Veeky Forums, newfag here. Never been to your board, so be gentle.
About to buy my very first car. What I am looking for:
>last long
>good to drive (years of experience, just no own car)
>not expensive
>big (station wagon)
>somewhat good looking
>some power (Autobahn)
Always loved the E39. They seem fucking nice overall. You get quite a few that ran their 500k km, they are not expensive, are looking good and I can throw my bike in there.
Redpill me on E39s. (especially 525 d touring)
Read the sticky
Ill bump ya
Did that. There are just a few words about them, tho.
Thx, mate.
>what I would rather get but what became to expensive/not practical enough lately
Generally, very good cars that will last a very long time if looked after. Comfortable, reliable, drive well, and reasonably cheap to run if you get a good one.
Rust is the biggest issue, but that depends where you live i.e. are the roads salted. Bootlid, sills, and arches.
Automatic gearboxes are meant to be "sealed for life" but will give trouble if the fluid isn't changed after 80k or so. Manuals are fine.
Diesels are good, but a petrol is your best bet for reliability, longevity, and overall cost effectiveness. If a diesel throws a turbo for example that wipes out fuel savings. All the petrols have pretty much the same fuel economy, so get the best one you can afford. The later 525i and 530i engined (M54) cars can use a bit of oil, that is fine. The earlier 523i and 528i (M52) should not use any at all.
Cooling systems are weak if neglected. Expansion tanks leak, radiators bow and eventually leak, and water pumps can leak. Cheap to replace, but do not let them overheat.
Airbag lights occasionally come on, no big deal. No real fault, and code can be reset from an eBay code reader.
Heater resistors can fail, cheap fix but can be a bit awkward to replace.
All in all, great cars and I would recommend one. You might get all the common problems or none. Buy on condition and history, the good absolutely outweighs the bad.
525's and 528's are great
there's also the v8 540i, which i own, but those engines need love for sure, where as the m54b25 in the 525 is basically unkillabe.
just make sure to get a really well cared for example. mileage is not important, but frequency of maintenance and thoroughness of maintenance records is the difference between many more easy miles and constant repairs to make up for neglect
the thing is ENORMOUS inside though, holy crap. are you sure you don't want an e46 touring instead if you're just putting your bike back there?
> that image
no s2000?
It clearly said it was made by trip fags
Yeah but there are plenty of cars in that image better and worse than S2000s.
Is this a joke
Where you located OP you can buy mine and smash teenage pussy in it all night baby.
Accord Wagon 5 Speed
3.0R Subaru Outback
yo really i'm looking to buy a cheaper car right now, where is this car located, and how much were you thinking price wise?
*boipussy
OP had to leave at some point yesterday...
Thanks a lot mate! This really helps!
Turbo is the only thing that make me think about not buying the Diesel. I live in Germany and the liter Diesel is ~30% cheaper here. Hence the idea to get that.
Not sure if the E46 is big enough. I used a Audi A4 and I had to demount the wheels of my bike to get it in. And since there is not much difference in price anyways, why not get the big one.
Why did you leave out the 530i? It has no downsides vs the 525 and 528.
My 530i has been a great first car. I was expecting it to be unreliable, which I was cool with because I wanted to learn how to fix shit. After about a year of ownership I can safely say the M54 reliability meme is real, I lost the fuel pump and the MAF sensor around 110k miles and that's it. Cooling system had been replaced prior though. Don't buy the automatic. I know nothing about the diesels since they basically don't exist in the US.
/notawagon/
in the usa at least, we only ever got 525, 528, and 540i wagons
furthermore, only the 528 and 525 had manual as an option. those are REALLY RARE though.
if you find a manual 525i wagon nearby, fucking buy it asap those stick shifts are great and you can be sure it'll be mature enthusiast owned and well cared for
Volvo ***R
OP is in Germany, all engine options were available in estate form and with a manual transmission.
ooohh shiiiiiit
530i manual touring is the way to fuckin' go. that'll be a real treat of a car