Hi all, I see a few 5forum members have recently signed up...I'm a long time E39 owner, I do as much maintenance as I can manage and find forums an invaluable resource so hopefully I'll be able to add some value here over time. I've owned my B10 for 14 years and recently got back from a 2,500 mile trip to the south of France, it's had a clean since then Barry
Welcome Barry! I'm sure I speak for most of us on here when I say we're all a bit partial to an Alpina.......an E39 so much the better. One of our veteran BMWLanders @Harry had one for a few years. Look forward to more photos either from the trip or when it's all cleaned up!
Hello and welcome! What a cracking looking beast you have there, looking forward to the clean photos.
Well it seems BMW Land is is being swamped with new members, lets hope we can add some value! Here's a couple of photos from my trip down to the SoF, I had CarPlay installed by Baris @ Carphonics prior to the trip and it definitely made navigating a more up to date experience: I've had wireless music via an Intravee for years but using Spotify in CarPlay and voice control is a step up! Here's the car parked up at the Paul Ricard circuit:
It brings back memories of my E46. They felt like they were honed out of granite. Same gen, the E39. BMWs were the pinnacle for me then.
My E46 was immense, did nearly 100k in mine, sold it at 172k to a BMW specialist who ran it for another 2 or 3 years, then it was broken for spares, drove from Norfolk to Mold in North Wales then up to Preston, then Glasgow, down to Carlisle, back to Norfolk on one tank full of diesel...
Great to see you here Barry but I'm sorry that I have to disagree with the E39 analysis. I have owned E24's for 30 years, E34's for 20 years, an E39 for 16 years and an E38 for 12 years - the E39 is by far and away the worst built in terms of materials and longeivity, and by a country mile. It has stuff fail on it that just doesn't fail on other models in my experience. PDC? Never fails on an E34 or E38, an E39, almost always an issue. Timing chain issues? M62 needs guides almost regularly, the M635 every 100k miles and the E34 and E38 not at all. Electronic modules - almost all have failed on my E39, not one on the E24 and E34 and two issues of DIY repairable cold joints on my E38. Suspension? Not too bad on the E39 but still goes through bits more than the others. Rust? The E39 rusts way more than an E24 does - and they are known for it. Gearboxes? Again they are trouble free on all the others at higher mileages but the E39 is on its second now. The design of the E39 is brilliant but the way the accountants stripped all long lasting quality from the build is shameful. Anyway, rant over, it's nice to see you Barry
and modern stuff is even worse - my F11 has been disappointing, considering a G31 but fear that maybe worse!
The trouble is you're spoilt for choice Kevin I only have the E39 so to me it's pretty good for a 25yo car, agreed I've had to deal with a few big ticket items over the years including replacing the chain guides and a full genuine Alpina suspension refresh but I think that's to be expected over that length of time. I've also made lots of small improvements here and there to keep it 'up to date' without changing it's character but that's all part of the enjoyment of something like this. I see one of the biggest challenges to keeping the car in tip top condition being a mixture of parts becoming NLA and that BMW have been bumping up spare parts costs to eye watering levels. I saw your post the other day about one of your rear jacking points and tbh although I don't see any rust on mine in that area it's something that's always in the back of my mind. Although the car isn't our DD it gets used at least once a week which I think is good for it (and me)!
I forgot to mention dreadful headlight lenses, Touring tailgate lights, door liners that leak, locks and window regulators, windscreen wiper assemblies - again all things that don’t break on E24/28/31/32/34/36/38 but happily fail on an E39. And yes, rusty jacking points - again. But I’m not bitter… …just poor.
