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Regretfully putting my Topaz, 5-speed BMW 530i up for sale. This has been a fantastic car, and served me well on many highway voyages between Vermont and South Carolina in the past year, but the time has come to rearrange the fleet and move on to other cars. Owned by a current BMW CCA member and employee (myself), maintained by BMW experts during my ownership. The car is basically as I purchased it a year ago, plus a large amount of maintenance items (see below).
[Obligatory pitch about the 530i] The BMW E39 chassis is well-loved as the last true driver’s 5-series, and the M54 is the engine you know from across the BMW range during the late ‘90s and early 2000s. This engine is also much, much cheaper to repair than the M62 V8 in the 540i, and although the combination of the largest happily-revving M54 (the 3.0-liter) in a large sedan may seem strange, it’s a combination that absolutely works, and makes for a very fun driving experience with the upside of excellent usability.
Year: 2002
Engine: M54B30
Mileage: 164xxx
Transmission: 5-speed
Asking $7900 OBO. Clean Vermont title in hand. Throw me an offer, you never know.
I’ve listed out everything I can think of about the car below, but here are some pictures:
The Good:
Topasblau (Topaz Blue)
Black Interior (in excellent shape)
Premium Package
M5 front bumper with lip
Lip spoiler on trunk
PO said it was a Sport Pack (not M-Sport, since it's not a 2003), and the steering wheel, rear bumper, and trim support this
Style 65 (E39 M5) wheels with good tire tread, recently refinished in gunmetal (some inconsistencies in the refinishing job, but looks good from afar)
Minor exhaust work—has a great soft tone and a nice wuffle on the overrun
Car gets compliments everywhere, sometimes more than my E24!
Hard-wired for Valentine 1 radar detector. Car will come with the older V1 I’ve been using.
The Recent Work:
Within the last year, the car has had a ton of regular E39 maintenance items done. These were either performed by the best regional shops I could find in either VT or South Carolina, or by a technician from the BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Immediately prior to my purchase at 153k, the clutch was done and some front suspension components were replaced. Since then, I’ve done more than $3000 in work, including the following:
o2 sensors (2x, OEM)
Battery
Alternator
Thermostat
Water pump
Misc belts
Power steering lines (2x)
Valve cover gasket
Oil filter housing gasket
Radiator fan clutch
Radiator fan and shroud
Auxiliary fan (electric fan in front)
Probably some other items I’m forgetting. I’ve put a ton into this car, with the idea of putting many miles on it.
The Less-Good:
Front rotors are slightly warped (I was planning on doing these in September along with pads)
Very slight power steering leak (I top it off every few weeks)
Leaks some oil between changes (it’s an E39)
Rear suspension creaks at times (my choice would be to do a full refresh, but you can pick and choose the pieces based on what it needs, but I’m told it’s an upcoming job, not an immediate one)
As far as other inconsistencies, there aren’t too many. The shifter will sometimes get snagged and you have to pull on it a little harder to get into second. This happens once every two weeks or so, and feels like a bushing issue. Car shifts fine into all gears and reverse all the rest of the time. Clutch has 12k or so on it, so that’s fine as well.
Cosmetically, I would describe the body as a 7/10. There are dents and chips in various places, and some of the paint is chipping from corners of the front bumper. Has some minor swirling, and would look incredible with a buffing. There is also some surface rust on the inside corner of the driver’s door, and possibly the passenger door. Car is very clean otherwise.
The Blue:
Somewhere along the line, the car passed through the hands of an owner who really liked the color blue. As a result, many things are blue. If you like blue, excellent. I kept meaning to change some of the interior stuff around, but always ran out of time.
Blue carbon fiber wrap over wood door panels
Blue wrap over center console wood
Blue wrap on valve cover (why!?)
Blue cone filter inside stock intake box
Blue calipers (not too offensive)
Blue ambient screen on in-dash DVD player (from the PO—have original equipment though) and radio/aux input head unit
Asking $7900 OBO. Again, throw me an offer, see what happens. I’m also *possibly* open to trades, but the logical thing for me to do is sell this, buy a winter beater, and pocket the difference for a future project. But hey, it’s worth a shot, right?
The car is located in the Burlington, Vermont area. I also go to a lot of races and car shows, so perhaps other arrangements could be reached. Send me an email to with any questions, and I’d be happy to answer them and provide info as best I can.
The email name is “drose” and the URL it’s at is is “hittingredline.com”. Thanks for taking a look.
[Obligatory pitch about the 530i] The BMW E39 chassis is well-loved as the last true driver’s 5-series, and the M54 is the engine you know from across the BMW range during the late ‘90s and early 2000s. This engine is also much, much cheaper to repair than the M62 V8 in the 540i, and although the combination of the largest happily-revving M54 (the 3.0-liter) in a large sedan may seem strange, it’s a combination that absolutely works, and makes for a very fun driving experience with the upside of excellent usability.
Year: 2002
Engine: M54B30
Mileage: 164xxx
Transmission: 5-speed
Asking $7900 OBO. Clean Vermont title in hand. Throw me an offer, you never know.
I’ve listed out everything I can think of about the car below, but here are some pictures:
The Good:
Topasblau (Topaz Blue)
Black Interior (in excellent shape)
Premium Package
M5 front bumper with lip
Lip spoiler on trunk
PO said it was a Sport Pack (not M-Sport, since it's not a 2003), and the steering wheel, rear bumper, and trim support this
Style 65 (E39 M5) wheels with good tire tread, recently refinished in gunmetal (some inconsistencies in the refinishing job, but looks good from afar)
Minor exhaust work—has a great soft tone and a nice wuffle on the overrun
Car gets compliments everywhere, sometimes more than my E24!
Hard-wired for Valentine 1 radar detector. Car will come with the older V1 I’ve been using.
The Recent Work:
Within the last year, the car has had a ton of regular E39 maintenance items done. These were either performed by the best regional shops I could find in either VT or South Carolina, or by a technician from the BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Immediately prior to my purchase at 153k, the clutch was done and some front suspension components were replaced. Since then, I’ve done more than $3000 in work, including the following:
o2 sensors (2x, OEM)
Battery
Alternator
Thermostat
Water pump
Misc belts
Power steering lines (2x)
Valve cover gasket
Oil filter housing gasket
Radiator fan clutch
Radiator fan and shroud
Auxiliary fan (electric fan in front)
Probably some other items I’m forgetting. I’ve put a ton into this car, with the idea of putting many miles on it.
The Less-Good:
Front rotors are slightly warped (I was planning on doing these in September along with pads)
Very slight power steering leak (I top it off every few weeks)
Leaks some oil between changes (it’s an E39)
Rear suspension creaks at times (my choice would be to do a full refresh, but you can pick and choose the pieces based on what it needs, but I’m told it’s an upcoming job, not an immediate one)
As far as other inconsistencies, there aren’t too many. The shifter will sometimes get snagged and you have to pull on it a little harder to get into second. This happens once every two weeks or so, and feels like a bushing issue. Car shifts fine into all gears and reverse all the rest of the time. Clutch has 12k or so on it, so that’s fine as well.
Cosmetically, I would describe the body as a 7/10. There are dents and chips in various places, and some of the paint is chipping from corners of the front bumper. Has some minor swirling, and would look incredible with a buffing. There is also some surface rust on the inside corner of the driver’s door, and possibly the passenger door. Car is very clean otherwise.
The Blue:
Somewhere along the line, the car passed through the hands of an owner who really liked the color blue. As a result, many things are blue. If you like blue, excellent. I kept meaning to change some of the interior stuff around, but always ran out of time.
Blue carbon fiber wrap over wood door panels
Blue wrap over center console wood
Blue wrap on valve cover (why!?)
Blue cone filter inside stock intake box
Blue calipers (not too offensive)
Blue ambient screen on in-dash DVD player (from the PO—have original equipment though) and radio/aux input head unit
Asking $7900 OBO. Again, throw me an offer, see what happens. I’m also *possibly* open to trades, but the logical thing for me to do is sell this, buy a winter beater, and pocket the difference for a future project. But hey, it’s worth a shot, right?
The car is located in the Burlington, Vermont area. I also go to a lot of races and car shows, so perhaps other arrangements could be reached. Send me an email to with any questions, and I’d be happy to answer them and provide info as best I can.
The email name is “drose” and the URL it’s at is is “hittingredline.com”. Thanks for taking a look.
