BEST BUY - E39 BMW shop manuals
 

Is there still a group buy going on for E39 BMW shop manuals?
If not, where's the best place to get the best price on the best new manuals?
(If nobody answers, at least this thread is a reference for new newbies like us).

A BMW biker friend & I just picked up matching BMW 525i E39s last month.
We know BMW bikes & web sites for BMW bikes, but, not for these machines.

Calling the local BMW automobile dealership, we found:
$ 185.29 Bentley two-book set (in stock)
$ 15.30 tax
--------------
$ 200.59 total

Searching this web site (BIMMERFEST) we find Bentley is highly regarded.

Googling for price & availability with Bentley E39 as our keyword, we find:
http://www.bentleypublishers.com/bmw/index.htm
$ $169.95 Bentley two-book set (in stock)
$ 6.95 shipping (ground from Massachusetts)
--------------
$ 176.90 total

Searching a bit deeper on the Internet, we find better prices at:
http://www.**************.com
$ 123.90
$ 0.00 shipping
--------------
$ 123.90 total

Checking the obligatory Amazon & Ebay, we find a mixed blessing:

Amazon (new):
$ 107.07 Bmw 5 Series (E39): Service Manual (2-book set)
$ 6.19 shipping
--------------
$ 113.26 total

Ebay (new):
$ 129.00 Buy it now price
$ 12.00 shipping
--------------
$ 141.00

Again, searching this BIMMERFEST community, we find the above, plus:
Bimmerzone ( http://www.bimmerzone.com/bentleymanualsmain.htm ):
$ 106.95 Bentley BMW Service Manual (E39) 5 Series 1997-2002
$ 0.00 Shipping
--------------
$ 106.95 total

Then, in this BIMMERFEST web site, we find multiple mention of a GB.

Is there still a group buy going on for E39 BMW shop manuals?
If there is, what is the price & availability for the E39 GB?
If not, do you recommend a better place than those already mentioned?

Shaftdrive

Hey, you did well...thanks for posting the "trip down" to the lowest price. Amazing sometimes! :)

I love the avatar!

If not, where's the best place to get the best price on the best new manuals?try ebay

I bought it from http://www.superbookdeals.com for $105.41 shipped.

Item #: 1786808
ISBN: 083760317X
Publisher: Bentley Publishers
Format: Book: Soft Cover
Date Published: 10/30/2003

Retail Price: $169.95
Our Price: $101.72
You Save: $68.23 (40%)

I'm just wondering why the E39 Bentley Manuals are 2 books while all other BMW models are just one?

or someone that already has one go to kinkos and we can all pay like 50 bucks and that person make a little side cash. : )

http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html

:nono:

:angel:

Best price for E39 Bentley ship manuals $105.50 USD
 

Wow. M. Wong researches well!
I had googled a while & didn't find his Canadian site).
(I'll be sure to make a note of your skills for later use. :)


http://www.superbookdeals.com/cgi-bi...1786808&bisac=
$ 101.72 USD
$ 3.69 Cost Cutter via USPS, Canada to all USA, 2-14 business days, not trackable
-----------
$ 105.41 total


M. Wong seems to have found the best price other than Ebay bidding.
Shipping with the US Post Office will likely be slow (however, they provided other higher-cost options).

Note: Bimmerzone has a few E39 Bentley sets on Ebay for $99 USD *****it-now + $12 USD shipping pay-pal-only where you might get it for less if you win the bid over time.

Canadian? I thought they were out of Maryland?

I don't think shipping was unreasonably long... and mine came during the Christmas season... :)

-Mark

Oh ... you're right ...
The web-site "Contact Us" link agrees with you:

Main Office
9002 Red Branch Rd.
Columbia, MD 21045

Dunno why I thought they were in Canada ... mea culpa.

I am not sure why these BMW shop manuals are so voluminous.
For my BMW bike, the shop manual is only sold on CDROM so I never see paper.
I obtained my BMW bike CDROM from http://www.motobins.com in the UK.
But they don't do cars; hence the google search which landed me here.

However, to guess at an answer to your question, these E39 Bentley paperback Service Manuals seem to cover a lot of vehicles offered for sale in the USA:
- Years 1997 through 2002, BMW 525i, 528i, 530i, 540i, Sedan, & Sport Wagon

Yet, they include only the "normal" stuff, which judging from my googling, for the E39 Bentley service manuals appears to include:
Volume One, approx. 750 pages:
- General, Maintenance
- Engine
- Transmission
- Suspension, Steering and Brakes
- Body
- Equipment and Accessories

Volume Two, approx 840 pages:
- Electrical System
- Electrical Wiring Diagrams

In addition, from my searches, something called "ETK" seems to show additional data:
- 01-91-0-007-721 SERVICE INFORMATION
- 01-51-9-789-701 REPAIR MANUAL FILM 5-SERIES E39 (EN)
- 01-29-9-416-938 SERVICE BOOKLET, MULTI-LINGUAL (INCL. COMP. WIRING SCHEME)
- 01-91-9-789-881 BMW TROUBLESHOOTING MANUAL (NOT ALL MODELS)
- 01-51-9-788-311 BMW TECHNICAL DATA (FILM TECHNICAL DATA, ENGLISH)

Which brings me to the next question.
Do you boys rely soley on the Bentley's or are there other obligatory data sources that I need to procur?

I ordered the two books thanks to you!
 

I think this info is gggreatt! Ive my bimmer for two years and not have a manual. Now I know where to get one cheap. I ordered today from superbookdeals. Thanks you for aksing these questions!!!

I ordered the Bentley E39 shop manuals today
 

I ordered my Bentley manuals today from the recommended supplier.
Thanks for the advice (which will also help other newbies).
I can't wait 'till the manuals arrive as I didn't even get an owners manual the 2002 525i I picked up last month.

How does the BMW TIS differ from the Bentley?
 

By the way, does the TIS (technical & service information) CDROM
(available on the web) contain the same information as the Bentley shop manuals?

For example, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...961317868&rd=1

If not, what is different between the BMW TIS & Bentley manuals?

Do you recommend ETK, TIS, EPC, ETM, KSD, etc.?
 

Searching on the web, I find these additional sources of BMW information.

ETK == Elektronikteilkatalog (part numbers & descriptions)
TIS == technical information system (service instructions & specs)
EPC == prices for parts in the ETK
ETM == electrical troubleshooting manual
KSD == error kodes & man hours per job (shop rate)

Are these manuals legit?

If so, which would you suggest in order to best understand & maintain a BMW?

What is HTK?
 

There is also something advertised called HTK?

Do you know what HTK is?

Don't know what the HTK is, but the TIS is worth while. Some information is similar to that in the Bentley Manual, but having both would be appropriate for anyone who wants to do more DIY projects.

There is an on-line ETK:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/

The KSD is good for defect codes, however, there was an on-line link to them.
(Note: site seems currently down, not sure if it's going to come back...)
http://www.bmwmotorsports.org/crew/u...fect-codes.txt

I orderd all the recommended information
 

OK.
Being a newbie, I ordered all the recommended service information so I can get up to speed on my new toy.

Specifically, I ordered the Bentley shop manuals for the E39.
And I ordered the TLA service information from Ebay.

For reference (and online ETK/TIS URLs) see the separate BMW General thread titled:
Legal purchase & use of Elektronikteilkatalog (ETK, TIS, EPC, HTK, ETM, KSD)
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90857

I also picked up all the list prices:
http://www.gbnetwork.co.uk/bmw/downloadetkpricelist.html

And made note of the online ETK & TIS:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw
http://www.bmwtis.com

Is there any other reference for the new BMW owner that I need to learn about?

Valuable information here...I'm going to keep this thread stuck for a while. Thanks for the hard work, Shaftdrive! :)

Eagleday sells the E39 Bentley for $169.00
 

For the record, EagleDay also seems to sell the 5-series Bentleys.
The price for the E39 seems on the high side though at $169.00 USD.
http://www.eagleday.com/5ma.html

Importec sells E39 Bentley for 113.81 + tax/shipping
 

For the record, http://www.importeccatalog.com has the Bentley manuals for $113.81 + tax/shipping in stock based on this humongously long web URL: (P/N Z1002-128794):

http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com...+Repair+Manual
http://img.eautopartscatalog.com/liv...2128794BNT.JPG

stopshopanddrive.com sells E39 Bentley manuals for $124.38 USD
 

stopshopanddrive.com 732-477-3695 has the E39 Bentley manuals for $124.38 (+ tax & shipping). Part number BMW077761.

I couldn't post the URL to the actual book page to save you time as the URL seemed to be dependent on a session cookie. Sorry. You should still be able to locate the manuals searching for the information above if you need it.
*******>********>

Bently Manuals
 

Amazon.com was running a special - get their credit card and the manuals were $85 including shipping. Have the manuals, cut up the credit card. Good deal!

Hitdog 540

Manuals
 

Save lots of $$$ and just buy the TIS, ETK etc discs off e-bay for under $20 shipped. You can print specific info and have it by your side when doing a project. Why would anyone want to spend over $100 for the manuals?