Advice for a prospective BMW buyer?

[cjpierson08]

hey everyone
Right now i drive an A4 but am looking at getting a BMW any suggestions on what kind? Im looking to spend under $14k and I like the 5-series. any advice?

[LSixer]

hey everyone
Right now i drive an A4 but am looking at getting a BMW any suggestions on what kind? Im looking to spend under $14k and I like the 5-series. any advice?

For that price, avoid the 4.4 engine. You'll quickly add another $14k in price in terms of repairs.

[cjpierson08]

so go for the 530? er something smaller than that? sorry im not used to BMW numbers

[LSixer]

so go for the 530? er something smaller than that? sorry im not used to BMW numbers

The 530 is a fairly consistent engine. Also the 2.8 (528 model) and the 535 are both very strong and have been in production for many years. Most of the bugs have been worked out. The 4.4 (540 model) shares the same engine as the 740i (pre-2002). They are fine engines, just have a separate list of issues that the six cylinders do not have. For my money, I would go with a low mileage 535.

[cjpierson08]

sounds good to me. Im thinkin of a '00 or '01 but I'm not sure what counts as a low mileage car. I'd like to find one around 60k miles but as audi taught me...the 80k mark is deadly and basically you need to get most of the audi rebuilt. Is there any mileage that I should be worried about? Do you think I'd be able to find a '00 under 14k?

[LSixer]

sounds good to me. Im thinkin of a '00 or '01 but I'm not sure what counts as a low mileage car. I'd like to find one around 60k miles but as audi taught me...the 80k mark is deadly and basically you need to get most of the audi rebuilt. Is there any mileage that I should be worried about? Do you think I'd be able to find a '00 under 14k?

60k would be a nice find. You may not find that low of mileage in your price range but then stranger things have happened. I am very familiar with Audi issues, I just had my timing belt on my TT replaced at about 69k miles. You wont find that issues with the bimmer. There are some VANOS issues with most of the 5 series, with low miles, I wouldnt concern myself with that though.

As far as finding available cars in that range, do your search on www.cars.com and www.autotrader.com

Quick and easy to get a feel for price and quality level in said price range.

[cjpierson08]

yeah i checked those sights and found a few hits. I also found a website that seemed somwhat legit called bimmertrader.com. Looks a little sketch but some of the cars there are for really good prices. But no 80k mile misery on the bmw's? Should I look for one just a little over 80k or just take what I can get and take the repairs as they come?

[LSixer]

I wouldnt set a mileage limit on my search if it were me. I would find the lowest mileage car within my price range if it were me. Also, BMW has whats called "inspection" service. These are scheduled service visits that perform various important checks/fixes. It is common when they are being sold that the seller will state that these inspections were done. If it is an individual seller, they will be proud that they had this done as it is a good selling point. However, without proper documentation, I wouldnt believe a word of it. You need proof. It is easy to reset the inspection light with an OBD tool so no light does NOT mean the inspections have been done. A dealer may not have all the documentation pertaining to the inspection visits unless of course they did it themselves.

If you like, when you find an interesting vehicle, post a link here and I can have a look.

These are great cars but to ensure they run correctly they require a great deal of maintenance unlike American cars that can run fine with only an oil change periodically.

[LSixer]

Heres some samples I found.

the 530
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searchresults.jsp?num_records=25&search_lang=en&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&search_type=used&distance=500&address=60074&marketZipError=false&style_flag=1&make=BMW&model=530I&make2=&start_year=1997&end_year=2003&min_price=&max_price=14000&seller_type=b&transmission=&engine=&drive=&doors=&fuel=&max_mileage=&color=&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&keywords_display=&sort_type=priceDESC&body_code=0&certified=&advanced=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&showZipError=n&default_sort=priceDESC&awsp=false&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&systime=&rdm=1238448831087

the 528
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searchresults.jsp?num_records=25&search_lang=en&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&search_type=used&distance=500&address=60074&marketZipError=false&style_flag=1&make=BMW&model=528I&make2=&start_year=1997&end_year=2003&min_price=&max_price=14000&seller_type=b&transmission=&engine=&drive=&doors=&fuel=&max_mileage=&color=&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&keywords_display=&sort_type=priceDESC&body_code=0&certified=&advanced=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&showZipError=n&default_sort=priceDESC&awsp=false&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&systime=&rdm=1238449068382

[cjpierson08]

Thanks for the links! I saw a couple that I really like and would def. consider. I just have to wait till I come home from school and take a look at some of them.