2002 BMW 525d

Most examples of the E39 on the market today have done high mileages and had multiple owners, losing originality and being modified along the way. It is extremely rare to find one like this, still with its first private owner and just 54,197 miles from new – in fact it may well be unique. The vendor bought the car in September 2002 from BMW main dealer Milcars of Stanmore, who were the first registered owners – it had been their demo car for six months. He and his wife have been the only drivers, and both have been meticulous in cherishing the car. It hasn’t been garaged, but it has been kept immaculate, both inside and out. It has been serviced religiously, major services being handled by the main dealer and intermediates by a trusted local garage. With two other cars available, it was used only occasionally, for longer runs, and was fitted with a heavy-duty battery to cope better with the periods it was idle. The MoT history shows nothing more serious than light corrosion on the rear discs, inevitable with a seldom-used car, and has just been renewed so it is being sold with 13 months’ MoT to 23 September 2021. 

This is a very clean car – it is extremely difficult to find fault with it and it’s a credit to its owners that it has survived 18 years in such immaculate condition. There are quite simply no dents anywhere, and one is reduced to finding small parking scrapes and stone chips to fault it at all.

Starting at the front, there is one small chip on the bonnet, a couple of tiny chips on the windscreen and slight rubbing on the offside front bumper corner. Moving down the driver’s side, there are a couple of small chips in the paint on the door rubbing strips, light scratching on the driver’s door handle and rust bubbles just starting inside the front of the rear wheelarch. There’s a tiny chip above the fuel filler cap and slight scraping on the rear bumper corner. On the passenger side, there are tiny chips again on the door rubbing strips and scrapes on the passenger door mirror cover. And that’s it. The alloy wheels are all perfect (including the spare).

You have to open the fuel filler flap to find any significant grime – and it is only grime, in an area often forgotten by valets, so it should clean up easily. 

The cloth interior looks almost unworn, as one would expect given the low mileage. The varnished wood on the dash, centre console, gearknob, door fillets and airbag steering wheel gleams, the black plastics are unfaded and the factory FM/MW/LW sound system blends perfectly with the dash – no unsightly modifications here. The vendor confirms that the cassette player works, as does the original six-CD changer in the boot.

The vendor also confirms that the air conditioning is fully functional and was cleaned a couple of years ago, the cruise control works and so do all other electrical items, including the alarm. The only minor fault is that the radio volume control occasionally jumps from quiet to loud rather than being progressive.

Only on the driver’s footwell carpet and pedals can any wear be detected – and it is minimal, just a little marking on the heelpad and commensurate wear in the overmat. The shut faces of the doors are spotlessly clean, and the door trims and seals also present almost as-new. There is one small tear in the gearlever gaiter, invisible until you move the gaiter around to look for it.

In the back, the seats are unworn. Being picky, one fastener is missing from the plastic seat back trim on the back of the front passenger seat. The only sign that the car has lived outside is that the rear parcel shelf trim is a little faded.

In the boot, all is clean and correct too – you could be mistaken for thinking it had never been used. Under the floor is a matching full-size alloy spare wheel with new tyre.

N.B. At time of photography the driver’s seat had a light stain which has since been rectified. Pictures of it cleaned have been added to the gallery. 

The engine bay is exceptionally clean with the rubber seals still supple, the underbonnet sound-deadening is unfaded and the chassis number clearly visible on the front strut housing. Original badges and stickers are in place, plastic covers intact and almost unmarked. There are no unsightly modifications and just a small amount of dust and grime in deep corners to confirm that this is an 18-year old car, not one that has just rolled out of the showroom.

Underneath the car it’s not quite so showroom-shiny, but corrosion appears almost completely absent – just a perfectly-acceptable layer of grime to confirm this is an 18-year old car that has been used, but has clocked up just 500-5000 miles each year (as confirmed by the MoT history – keeping everything working without wearing everything out). Indeed the few MoT fails it has had support that story of a used, but little-used, car – nothing more serious than windscreen washers clogging up, or dirty contacts causing a warning light to play up.

The original mild steel exhaust is sound too, with light surface corrosion evident in a few places. The offside front wheelarch liner is slightly loose, missing a fastener or two. 

The vendor confirms that, as one would expect, there have been no major problems with the car, it has never been in an accident, it has never needed paintwork, and it has returned close to 50mpg on long runs.

It comes with a pile of invoices from the last five years, including a full set of new tyres, fuel pump, anti-roll bar link, front brake discs and pads, passenger airbag seat sensor, wipers and more. The vendor confirms that it had the same level of attention from the same garage throughout the preceding decade, though invoices are not to hand for that period. The MoT has been carried out by the same garage that has maintained the car since 2006. The car comes with the original bill of sale, unopened First Aid kit, full toolkit and even the supplied BMW torch. The spare set of keys has been mislaid but will be sent on to the buyer if/when they turn up. The car is fitted with a tracker, the subscription for which can be transferred with the sale. 

This is a truly exceptional E39 being sold by its one private owner from new, who has cherished it, used it sparingly and only for longer runs which suit its character, and has spared no expense in keeping it in perfect order. You really couldn’t ask for more – if a 525D is your sort of car, you really cannot hope to find a better example. It’s probably closer to the condition you would expect for a 2-3 year old car, rather than an 18-year old one.