Jim 2 Posted March 29, 2017 Yeah - don't worry about that. Won't be getting stuck into the underside situation.. that's definitely one for garages with the knowledge and tools! Pretty much done with anything but the most simple DIY tasks on my cars for now.. just stresses me out far too much. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 2 Posted March 21, 2018 Well, I'm afraid Corrado ownership is very much a distant memory as I acquired my second E39 5 series last week. It's amazing what you can find out there for next to no money.. this is a two owner from new, full service history, receipts file an inch thick and in absolutely superb condition 523i (2.5 litre 6 cylinder) petrol - with a desirable 'Sport' kit fitted (which includes different alloys, sport suspension, and a few other bits). It just drives so nicely, and is so comfortable. Fuel economy is surprisingly good too. Makes a nice noise but you can tell it's a heavy car and "only" has 170BHP so not a rocket ship by any means. Had a bit of a hairy start to ownership after driving the 3 hours or so home from Gatwick when the expansion tank blew. A known / very common problem on these cars (they're nothing like the sturdy tanks VW used!) but a relatively inexpensive part an an easy enough job to swap it and so far, touch wood, so good. Still got the other one too though she's very tired and rough compared to this one. Hopefully bring it along to a few meets and shows this summer to catch up with some folks now I have a car to be enthused and reasonably proud of again! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harrier 1 Posted March 21, 2018 That looks very nice :thumbleft: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 2 Posted March 21, 2018 Cheers Darren. The owner was a proper enthusiast. He only sold up as he was acquiring a mint 540i ( 4.4 V8 ) with only 34k on the clock, but I could tell it was paining him to let it go! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted March 22, 2018 I was thinking about you the other day :lol: Was wondering how you are finding life without the corrado. Mine hardly gets used now and still always seem to have a niggle i want to fix but never get round to. Then start thinking there are other cars i'd like to own. BMW looks tidy, looks like a lot of paint to polish though... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 2 Posted March 22, 2018 Hope you're well, Jim. Did you finally sort out all your engine woes? I'll have to go have a look at your gallery thread as I haven't in a while. Can't deny, I don't really miss the Corrado at all. I think having owned four of them, over a period of 15 years, I sort of got it out of my system. I think there will always remain an element of them being my "first love" in terms of cars, so they will always be a bit more special than everything else but like you say, there's a lot of other interesting cars out there and aside from the occasional nostalgic glance at a few for sale, I've had no strong desire to get another. I'll never say never though. I did spend a day giving my other one a full clay and polish last year and yeah.. I was a pretty broken man by the end of it :) These E39's are interesting beasts and whilst they're widely regarded as the last of the BMW's that enthusiasts can fix on the driveway (and there's a lot of truth to that), there's still some hideously complicated electronics on them as the car operates several CAN-BUS networks and various things are controlled by different units which can be re-coded and flashed and the like. I've briefly dabbled with it but was so terrified of turning my car into a brick, I didn't get too cocky. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
