2001 530d Sport - should I or shouldn't I?

[sam303]

Thinking of buying a 530d Sport auto saloon. 73,000 miles, 2001 on a 51 plate.

Would be my first BMW - currently driving a Passat V6 TDi. Was quite happy with that until I started looking to see what kinda thing I could get for 10 grand or less (after a mate turned up last night with a '99 Merc S-class that cost 70k new and he just bought for 5 grand!)

So - anyone know of any reasons to steer clear of the 530d? It's got a full BMW service history. All comments appreciated.

Cheers

[Vorix]

I had an '02 plate 530d Touring auto that I now regret getting rid of. At the time it just felt too big for me to be riding around in on my own most of the time, but I really miss the refinement compared to the 3-series I have now. I think you would find it a definite step up from a Passat. It is a superb motorway mile muncher and I could get 600 miles from a tank if I was good.

I think that the turbo can be a problem - I am sure more experienced people than me can give more details.

[sjj84]

2001 was the facelift year, make sure you get one of the updated models if you can. Other than that they are pretty good cars. I drove a 525d that was 10 years old with 235k miles on the clock a couple of years ago and it was still pretty good to drive.

[timwatsham]

Great car - I'm loving mine (SE manual), and have much the same dilema as the chap a few postings above... Its mainly me on my own, doing 30k a year, which seems ridiculous in a 3 litre big car. Keep thinking I should get a 320d or a 118d or something smaller and even more economical (get 41.5mpg from mine even after a re-map), but it really is just such a perfect car, that I don't think I could face getting rid of it!