BMW 5 Series (1996 - 2003) Reviews, Pricing & Specs

I have had my 530i for 1 years now. It has been a solid reliable car. It handles really nicely and has tons of power even for having an automatic transmission. The interior is spacious and is very well appointed in leather and only a small amount of wood trim. It seems just right. The quality of the materials are great. My car has about 86000 miles on it and the interior still looks very close to new. There are no rips or tears in the leather, really no signs of wear at all. The car is in great condition. Oct 11, 2013

Love it - Its hard for me to believe this car is 9 years old.  It handles like a dream. Entering the freeway or passing at highway speed is a breeze.  It practically begs you to take the long way home and find a twisty road.   I've had it about 11 months and can never go back.   Maintenance does cost more but in my case it's because I actually care about  making sure the car is in great shape.  In the past I've driven cars for months with the engine light on and it never phased me. Now I'm actually doing a legitimate maintenance plan.   My advice skip the Starbucks or expensive dinner once a month and stick that money in your BMW account and have fun. (Less)Apr 02, 2012

Classic BMW styling, built like a bank vault, V8 grunt and roar sounds terrific with the windows down. Almost no noise inside when they are up. Will easily top 160 mph with the current Dinan tuning. Aftermarket and OEM parts are cheap and plentiful. Fun and comfortable, every day driver reliable and well balanced sportiness the way a sport sedan should be!Jun 07, 2010

This is my 2000 BMW 540i Touring, aka M5 WGN. It is extensively customized as if BMW had produced an M5 wagon for the E39 model (they only made the sedan). It was customized by Dinan Motors in CA: supercharger, suspension, ss exhaust, strut brace. It was then trimmed out as an M5: M5 brakes, wheels, mirrors, steering wheel, interior & exterior trim (including replacing the stock headliner with black felt to mimic the Alcantara leather in the sedan). It's been dyno tested and pulled 400hp. This wagon is fast, luxurious and a proud member of the Roadrunner BMW Car Club in Phoenix.Apr 28, 2010

Performance : inline 6 engine is torquey and quick off the line. Braking is excellent, handling is admirable for a 12 year old machine. Build : for 126,000 miles, it's holding up well Appearance : stylish and classy without being gaudy, BMW's just age well. Cost : 28mph highway, but I always treat it to supreme gas because it deserves it. Fun : for a mid-size sedan, it is damn fun. Just wait til i mod it.Dec 22, 2009

When time came to trade in my track toys, in this case, a '99 BMW M Coupe (yes, the funning looking 2 seater) for a more practical, yet equally exclusive and high performing vehicle, nothing fits the bill better than the Individual Series BMW 540i Touring with M Sport Package. This wagon is painted in M Series exclusive Carbon Black colour, with black Montana (ordinary top grain) leather and sporty brushed aluminum trims. What make this car exclusive are the lowered and stiffened suspension, front and rear M5 spoilers/bumpers, and a more aggressive final drive ratio. The results, a wagon that handle like (and superior to in many aspects) an M5 with a fewer horsepower (100 hp) and one less gear ratio. The handling is actually more superior due to the stiffer rear suspension (designed originally to limit travel and to withstand heavier payload, employing adjustable air springs). Also being 200 lbs. lighter than an M5, this wagon is noticeably more tossable in turns and can be driven harder. Due to the lack of limited slip differential (standard on the M5), it is much harder to power slide the rear end out of turns making driving sideways less often practiced than an M5. Its pick-up is still amazing, especially when you consider how effortless it is due to the automatic transmission taking care of all the tricky bits. It certainly felt faster in the straight than all the 6 cylinder M cars I used to own. There are a few odd short comings related to its chassis dynamic: the front end geometry seems to be less tolerant to wider rim/tire/traction setup and tends to wander when the pavements are crowned (while the M5 using even wider tires did not exhibit this characteristic); and the rear end, at times, can be too jiggly and unsettling giving the car a "truck like" ride. All-in-alll, this is the aristocrats' bimmer - quite often people ask "When you can afford a 5 series bimmer, why waste your fortune on a wagon", and I usually tell them "... because I have choices." and I quite often wonder why people choose SUVs and give up precise handling, safety, and precious cargo room! Feb 08, 2009

Purchased this from the BMW CPO program and am blown away by the value for money. The car, like many BMWs, performs wonderfully with a great balance of handling and ride. Truly an executive sports sedan. The optional sports package gives an extra degree of crispness to the handling without compromising comfort. Build quality is beyond reproach as you would expect from a premium German marque. I love the styling, and even now prefer it to that of the current model. A design that is approaching 10 years old still looks fresh. Life is not all peachy though. Maintenance is pricey and don't expect to save by doing oil changes at the local lube shop because BMW uses specialized parts even down to the oil filter.Jul 16, 2008

I purchased this car when I was a Junior in high school. In the 5 years that I have owned this car I have roughly put 50k on the odometer for a total of 71816 miles. For every mile I have driven this car it has been reliable, comfortable, and has gotten me through tricky situations on several occasions with me and the car unscathed. I was rear ended about 2 years ago by a VW Jetta and to my surprise my car was relatively undamaged. Besides having the bumper replaced there was no other major damage. I recently had the transmission flushed and despite the reliability issues of the automatic transmissions that were in early model E39's mine has been perfectly fine. My one complaint about this car would have to be the factory stereo. I am a big fan of loud music and I was disappointed with the sound as a lot of owners are with mid 90's and early model E39's. This didn't really matter too much because since I planned on doing a lot of neat things with this car from the beginning I simply put in an expensive after market system. The one thing that has been great about this car is the maintenance has been cheaper than I expected. Once my factory warranty expired at 50k miles I opted to find an independent garage to work on my car and the biggest thing I had to do was replace the stock thermostat housing with an aluminum after market housing as the factory part tends to fail after a certain amount of time. Other than that minor problem this E39 has stood up to plenty of hard driving and at 72K miles it sure has a lot more in it.Feb 09, 2008

I've only had it for around 3500 miles, but for that time it has been a dream. 0-60 is faster than just about any mustang you can find out there, and it looks a lot better doing it too. The handling is superb in the dry, good in the wet (particularly if you enjoy a little drifting here and there!), and scary in the snow. The 6 speed manual transmission is flawless, and easy to drive whether you are flying around twisty back roads or sitting in traffic. Besides for the gas guzzling V8 under the hood (expect about 17 mpg average unless you drive like a total granny), this thing is just awesome!Dec 03, 2007