I posted this in August of 2014 on Oppo, but it’s worth repeating.

Can I just say, that as a BMW driver who always - ALWAYS - uses his turn signal, I weep a little bit inside when I read these comments.

Haha, why was the e39 the best, but you don’t have it anymore? What spec was your e39? I have a spreadsheet that can tell me exactly how many cars were made with various color combos.

Aw! So cute! Love the e36 M3 sedans, and they’re only going to go up in value.

Kinda reminds me of Ken Rockwell’s nightmare with his wife’s 540i: http://www.kenrockwell.com/bmw/540-cpo.ht…

Revolutions aren’t everything. Just ask an RX-8 owner. :)

Oh, and DSC does an excellent job at limiting unwanted chassis movement and wheel slip.

God, that makes me feel positively middle-aged at 20...

They’re not designed for heavy snow conditions, but they do just fine with a good set of winter tires. It’s not the car, it’s the car’s interface with the road, just like any other car made ever. Get a cheap set of the small wheels that came standard on the 528s and throw on some good snow tires and you’ll be fine.

Having ridden in a color blind friend’s car, it’s always interesting when they go, “uhh, is the light red?”

With brake failure, I would think that not crashing would be more important than disturbing a few neighbors...

Shhh! I’m trying to find one for cheap while I still can!

Don’t forget the M5 LSD! My biggest concern would be the extra weight from the S54's iron block vs the M54 aluminum. Might require a custom spring rate and shock up front.

Most stuff is pretty simple to do, even on the M5, in just a day or so. But yeah, not an option for an only car.

Get familiar with your forums! They’ll save you thousands, as they have me, over the life of the car.

You have to do your own maintenance, or else get absolutely wrecked by mechanics bills. No other option.

Some day in the future, I want to swap the e46's S54 into an e39 I6's chassis. I think that would be an awesome car!

Oh, and MANUAL only! The autoboxes suck; I’m swapping mine out for a manual come summer break.

See my post below to Revolvolution! Also: buy the MANUAL version. The autoboxes are garbage.

The 525/530 are the most reliable e39s, with very few catastrophic issues like the guides. The timing chain tensioner should be replaced at 150k miles, but it’s a 10 minute job. The VANOS seals are prone to degrading, but you can replace them with upgraded seals when replacing the valve cover gasket (which should be…