2000 BMW 528i

Far from a "Build Thread" I suppose. Particularly because I don't know what to do with it. But today, a BMW 528i entered my life.

It started back in the spring when I traded my old Suzuki Samurai for this 1996 Tahoe with 300K miles, and lots of rust and dents:

I figured It would be relatively worthless until the snow started to fly. I was more right than I guessed.

A gentleman in IL contacted me and asked if I'd like to trade for a 2000 BMW 528i with a 5 speed. He has had to rig up a push button start because gizmos and electrons weren't doing things like they should. What could possibly go wrong, right?!

With that in mind, I agreed to meet an hour and-a-half from home to trade the Tahoe for the BMW. The day prior (yesterday, as I write this) we got an unexpected winter storm that left folks reeling. But whatever...we decided if the roads looked good this morning we would meet.

I've had local trade deals fizzle and fall apart over silly little stuff. But this time the other fool and I managed to traverse half a state each on the morning of a continuing winter storm and trade junky vehicles.

Here's the 528 at a QuickTrip in Wentzville, MO, just minutes after we swapped:

So, as I mentioned, I really don't know what I've gotten myself into here. I just know I didn't have much use for the Tahoe and a 5 speed, rear-drive car with some horsepower sounds more valuable to me (and more fun).

I might swap it off for something else...or I might see about fixing some stuff and using it as a daily-ish driver/beater. Frankly, I'll rely on feedback I get from you folks reading this. If it's too much of a mess, I have no real emotional investment. I can trade or sell it and all will be fine.

But I have to say...on the drive home it performed great. I can tell it will be a fun car to drive.

Here's a quick walk-around after I got it home:

I gotta say, it's a neat looking car.

It does, however, have a list of issues/problems.

I knew of the push-button starter hack before I ever saw it. But on my drive back home I noticed (as I expected I would) many more items.

Front interior:

Wait...what's that to the left of the steering wheel? The starter button:

Rear interior:

Let's take a closer look. Ooh...spare parts (or rather, parts that have been replaced already and the old ones are included..."just in case"):

Oh...and we KNOW this means we're going to have some fun:

Leftover ring terminals on the floor of the back seat. Yay!

Then there's this, which is discouraging. I'm pretty sure they didn't build the sunroof like this:

It's low on the left and high on the right at the aft of the sunroof.

The PO mentioned something about the rear windows not working right and this driver rear was "glued up":

(You can kind of make out the brown glue along the top edge of the window inside)

Let's see...what Else did I notice:

The speedometer doesn't work.

The wipers don't work on what I assume is supposed to be the "intermittent" setting.

The Previous owner says he just disconnects the battery because if you don't start it every day it'll go dead.

The car has all sorts of features that I don't know what they are. I was afraid to go pushing buttons while driving a new-to-me junker with pre-existing electrical problems home in a winter storm. I expect the list of problems will grow as I start to poke around.

Since it's dark, 18 degrees, and falling to 1 tonight I'm inside by the fire researching BMW maladies.

It looks like the Speedo/ABS/TractionControl/(maybe Fuel Economy Meter, too) problem could be a (rear?) ABS sensor. Anybody know about this problem or Been-there-done-that?

About the push-button Starter, issue: I see some threads out there that lead to a bad "IBS" (Intelligent Battery Sensor) module for a no-start issue. Seems plausible this could be what's going on. Worth a try. Evidently the diagnosis is to disconnect the IBS and see if it starts.

I've found a few results on rear window regulators. Seems like that's a common-enough issue that I should be able to spend some time on youtube and be well on my way. Hopefully, anyway.

I still need to do some research on the sunroof issue.

So this looks pretty much how I figured a trade for that Tahoe would look. That is an interesting set of "features". If it all falls apart, I think I know where a Lexus v8 is located. All we would need then is some Italian bits for a truly diabolical concoction.

Looks like an interesting set of bugs to work out.

I really like the 528i. It looks like it'll be really nice once it's all done

You've nailed it on the head.

Push button start is likely because the key and ignition aren't talking to each other. Very common problem that there are a few fixes out there for. However it if works, you may just wish to tidy up the disaster.

Window regulators are not hard to do, and very common

No speedo is almost always the ABS sensor (easy solution)....or it is more involved http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4205801&postcount=48

Easy car to wrench on yourself.

Nice score in my book. I loved my car of same vintage, but ours was a 540i/6. Rode great on Koni FSD struts and Eiback sport springs. Those wheels you have there are worth more than the whole car. I looked forever for a set and never found anything as nice as those for under $2k.

On a side note, I know 2 different owners of Euro repair shops whose wives each drive the 528i with same body style as yours.

VWguyBruce wrote: Those wheels you have there are worth more than the whole car. I looked forever for a set and never found anything as nice as those for under $2k.

Thanks...that's good to know. I like the wheels too and was surprised to find the car equipped with them. I didn't know they were particularly valuable. Then again, I'm not surprised. These one's aren't in spectacular shape...like maybe they've been cleaned with too harsh a chemical or something. In any case...they are pretty cool.

I don't have pics hosted that I can share, but I grabbed a cheap e34 last year with 17" version of those BBS style 5s. I removed the bolts, used a block of wood to bang out center of wheel. Chemically stripped clear coat on barrels, sand sand sand, metal Polish. Reassembled. They look fantastic.

And I haven't found them to be worth $2k, but lots of offers for $500-600. Worth more than that to me.

Cool. Those are 17s on mine, too.

Since acquiring the car I've learned that it's an E39. And I've learned how to open the trunk after disconnecting the battery...after a brief moment of "oops...I hope I can open the trunk without power."

As I mentioned...I really don't know anything about these cars yet. They've never been on my radar. It's too new for historic tags so I wouldn't have been shopping for it. It has way too many luxury/convenience gizmos for my liking.

But...so far, I do like it. That's what can be fun about trading. It can bite you sometimes, too ;)

One thing that will bite you is the cooling system. They are disposable items every 6-8 years 100K miles you need to replace them. BMW decided to use a brittle plastic and chooses to run the system under more pressure/temp than most manufacturers. This is a recipe for disaster. Plan on radiator/expansion tank, water pump, hoses, fan clutch to do it right.

Im going to learn from this thread, as these cars give me wood. Don't know why, but i love the looks. Never even driven a BMW.

I got to practice a bit tonight. Member Psteav needed to replace a rear window regulator on his similar year 528. So I've been through the process once now on his car. It went pretty smooth. I expect my car needs the rear regulators replaced but I need to see what exactly the problem is.

ClemSparks wrote: Since acquiring the car I've learned that it's an E39.

Well that tells me a lot, haha.

What you have is an early E39, powered by an M52B28 (the first two numbers are the engine model, and the second two numbers denote the 2.8 liters of displacement). Those wheels are fairly desirable, but there are apparently some 18"ers out there, and those are the valuable ones. E39s have a different center bore than other BMWs, so they need rings to work on anything else - that's the downside. Your car has the very desirable sport package, which is (I believe) that steering wheel, sport seats, stiffer and lower springs and shocks, bigger sway bars (I think) and a different diff ratio (also an iirc thing; could be wrong here). The 528i Sport and later facelifted 530i Sport are the best driving of the E39s as the V8 cars have recirculating ball steering rather than a rack, and have heavier front ends. The 6 cylinder cars are not particularly quick in a straight line though.

E39s are somewhat related to E38s (7 series) electrically and share many of the same parts and issues. Bimmerforums is generally a good place for information.

Exploded diagrams and part numbers can be found on realoem.com, though the prices are not always accurate. I use PelicanParts.com for parts. BMW is one of the best companies out there for legacy parts support, and prices seem to generally be reasonable.

The Bentley parts manuals are generally the best for BMWs, and are often available as a PDF download.

Yeah, I was hoping that would be a succinct way of conveying my BMW ignorance.

Thanks for all that info...good stuff! I'll check it out.

See my thread for the 525i that restored a while back. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/wheeler-dealers-usa-episode-3-2001-bmw-525i/90566/page1/ It'll give you an idea about some things that can go wrong on these and how I fixed them. My biggest issue with the car was just the terrible quality of the plastic and rubber on it. All the door seals were wore out, the window trim was all dry rotted and all the vacuume hoses under the hood were pretty brittle. Not up to par with the stuff on Toyotas of that era.

Looks like a good project to keep you busy though, so good luck and have fun.

Nice looking - I miss my 528i. Looks like it's suffering from a lot of well-documented issues. Not all that difficult to sort out - other than undoing some of the hacks - abs sensor, ews key issue, window regulators. Like others said - plan on a cooling system refresh and perhaps an oil filter housing gasket. Also give a look at the plastic/rubber surround at the base of the windshield. They get crumbly and let water leak in. Fun car to drive.

Well. I dragged home another project a few weeks back. I looked around and thought, "What can I sell to make a spot."

I posted the 528i up on CL and found a buyer pretty quick. So the BMW is off to a new adventure in someone else's hands.

What, you ask, could be so cool I would sell the BMW for it? This!

1983 Buick Regal Wagon.

Even I think I'm weird right now

You have automotive ADD. I liked the BMW but that wagon looks pretty clean.

I think I'd vote for the bimmer but I've spent too much time teaching in those gm sedans :)

How much did you make on the sale???

This wasn't a choice between the two. In reality I have more than enough space to keep vehicles if I want them. The BMW is cool, comfortable, powerful (enough for a daily driver), etc...but it's not one I want as a project. Too much luxury/safety doodad-ery for my tastes.

You don't get many shots at a g-body wagon as clean as this one. I bet I'll have lots of opportunities to buy sub-par ~2000 BMWs