What to replace my E39 Touring with?
Discussion
So, I've got a 2001 BMW E39 Touring, which I have as a daily driver.. Except it's f**ked. It works, it's got an MOT, and is great on short trips, but that's it.
There's a misfire, which needs the head off to investigate, and all garages say screw that, put a new (used) engine in it that hasn't been taken apart. That's going to cost me around £1, 500 plus gaskets and consumables and replacements for whatever breaks switching over the ancillaries to a bare engine. Plus it needs welding on a jacking point and a hole in the floor, and there are various other bits wrong with it. I've factored in around £4, 000 to fix it.
I love the car, and am not much of a fan of anything else out there, but I need a reliable car for a new job, which requires a bit of a commute.
I can use my wife's car for a bit, but it's not a long term prospect..
I'm faced with some options.
1) Scrap it. (I don't have the space or patience to break it for spares).
2) Keep it and fix it. Future classic and all that crap. Plus I love it, and nothing else really appeals to me. But then, I'm chucking 4k at a 22 year old car.. I'm still inclined to do this, but I waiver every day on whether this is just plain bloody stupid.
3) Buy another car. Nothing else appeals. I don't like any BMW past the E46 or E39, and hear they're just built like crap and will be expensive to run. I quite like the look of the 3 series E91 Tourings, but after 3 years of hassle with the E39, I just want a bloody car I can drive and not worry about.
The only things that appeal to me are a Citroen C5 Touring, an Audi A7, or Mazda 6 Estate. Each of which have their own problems and cost implications.
4) Lease a Tesla.. My new job is in tech, and although I'm not coining it yet, I quite fancy the idea of a hassle free car. Throwing money away and all that, but bit would be through the salary sacrifice scheme, so could be ok. And I could keep the E39 and fix at leisure..
I'm massively overthinking all of this, obviously, BUT..
Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Nick
There's a misfire, which needs the head off to investigate, and all garages say screw that, put a new (used) engine in it that hasn't been taken apart. That's going to cost me around £1, 500 plus gaskets and consumables and replacements for whatever breaks switching over the ancillaries to a bare engine. Plus it needs welding on a jacking point and a hole in the floor, and there are various other bits wrong with it. I've factored in around £4, 000 to fix it.
I love the car, and am not much of a fan of anything else out there, but I need a reliable car for a new job, which requires a bit of a commute.
I can use my wife's car for a bit, but it's not a long term prospect..
I'm faced with some options.
1) Scrap it. (I don't have the space or patience to break it for spares).
2) Keep it and fix it. Future classic and all that crap. Plus I love it, and nothing else really appeals to me. But then, I'm chucking 4k at a 22 year old car.. I'm still inclined to do this, but I waiver every day on whether this is just plain bloody stupid.
3) Buy another car. Nothing else appeals. I don't like any BMW past the E46 or E39, and hear they're just built like crap and will be expensive to run. I quite like the look of the 3 series E91 Tourings, but after 3 years of hassle with the E39, I just want a bloody car I can drive and not worry about.
The only things that appeal to me are a Citroen C5 Touring, an Audi A7, or Mazda 6 Estate. Each of which have their own problems and cost implications.
4) Lease a Tesla.. My new job is in tech, and although I'm not coining it yet, I quite fancy the idea of a hassle free car. Throwing money away and all that, but bit would be through the salary sacrifice scheme, so could be ok. And I could keep the E39 and fix at leisure..
I'm massively overthinking all of this, obviously, BUT..
Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Nick
How do you know its not one of the ancillaries causing the misfire? You could end up spending a lot more than £4k getting it fixed, only for some more issues to likely arise soon after.
My advice is to put the £4k towards a newer car. The C5 might not be the best choice if you want something reliable!
My advice is to put the £4k towards a newer car. The C5 might not be the best choice if you want something reliable!
SFTWend said:
How do you know its not one of the ancillaries causing the misfire? You could end up spending a lot more than £4k getting it fixed, only for some more issues to likely arise soon after.
My advice is to put the £4k towards a newer car. The C5 might not be the best choice if you want something reliable!
I did a compression test on it, and cylinder 3 doesn't have any. It's not a head gasket. Its a burnt valve or a cylinder problem, but without getting the head off and investigating, we won't know..My advice is to put the £4k towards a newer car. The C5 might not be the best choice if you want something reliable!
And yes. I'm reading more and more that the C5 isn't the most reliable. But then, what is?
Bowlers said:
Another option would be to source an E39, many on here have threads on Japanese imported variants which could be the way to go.
I do like that idea, but having bought one for 2K before and now being in this position, I wouldn't cheap out on buying another one again. I do have the advantage now of knowing what to look for and what to check on the car.
Santacruzjack said:
Fix it, I do complete m54b25 for around 400 quid. Sack the stupid labour charges, not a hard job.
Where are you based? Half a days work to swap a lump if you know what goes where.
^ thisWhere are you based? Half a days work to swap a lump if you know what goes where.
E39s are easy to work on. Ive had both subframes off mine to do bushes, sump gasket etc and didn’t have any real difficulties. Can’t see that swapping the engine would be too hard a job if you have an engine hoist (buy second hand off marketplace etc. then sell on once you’re done. Hardest bit probably the bolts holding the exhaust to the manifold but engine mounts all easy to get to.
lufbramatt said:
^ this
E39s are easy to work on. Ive had both subframes off mine to do bushes, sump gasket etc and didn’t have any real difficulties. Can’t see that swapping the engine would be too hard a job if you have an engine hoist (buy second hand off marketplace etc. then sell on once you’re done. Hardest bit probably the bolts holding the exhaust to the manifold but engine mounts all easy to get to.
Editing this one after re-reading what you actually meant... I wish I had the skills and a garage space to do this. Sadly, I have neither, so it would have to go to a mechanic.E39s are easy to work on. Ive had both subframes off mine to do bushes, sump gasket etc and didn’t have any real difficulties. Can’t see that swapping the engine would be too hard a job if you have an engine hoist (buy second hand off marketplace etc. then sell on once you’re done. Hardest bit probably the bolts holding the exhaust to the manifold but engine mounts all easy to get to.
Edited by Nick England on Saturday 30th September 15:02
I went from a W124 estate (actually, lots of W124 estates...) to an E39 525D, then to an F11 525D
The F11 doesn't ride as well as the E39, but then not many modern cars ride well. The engine & box in the F11 are light years ahead of the E39 and, as an all-round package it is very convincing
It's best at long journeys - the 8-speed auto is wonderful and the engines torquey enough to make trips easy. It's a long car so tight parking spaces take some skill
I think the secret is finding the right spec. If you can find one with adaptive dampers, go for it - they really improve the ride. Obviously get xenons & auto. Reversing camera, widescreen nav, pano roof and comfort seats are useful
Post-2012 cars are facelifted (LCI), EU6 and are what I would go for
The F11 doesn't ride as well as the E39, but then not many modern cars ride well. The engine & box in the F11 are light years ahead of the E39 and, as an all-round package it is very convincing
It's best at long journeys - the 8-speed auto is wonderful and the engines torquey enough to make trips easy. It's a long car so tight parking spaces take some skill
I think the secret is finding the right spec. If you can find one with adaptive dampers, go for it - they really improve the ride. Obviously get xenons & auto. Reversing camera, widescreen nav, pano roof and comfort seats are useful
Post-2012 cars are facelifted (LCI), EU6 and are what I would go for
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