My mom is car shopping

"Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW." (aya-yu)
08/19/2013 at 17:16 • Filed to: None

And she thinking of getting a '2007 E60 530i. Because she said 520 is too slow and 540 is too fast, and her Suzuki Cultus is waaaaaayyyy too old.

But, Is it really a money pit like my father always said?

DISCUSSION (8)

GhostZ > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
08/19/2013 at 17:50

Money pit, like most luxury cars, depends entirely on how well it was maintained, and where you get it from. That, and how expensive parts and labor are for you in your part of the world.

When I price cars for reliability, I look for the top 2 most common (but major) problems (by looking on car forums) and then get a rough estimate of what the final cost of fixing them is. I take the higher estimate and assume that's my yearly cost, plus regular maintenance. It's conservative, but if gives you a good idea of a worst-case scenario.

So I would guess that the maintenance on the 530i is expensive, but if you get a low-milage one and there are good dealers around, depending on how long you expect to own it, it may not be nearly as bad as you think. But ask a BMW expert about problems with the cars, not me.

twinturbobmw > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
08/19/2013 at 18:18

I agree with GhostZ in that you should find a well cared for, low milage one. Even if it means spending more.

djmanila > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
08/19/2013 at 19:44

the 530i has the most reliable engine you can find on the BMW.

Aloha Milkyway > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
08/19/2013 at 20:54

It will be a money pit if you end up finding a waaaay underused example. Best you find one which has just the right amount of miles/kilometers with them. Why? That means it has cycled through its service on time and regularly has fresh fluids in them. I'm not telling you to get one with intergalactic miles either. Just one that's daily driven and faithfully maintained. I may be comparing apples to oranges here but my E39 has been far from a money pit. I did make the mistake of getting an underused car which meant I had to deal with some gunky fluids and prolonged service intervals. That's what makes it expensive at first. Find one that's mechanically sound, replace all the fluids once you cat it and you'll be good for quite some time. Also, find one which has had underchassis work done. Keep you stress free for a longer time and as with owning a European car in the tropics, check the cooling. Hope this helps

JohnPlayerSpecial > djmanila
08/20/2013 at 03:03

I thought the 525i was the most reliable?

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Aloha Milkyway
08/20/2013 at 04:41

Well, thank you for the suggestions!

We're considering getting one from BMW Pre-owned, since mostly they're in a great shape.

But, the one in question was 40k miles, is it too much?

Aloha Milkyway > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
08/20/2013 at 07:46

Miles or kilometers? If it's in kilometers then 40,000 isn't bad at all. A little over 5,000 kilometers a year is driven a lot for BMW's here in the ASEAN regions

djmanila > JohnPlayerSpecial
08/20/2013 at 16:48

same N53 engine just bigger displacement.