Any Recommendations

[ace1260]

I own a 1997 528i with 130,000 mile and I would like to know if it’s worth putting money into fixing it and maybe some upgrades or sell it and go for an e46 3 series.

[ESP]

What needs to be fixed?

We have a 1997 528i with 180K miles on it sitting in the garage, still going strong, auto tranny and all.

[ace1260]

There are I believe 2 oil leeks one is from the oil pan and the other I still don’t know were its from, there not bad but its still leaking oil, there is something wrong with the ABS, that light just turned on. Also there is a lot of comedic work need to be done. I need new head lights, the headliner is falling down I believe its because of the heat. The driver seat leather is cracking, also with that seat one of the motors aren’t working. Also for some reason the FM radio would turn on and off randomly. I know its probably not a lot its just inconvenient.

[CarDriver]

I have a 1990 525i sedan and a 1992 touring. They have 235,000 and 195,00 respectively. They run great and are not too costly to maintain. (I order my parts on-line and do all the work myself). I would say keep your car and Put the bucks into it. But then, that all depends on how you feel about the car and whether or not you can do the work yourself.

I had the head liner replaced in my sedan for 200. It can also be done by self but you need the correct material (Foam Backed). Oil leaks can be a pain but usually inexpensive to correct but they should be attended to quickly.

[justlikemusic]

Sounds like minor work... I am not a fan of E46's at all. I am sure a Manual 325i would be fun. However, I would rather a manual E36 325i and my E39 523i any day of the week.

[bmw528i]

I have a 2000 528i with 78K miles on the odometer (alot less I know) and I actually spent a shitload of money over the summer fixing things up including a new suspension (Bilstein shocks, H&R springs, fully adjustable rear end, etc) and a lot of cosmetic work. The reason why it's worth it to me is besides the fact that I love the clean body style of the E39, simple tweaks and changes make you stand out from the crowd.

So I went from this in March 2007


To this as of July 2008:


Was it worth it? Yeah, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

[ace1260]

Wow what difference it looks amazing!! Do u know if the oil pan is easy to get to with out removing anything else from under the car? And where did you get all of those parts from, if you don’t mind me asking? Also do u if there is any difference between the 1997 and the 2000? thanks

[justlikemusic]

Head/tail lights and indicators are all clear lenses in the '00 models rather than the orange lenses.

I have a black '97 E39 with the orange lenses, and converted the indicators to custom (4 led's made by myself) and really like them. The orange gives the old school German prestige look. I'm REALLY anti-rice though... however, the clear lenses make the car look newer (- '03) so it depends what you want. I like the look, however I would like a 'newer' car and the clear lenses make it look 'cleaner'...


I love black innner, chrome dish rims... however I am wondering whether I want to change from the stock 16's I got now. They look like the touring E90 320i's rims and suit my car well.. if I lowered it I am sure it would be good enough.

[bmw528i]

Originally Posted by ace1260

Wow what difference it looks amazing!! Do u know if the oil pan is easy to get to with out removing anything else from under the car? And where did you get all of those parts from, if you don’t mind me asking? Also do u if there is any difference between the 1997 and the 2000? thanks

It's fairly easy to access the oil pan. There isn't too much in the way so it shouldn't be a problem.

All the parts on my car come from a multitude of places. As you're from the North East I'm going to assume you've heard of Bavarian Autosport. I bought the M-Technic kit from them. The suspension package came from Turner Motorsport in Massachusetts, the exterior lighting came from Umnitza in California, I bought my HID kits from Bimmian, and the mirrors actually came off a M5 (including auto dimming feature). I have a bunch of other random pieces on the car and they come from a multitude of places.

There are a few differences between the 1997 and 2000 models. If your car was equipped with an automatic it is only a 4 speed, in 1999 BMW began using steptronic an it is a 5 speed. Also, in 1999 the M52TU was introduced and it had the addition of Double Vanos. There are a few factory options that became standard but I can't think of them off hand.