are slow. The 525 is already one of the fast ones in Germany lol
I have the same engine in an E46 which is about the same weight believe it or not, in Europe it definitely isn't considered "slow". Not fast either. M54 engines are known to have compression issues, it might not hold stock power.
@@Kropek13 The m54 suffers from oil sludge screwing up the piston rings leading to massive oil 'leaks' (burning away). Crankcase ventilation is also a hot contender. proper 5w-40, short intervals and an eventual flush can work wonders.
There was a meme that I found that reflected this perfectly. It was a caucasian dude (appeared to resemble a f**kboy), with the caption: "South Side! Of my Upper-Middle Class Suburb".
yeah looked at the videos, then looked at the profile pictures of the comment section. realized that I am clearly not the target demographic for these videos
“You ever walk into a Kinkos and wonder why there aren’t more dildos and leather?” Great… spit my coffee all over my computer! Wasn’t ready for that joke.
The sport package suspension on E39s is such a good balance of smooth yet engaging. I had a 2001 540i 6MT Sport with Dinan shifter, intake, exhaust, throttle body, and tune, and the V8 definitely maintains the any-rpm smoothness while "fixing" the lack of power of a 6 cyl car. Mpg does suffer with it though, as you just want to let that V8 sing all the time until the timing chain guides go every 60-80k miles. Great car, miss it.
5:08 mentioning a friend looking down and to the left to see the stick shift, the owner of the car does the look. Love the timing and subtlety of these edits.
Regarding 16:49 You also lose physical ownership of the book. If you own a hard copy, Amazon can't demand the book you own back, nor can they modify it without your permission. Without physical ownership do you really own it? Hell even the phone I type this on is subject to the beck and call of the phone company regardless if I own the device. Things are shifting, sometimes it's ok to fight back. Chose your battles. Especially before someone chooses for you
What is physical ownership? So.. I bought a bunch of CDs in the 90s. Mine forever, right? There’s no DRM on CDs even though there could be. Where are those CDs now? Mostly unlistenable because of delamination of the plastic and aluminum that has allowed it to corrode. Meanwhile, the iTunes songs I bought in 2005. I burned them to a CD, then my computer went on the fritz, and my CD degraded even quicker than those commercial CDs. Oh well.. at least I only paid $10 for the album instead of $20. But wait, I can download it again. And I still have it. And now I can have access to almost any song or album I want at any time for a monthly fee that is a fraction of what it costs to “own” it. People put too much stock into ownership. Like land ownership. No, you don’t own the land. Even if you are free and clear of mortgage and insurance.. you only own the surface rights to the land. In most countries it’s limited in time either through statues of limitations or inheritance taxes or both to prevent the formation of a latter day landed gentry who own all of the land and do nothing… and they can fly over it, mine under it, or outright expropriate it at any time for almost any reason.
@@Bartonovich52 "I like when people can steal my stuff because I refuse to maintain what I own. It is also ok for the government to steal my property from me as well. This is ok, get over it, it's going to happen eventually." (SpOnGeBoB that shit)
@@md4luckycharms But bro, property forces you to think for yourself and face the uncomfortable nature of reality. Thats so old-school. These days, you leave everything up to the authorities and let others rule over you. Much easier living as a mindless part of a collective. Much easier CONSUMPTION too, the only thing some people still live for.
These early to mid 2000s BMWs are always my favorite style wise besides maybe those 70s 2002 BMWs. So sleek and sexy. It's a shame the new ones have nasty pig snouts and not the sleek grilles like this. So pretty
BMW enthusiasts say that this generation of M cars (especially) are better than the 2010s so yeah I'm happy that they're coming back to their roots at least performance wise.
Late '90s - early 2000s was actually a fairly good era of car styling - we look down on it now because it's "old crap," bottoming out in value at the moment (maybe starting to rise by now though). Sleek and elegant, before everything had to be all edgy and aggressive, and before cars became overwhelmed with infotainment crap, the last era of "driver's cars."
At least it's 3 hours to change a $5 gasket. I get the sense more modern BMWs it's spend 3 hours to change a gasket that costs $200 for no good reason.
You know what automotive perfection is? This car with the 3 liter 6. Power is then truly adequate, instead of nearly so. No weight difference, so no other attributes change. We had one for 100,000 miles. In that time we had two minor issues which I fixed myself for a wallet busting $35.
I daily drive one! Regularly drive 275 highway miles between school and home a couple times a month and its fantastic. I've fully restored it mechanically, even put a light tune on it to improve throttle response. Drives like a dream at 180k miles
Oh the E39, I've been scavenging for one of these for months, I can only find the iP versions here that come armored from the factory, almost impossible to find one of these in mint condition.
@@Shini055 indeed, but in fact I don't want an armored one. I can only find armored E39s here, sure I can find 528s and very few 530s, but they are all beaten up, all the ones in good condition that I've found are 540iPs, it has a V8, but the rear windows don't roll down, the front windows only go down halfway, and it has 350kg of added weight. I figured it would handle like a battleship. So I moved on to E38 7 Series and I'm pretty happy with what I could find, I really want a 750iL with the V12, but the 740i with the V8 and short wheel base is really cool too. All E38s that I found are overall much nicer than the E39s, I think I'll settle for a E38.
@@GunsNGames1 don’t get the 12 cylinder! It’s two 6bangers bolted together with individual engine ECUs. They are terrible to maintain and if something goes wrong electronically you have to replace everything times two. Even over here in Germany it’s very hard to get good parts for that engine, especially at a reasonable price. Go for the V8 and after buying it immediately open the oil pan and replace the bolts that hold the oil pump. They tend to loosen or shear of and cause catastrophic engine failure. Apart from that „little“ problem the engine is very reliable. Check the torque converter however. If it makes singing or squeaking noises it could be damaged from the massive torque (for the 90s) from the engine. I wanted to buy a e34 540i which has the same engine but discovered lots of them with toast torque converters. But in the end I ended up with a Mercedes V8, even if I’m a BMW guy through and through. The problems just weren’t worth it and my R129 500SL makes much more power and torque than the BMW engine does. The M119 with 326hp (this was 1990, only Ferraris had that kind of power back then) is an amazing engine! Of course it has its own flaws, but that’s what you learn to live with when you’re into classic cars..
@@Shini055 you don't even know where he lives, why generalize a whole continent? i've heard that Mexico has a lot of Protection cars, since they were converted there. Have you ever been to some country of SA? In Argentina E39 has had good sales and are plenty of them, not Protection, I've owned a 528i for 7 years and despite the fact that I did lots of maintenance, it was a good reliable car.
Also ' 01 530i I have the same exact wing! North jersey car.. org owner said the dealer had fun installing that wing.. since its LED and the rest of tails aren't
I’ve had a couple E39’s. The first one was a 528i, manual, I bought 3 years old, off lease at the dealer. I put 50k miles on it in under 2 years and thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. Glorious car. Sucked in the snow though. Replaced after 2 years with a new WRX bc the monthly payments were cheaper, and the BMW was at the “I need about $5-7k to keep running like a top.” point. My next E39 would be 15 years later - now an old car, but 540iT. The T stands for Touring, which in BMW language meant Wagon. The 40 meant V8. Oh yeah, plus it had a Dinan supercharger, limited slip diff, suspension, M5 wheels and brakes, etc. 400hp of tire smoking wagon goodness. It was fast, but it needed $5-7k in maintenance in the first month, and then continued to bleed me dry. Every time I started the car was like Russian roulette to see if a new CEL would come on. It was a car past its prime, trying to prove it was still young and fit. Will say, the cargo area was large enough to use it like a pickup truck for hauling large items.
I also own a BMW 540iA non wagon though. Even without the supercharger those cars just move. But you are very right about the Russian roulette game. And the fact that it is past it's prime. They are amazing but boy do you have to love on them.
@@joeymalin I've gathered that the V8s are far needier than the I6s, and yeah, stick a bunch of "performance parts" on just about anything and you're throwing out any hope of reliability. Stock 52(5/)8s will run pretty much forever. Find a well-maintained e39 Touring (not a project in need of saving) and you've got yourself one of the best road trip companions money can buy!
It's funny how perceptions change depending on which side of the world you live in. Here in Italy, where you can find half-decent wine that's cheaper than gasoline, if you look hard enough, a 525i was a rarity, something hardly anyone bought. Which is a crying shame, as those sweet, creamy inline-sixes were indeed BMW at its best. Unfortunately, here it was 520 turbo diesel all the time, every time.
It's always interesting to see what's revered in some places and mundane in others. Car Weebs (including this channel) worship anything JDM, even though most of it was in reality pretty mundane, at least to the Japanese. Meanwhile Japanese look up to American Muscle, which also has small but devoted followings in Europe. I ride a Suzuki GZ250 motorcycle, to Americans that's a baby bike, a good starter (or safety course) bike that one learns to ride on then upgrades. A friend told me that in India that's seen the way Americans might see a Harley Super Sportster or Hayabusa, as 250cc is the largest legal there and most are 125cc or smaller.
Can we all just take a second to appreciate how beautiful the E39 is? It’s seriously one of the best looking cars ever made. I have a 528iT and it’s an incredibly great car. The comfort, fuel economy (well... compared to any of my other cars), handling, looks... it just does everything well. I’ve had the car for 10 years now, and it’s the only one that I’ve kept around nearly that long. Most cars I have are gone within months. I have a full manual swap for it just waiting for me to feel like doing the work.
I spent 18 months tracking down the right 528iT with a stick- it's sort of the perfect balance of fun, comfort, and practicality, and still gets looks day in and day out. When you get that swap done, you'll definitely love it! Be sure that when you do, though, that you don't include that stupid $#&*ing clutch delay valve that the factory MTs came with- it ruins the clutch feel and provides literally no benefits.
@@dmjbass yes, that delay valve will definitely be going away! I need to get a move on some other projects so I can do the swap. The auto is growing more unhappy every time I drive it lol.
I'm planning to get one to go around town or night drives. How has the reliability been on your e39 for the pass 10 years? Anything specific I gotta look out for?
This was pretty much the standard BMW 5 series here in Germany at the time... This and the slightly slower 170bhp 523i which had the same engine if I remember rightly. My family owned the 523i and it was considered adequately fast. Acceleration didn't blow you away but it steadily climbed to around 140mph on the autobahn if desired, and it was damn smooth at that. Perfect long distance car and quite reliable for a BMW. But dear god, that spoiler is just awful...
It's not just about getting the starter to spin over the engine. The anti theft system can also cut spark and fuel... That's the part of security systems that's hard to get around. Jumping a starter is easy.
The "Coded Driveaway Protection System" probably does more than just disable the starter. It likely also cuts off the fuel or the ignition coil. The reason I say that is my old 2002 Ford Ranger had a similar system. The key was chipped, but we got a second key made from a hardware store just in case we accidentally locked the original one inside the cab. For fun, we tried starting it with the hardware store key and the engine turned over, but it did not fire or start.
Can confirm this as an owner of several E36s (similar driveaway protection system). The system actually consists of three components, the chip in the key, the immobilizer module on the body of the car (EWS) and the ecu itself. The three communicate with each other and must all have the same matching code. Even if the car is broken into and the EWS module is bypassed AND the car is hotwired, the ecu will still cut ignition so the starter will just keep cranking but the engine won't start or run.
Yes that's correct the system will disable the starter and the injectors so car won't fire. Also later cars like Rover 75 which used a BMWish security system would not only use the EWS and ECU but also the IPK (instrument panel) which is technically another computer to immobilise the car
I have a 01 Ranger so I also have the "pleasure" of only having one ignition key because I have to pay a crap load to the dealer to get a new second key added to the car. A key without the NFC chip would turn over the engine but the ECU won't fire the injectors or coil.
This car had so many features new cars still doesn't have, like you can put a code in the radio that only you know to keep others with the key from driving, it has an option to store heat for over 2 days during winter times, you can set a timer for either when it's cold or hot outside for the car to cut on heat or ac to either kool or heat up the vehicle before you enter it, the rare shade for 3 windows, and so much more too many to list, the e39 was truly ahead of its time, just look up all of it features amd you will be amazed!!!
Very true, I had a 525it wagon and 528i sport and it was a very reliable, easy to work on, & great on gas aswell, especially if you keep up the maintenance
You can bet when he got that spoiler installed, he was thinking about how much more his car would be worth in resale. He can write "Rare spoiler option" on the for sale ad.
Ah my first car (granted, it was a 530i with the auto). A fucking masterpiece, I still miss it. And the straight six E39s are still cheap enough to tempt me.
if you've got 5 grand to burn you can throw a factory supercharger on the 6cyl, and if you've got 10 grand you can probably get someone to shoehorn a 2uz in. Or get the 4th gen and rip the bumpers off for angular armor, do body chops for bigger tires and get a little bit of that boxiness back.
Only after I was losing my hair did I see so many advertisements for keeps. I saw it everywhere and this video so happens to make me want to comment. I am bald and your keeps will never sway me. I am a beacon of light through darkness. My head will shine with the fury of 1000 Suns.
I just wanna say that the 5mt version of the 528i e39 is the best for the specific reason that it still has a *manual throttle cable* I had a 528i 5MT Wagon and that thing was an incredible mix of handling and practicality Currently have a 528iA Sedan
This BMW reminds me of the days of Car and Driver magazine and their “short take” road test articles back in the eighties and nineties. Car and Driver would devote half their printed magazine to the BMW M3 or M5, or similar car, with pages of photos and road test results. Then way back in the dark bowels of the magazine, where the sun don’t shine, near the marketplace/classified section would be the “short take” road test article of a BMW 525 or similar car with barely a column and a half of write-up and a very abbreviated section of road test results that would include the car’s decibels level at 70mph. As long as I can remember BMW has never changed their “The Ultimate Driving Machine” advert slogan. I don’t know of any other automotive manufacturer to not do that.
@@kyewhite628 You're right. Easily. I thought he was referring to a newer BMW engine. Those 4.7s are good. Although I've read that v6s don't have perfect balance due to secondary forces, I think the Toyota v6 are the best bet. I had one go to Mexico and back from Washington State 140K on the odometer and 10K on the oil. The oil level was still the same after putting almost another 10K on it before it was changed. Toyota FTW. It the was 5VZFE 3.4 4 camshaft engine (2 heads; v6). Yeah, my bad. I thought there was a BMW that displaces 4.7 liters. ..
@@tmo2798 I can see how you thought that now. As a 4th gen 4runner owner I instantly knew what they were talking about haha. I have an 08 V6 but sadly its only 2WD.
You've pretty much nailed the non-M5 E39 experience. My 2003 530i A doesn't do anything excellently, but it does enough things really well (and without drama), that it's still my favorite car I've owned. 18 years on, mine still drives like new, with no squeaks or rattles. It's still a nice way to get from point A to point B and neither feel beat-to-death, or overly coddled at the destination. I'll keep justifying all of the normal maintenance items on it, until the parts are no longer available.
@@MongooseTacticool In my experience if you get one with a good service history that's been taken cared of, they're actually pretty solid. Owned 2x e46s and an e90.
I love the juxtaposition of your and Hoovies appreciation for these cars. Also big ups for for the Adler the Eagle push, I love seeing folks who've found the secret sauce willingly share with the rest.
@@burnpittsburgh7036 As much as I enjoy watching his videos, his older content was a lot more enjoyable and creative when he bought more "normal" cars or things that nobody wanted.
"When all your boosted GTR RB 2 8 B 29 TT PNC BR Type Rev2 dreams ooze out your oil return line and when you're going broke trying to look rich..." EXCUSE ME, I'll have you know that my dreams don't ooze out of the oil return line, they get spewed out of the dipstick tube from the massive amounts of blow by.
Listen I enjoy a good spoiler. My ‘02 Civic EX Coupe had the OEM and I loved it despite its non-functionality. I even opted for the lip spoiler on my GLI. Guess I’m a xennial with F&F nostalgia. Mmmm the days of Pep Boys aisles full of APC gear, sure this intake fits “most” card with plenty of zip ties and Home Depot metal band straps. Gutter guard for your grille for only $50!
This was not Chris Bangle's design. The e39 chief designer was Joji Nagasima. This was the peak of BMW design. Even the engine, the M54 3.0 is still considered their best ever combining relative reliability, power, fuel economy 21/30 mpg, overall performance and relative simplicity.
Dude sometimes you make me angry. "This car is slow"...NO it is not! It might not be a rocketship but calling a car that goes 8,1s to 100kph and has 190hp slow is just ridiculous. If you´d call a VW Golf/Rabbit with 70hp slow...ok, i get it....its slow. Even if you´d drive huge horsepower cars almost exclusively, i´d get where you are coming from, but this is REGULAR car reviews.
Definitely not the worst Chris Bangle designs. Next year’s E60 is generally considered one of the worst Bangle designs.. with “Dame Edna” headlights according to Jeremy Clarkson and “Bangle Butt” according to most other automotive journalists.
The description of bangle in regards to the E39, e38 and by extension the E46, doesn't add up because they all came out in the mid to late 90s. Description of the modern BMW in 03 sounds like the E60 5 series to me. I will look up the article mentioned though.
This car was designed for the upper middle class uncle done well. Its not a sports sedan. Its still from a time when luxury was style and comfort, not sport. It took kids to school and dad to business meetings and looked well in the driveway in that kind of fake modesty middle class way. E39s of this era where everywhere in any kinda upscale suburban neighbourhood to the point of being a default in Europe. No one buying these was shocked it wasn't a sports car. I don't really remember dad's with kids driving sporty cars then. This is from a time before suvs became a default and every wagon had to be a bonkers sports model, rather than just having more bootspace for your families crap. In short it's not that exciting, it was a car for middle class grown ups.
