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Sedans BMW 5-Series Buying a used 5 Series
176 messages, Last post on Aug 18, 2008 at 10:32 AM
You are in the BMW 5-Series Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: natedog03 (Jan 26, 2007 2:55 pm) Just as my 530i was heading back to BMW at lease end, my annual driving profile changed dramatically. I went from an annual average of about 14,000 miles per year, an average that I sustained for twenty years, to more than 30,000 miles per year. Being very unsure of how long I could sustain that kind of mileage and what might come next, I opted to not replace my wonderful 5er, and instead opted to drive our spare car, an old Home Depot hack in the form of a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan.  Fifty thousand miles in twenty months later, it looks like this current situation is workable, however, come this September my annual mileage rate is going to get bumped again to more than 40,000. Needless to say, racking up that kind of mileage in a new BMW is simply unreasonable. Looking at my options, I'm finding low mileage (60K-80K) pristine 2000 vintage 528is (that's plural not an "is" model), with PP, SP, "M" Seats and a 5-Speed for between $15,000 and $17,000 (asking price). I'm thinking that such a car would be good for another 200,000 miles with just reasonable maintenance. Hmmm, buy a new 535i for say $60,000 and drive it 160,000 miles in four years. Resale value? Not pretty. Buy a seven year old 528i for $16,000 and take it up to say 230,000 miles. Resale value? Who cares.  So, I told you that so that I could tell you this. I've looked at quite a few cars since I started this shopping process, and when I see a car that has been modified even a little, I move on to the next car. My threshold for modifications? Upgraded brakes and clutch? Yup, bring them on. Wheels and tires? Unless they are the factory size, pass. Body panels? Not a chance. Engine mods? Can't run away fast enough. Best Regards, Shipo
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Replying to: shipo (Jan 26, 2007 8:16 pm) Best Regards, ND
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Replying to: natedog03 (Jan 27, 2007 3:06 pm) FWIW, I am in the market for a used 5-Series, one that is bone stock. Best Regards, Shipo |
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I am looking at some 2001 5 spoke X5 wheels. I believe they are 17" x 7.5" 5 lug... Will they have the correct offset / close enough offset? Scooter
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Replying to: xwildman (Jan 30, 2007 9:48 pm) Best Regards, Shipo |
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I've narrowed my new car choices to three: 2005 CPO BMW 525i; '07 Toyota Avalon Touring; '07 Lincoln MKZ AWD. I like them all but have always been partial to BMWs. My concerns: The '05 525i has 45k+ miles (Seems like a lot in only 2 years.)-and in comparison to the other two, seems underpowered. The car is well equipped-Premium package, Navigation, Parking sensors, etc.. but the dealer is asking fairly high price-$39,995. Questions: Any advice about buying the '05 w/45k miles? It is CPO--with the warranty extended to 100,000 miles. I think $35k is about right for the 525i-is that reasonable? (The MKZ and Avalon are both 35K fuly loaded). Is there a big enough difference in the 530i to pay the higher price? I've owned (3) previous BMWs--but it's been 15+ years since my last 3-series. So I'm not sure about service, warranties, etc.. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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| Boy do I have advice. Simply said, move on. You would be paying for a "newer" car with high miles. Cars depreciate by age & mileage. Go look for a 3 1/2 -->4 year old lower milaeage 5xx. My son just acquired a 2003? 530 with 44K miles and the remaining warranty. Quite loaded - sport & comfort? groups. He paid $24,000 + T & L here in Phoenix. He spent about 45 days looking around. He is a "frugal" engineer. AZDINO | |
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Replying to: wbb56 (Feb 03, 2007 1:01 pm) I'd say, either just buy or lease a new bmw, or go back a few model years and save a ton of $$. You're not "saving" enough (if anything) to make it worthwhile to buy a miled-up '05, IMO. PS: Is the avalon new? If you like it equally, I assume it will treat you much more kindly with depreciation, & would be nice to have Brand New "everything"..... |
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Hi, I wanted some of the opinions of the very experienced forum members here. I'm currently leasing a 2004 BMW 530i and my lease is up this summer. I've barely used it (total of $12K miles so far). Apart from some idrive glitches (to be expected i imagine!), the car has given me no problems. The residual value on the lease is about $35K. It's loaded with SP, PP, Xenon, Auto (original MSRP was $55k). Question is: should I buy this car knowing that i only plan on driving 5-6K miles per year max? If I keep it for 5 years, how much do you think it will be worth 5 years from now, assuming I drive 5K miles/yr? Finally, i've seen different responses, but it seems most people on this forum don't think its worth paying for extended maintenance. Would you agree? Thanks for all your help. |
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Replying to: paisan (Jan 19, 2007 6:52 pm) Regards, OW |
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