# Pre-Newbie Dumb Questions.



## offbeat (Oct 26, 2003)

New to the board. Greetings everyone, and many thanks in advance for all your help.

I recently paid off my Z3 and am now looking to add that perfect E39 that I've been lusting after for years. Found a '00 528i, 5 speed, Sport, Premium, etc. at an independent "highline"dealer located about two hours drive away. Drove up there yesterday to smoke it over and found it to be in great shape save for a handful of minor issues. Now, I'm looking to the collective wisdom of the board for a little help keeping the dealer straight.

The driver's door window will not auto up/down. You have to hold the button. This happens occasionally in my Z, and I can reset it by rolling it all the way up or down, and holding the button down for 20ish seconds. I tried this with the 5 to no avail. Is this a common problem? Can it be reset? If not, does anyone know how hard it is to fix?

It has a 15 inch spare in the trunk. I'm 98% certain that the Sport Package 5er's that I've looked at have had a spare that matches the other 4 wheels. Is that the case? Would a 15 inch wheel even go on the car?

Is there any way to tell for sure if the car originally had the 6 CD changer? It has the tag on the door in the trunk where it would go that says "BMW 6 CD changer" (or something close to that) instead of the "Prewired for" tag.

The little black vent looking piece overhead next to the interior lights and sunroof switch has been cut and had a momentarily on switch placed in it. Also, those overhead lights don't work. My guess is that a previous owner rigged a garage door opener in there. Is this a common mod? How hard might it be to get the lights working again?

How many keys did the car origionally have?

Did it come with a "Bimmer Bible"? If so, what was in it? i.e. Owner's manual, radio manual, service manual/records.

If you have voyeuristic tendencies, like I do, you can check out the pix that the dealer sent to me and a *.pdf of the CarFax report here

I know I'm picking nits. But the dealer has stopped negotiations $500 above Kelly Blue Book retail, and $1500 above what I'd be willing to pay if they only corrected the spare tire issue. I want to go to them and give them a list of items that would have to be corrected for me to consider their price.

Again, thanks for all your help. And I look forward to sharing the 5 experience with all of you!


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## DSPTurtle (Oct 4, 2003)

Is it CPO? If so, those "nits" can be fixed after you buy the car. If it is not CPO... find another car that is!!!


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## mikemaster (Mar 22, 2003)

It may not have had the changer originally. The tag just tells you that it's prewired to accept one. You can get one from the dealer or possibly on ebay. The previous owner may have had the factory garage door opener in that location, again you can buy this from the dealer or find a used one.


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## TheMatrixz (Aug 11, 2003)

Most lease returned cars have the CD changers removed by either dealers or previous owners.

All E39 Sports come with 17" wheels, I don't think 15" is even an option, the spare tire/wheel matches the other 4.


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

offbeat said:


> New to the board. Greetings everyone, and many thanks in advance for all your help.
> 
> I recently paid off my Z3 and am now looking to add that perfect E39 that I've been lusting after for years. Found a '00 528i, 5 speed, Sport, Premium, etc. at an independent "highline"dealer located about two hours drive away. Drove up there yesterday to smoke it over and found it to be in great shape save for a handful of minor issues. Now, I'm looking to the collective wisdom of the board for a little help keeping the dealer straight.
> 
> ...


Welcome, and congrats on your decision to buy the best 5'er yet, at least that's my opinion. 

I had a 1999 528 equipped as the car you're looking at. Some info for you...

1) I never heard of the auto up/down problem before I read your post. I would guess it's a problem with the switch, which is super easy to replace. However, it may require replacing the entire switch pod in the door which may be an expensive part.

2) Your spare should match the other wheels on your car and so should the tire (size and model). I believe 16" was the smallest wheel available on the 5'er in non-sport form.

3) The cars did not come from the factory with a changer, it was a dealer installed option or a DIY for the owner. If it doesn't have it, look for the connector(s) and be sure they are there and not cut off. If the car has DSP you'll have 2 plugs to connect, if not, only 1.

4) You can get a replacement panel when you order the UGDO (universal garage door opener) or Homelink accessory for your car. It's probably $130 or so, but worth it IMO. Regarding the lights, most likely they damaged the wiring or unplugged them to make room for the makeshift gdo. There's room to work up in there so you should be able to fix the lights if the wires are still there.

5) The cars came with 4 keys from the factory. Two master keys with built-in remote arm/disarm buttons. It also came with a valet key, and a plastic "wallet" key.

6) The manuals the 5'er comes with are the same as the ones your Z came with. Owners, Radio/Entertainment, Service, and Warranty.

You might want to look around regarding the price situation. Real world prices are usually lower than KBB retail. I'd consider a good extended warranty that covers some of the concerns you have if the car doesn't come with one.

BTW, that is a really clean looking car and appears to have been well cared for. Check the service records to be sure things were done when needed, and look into known issues. Some that come to mind:

- flashing MID display, only fixed by replacing the entire MID
- seat click, may only be in the sport seat which that car doesn't have - they were optional
- Sunroof rattle. Often repaired by tightening screws, sometimes by replacing the entire "cassette" that is the sunroof.
- poor FM reception. Could be a disconnected antenna, or a faulty tuner pack.
- My '99 had a creaky steering wheel. When it automatically adjusted up when I turned off the car, it would make the most annoying creaking sound.

That's all I can remember right now. I can tell you the seat click issue still exists in production on the sport seat. My '02 has it, badly, so I'm due for yet another trip into the dealer to have it addressed.

And, a clean carfax doesn't mean the car is accident free. Accidents only show up there if they are reported to the DMV. Look it over closely to be sure, and ask point blank if it has been in an accident.

Another word of advice, if you read this board regularly, you will get a case of "mod fever" and start spending all your extra cash on upgrades for your car. All worth it of course.


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## cgraff (Oct 3, 2003)

*Re: auto up/down*



jvr530i said:


> Welcome, and congrats on your decision to buy the best 5'er yet, at least that's my opinion.
> 
> I had a 1999 528 equipped as the car you're looking at. Some info for you...
> 
> 1) I never heard of the auto up/down problem before I read your post. I would guess it's a problem with the switch, which is super easy to replace. However, it may require replacing the entire switch pod in the door which may be an expensive part.


Try it with the door closed vs. door open.

I know that our 2002 won't auto up or down (on any door) if it is open. If it is closed, it will auto up/down normally.

-Chris


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## Ågent99 (Jan 7, 2002)

If you get mod fever, you *might* consider looking for a 2001+ E39 if that fits within your budget. One of the first mods people do with 2000- cars is to go for the light change to halos (so-called "Angel Eyes", a term I hate). You'll also get the Celis rears (LEDs) as well.

However, if you find a good car, go for it!

Chris


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## offbeat (Oct 26, 2003)

Thanks everyone!

I can tell you that I've already got upgrade fever. Thinking about Dinan software, strut brace, UGDO, upgrade to the indash CD player, add a sub, short shift, braided brake lines, upgraded brake pads... the list goes on. Of course, I have a list like that for the Z and the '91 Honda CRX Si already in the fleet.

Now, all I need is money.


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