2000 BMW E39 523i

Started by Pommes-T, January 31, 2020, 09:48:00 AM

Pommes-T

Howdy, my friends. It's been a while since the last time I have logged in here. But at least every time I buy a new beater I feel the urge to tell you.  :rockon:

My old 316ti compact was a tough soldier, but after one year of driving from Hamburg (where I live) and Berlin (where my girlfriend lived), a 4000km roadtrip through east Europe, 2 skiing vacations (each a 2400km trip) and the daily madness of big city traffic and Autobahn it was hopeless to pass the german MOT without investing twice or 3 times the money the car is worth. So it was obvious, the car needed to go and another sophisticated driving machine had to be purchased. So I sold the old Beamer for 750€ and the winter tyres for 100€.

Since I had bought an apartment with 2 underground garage parking spaces last year (which makes me an outstandingly priviliged citizen in this beautiful, yet densely populated city), I decided to buy something bigger. I always had problems to fit my genitals and my pride in my tiny beamer, so I was more than pleased to get the oportunity to upgrade.

My friends, who are a lot less into cars than I am, mostly buy new cars in the 20-40k€ price range and I have to say, all these cars leave me cold. I always wanted to drive a BMW inline 6 engine, but nowadays you have to invest major money to buy a *40i car. So I checked the internet offers of used cars and finally found this:

As the title says it's a BMW 523i from 2000. It has 235.000km on the clock, it is serviced constantly until mid 2019 (which is a rarity), is well equipped with the stuff that's important to me (sunroof, leather seats with heater), has some external shortcomings, but technically it's perfect. It was offered for 1600€ with MOT for 3 more months and a broken window lifter on the passenger seat. In the end, I got it for 1800, with a fresh MOT (for 24months), new suspension on the rear axle and fixed window lifter. A great deal. I had to invest 200 more Euro, because of a leaking wiper fluid tank, a pin for the low beam and a new fender inlay. Plus I installed a Sony bluetooth radio and now it is perfect for less than 2100€.
I have driven 700km so far, once had in up to 235km/h and it was still accelerating (I think it will max out at 245 or 250 on the speedometer, in reality it should be a bit less).
Everytime I drive it I have a smile in my face. And if I consider how much money I saved for not buying a new car, I smile even more. I must say buying cars at their nadir of their worth has become my thing. I'll drive it for a few years now, and then I'll buy someting else.













Cheers, mates! I hope you all are doing great!  :cheers:

'00 BMW 523i

CaminoRacer

Early 2000s is peak BMW IMO. Nice car.
2020 BMW 330i, 1969 El Camino, 2017 Bolt EV

FoMoJo

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ~ Albert Einstein
"As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics."

Eye of the Tiger

2008 TUNDRA (Truck Ultra-wideband Never-say-die Daddy Rottweiler Awesome)

mzziaz

Lovely E39.

I once drove a 99 Alpina B10 3.3 from Norway to Spain. It was a marvelous machine for long distance driving. The inline 6 is a gem too, although a bit lacking in low end torque.
Cuore Sportivo

Raza

Very nice!  That's my favorite 5 series generation.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
If you can read this, you're too close


2006 BMW Z4 3.0i
http://accelerationtherapy.squarespace.com/   @accelerationdoc
Quote from: the Teuton on October 05, 2009, 03:53:18 PM
It's impossible to argue with Raza. He wins. Period. End of discussion.

SJ_GTI


Gotta-Qik-C7

2014 C7 Vert, 2002 Silverado, 2005 Road Glide

cawimmer430

A 523i!? Warum kein M5!?  :evildude:

Congrats! Sweet ride. I love the E39 5er and the E12/E28.
-2018 Mercedes-Benz A250 AMG Line (W177)



WIMMER FOTOGRAFIE - Professional Automotive Photography based in Munich, Germany
www.wimmerfotografie.de
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veeman

Congratulations!  Love those wheels.  Love that it's a manual transmission. 

Submariner

20 years on and it still looks great.  Timeless design.  Hope you have a lot of fun with it.
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

dazzleman

Quote from: Pommes-T on January 31, 2020, 09:48:00 AM
Howdy, my friends. It's been a while since the last time I have logged in here. But at least every time I buy a new beater I feel the urge to tell you.  :rockon:

My old 316ti compact was a tough soldier, but after one year of driving from Hamburg (where I live) and Berlin (where my girlfriend lived), a 4000km roadtrip through east Europe, 2 skiing vacations (each a 2400km trip) and the daily madness of big city traffic and Autobahn it was hopeless to pass the german MOT without investing twice or 3 times the money the car is worth. So it was obvious, the car needed to go and another sophisticated driving machine had to be purchased. So I sold the old Beamer for 750€ and the winter tyres for 100€.

Since I had bought an apartment with 2 underground garage parking spaces last year (which makes me an outstandingly priviliged citizen in this beautiful, yet densely populated city), I decided to buy something bigger. I always had problems to fit my genitals and my pride in my tiny beamer, so I was more than pleased to get the oportunity to upgrade.

My friends, who are a lot less into cars than I am, mostly buy new cars in the 20-40k€ price range and I have to say, all these cars leave me cold. I always wanted to drive a BMW inline 6 engine, but nowadays you have to invest major money to buy a *40i car. So I checked the internet offers of used cars and finally found this:

As the title says it's a BMW 523i from 2000. It has 235.000km on the clock, it is serviced constantly until mid 2019 (which is a rarity), is well equipped with the stuff that's important to me (sunroof, leather seats with heater), has some external shortcomings, but technically it's perfect. It was offered for 1600€ with MOT for 3 more months and a broken window lifter on the passenger seat. In the end, I got it for 1800, with a fresh MOT (for 24months), new suspension on the rear axle and fixed window lifter. A great deal. I had to invest 200 more Euro, because of a leaking wiper fluid tank, a pin for the low beam and a new fender inlay. Plus I installed a Sony bluetooth radio and now it is perfect for less than 2100€.
I have driven 700km so far, once had in up to 235km/h and it was still accelerating (I think it will max out at 245 or 250 on the speedometer, in reality it should be a bit less).
Everytime I drive it I have a smile in my face. And if I consider how much money I saved for not buying a new car, I smile even more. I must say buying cars at their nadir of their worth has become my thing. I'll drive it for a few years now, and then I'll buy someting else.













Cheers, mates! I hope you all are doing great!  :cheers:

Wow, great to.hear from you man.  Good luck with the new wheels.  That looks similar to my first BMW, a 2001 530i.  That ccx ar drove great!  I hope you have a similar experience.  :rockon:
A good friend will come bail you out of jail...BUT, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, DAMN...that was fun!

CALL_911

Dude I love your purchases, they're always interesting. I'm really jealous of this, they're some of the best looking cars on the road to this day, and that's a great example you've got. I sometimes wish I got an E46 330i like 10 years ago and just kept it going.

Although I actually think the E60 has aged at least as well


2004 S2000
2016 340xi

CALL_911

Does thing have that high pitched chirp when you lock it? I wish I could get my car to make that noise when locked/unlocked.


2004 S2000
2016 340xi

Pommes-T

Quote from: CaminoRacer on January 31, 2020, 09:50:18 AM
Early 2000s is peak BMW IMO. Nice car.

Thank you. Exactly my opinion. Also love the E46 and E38s... Too bad that BMW is building so much crap these days.
'00 BMW 523i


Pommes-T

Quote from: mzziaz on January 31, 2020, 10:53:19 AM
Lovely E39.

I once drove a 99 Alpina B10 3.3 from Norway to Spain. It was a marvelous machine for long distance driving. The inline 6 is a gem too, although a bit lacking in low end torque.

Alpinas and the M5 are of course the holy grail of the E39. My 523i is lacking a bit more low end toque. But it's totally okay.
'00 BMW 523i

Pommes-T

Quote from: Raza  on January 31, 2020, 01:19:42 PM
Very nice!  That's my favorite 5 series generation.

Thanks. Mine too!
'00 BMW 523i



Pommes-T

Quote from: cawimmer430 on January 31, 2020, 04:25:53 PM
A 523i!? Warum kein M5!?  :evildude:

Congrats! Sweet ride. I love the E39 5er and the E12/E28.

Because $$$$$$. Would have cost me 10 times the money. Plus I wouldn't be able to stop  :vapors:
Thanks! E39 is indeed my favourite. And they sell almost for free at the moment.
'00 BMW 523i

Pommes-T

Quote from: veeman on February 01, 2020, 04:41:19 AM
Congratulations!  Love those wheels.  Love that it's a manual transmission.

Thanks yeah. Thats's the BBS Y spoke style, love that too. I preferred a manual transmission. In new cars, the automatics and double clutch automatics might be even better, but back in the day manual transmissions were the more efficient and more fun choice.
'00 BMW 523i

Pommes-T

Quote from: Submariner on February 01, 2020, 05:10:07 AM
20 years on and it still looks great.  Timeless design.  Hope you have a lot of fun with it.

Thank you! So far I love it. I have to admit, the fact that I can't fold the rear seats is a bit annoying and I am searching for 523/528 or 525/530/540 tourings. I think I keep it, but if I find a really good touring I might as well buy one.
'00 BMW 523i

Pommes-T

Quote from: dazzleman on February 01, 2020, 05:33:16 AM
Wow, great to.hear from you man.  Good luck with the new wheels.  That looks similar to my first BMW, a 2001 530i.  That ccx ar drove great!  I hope you have a similar experience.  :rockon:

Thanks. Nice, a 530i of course has a lot more power, but also sells for much higher prices. The 540i had a different (worse) steering, so the 530i was the most powerful one with the basic (and better) steering.
'00 BMW 523i

SJ_GTI

A 540i Touring with manual transmission would be like finding the holy grail.

Pommes-T

Quote from: CALL_911 on February 01, 2020, 07:31:45 AM
Does thing have that high pitched chirp when you lock it? I wish I could get my car to make that noise when locked/unlocked.

Thank you! No, it doesn't make any sound. But there might be differences in the Euro/US versions.
'00 BMW 523i

CALL_911

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz0vV8DSsDo

This is what I'm talking about. Late 90s-early 00s BMWs had the wolf whistle


2004 S2000
2016 340xi


cawimmer430

Quote from: Pommes-T on February 02, 2020, 09:17:33 AM
Because $$$$$$. Would have cost me 10 times the money. Plus I wouldn't be able to stop  :vapors:
Thanks! E39 is indeed my favourite. And they sell almost for free at the moment.


Schon klar. :lol:
-2018 Mercedes-Benz A250 AMG Line (W177)



WIMMER FOTOGRAFIE - Professional Automotive Photography based in Munich, Germany
www.wimmerfotografie.de
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