[CommieBobDole]

It's not, actually - the E39s are incredibly reliable compared to more recent models. I drove mine for 20 years.

That said, it's the difference between "fairly unreliable" and "spectacularly unreliable".

[CobaltFire]

I miss mine enough I’ve been debating on buying another.

A 530i Sport with a manual (!!!) popped up near me for a song but I just can’t justify it.