Buying A 5 Series

[Shane001]

Hi im considering buying a second hand 1994 BMW 530i V8, the car is beutiful throughout , Leather, a/c, cd player, climate control, traction control and spotless alloy wheels. But i am concerned about the miles, it has done 163,000 miles , however it starts fine and sounds great.

How long do these cars last? what kind of mpg do they do? are there any common faults? Also what BHP do they have as it may cause high insurance?

Help with any of these questions would be much appritiated

Thank you

[Scotty Dangles]

Originally posted by Shane001@Jul 25 2005, 05:44 AM
Hi im considering buying a second hand 1994 BMW 530i V8, the car is beutiful throughout , Leather, a/c, cd player, climate control, traction control and spotless alloy wheels. But i am concerned about the miles, it has done 163,000 miles , however it starts fine and sounds great.

How long do these cars last? what kind of mpg do they do? are there any common faults? Also what BHP do they have as it may cause high insurance?

Help with any of these questions would be much appritiated

Thank you

[snapback]364993[/snapback]

NICE! I currently own a 94 530i...and I love the thing. I have a little over 193,000KM on the car and it is running great!

Gas Mileage:

Don't expect miracles here...the car is thirsty...currently I average 17.5-18MPG, when cruising on the highway I get 22MPG, if you drive the car hard in the city you can see gas consumption nearing the 13MPG!! ghead

I use 91 octane gas...I recommend you do the same...

Potential Problems:

Thurst Arm Bushings will tend to go on you...I have since upgraded mine to the 750's bushings to accomodate my larger rims. (Ask the when these were last changed...they usually last about 30,000 Miles)

Hoses: make sure all the hoses are fine, I made the mistake in overlooking this...I have since replaced several hoses as the car sat for two years, this can get quite costly.

Lastly make sure everything works...I know this may seem picky, but make it a priority to try out everything in the car and I mean everything, play with the headlamp washers, the cruise, traction control, the heat and all the windows.

Best of luck to you and let me know if you have any further questions!

Cheers
Scott

[sp0rky]

I don't know where you are from, but you also want to make sure that the car has an alusil engine block, not a nikisil one. Check it's past maintenance records, etc.

The nikisil blocks commonly had the most problems in the US and with age they just got rougher and rougher and lost compression slowly until they didn't work.

Generally it's not even a problem anymore, but there are a handful out there that are still crapping out today.

BMW was replacing the engine blocks free of charge so it should have been replaced.

[Shane001]

Im from the Uk, im a bit frightened by the MPG 13mpg in town!!!

I'm now instead considering a 525i any suggestions on what to look for??? or MPG??

(i didn't buy the 530i as the p/ex for my current car ,a boring 1997 VW Passat TDI, was so low , the guy at the garage is a ****** )

Thanks for the replies
SHANE

[Scotty Dangles]

Originally posted by Shane001@Jul 27 2005, 09:20 AM
Im from the Uk, im a bit frightened by the MPG 13mpg in town!!!

I'm now instead considering a 525i any suggestions on what to look for??? or MPG??

(i didn't buy the 530i as the p/ex for my current car ,a boring 1997 VW Passat TDI, was so low , the guy at the garage is a ****** )

Thanks for the replies
SHANE

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Sorry to hear to here you aren't considering the 530i, its a fun car...be careful with used car dealers...they can be dicks...

To be honest if your looking for good gas consumption a Bimmer is not the best car...I don't imagine the 525 is much better on gas then the 530...I'm sure Sporky will eloborate on that...

Cheers
Scott

[sp0rky]

I don't even need to elaborate. All I need to say is that the 530 is actually better on gas than mine.

An m50 powered 5er (91 and later) is better on gas than a 530, but only by 1 or 2mpg. A 530 in good health should pull 17 - 18 around town.

[///M Power]

Yeah whta's this 13 mpg ferrari status gas milegae you mentioned?

My 89 e34 525i has not been havign any gas mileage problems. I get 18-19 city and 21-22 highway according to my OBC (which i use frequently).

The M20 engine has been said to be near invincible as long as you maintain it well. Theres one weakness to the M20 and that's the presence of a timing belt instead of a chain. Replace the belt once or twice a year and you're engine wil last you forever. Im goign on 277,000 miles on my car now, which reminds me I need to change my belt!

[Scotty Dangles]

Originally posted by ///M Power@Jul 27 2005, 02:03 PM
Yeah whta's this 13 mpg ferrari status gas milegae you mentioned?

My 89 e34 525i has not been havign any gas mileage problems. I get 18-19 city and 21-22 highway according to my OBC (which i use frequently).

The M20 engine has been said to be near invincible as long as you maintain it well. Theres one weakness to the M20 and that's the presence of a timing belt instead of a chain. Replace the belt once or twice a year and you're engine wil last you forever. Im goign on 277,000 miles on my car now, which reminds me I need to change my belt!

[snapback]365498[/snapback]

I think I may have scared him on that...I told him its possible to go as low as 13MPG if you drive hard...I should have maybe eloborated there...

But nonetheless like sporky said you should expect mileage of 17-18 MPG in the city...right now I'm sitting at 17.8 MPG...

Cheers

[sp0rky]

Timing belt once or twice a year!? WTF!?

lol... how much do you drive? you do them every 50 - 60k - which for the average driver is 3 - 4 years. lol.

[///M Power]

I change it once a year for sure.Twice was back when my parents used to drive it. Thats where all the beginning mileage came from. They commmuted a LOT wiht it. But look at it this way, I change it once a year, no chance for my engine to go on the fritz and belt break and throw allt he timing off, resulting in a worthless engine.

Just a rpecaution, I never really knwo what Im expectign to break with so many miles.

[BEX]

Originally posted by sp0rky@Jul 25 2005, 11:18 AM
I don't know where you are from, but you also want to make sure that the car has an alusil engine block, not a nikisil one. Check it's past maintenance records, etc.

The nikisil blocks commonly had the most problems in the US and with age they just got rougher and rougher and lost compression slowly until they didn't work.

Generally it's not even a problem anymore, but there are a handful out there that are still crapping out today.

BMW was replacing the engine blocks free of charge so it should have been replaced.

[snapback]365035[/snapback]

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Sp0rky:

Do you know if the 1997 E39 are affected by this nikasil block as well? or was it corrected by BMW prior to 97'?

Just got a 1997 E39 520i from Singapore and am curious, the vehicle hasnt arrived yet, but just wondering. Sorta worried now I sold my trusty 320i...lol

[sp0rky]

The nikisil issue was sorted out before 1997. Even if it wasn't, though - you wouldn't have to worry - it only affected the v8 engines.