Orient blue is a difficult shade to fully capture in a photo. If it may appear to just be navy blue from a distance, it has deep ink to purple undertones. Paired with shadowline and fully painted trim, it is an extremely chic look. As always, the iconic halo ring headlights pioneered by the LCI E39 play a huge role in how fresh and modern this twenty-five-year-old car presents. 

The panels bear almost no defects – excepts for a couple of minor dings and minor stone chips on the hood – with spot-on gaps. Wherever you chose to take it, from a country house to a posh downtown neighbourhood, this Touring will look the part.

Light colour interiors almost always feel more welcoming, but they also tend to not age so well. In this instance, the beige Montana leather shows almost no signs of wear, even on the driver side bolster. 

But there is more than just what meets the eye, as this car is extremely well appointed: fully electric heated sport seats (with memory), upgraded audio system, glass sunroof and even an electric tailgate. And of course, all the equipment has been tested and works perfectly.

For added practicality, a Bluetooth adapter has been fitted thus retaining the OEM look while adding modern functionality.

You could be fooled in to thinking a 525i might be a bit short on power, but with its oversquare design, the M54B25 proves to be more rev happy than the larger displacement 3.0 litre variant. It has of course been duly serviced, with many of the major maintenance items having been addressed over the last four years. This includes the likes of oil pan, cam cover and filter housing gaskets, PCV system, as well as most of the cooling system.

The car has been professionally converted to run on E85 and will accept any blend. To ensure the reliability of this system, it has also received a new fuel pump and filter (with integrated regulator).  The ZF five-speed automatic transmission was serviced in 2021 and shifts perfectly smoothly. All in all, this is a great package to eat up cross-country miles with ease while keeping it on budget.

Of course, a full service including all filters and differential oil change has been performed.

It is a well-known fact E39s are extremely sensitive to worn suspension components. As further testimony to how well this car has been maintained, suspension arms have been replaced front and rear along with the steering rack and a few other wear items less than ten thousand kilometres ago. It drives superbly and the sport design steering wheel really enhances the feel and feedback.

As expected, the car’s underpinnings are in keeping with the rest of the car: good and tidy.