I went through a similar thing after I started wrenching. It used to be a mystery and I remember knowing absolutely nothing about cars when I bought my first car, but nowadays I can disassemble an E39 almost completely without any instructions.

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2003 X5 4.6 | 2000 540i Touring

Formerly owned:
2004 Range Rover | 2000 M5 | 2000 540i/6
1995 750il | 2003 Mercedes S500 | 2003 540i/6