Bought another BMW this week,
 

Ive been looking for a good highway cruising vehicle to do my biweekly drive which is 314 miles each way and all highway,
I have been using my 318Ti, 5sp with a DASC and I was pulling 30 to 33 Mpg depending on wind speed and direction,
So while I have been looking only at wagons, Mercedes, BMW and even a :confused:Saturn or Volvo:confused: It needed to get OK mileage and be able to cruise at 75 to 80 for 4.5 hours without breaking a sweat,
The 318Ti as you would have guessed is running at nearly 4000 RPMs for that 4.5 hours and I was about to install a 2:93 limited slip rear in it to lower the Revs, But the DASC would not be as fun as it is with the stock 3:41 rear....
It seems as though a 3 series wagon or a mercedes wagon is what I could afford BUT the 3 series wagon is small, Too small so I kept tossing about a Mercedes or Volvo V-70, or Saturn,,,, But I really wanted the BMW,
THEN
This one showed up.
a 1999 528IT with 5sp trans, New tires, Cassette and 6 disc cd in back and overall nice clean condition,
A deal was made and while I need to do a couple things to make it 100% right I am happy with this Aspen Silver wagon.
Its a base model with no sunroof, No heated seats and no wood trim,
While I would have liked heated seats, They are not needed, BUT I ABSOLUTELY love the looks of the interior, Its black on black with black accents.
I ran the car today for 314 miles back to Phila from Pittsburgh at 75 Mph even and got 26.5 Mph which I know Ill get better after I replace the seals on the Vanos unit and change the plugs,
Overall very smooth and quiet car compared to the 318Ti at 75 to 80 for 4.5 hours,
So, The 318Ti will get a break and Ill rack the miles on this wagon,
OK,
Yes here are some pics.

I love E39's and am so jealous you found a slicktop wagon! The base model is nice too since you don't get the temperamental rear air suspension. It is nice and simple...err, as simple as an E39 gets.

I used to drive an E39 M5 before my ti so I know pretty well how they work. There are so many times when I wish I had my E39 back.

Very nice find. I dont care much for the wood trim either. What are the revs at those speeds, I remember my old 325es reving 2200 at 65. That was nice

That is a good question,
The older "E" series did quite well with their final drives,
The 5 series of this vintage being either the auto or stick would up at about 3000 Rpm at 75 Mph,
The read on this wagon is 2.93 and 5th is 1:1 ratio,
Ide prefer a better final drive,
But at 3k I did get 26 Mpg and I hope to pull 30+ once I rebuild the Vanos unit.
Last wagon I had a sold about a year ago, it was a 1995 Caprice wagon with 5.7, V8 and it revved at about 1500 at 70 and got 20 Mpg.
Im pretty with this wagon so far,
I like the big heavy feel of it and how quiet it is at highway speeds.
Peter