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Hi ABayliss,

Any thoughts on buying a BMW 523 or 525 E39 series? I've wanted one ever since I was a kid! I've also been looking at E36 328is and 325s but my mechanic has warned me off them and reckons I should go for an E46. Don't want to spend too much because this will just be a second car but I'm keen to get into the world of BMWs and use them as project cars

Cheers

I'm not sure what your mechanic has against the E36 when he's OK with E46 and E39. Maybe he's just talking about the benefits of going for a newer model, but while earlier '91-'92 E36s suffered badly with poor build quality, later ones were OK. The later 328 and 323 being preferable to earlier 325 and 320 models.
Try to avoid Japanese import 6 cylinder E36s with the Jatco transmission though. It was only 4 speed (compared with the NZ market 5 speed trans) and suffered from poor shift quality - especially when cold. Therefore, NZ New is best.
With E46s, like anything, the later cars were better, with 325 and 330 E46s being preferable to the earlier 323 and 328 models in terms of interior trim (seats etc were improved on the later cars).
The E39 was quite a good car from the start, with the 528 being a particularly good car in its day, winning World Car of the Year at the time. However, the 520 was very gutless, so the larger engine capacities are preferable. The later 530 was a nice model too.
From a reliability perspective, the main problem with all these models was the plastic parts in the cooling system which becomes brittle with age, so to avoid cooling system problems and overheating, (which can be expensive to fix), you may need to be prepared to spend money on the plastic components as preventative maintenance.

Thanks ABayliss that's very helpful!

Right now I'm looking at a E39 525 ( test drove it this afternoon and it drove well!) and a 528. The 525 is NZ New while 528 is a Japanese import. Do you think that 2.5 engine is a bit underpowered? Prices of the E39 are lower than the the 328 it seems and although I'd prefer a smaller car the build quality on the 5 series seems better than the E36. Are the 5 series Jatco boxes also 4 speed? The couple of Japanese 328s I drove seem to have the gear issues you talk about.

Just to throw a spanner in the works whats your thoughts on 1997-2001 Falcons and Fairmonts? I've never owned an Australian car growing up during the time of cheaper Jap imports? There are a few for sale $4k and under. Some of the kms on them are 400+ so they must be somewhat reliable. Any thoughts on drive and handling? Is there a big difference in fuel consumption between them and the 2800 engine?

Early E39s (from '96 to about'99) had a 5 speed Jatco transmission, still with a harsh shift quality. NZ New and all later E39s had the 5 speed ZF.
Sure, the power of the 528 is better than the 525, but the 525 was still OK and I'd prefer the later model car (525) and the fact that it's NZ New. Depending of course on condition and mileage.
The Fords you mention were OK, although I wouldn't want any car with 400,000ks on the clock. They dont offer the quality of ride a 5 Series does and do tend to become quite rattly and baggy when they get older but reliability is fairly good.
Fuel economy won't be quite as good as the BMW but the difference probably won't be huge. (I thought you said you'd prefer a smaller car though:)

Hi Andrew,

I ended up buying a 2000 E46 328i this weekend. Its done 140,000kms and comes with some service history from BMW specialist workshops. Its a Japanese import but the owner has had it for last 6 years. The radiator has been replaced. I took it to my mechanic for a check up- he changed the oil and filter but otherwise was happy with the car. He reckons we can hold off changing the waterpump until 150,000kms as long as we keep monitoring coolant levels. He reckons that waterpumps fail over time and its unlikely that one day it would suddenly cease- i.e there would be clear signs of leaking etc .What's your thoughts on this generally? Would you recommend changing the thermostat as well? It looks like a $500 job and have to budget this with a transmission service which is also around $500

I'd still be happier having a BMW specialist workshop check out the cooling system and plastic fittings. They may be OK, but can definitely fail without warning. As the radiator has been replaced, it's possible the other plastic components such as thermostat housing and other plastic parts have been replaced as well, in which case, there's no need to do them.

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your help. Got the waterpump, belts and a few hoses replaced. Waterpump turned out to have a metal impellor so chances are that it was replaced by the former owner ( but not in the service history that he left me)

Car drives well so far. I do have a few questions though

When its cold I notice that the car makes a bit of a clunk when moving from R to D. It also tilts forward a little bit. Doesn't happen when the engine/trans is warm though. Is this just normal with a RWD with a 2,8 engine?

The other thing I noticed was that when I drive down a hill and brake a little the engine brakes as well- i.e car moves down a gear. Owner has told me that this is an engine braking system built into the E46 328. I've never experienced it in Japanese cars so just want to make sure its per usual on these cars

Lastly I understand that the trans unit is sealed for life. Howver, after speaking to the guys at BM workshop they recommend that although BMW says the fluid should be good for life in reality it needs to be serviced and the fluid, gasket and filter replaced. I'm ok with the cost of doing this ($500) but want to wait for a couple of months to see whether I enjoy the car or not -whether I go ahead with it. So far I've spent $2k bringing it up to scratch which is fine considering the price I got it for

The clunk when going from R to D could just be the normal RWD slack in the driveline, so may be nothing to worry about - although I'd expect that to occur whether warm or cold, so maybe a trans flush might smooth that out or perhaps have the BMW specialist check it out to make sure it's not an engine mount or some other problem.
The transmission on these cars is adaptive, so the down-shifting/engine braking on overrun or when slowing down is a normal feature.
At this mileage, it probably is a good idea to service the trans.