Easy Question

dalts

any auld autographs or tapes?

Soon...

Hmm...not much to tell - it's totally standard really.

85k, FBMWSH, One previous owner, Silver/Grey, Electrics all round (but presume that's standard), Walnut Trim

Appears to have been generally well minded.

Hi all

I gave in. Bought the car. A combination of:

1) Dealer being very accommodating
2) Advice from you and others

Special Thanks to Dergside and Tom. Now...don't 5 series drivers have special privileges in this forum?

I wouldnt let it worry you much to be hoonest. I have a Nikasil block in mine with 75k and I dont have any trouble with it with burning oil or anything. Nikasil issue is not  a big thing ...

Thanks both for the helpful information. It turns out that our 523 is a month the wrong side of Nikasil...Feb 98. Pity...kind of fell in love with the car, but I won't be taking the risk on this one.

I spoke to BMW Uk who were very helpful. They do not have records pertaining to ranges of cars/engines that are susceptible to the Nikasil problem. I was told that all cars (with the given engine type) manufactured between 1995-1998 could potentially develop problems. Apparantly, the reason that BMW never exercised a product recall was because they cannot determine if this is 'going' to occur in a car.

For information, it is a main dealer with a FBMWSH - 85k on the clock.

Dalts.

There are 2 ways of checking this.

First is that there is a plaque in the engine bay on the inner wing that details the chassis number, colour, etc.  There should be a production month as well.  If the production month is April or later then there is no problem (the update happened week 10 production in '98, so around mid March).  If it shows Jan or Feb (or '97) then it was built with a Nikasil engine.  If March, then you'll need to check with BMW GB Customer Service (+44 870 5050 160), give them the chassis number and ask if it is in the range that may potentially be affected by premature bore wear.  When I called them about mine, it took a second call to a different operator to get someone that knew what I was talking about.

If the car came from the UK at any stage, they should be able to tell you if the engine was replaced by BMW.  If its an Irish car from new then I'm not sure how helpful BMW Irl or the dealers will be in checking or confirming anything.  They were more than just unhelpful when Mac had a problem with his a few months back.

There is a visual sign if the engine has been updated, but I can't remember what it is.  There should be someone on here that can help with that.

Lastly, if the car has a Nikasil engine, it doesn't automatically spell trouble.  My car is over 80k up and it doesn't touch a drop between services at intervals of 12-13k miles.  Several others here have had a similar experience (but some have had problems too, so not trying to play down the potential).

As to other stuff, the car is pretty robust, but watch out for any suspension clunks or the like.  Ball joints, track control arms, etc. are more robust than on earlier models but do eventually wear out (I had a rear balljoint done at last service, front track control arms recently and the shocks are starting to show early signs of deterioration).  The other main thing to watch for is that all the electrics do what they should.  There's a lot of electric and electronic trickery on there and if they give trouble it can be complex in isolating and correcting the problems.  If the car has air-con or climate, make sure it blows icy cold at 16degrees.

Personally, I wouldn't buy without a rock solid service history.  On a car like this I'd still like it to be BMW main dealer, but other here don't feel its so important that its main dealer, just that there is a history.  If its a specialist, make sure they have access to all the right diagnostic equipment, etc. before taking much comfort from it.

Hi all

I'm currently looking at a 98 E39, which I'm giving quite serious consideration to buying. I've been driving the car for a week and pretty much everything seems right. However, having read some of the horror stories in this forum, I want to determine if the car is post-nikasil production.

I have the chassis number - I just need to know who to ask, preferably with some contact details.

Anything else to look out for from other E39 owners - apart from the lazy throttle, which it doesn't appear to have?