Faults:

Broken throttle cable

Clutch release bearing

A/C compressor seized

Cam chain tensioner failed

Electrical fault with instrument lights

Occasional hesitation under acceleration.

General Comments:

Overall, a great car.

Comfortable on a long journey yet quick enough to give anything a run for it's money on the A-roads.

I had one of the last of the run, one of 25 metallic green paint / petrol blue leather interior.

Luckily, I was working away and only used it on my vacation time however, there were several faults during my possession of the car which were pretty major although all were covered by the excellent BMW warranty.

The dealers were slow to change the clutch bearing after I suggested it in the very beginning and in the end, fiddled the warranty by me paying for the clutch parts and them replacing the input shaft bearing and paying the labour.

Servicing was very regular, about every 7500 miles from the indicator and a set of front tyres were needed pretty much each service (Bridgestone SO-2), the backs lasting about another 3000 miles.

The servicing was, I thought, expensive - 850GBP for an inspection II. I believe the next generation were a bit more reasonable on this count.

Faults:

A lot of niggling problems generally have blighted what is otherwise a stunning car.

Most problems have been quality/build related.

July 2003 - Had to have boot-lid and 2 offside doors replaced under corrosion warranty.

July 2003 - Navigation unit lost sound, needed replacement navigation module.

June 2003 - Television stopped working. Replaced Video module.

June 2003 - Tire pressure control function (TPC) constantly blinked up "Tire Defect". Had to have fault codes reset.

June 2003 - Rear tires rubbed arches, damaging both inner and outer arches and scoring tyre walls down to wire!! Again replaced rear springs as they had become "compressed" thus meaning car was 14mm lower at rear then factory spec.

June 2003 - Radio lost all reception. Had new Ariel booster.

May 2003 - Oil leak from nearside rocker cover.

May 2003 - Battery drain, this was traced to wiring fault with Traffic Master.

May 2003 - Alternator packed up on a wet worning!!... it actually broke down this time!!

April 2003 - Air conditioning/heater system went haywire. It would only blow hot air to the windscreen only!!

December 2002 to April 2003 - various gremlins with electrics and fittings.

General Comments:

If it was reliable it would be the best value £30k car in the world...

However its been a constant battle with a difficult dealer who has to see the car in on average 2/3 times to repair the same fault. Servicing and other costs have been very good, it even is fairly economical considering its engine. With better build quality it would be an amazing car rather than a very beautiful frustration that it has become.

I would buy another because my daily driver (E38, 740) really does show that BMW can build a solid car and does feel like it is carved out of a solid lump of stone, its just a pity this E39 suffers from sloppy workmanship.

Faults:

Timing chain tensioner broke at 102k miles.

N/S wheel bearing replaced at 108k miles.

N/S track rod replaced at 108k miles.

Front Nurburging suspension damaged and replaced at 108k miles.

General Comments:

This car might weigh 2 tons, but it handles like a car half it's weight.

Not much else can match this car for comfort and handling at speeds over 100mph.

Supportive seats and very responsive air conditioning.