621,000 miles later, this 523i is still going strong
Most of the truly remarkable high-mileage car stories involve a Toyota of some kind. You can also throw in more than a few sturdy pickups, and we know of at least one Hyundai Elantra that clocked 1 million miles.
What you don’t hear every day is a BMW covering so many miles, but nobody told the owner of this E39 BMW 5 Series. His name is Juha Bäckmand, and his BMW 523i just hit the outstanding milestone of 1 million kilometers, or 621,000 miles. In a video shared by BMW Classic, Bäckmand celebrated the achievement by apparently buying another brand-new BMW, but we doubt this one will last nearly as long.
Related: These are the longest-lasting auto brands on the road today
One Of The First E39s
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This E39 is a 1996 523i. Considering that the E39 first went into production late in 1995, it’s one of the first examples of the fourth 5 Series generation. Bäckmand’s example is finished in conservative Glacier Green and still appears to be in exceptional condition.
Revered for its design and driving dynamics when it was released, many still consider the E39 to be the peak 5 Series. Its elegant shape has aged beautifully (pictured below is a similar example), and the interior is one of BMW’s best: It has fantastic build quality, clear gauges, and a driver-focused layout. Instead of the glitzy lighting bars in the new 5 Series, the E39 came from an era where glossy wood was considered tasteful.
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This example is a manual—particularly desirable since there aren’t many manual BMWs left today—and while the U.S. market never got the 523i, it featured a 2.5-liter inline six-cylinder engine with 168 horsepower. That’s not much, but BMW’s straight-six engines of this era were incredibly refined.
While we’d love to know what Bäckmand spent on maintenance, this 523i has the simpler single VANOS variable valve timing system. That, along with the absence of turbos and electrification of any sort, makes it one of BMW’s more reliable engines and no doubt contributed to this E39’s longevity.
Related: Junkyard Gem: 2001 BMW 530i
From An E39 To A New i5 Touring
In the video posted by BMW Classic, Bäckmand seemingly trades his 523i for a far newer and comparatively huge i5 xDrive40 Touring. It’s not known if he has let go of his 523i entirely, but we hope not.
The i5 wagon (not sold in the USA) shows just how far the 5 Series lineage has come, for better or worse. Not only does the 5 Series now come with an all-electric equivalent, but it’s far removed from the simplicity of the E39. The interior looks like a spaceship, many controls are relegated to a touchscreen, and the cosy, driver-oriented layout of the old Five is missing.
Of course, the new one is vastly quicker and safer. Given the fewer components of a car with electric motors, the new i5 has the potential to last for a long time, but we’d be shocked if all the tech held up anywhere near as well as the E39 has after almost 30 years. And, while it is imposing, not many would call a new i5 prettier than the perfectly proportioned E39.
At least we can say it’s possible to own and run a classic BMW to well over 500,000 miles.