Ownership Experience of Old BMWs

[tnord]

but what if I put F80 M3 control arms on it, bilstein adj dampers, and an M perf exhaust?

then is it a reliable daily that’s reasonably exciting to drive without the headaches?

[Obioban]

but what if I put F80 M3 control arms on it, bilstein adj dampers, and an M perf exhaust?

then is it a reliable daily that’s reasonably exciting to drive without the headaches?

Don’t bother. No point in trying to make the car into something it isn’t, exercise in frustration.

[tnord]

I dunno. I feel like if FWD cars can be set up in a way that they're still fun to drive, then I should be able to get this chassis to wake up also. But, I'd probably spend near what an entire 530 costs doing so. I wonder how much better a ZHP F30 is. As good of a job as the Xdrive does to put power down, it's still a 400hp ~3800lb AWD car with an open diff. The car does rotate a bit on power, but the amount of understeer that has to be built in so that it doesn't immediately swap ends is noticeable. The ZHP is probably a couple hundred pounds lighter without the XDrive hardware and 8HP, and has a real diff.

this seems to be the nicest E39 for sale;

https://www.bmwcca.org/classified-ads/336846

[02_lsb]

I dunno. I feel like if FWD cars can be set up in a way that they're still fun to drive, then I should be able to get this chassis to wake up also. But, I'd probably spend near what an entire 530 costs doing so. I wonder how much better a ZHP F30 is. As good of a job as the Xdrive does to put power down, it's still a 400hp ~3800lb AWD car with an open diff. The car does rotate a bit on power, but the amount of understeer that has to be built in so that it doesn't immediately swap ends is noticeable. The ZHP is probably a couple hundred pounds lighter without the XDrive hardware and 8HP, and has a real diff.

this seems to be the nicest E39 for sale;
https://www.bmwcca.org/classified-ads/336846

I think late 90s early 00s Honda products were pretty great. Like a 1999 civic si (in electron blue), integra gsr sedan from that era or even a later model TL or TSX. All can be had with manual and were fun daily cars.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-acura-tl-23/

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9adB1PRA/2013-acura-tsx-special-edition?ss_id=ee04b878-1aac-4c9c-b577-0d4861ece86e&ref=pr_1_1

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/r47a2qVk/1994-acura-integra-gs-r-sedan?ss_id=a91ffaaf-8f5d-4d35-9dd0-1d5567aeb4c4&ref=pr_1_20

[Circa Surviven]

Increasingly no point in OE parts as BMW’s suppliers have been moving production to China, too.

I've stumbled upon this when looking at OE timing chain guides for the E38 740i. It's frustrating because thats the one area I do not want to cheap out on. If the OE is made in china for $100+, is the quality control worth the extra money than buying a Febi Bilstein made in china (may be the same as OE) and save the OE tax?

Yup, that's the recipe. I remember reading Rob Siegel's Hack Mechanic book some time ago, and this thought stuck with me:

"Anyone can spend big money buying a pretty shiny car, or restoring one. There’s no challenge in that, and it’s not interesting to me. Now, the person who has always wanted a 2002 (or any car), and buys one he can afford, and loves it to death and keeps it going on a shoestring budget...that’s interesting to me.That’s a person who deserves my help.

If I’m about any one thing, car-wise, it’s about trying to be the guy with the shit-eating grin on his face driving the car he’s always wanted. If that means buying an imperfect car, geez Louise it’s better than craving the perfect car and not getting it, or anything, because you can’t afford the level of perfection that you crave. I try to proselytize for this, to actively convince people to buy flawed cars within their budget rather than walk all the way up that ladder and buy nothing."

I'm going to have to read this book! I had a friend reach out to me last year and ask if he should buy his neighboors estate sale 2001 740i with 160k miles.. I told him to check history on timing chain guides and that it would be an awesome car to have, but may be pretty expensive to maintain. Long story short he bought it and then decided he didn't want to deal with it. I was not looking to take on another old german car but there was actually a time a decade ago where I was seriously looking for an E38. I sold my dirtbike and bought it lol.



Fast forward to today and I've been working on making it reliable enough to daily drive, so I can sell my 2016 Ford F150 and not have a monthly car payment aside from the wifes X4 M40i. I refreshed the entire coolant system after a top radiator hose burst and that went from a few hoses to all of the heater hoses, radiator, water pump, etc. Then the starter would click once before starting and I replaced that in case it would leave me stranded. Before I knew it I was on FCP ordering control arms and power steering hoses on Paypal credit telling myself I just need a few more parts to get it where it needs to be. My most recent purchase has been a transmission filter and ZF fluid before taking a pause to consider what am I doing!

What I'm getting at is It's been never ending with buying parts (no shop labor so far) and has caused the E46M to be further neglected. The E38 had even been dealership serviced by one owner (doctor) until 2020.

I like the point others have talked about on here about making it SAFE and useable instead of perfect. I ride around with a Marshall bluetooth speaker on the center console to save money on fixing the speakers. At this point though, I'm considering sellling the E38 and the truck to buy a ND Mazda Miata to daily drive and then budget getting the E46M into better shape.

I had a 2010 535i with the N54 motor and at about 150k miles, I didn't really trust it to make it much further without perhaps a major expense. The CPO warranty had payed out for new turbos, all 6 index injectors, 2 OFHG and valve cover gaskets, etc. It also never handled how I had hoped it would. I felt it was time for something different and the E46M was more special to me so I held on to it. I had an old W210 chasis mercedes diesel that my brother and I would pass back and forth between each other for the past 10 years until last year a deer took it out. That om606 motor was literally outliving the rest of the car. The texas heat was brutual to all of the interior plastics and it felt like junk aside from the steering and motor. That same Texas heat has cracked my E46 seats and with the air conditioning not working, I end up driving the E38 and truck more often.

My question for yall, after this long reply, is when do you know it's time to part ways with an old BMW you love?

[Obioban]

The e60 is a pretty rough ownership proposition.

The e38 can bite you, too. It debuted a lot of the tech used on e39/e46, and it.... hadn't reached its final form, yet.

[01SG]

I dunno. I feel like if FWD cars can be set up in a way that they're still fun to drive, then I should be able to get this chassis to wake up also. But, I'd probably spend near what an entire 530 costs doing so. I wonder how much better a ZHP F30 is. As good of a job as the Xdrive does to put power down, it's still a 400hp ~3800lb AWD car with an open diff. The car does rotate a bit on power, but the amount of understeer that has to be built in so that it doesn't immediately swap ends is noticeable. The ZHP is probably a couple hundred pounds lighter without the XDrive hardware and 8HP, and has a real diff.

this seems to be the nicest E39 for sale;
https://www.bmwcca.org/classified-ads/336846

As much as I like the M sport, you're much better off getting a regular 540 sport with less mileage for half the cost.

[tnord]

I think late 90s early 00s Honda products were pretty great. Like a 1999 civic si (in electron blue), integra gsr sedan from that era or even a later model TL or TSX. All can be had with manual and were fun daily cars

They were great, but they're not really doing the job of daily kid hauler I'd need them to do. Maybe the TL-S would, but most of those I see still on the road are pretty clapped out. I had a DC2 GSR that was maybe the best daily for a single just out of college kid.

My question for yall, after this long reply, is when do you know it's time to part ways with an old BMW you love?

I dunno, that's a tough one. With all of my above fondness about old cars, I'm still having a hard time with the thought of selling either the 140k mile F15 X5 that my wife has been beating on since new, or my F30. I get sick of the F15, but then I spent a couple hours cleaning it this past weekend and thought I could drive it in the winter if I ended up getting an old car. The F30 I have a hard time ditching because I know it's been well maintained and does the job of reliable somewhat interesting commuter very competently, I just don't LOVE it.

The 535 I'd ditch, the N54 seems to be a big headache from what I can tell. If it was the N55 I might have a different opinion (ours has been great, though the fuel economy has gone to shit). The E38 I might keep, it seems like you've done most of the mechanical work? Will you still want to daily it even if all of the chassis systems and electronics aren't working perfectly but it's in good mechanical condition?

As much as I like the M sport, you're much better off getting a regular 540 sport with less mileage for half the cost.

Yes, but I think I like the front/rear bumper enough that I'd want to do it to a regular sport package car. Add the M5 suspension it comes with and I don't think I'd necessarily want to lower it either. Making those changes to a regular sport package car would cost a few grand, and the M Sport will retain it's value better, and maybe most importantly the owner are more likely to have taken better care of them. Yes, I'd agree the regular sport package cars are probably a better deal, but by the time I'd be done with it I'm not sure how much cheaper they really are.

With that said, I sent a couple sellers messages about M5s this morning.

[Obioban]

I dunno. I feel like if FWD cars can be set up in a way that they're still fun to drive, then I should be able to get this chassis to wake up also. But, I'd probably spend near what an entire 530 costs doing so. I wonder how much better a ZHP F30 is. As good of a job as the Xdrive does to put power down, it's still a 400hp ~3800lb AWD car with an open diff. The car does rotate a bit on power, but the amount of understeer that has to be built in so that it doesn't immediately swap ends is noticeable. The ZHP is probably a couple hundred pounds lighter without the XDrive hardware and 8HP, and has a real diff.

this seems to be the nicest E39 for sale;
https://www.bmwcca.org/classified-ads/336846

Depends what FWD cars your referring to, but generally the two most important ingredients to being fun to drive are light and small— which is often the case for fwd cars. So, not that surprising!

[02_lsb]

tnord I had a “fun” daily. It was an e61, manual with an n52. In silver grey, of course. It is oh-kay if you need a family daily. If your kids are in car seats, it’ll suffice but you’re going to want something bigger. I got an f150 and haven’t looked back. Toyota is no longer in the business of making quality trucks.

[Cubieman]

Don't mean to drag this too off topic but just a question.

I need a new daily that can handle bitter winters/snow, currently have a WJ Jeep that probably won't last much longer.
I would like something kind of "fun" as a daily.

Would an E90 Auto/xDrive car with the N52 be a decent relible daily for harsh winters?

I have worked on them a fair bit, not too bad, one thing that worries me is parts prices going foward however.

[tnord]

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/36gRavdn/2009-bmw-328i-sedan

just get a second set of snow wheels/tires. xdrive not necessary.

[02_lsb]

I’m just going to leave this here since yall like check engine lights…

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rb264NDL/2010-bmw-535i-xdrive-sports-wagon-m5-touring-build

[hogger453]

If you enjoy and know how to work on cars no big deal. If you don't, you'll need deep pockets.

[TexaZ3]

The e60 is a pretty rough ownership proposition.

The e38 can bite you, too. It debuted a lot of the tech used on e39/e46, and it.... hadn't reached its final form, yet.

I owned an E60 in one form or another almost non-stop since 2005. They never gave me too much grief. Just like any other BMW - maintain and stay on top of them - and they will be reliable.