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528i manual with a 530's engine = bad idea?

1K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  16valex 
#1 ·
This is my very first post so: Hi there!
So, I was offered a Frankenbimmer.
The seller says he needs money to get an M5 and therefore needs to sell his present car: a 1996 528i sport with a 530's engine. :confused:
He says he is the second owner and the first one was his father-in-law, who had the "great" idea of swapping the original 528's engine for the engine of a totaled 530 (2001 model). The first owner also changed the suspension for a Megan Racing coil over euro street series, a K&N filter (inbox), and a short shifter from b&m.

At first I wanted nothing to do with it but the guy convinced me to do a test-drive and it feels pretty solid.

He is friends with an authorized BMW dealer and does all his maintenance there, so the dealer "vouches" for the car and would offer a 3-month warranty on engine and transmission (even though they are not the ones selling the car).

But I have little experience with BMWs and don't know if I should get it or not.

What do you guys thing about? Great potential for future headaches? :dunno:

Other than that, the car is a standard 528 with m5 wheels and body parts (bumpers, sides, spoiler, etc), plus adapted 2003 angel eyes headlights.
 
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#6 · (Edited)
My first instinct was that.
I am mostly afraid of some kind of problem between the 530's engine with the older 528's transmission (which is manual since the car is a sport version).
Could the different torque and power cause some yet-to-come issues with the transmission?
Although he has been driving it like that for over 5 years...

Since you're in Brazil and 530 manual cars may very well be rare, I don't see a problem. The M54B30 was the pinnacle of performance for the inline E39 cars and the 528 is pretty much the same car as a 530 save for smaller brakes and some cosmetics. If it drives well and does not show sign of thrasification and the price is right I'd seriously consider it.
Yeah, that's were I'm leaning now :)
He is asking about 5% over the price of a standard 1996 528 with average mileage (it has about 102.000 Km).

Other than what I already said, the owner says (haven't confirmed it yet) that the brakes are the ones from a 540 :rolleyes: . He says he upgrade them to cope with the extra power.
So, its a 1996 528i sport with 2001 530's engine and "God-knows-from-when" 540's brakes...:yikes:

They made a 528i in 1996? I thought the first year of the e39 was 97.
Yeah, it is some kind of naming/production year/model thing.
I guess they started producing the 1997 E39s already from late 1996? :confused:
Anyways...

Guess it's kind of a gamble, right? :dunno:
 
#3 · (Edited)
Since you're in Brazil and 530 manual cars may very well be rare, I don't see a problem. The M54B30 was the pinnacle of performance for the inline E39 cars and the 528 is pretty much the same car as a 530 save for smaller brakes and some cosmetics. If it drives well and does not show sign of thrashification and the price is right I'd seriously consider it.
 
#4 ·
They made a 528i in 1996? I thought the first year of the e39 was 97.
 
#9 ·
The manual transmission is actually the same in the 528 and 530 - a ZF 320, so that should pose no problems.

The 530 has the same size brakes as the 540, so it's a legit upgrade.

If the seller has been driving the car for several years, I would see no problem buying it.
 
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