Buying advice BMW E39 Touring Diesel

I had one, my was a 525d Touring.
Comfort is great, great car for long journeys, fuel economy is not that bad for a 1700kg car, mine was around 6.3 l/100km, driving pleasure Is also good for a wagon, specially if it is equiped with M sports suspension.
But the great e39 has some flaws, the first mjor issue on tourings is the rear air suspension, if it works its great, keeps the car level even when its fully loaded, but bags start leaking when they are old, air compressor can fail. Anther thing that you must watch out is rust, e39 likes to rust, most common points of rust are on the bottom of the doors, rear trunk, on the edge of fenders an so on.
Diesel engines are very reliable, thay can go for well more than 500.000km, but there are some things that you have to watch out for, the first is car must be properly maintained. You have to watch out, turbos are likely to fail, dualmass flywhell can also give up, an injectors can easily clog up.

So thats about it of my experience with an e39 Touring Diesel, its a great car with many flaws, but it can also be very reliable if you take care of it. But if you ask me, if I was ever buying a e39 I would buy a petrol version and a sedan, they are much more fun to drive. ;)

It is great, but I’d opt for petrol, unless you don’t mind paying a huge bill for turbo/injectors/ dual mass flywheel from time to time, given you keep it for a longer period.
What is your yearly mileage? Do you drive mostly in town or highway?And generally speaking of E39, it’s a great car. Very comfortable, good interior quality, excellent engine sound and excellent handling. It sure is a bit “boaty” due to weight, but everything comes at some price and car can still be agile when needed. Handling is really responsive as in most BMWs.

Using E39 daily for 4 months and love every single moment I drive it. Just recently head gasket got blow and it’s going to cost me a bit, but that happens in many other cars and is quite expensive to fix (not only BMW)

My friend had 2001 530d touring without Nivomat (self leveling back shocks) so I’d dig in interwebs and check if it was either an option or standard in touring, and preferably stay away from it, unless, as mentioned before, you don’t mind pulling some $$$ to fix it.

Oh, and comparing to A4 B5- my father has a sedan version and comparing it with E39 is just unfair for Audi :) Superior in everything except fuel consumption.