1997 BMW 528i E39 Sedan (w/ 115K Miles), Original Owner, Clean, No accidents

1997 BMW 5-Series Premium Package Description

For Sale is a gorgeous BMW 528i sedan in a rare color (Canyon Red) with very low miles for its age. This car is original family-owned. It was my father’s who bought in brand new in 1997 until we traded vehicles 5 years ago. He needed a van/SUV for occupational purposes... so I traded my SUV for his BMW. I just needed a set of wheels to get me around, and I actually got the better end of the deal… even though the value of my SUV at the time was more than double of what the value was of his BMW. I say that I got the better deal, because this BMW (besides being “the ultimate driving machine” that it really is) was his weekend-only car, and it was always garage-kept at his home (and still is garage-kept by me in my own garage). I took possession of the car in January 2012, and it only had 34,000 miles at the time. It became my daily driver ever since then when we did the trade.

This car has never disappointed me. It’s a blast to drive, and it’s roomy enough for my family of four. The car was never in an accident… Not even a small fender-bender. The only thing it does have is the expected wear-and-tear marks for a 19-year-old car (although it’s only “light stuff” I’m speaking of) when it comes to door dings; and there are some scuffs/scrapes (or “curb rash”, I call it) on one/two of the rims, and a small dent on the trunk lid (though not so noticeable) from getting too close to a plastic, heavy-duty garbage can inside of the garage. Other than those things, the car is in excellent, clean condition. In the interior, there are some light wear marks on the center arm rest and around the driver’s-side “door-grip handle”… that is, the plastic part; not the actual chrome handle to open the door. Pictures are provided in the listing to give one a better view of all of these things, by the way.

I’ve also had the car serviced for a tune-up several months ago. Replacement parts have been done to it during the past year [and I’ll get to that shortly] including the regularly-serviced oil changes, etc…. Oh, and I also had a complete detail done to the car back in May of this year to get it all shiny and looking brand new for summer. This car gets lots of looks… especially since I’ve upgraded the wheels to the BBS-type 17” rim (OEM rims that are the same as on the E39-M5) which is a nice upgrade from the standard 15” wheels, and I’ve also changed the front bumper to the M5-style bumper [an aftermarket one, but in good quality] to give the car a sportier, up-to-date look to it. The original bumper was so scraped up so badly underneath it from those parking-lot “wheel stoppers” (or whatever those blocks are actually called) and also from parking too close to those Belgian-block driveway curbs. The plastic underneath the original bumper started to split in two different spots which caused “a peeling-effect”… so I decided to get rid of the bumper because of that. Besides, I wanted to make the car more personalized as my own and not have it look like it was still “Dad’s old car” anymore. I’m sure you know what I mean. Anyway, I didn’t want to overdo it either as I wanted to make the car look “as original as possible” as if it could’ve come from the BMW factory that way… with the same type of wheels and front bumper as the M5. I wanted nothing ridiculous-looking added to it. There’s are plenty of crazy things available out there to dress up the car, but I wanted to keep it “simple-and-classy”, in other words.

I have spent nearly $3,500 in the past year for repairs, replacement parts, and upgrades. Below is a quick list of the those things:

-New tires (all-season Continental performance tires) installed within the past 4 months;

-Newer 17” (BBS)Rims purchased in used condition from another BMW;

-New front brakes (rears are still good) installed last month;

-New front brakes (replaced at the same time as the tires)

-Full-size spare tire in the trunk (matching rim is scuffed up, but it’s only a spare);

-Front-bumper (M5 style) with new headlight bulbs and fog-light bulbs;

-New license-plate frames on the front (OEM BMW in black) and rear (Aftermarket carbon-fiber type);

-A custom-installed cupholder on the center armrest (the stock “cupholder pullouts” near the climate-control board are useless… “a joke” really);

-Mobile-phone holders (in a soft, black rubber) have been installed on the bottom panel of each interior door next to the front seats;

-A ‘Tom-Tom’ navigation unit (purchased this past July) has been custom-installed on the cassette-player flip-up lid to give the car a more modern look and make it more practical than using a cell phone all the time. The unit is included with the car and can be easily removed if one wishes to;

-The cassette player beneath it has an adaptor installed to plug in an MP3 player or an ‘iPod’ (as shown in one of the photos - Not included in the sale, by the way);

-A new car battery was just installed last month.

-New radiator installed about 9 months ago;

-All engine fluids replaced a few months ago;

-A new thermostat housing part was installed this past summer;

-A new secondary-air-injection pump was installed just last month.

The 6-cylinder engine and 5-speed automatic transmission run smoothly. No issues there. No oil or fluid leaks anywhere under the hood as far as I know… otherwise, I would see it on the garage floor. There are not electrical issues or mechanical issues as far as I know. The windows, doors, and sunroof all open and close properly. The headliner and pillars look clean… without stains, markings, etc. The leather power seats are in very good condition as well. There are no warning lights on in the car [Check Engine, Check Brakes, etc., for example]. There's a photo provided in this listing of the instrument panel while the car was in motion.

What will eventually need to be replaced in the near future are the following (although they do not require immediate attention):

The belt-tensioner-pulley assembly may need to be replaced as suggested by the mechanic I use. It’s more noticeable as the weather is getting colder that there’s a very slight “squeal” sound when in Drive or Reverse, but it goes completely silent in Park and Neutral. It doesn’t affect in how the car drives. It’s just a little sound that comes up every once in a while, but it’s occurring more often now as winter is approaching. The OEM part alone is found on eBay for $40 - $60.

The emergency brake doesn’t do what’s it’s suppose to. Pull it up, and it stays up… no problem there, and the indicator light on the dash shows that it works… However, while the car is in motion, it doesn’t lock up the brakes. An adjustment may have to be made to it, or a new emergency-brake-handle assembly may have to be installed. My mechanic said that he will have to look at that for a day to see if it’s an easy fix or if it needs a replacement. The problem is that I won’t have time to take care of these things probably until January as we’re heading into the holiday season and my occupation will be in “full-force” during the next several weeks.

And lastly… A wheel alignment is recommended but not required to done immediately. There is no wheel-pull in either direction from holding the steering wheel. The only reason I suggest it is because when I’ve let go of the steering wheel a couple of times (just as a test to see it for myself) on a flat, smooth-highway surface, the steering wheel slowly turns to the right a bit. Nothing significant really, but I thought I’d mention it. I suggest doing a wheel alignment only because it can save on the tires in the long run.

Other than that, the car is just fantastic. The things that usually start to go bad at around 100K-miles have already been replaced, and I think the E39 is perhaps the best-budget-buy sedan out there among used cars. It’s a solid car for sure… Even the cabin-interior noise reveals that. This car is even quieter than my wife’s ’08 BMW E60 which we had purchased this past February. I honestly believe that the E39 was the best BMW model ever made in terms of reliability, performance, fuel economy, comfort features, and build quality. By the way, the E39 series was awarded ‘Car of the Year’ in 1997.BMW enthusiasts tend to say that the E39 was the best 5 Series ever made... if not the best BMW ever made.

Some other last things to mention:

This car has the Premium Package… which includes features like heated seats anda heated steering wheel. Believe me, that heating steering wheel is a great feature to have in those freezing temps during the winter. The floor mats are original and are in excellent condition (because they were usually covered).

The windshield is also original as hard as it is to believe. Things have kicked up from the road onto the car during the past 19 years and not once had the windshield ever cracked. There is one tiny hairline crack on the passenger side of the windshield that measures approximately .5 cm long (or less)… That’s it.

The exterior paint all around the car is in excellent shape. There are no faded spots, peels, etc. anywhere on it. The front part of the hood is where there’s a bit of “tiny paint chips” from stones, dirt, debris, etc. hitting it head-on over the years. By the way, the hood is made of aluminum and will never rust despite those exposed, tiny spots that show the metal. The rear bumper has a few small paint scratches but nothing that digs into the plastic itself. Again, the pictures are there to show these things.

I have the rear-seat headrests currently off as I prefer to easily see who’s behind me on the road. I have photos of the car shown in this listing with the headrests on and off. I also like to see them off as the older BMWs of the 1970s and ‘80s didn’t have them (thinking of those M3s), and it looks “sportier” and more “old school” without them. The head rests will be placed in the trunk prior to delivery. The original owner’s manual will be in the glove box, too… along with the secondary key fob. Speaking of, the key fobs work remotely at most times. Sometimes they don’t (due to the weakening batteries in them), but then the doors can be manually locked and unlocked through the keyholes… just like how things were done in the old days.

The car was always adult-owned-and-driven, and owned by non-smokers… and no pets in the family either. It’s a clean car with a clean record, and the title is at hand. Not looking forward to seeing the car go as it will surely be missed, but it’s time to move on after so many years as I’m looking for an SUV again (or a crew-cab type of pickup truck) since we’re an active family that likes to go hiking, bicycling, camping, snowboarding, etc. We had a Land Rover LR3 up until a year ago (which was replaced by my wife’s current BMW), but to have two sedans in the household limits us to haul around our “outdoorsy stuff” at the same time. That’s really the reason why we’re selling it. Whoever gets this car will be happy for sure.

Since this is my daily driver, the miles will surely go up from the time that this listing was posted. The latest reading is 115,442 miles.

This model is known to go well past 300,000 miles with the propermaintenance. It's one of the best motors out there.

If you have any questions about the car, please don’t hesitate to ask.

A deposit of $500.00 is due from the winning bidder within 24 hours after the auction ends and it is accepted via PAYPAL. The balance is due within 7 days after the end of the auction via a cashier's check or by cash in person. The buyer is responsible for vehicle pickup and all other preparations for transport.

If you’re local, you can come by to see the vehicle for yourself and take it for a test drive.

Thank you.