High Mileage 5 Series'

[HRG]

Take her to see one (with PDC) and get her to drive it. She should soon see just how fabulous to drive they are...

[Welshbeef]

Davie_GLA said:

She is more concerned about the size of the car and auto box.

To me it seems like the best value for money barge available at the minute.

I just think that if i buy one of the other contenders (Mondeo, vectra et al) that i will get nowhere near the level of car ill get with the big 5.

Well a top end Mondy/Vectra New would have been low £20'sk - although noonw would have paid that much for them, a 528i would have been low £30'sk & people would have paid that much + options.

One thing you have to consider is age - you'd be buying a 10year old BMW 5 series or a 3-4 year old Mondy/Vectra. Now the question has to be which is more reliable? Id say the one which is a third of the age on average should be the better bet. The other thing is if you have a car 4 years old with 100k+ on it vs a 10 year old car with 100k on it the 4 year old car will be far better as it will have done far far fewer short trips where the engine never gets up to temp while the newer one will be doing at least 640miles every single week of its 3 years... thats hardly ever going to have been driven short trips.

However as always buy on condition.

[Davie_GLA]

Man, it shouldn't be this hard.

The best thing i can do is go out and get in some, and get the wife into some. i don't understnad why she is so scared of auto boxes, she said it will make us lazy.

[digger_R]

Welshbeef said:

The other thing is if you have a car 4 years old with 100k+ on it vs a 10 year old car with 100k on it the 4 year old car will be far better as it will have done far far fewer short trips where the engine never gets up to temp while the newer one will be doing at least 640miles every single week of its 3 years... thats hardly ever going to have been driven short trips.

Can't agree with that, my 528 sits in the garage and rarely does short trips, I have access to other cars/bike for that. When I do use it, I do 300 - 1500 miles at a time. Just because it's lower mileage doesn't mean it has been used in such a manner. I've had mine for a year or so now and it hasn't missed a beat, had the thermostat changed at a cost of 200 euros other than that it's been problem free.
For peace of mind with the autobox you can just get the transmission fluid changed (I believe around £200). I know of two people with the E46 328i (same engine + box) who have had expensive gearbox failures at 170/180k.
It's a very nice place to be when covering large distances and they are generally fault free. I had a 523 a few years ago and IMO the 528 is much better and doesn't feel as though it's labouring, economy difference is negligible, though the 528 does feel as though it is guzzling juice at slower speeds.
If you are going to get one, I'd make sure it has the M steering wheel as oppose to the regular one

[Welshbeef]

My point is in general low milage old cars vs high milage very new cars one will have very very few short trips the other far more so, sure there will be owners like yourself but do you represent an average owner??Id say no - most people dont have the ability to afford to have 2 cars one being for long trips and the other for the short trips - some families have 2 cars but its one for the Mrs one for the gent and they are needed for commuting.

[Davie_GLA]

As has probably been guessed, this will be used by the wife for the majority of the time, but i agree it's a great place to be when flouncing around on long trips.

I have a bike that i will use in the better days, so during this time she will use it almost entirely by herself.

[sniff diesel]

Welshbeef said:

Other thing is if you are this worried about future failure of components I'd say dont buy one as you'll be forever worried oh it might let go.

Is that what's putting you off?

[sparks_E39]

Davie_GLA said:

Man, it shouldn't be this hard.

The best thing i can do is go out and get in some, and get the wife into some. i don't understnad why she is so scared of auto boxes, she said it will make us lazy.

The 528i SE auto has full manual selection as well, although its not as responsive as a proper one its easy to use.

[530dTPhil]

I bought a new 530dT Sport manual in June 2002 and ran it to 128K in September 2007. Going from memory the following items were replaced

Front brake pads at 52K
Low pressure fuel pump under warranty at 58K
Rubber propshaft joint at 76K (about £65 parts)
New turbo, no other damage at 76K (parts cost £560)
Intensive screen wash pump at 80K (about £20 parts)
Lower front wishbone bushes at 80K (about £100 parts I think)
Rear brake pads around 90K
Front pads and discs at around 90K
Auxiliary cooling fan at 110K (about £170)

Car was remapped to 235bhp at 70K.
Tyres lasted around 25-30K

No sign of suggested damper deterioration, car still drove very well and was sold for £8750.

Replaced with an E61 530dT Sport auto, now showing 49500. Again remappped this one to 270bhp and loads more torque. Couple of silly problems fixed under warranty, otherwise very good.

[dave_s13]

Davie_GLA said:

Man, it shouldn't be this hard.

The best thing i can do is go out and get in some, and get the wife into some. i don't understnad why she is so scared of auto boxes, she said it will make us lazy.

Eh??

You can drive, eat pizza and have the misses nosh you off all in complete safety

My wife had exactly the same reservations before we got an E39 528 touring auto a couple of years ago and she soon warmed to it, in fact I really miss that gearbox. I don't miss the 21mpg it was doing though!

I went from an E39 to my current Saab 9-5 Aero manual, via another crapmobile in-between, they are also worth a look. Not RWD and don't feel quite as well screwed together but mine has been faultless so far and is epic quick in a straight line. You'll get a good one for 5k.

[Davie_GLA]

RIGHT! The goalposts have changed.

I (the wife) has decided that we should up the budget. Maximum £6k.

And yes, i'm worried about something big going.

[jamoor]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-530i-Saloon-Sport-Sat-Na...


http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...

Edited by jamoor on Monday 26th January 21:22

[Pentoman]

Vee said:

Davie_GLA said:

I probably do about 15-25k a year. Perhaps much less on that depending on the weather.

I dunno, i'm super paranoid about something going wrong and a big bill. I don't want to endure the 'I told you so' speech from the better half.

You don't want to be looking at a high milage modern diesel then.

In fact don't buy a 5 series period. Nice car but you can't really rely on one not making a big bill here and there, especially not a 30d.

Still I suppose it would be spectacular watching the front of it explode on the M1 (good story!).

The french option may work out cheaper. Supposed to be a good handler too. If money/bills is your worry I really wouldn't risk it. If you think the 407 will be cheaper, then don't let the mafia on here convince you that an old German tank is always better than a newer less prestige vehicle at the same price. It's not always so simple (and there must be valid reasons people buy 407s!).

I think if the car is a cheaper/more budget model then - gross generalisation -it almost automatically has fewer 'big things' to go bang. I found it nice having that peace of mind and its why I got a 206 to accompany my vaguely exotic old German. Peace of mind even if it does seem more fragile.

Edited by Pentoman on Monday 26th January 21:33

[matt21]

my 525 is on 224k most of which is original

[dave_s13]

What about


http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/854533.htm

That one is sold but they are a good alternative.

[jamoor]

hey, I can sell you a 2006 06 legacy 2.0 RE with leather and everything for £6k