Buying help - 2008 535xi e60

Hi guys,

I'm about to dive into the purchase of my first Bimmer. Very exciting times, naturally.
I'm looking at a few 08 535xi's and have initially narrowed it down to two models, and would love it if some owners could give me some informed opinions:

First off, the similarities:
-Both CPO, direct thru BMW dealerships
-Both Platinum Gray external
-Both Navi, Cold Weather, Premium, ipod/usb
-Both clean Carfax with good service history documented
-Both have same listing price

Option 1:
42k miles, CPO warranty till July 2014, black interior, 2 owners (1st being a lease for about 10k miles), Recently added tires (not 100% sure on the % worn yet, but they looked good)

Option 2:
40k miles, CPO warranty thru Oct 2013, gray interior, 1 owner (not leased), additional options: Night Vision, Park Distance, Rear fold down seats. Haven't tested yet so not 100% sure yet on tire quality (but obviously they should be good)

So basically the comparison comes down to: an extra 9 months of CPO warranty vs. night vision/park distance/fold down. We often drive up to the mountains on a Friday night for the weekend with the kids so the idea of having Night Vision really appeals to me (as does park distance if my wife takes the car out!), but I understand that out of warranty parts can be very expensive.

Also..Option 3:
Another outside possibility for me is a 46k miler, CPO to Jun 2014, Natural Brown interior, Black Sapphire ext, with navi, cold, premium, sirius & park distance. 2 owners (1 lease). It is a grand less but obviously has some more miles and I'm not sure how I feel about black ext and the brown int.

If it was you, what would you do?

Also, if any owners of Night Vision can provide some good reviews, that would be much appreciated - tried searching online but can't find any solid reviews from people who have had this for a couple of years and either love it or thought it lost its usefulness.

Last question on this very long post, I promise.... should I ALWAYS insist on a PPI? Both dealers are a fair distance (20-70 miles) from my home, so would I just take it to another BMW dealer (or a recommend dealers on bimmershops.com)?

thank you so much guys, and I sincerely cannot wait to join the club very soon!

-G

I would go for with the one with the fold down seats, great option on this vehicle and worth it for resale purposes, if they are all priced the same and from a reputable BMW dealer. I think the black interior also wears faster then the gray, plus I'd rather bet on one owner then 2. The CPO will cover most major mechanical problems and if properly inspected by the BMW dealer, the only thing a PPI may reveal is bodywork. I've seen CPO'd vehicle with all kinds of panels replace and significant repainting. Just because it has a clean carfax and a CPO doesn't reliably guarantee it's truly clean. You don't talk about price, but if it's good enough for you to live with some bodywork. don't bother w/ the PPI. If you really want to understand the full history of the car, a PPI is always money well spent. Make sure you do set aside some money for maintenance because CPO doesn't cover wear and tear items and these cars tend to chew up things like brakes, tires, bushings etc... A PPI will give you a better expectation for what wearable parts may go first.

I have night vision (2008 model year) and I would not let that affect my decision on my next used car of the same model year. Either it has it or it does not but my choice would be based on all the other things the car has going for it.

New cars with much better technology behind it and I might think differently but not for a 2008.

I really do not like the gray interior. Mine is saph black with nat brown interior - I like it well enough. Good used E60s often require compromises.

Thanks for the info guys.
To answer your question zolt, both at $29,900 and option 1 dealer dropped his price by over $2k pretty soon after i mentioned that I plan to see the other car. I'm hoping the other dealer can match that, and then i'll be able to make the decision based on the comparisons and (to your point NoQuarter) based on how the int colors stack up against eachother.

More comments are very welcomed!!

I went with the Night Vision model. Had a great 2hr drive home from the dealer yesterday...I think I was actually giddy for the first 20 mins!

Thanks again for the info.

Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Bimmer App