Looking at buying a BMW E39, some questions

Depends how many miles you're going to do. If it's under 150,000 before you scrap it & you're not going to pay BMW to service it the high milers almost always the better buy.

Good point. I expect it'll do around 10k a year, and I'd want it to last

5 years. By your reasoning I should be aiming for a 100k car, right?

I do all my own car work, so servicing costs don't apply. Parts costs are always surprisingly low (I've had several 3 series).

Wheel wobble at about 60 mph. Not cured by balancing, but by replacing the track control arms - there's a joint which wears. Usually happens at around 60,000 miles - although not on all cars.

The tyres should be reasonably evenly worn.

Check the heater fan operates correctly - the resistor blows.

Check the aux fan runs as soon as the AC is selected.

Might also be worth checking the thickness of the discs. They only last about two sets of pads, and would be a bargaining point on price if due for a chamge. Not that it's a difficult or expensive job to DIY using OEM parts.

Also check the adaptor for the 'locking' wheel studs is present in the tool kit - there should be two.

There were very few changes throughout the model life - the only obvious one being the angel eyes headlamps and different taillights. The later car

*may* have some more kit.

My 528 is a '97, and the only reason I'd be tempted to change is for the

530 which is a deal faster. But I'm not sure if they did any engine changes to the smaller ones.

Avoid BMW main dealers at service time. They are all, in my experience, sharks. And that's being rude to sharks.

A very quick check on servicing is to whip off a cover on one of the heating microfilters - they're the boxes at either side of the engine at the back. The cover is just held on by a clip at the front. If they look very dirty, I'd worry about other things.

You might find the group in my sig of use.

Big job? My experience on other cars says no, but it's worth asking.

Why does this seem to happen on almost every car I've ever owned? You'd think they'd use slightly higher power resistors...

Never used one for servicing, but their parts dept. is always so helpful.

Great, thanks v. much Dave.

No - it's quite straightforward IIRC, although I've yet to have the 'pleasure' of needing them on mine.

It's a very small unit using clever resistors in the heater air stream for cooling. Which someone didn't quite get right. I'm on my third - at 50 quid a pop, but only actually paid for one which is so far the longest lasted.

Yes - I've found them ok. Not that I've actually bought much from them - I use my local Eurocarparts.

Nope, buy the 150000miler, it'll easily get to 200000 without wear being an issue, anything expensive dying is going to be pot luck on either

*Very* common.

Half an hour per side tops. Just be sure to have ramps or a lift/pit to do the final tightening. These work out to be about £45 per side for the upper arms, and £35 for the lowers.

Agreed!

Eurocarparts and FAB-Direct do it for me on almost all items I've needed on my 341,000miler E34.

JB