If you were to ask a BMW enthusiast which generation of 5 Series is best, it’s likely that they would say the E39. Although it was the M5 that put the E39 into the hall of fame, all of the regular E39 5ers were pretty damn great, too. If you’re in the market for an inexpensive used BMW, the E39 is a great car to look for. Especially this especially cheap E39 5 Series in England.
This 1999 BMW 528i is currently for sale for £750. You read that right, it’s not £7,500, but £750. And it isn’t some high-mileage beater that’s been abused for all of its 17 years of life. In fact, it’s actually hard to find fault with the old Bimmer.
The Arctic Silver E39 528i only has 138,700 miles on it, which is nothing for its age. Kelly Blue Book claims that 15,000 miles per year of its life is generally pretty decent mileage for a used car. According to KBB, 10,000 miles per year is great mileage. This E39 5 Series has 8,259 miles per year. So it has excellent miles for its age.
It almost seems too good to be true. Taking a look through the pictures, it seems perfect. Sure, there’s a couple of small scratches and tiny dings, but that’s to be expected on a car that’s almost 20 years old. With a grey leather interior and wood trim, the cabin is luxurious and classy. It also looks near-perfect and there doesn’t seem to be any real blemishes. While looking at this car and then looking at the price, I’m starting to think I’m being Punk’d.
The E39 BMW 528i packed a 2.8 liter I6 M52 engine and developed 190 hp. This particular car has been paired with a five-speed manual, which is just icing on the cake. This is a near-perfect combination of luxury, performance and fun. While the 528i wasn’t particularly fast, especially by modern standards, it’s fast enough to be fun. Plus, the M52 engine makes a great noise and is fun to rev out, especially with a manual.
This 1999 E39 BMW 528i looks like the steal of the decade. It has me looking up the process of importing European cars. But, when something looks to good to be true, it usually is. So maybe there’s some secret underlying issue and the engine’s about to explode, killing its occupants in a fiery crash. I might risk it.
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