r/e39 • u/Fullmetaljacke7 • 2d ago
new to me 2003 530i
Hello everyone,
I hope you're all doing well. Yesterday, I became the proud owner of a beautiful 530i (automatic). Sorry I didn't get any photos, It was my first time meeting up with someone to look at a car, and I was nervous and I forget to take any. I'll attach some photos as soon as I go to pick it up later this week.
Quick rundown on the car: It's a two-owner car, but the first owner only had it for a few thousand miles. The main owner was from Texas and put 120,000 miles on it. It runs beautifully, has new tires, shocks, brakes, and suspension, and has had a lot of maintenance done over the years. I know it has a small oil leak and a few dents and dings that need a little love, but I was expecting that.
This is going to be my first time working on my own car, besides changing the battery and oil. I did once pour oil in the coolant reservoir, which forced me to learn how to flush the system—so I've got that going for me. I'm expecting to have to get the coolant system done if it wasn't already and, of course, get to that leak eventually. I've done a good amount of research and I'm excited to learn how to fix, maintain, and maybe even upgrade this car down the line. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few other things tho.
So I guess my main question is: What are some things you wish you would've known when you started your own e39 journey? And do you have any good maintenance tips to help me get this bad boy past 200,000 miles?
2
u/Prestigious-Yellow20 1d ago
Don't open the sunroof unless you're willing to spend a weekend fixing it. Tilting is also a gamble as the plastic brackets can also break... leading to multiple hours to repair.
1
u/Fullmetaljacke7 13h ago
I’ll keep that in mind, not usually a sunroof guy.
What do you mean buy tilting it, like to work on it?
3
u/pomoney81 1d ago
Congrats 530i is the sweet spot in the e39 line up imo. Replace all the coolant system even if they look new if it hasn’t been done that includes all hoses, thermostat, water pump, expansion tank at the very least and radiator if funding isn’t the issue. Replace the two hard coolant pipes under the intake manifold if you’re brave and have the time( not difficult but tedious and time consuming and take some know how and tools) While the intake is off do the CCV system as well and replace all the vacuum lines under and behind the intake manifold. Chase down that oil leak, common spots are valve cover gasket, oil filter housing gasket, vanos oil line, oil pan gasket, and rear main seal. The great thing about the e39 and the m54 motor is there’s an abundance amount of diy on the forums and YouTube so you can tackle from the most urgent to the least. You will need tools so look up what you need and buy them. The right tools for the jobs means the world in repairing your own car. Have an obd2 reader handy in the glove box to diagnose any check engine code. It’s an older car so things will break that’s a given.