Hi - just signed up after 10 months with a blue 90000 mile 1998 E39 528i touring which I am growing to love. It's our first BMW and was bought last summer on the recommendation of my 18-year-old petrolhead son (a Pistonheads regular) to replace a 1999 Merc E240 estate - a W210 with - yes - rust problems. I run the auto 528 as main family car and my wife's preferred drive (lots of space, air con, leather, auto, all the things she likes in a car) and a manual 1996 Volvo 850 estate as the low mileage dogs kids taxi and bike carrier and paper rounds on a foul morning car.

As you will see I don't do "new" cars and find quality cars at about 100k miles a very cost effective way to luxury motoring on a budget - costly on fuel with older engines but dirt cheap capital costs of ownership. The 528i came from a trader in the Wirral as a dealer PX having spent its first ten years in wealthy rural Kent dealer-maintained then came north to Southport for a few years, garaged and independent maintained at about 3500 miles per year before I took it on. It's come to Scotland where I'm afraid it lives on the drive and encounters regular frost snow and ice. The only problems we've had are a CPS replaced for occasional shutdowns at idle and the battery went flat recently in protest at being used on lots of very short village runs when my last Volvo was off the road recently - easily solved by a night on charge and buying the "new" old Volvo to replace the dead one!

It's just coming due it's first service since purchase - fortunately only an Oil Service - I'll MOT it at the same time and expect no nasty shocks.

Nick

welcome to bmwoc dude nice car and me too only go for old cars 15 yrs older n more as all new cars are soooooooo much the same only the bagde tells u what it is and for a grand n under there are some big speced cars out there

Nick,your my kind of man! 300k and my e39 plods on

Welcome aboard Nick ;)

Welcome Nick, Enjoy the forum. :D

welcome mate

Welcome to BMWOC :)

Thanks all for welcome - car's in for service tomorrow - hope for no nasty surprises !

N

No nasty surprises on service and MOT - needs a couple of steering gaiter clips - £30 fitted, the two tyres I wanted done anyway, one failed MOT for cords exposed and they are being done at better price than National or Kwik-fit offered. The car wanted brake fluid changing - getting her back tomorrow all set for the year ahead.

N