does this seem like a good deal

http://dallas.craigslist.org/mdf/cto/3532765234.html should I buy this E39 ?

That's a difficult question to answer. Is it exactly what you're looking for and within your price range? If so, I don't see any reason not to .give the Guy a call and see what it looks like.

Its actually my car, I'm a senior and high school and I was wanting to sell it and earn some type of profit then buy a Honda civic or something along those lines. I was wondering if the price was to high. I don't want to worry about many car repairs throughout college!

Personally I think the price is high, also if you are selling it why would you ask "should I buy this E39"?

It's worth, at the most, $3300.

^^^^ This

In TX, especially in DFW & Houston, these cars are a dime a dozen, unfortunately.
Plus, that 200+K miles means (to anyone who's looking to buy) a car that's been all used up.

Why does it have a new head? Did the motor overheat at some point?

Auto E39 528i's are a dime a dozen. at $5500, that is asking a premium...which it is not worth with over 200k miles. Well maintained, low mileage (less than 150k) manual 528i's ask this, and can move at this price, but not high mileage autos. After reading that add I would think:

- it was overheated (although not as big of a deal with early e39's such as yours) so cooling system was neglected.

- only replaced one inner tie rod? at 200k miles? why not the whole front suspension? the rest of the repairs would indicate to me that things were only fixed when they broke; not a lot of PM or normal maintenance done.

I'm in a different market, but around here, asking price would be low to mid 3's, tops.

Edit:

As a basis of comparison, I bought my 97 528i manual off of flea bay near Pittsburgh (about 300 miles from me) for $4600 one year ago. It had 122k miles on it. EVERYTHING worked on it; body and interior exceptionally clean, but zero receipts. It was a crap shoot, but really wanted a manual, and those are hard to find in my area. I got lucky...I've done a complete front suspension rebuild, SAP rebuild, camshaft sensor, one rear window regulator, rear struts and window trim...usual stuff. For $5500 you better have complete receipts showing all normal wear items (suspension, cooling system, etc) as up to snuff.

Originally Posted by mhobryan

Auto E39 528i's are a dime a dozen. at $5500, that is asking a premium...which it is not worth with over 200k miles. Well maintained, low mileage (less than 150k) manual 528i's ask this, and can move at this price, but not high mileage autos.

My 98 has 106k miles, 5speed manual, sports pkg. lots of item on it's been overhauled to the tune of $6k in parts replacement 2 yrs, 10k mi ago. Still, I would not think my car will fetch $4500 if I put it up f/s. $4k is about the max I could probably squeeze out of a qualified buyer. $3500 would be more like it when it's all said and done. These 15 yr old bimmers aren't worth much anymore....but they make awesome hand me down cars for 1st time teenage drivers. THat is, until the honeymoon's over, and the maintenance bills start piling up

Price is high. $3000-$3500.

agree with above. at that year and mileage, these are closer to the grave than they are for another sale.

there are a lot of question marks with that cooling system and the new head. since he provides a lot of info about the little things that were replaced and makes no mention of major things like radiator/water pump, i'm assuming he didn't do that stuff. i wouldn't buy that car at any price honestly unless it was something stupid like a grand

My father bought the car in 08 at an auction and gave it to his friend which neglected it, the new head was because of a previous cracked head from no oil in the engine, at least that's what I was told, the car was given to me in January of 2012 when I spent 5000-6000 to get it fixed with no problems most of the repairs above. At least he told me it was because of no oil. Not sure if it was true or not. I'm a senior in high school trying to sell the car to get a civic or something to go into college and not destroy my wallet as the bmw as

with no oil in the engine a cracked head is the last of your worries. i would stay far far away from that car

Originally Posted by zac190

My father bought the car in 08 at an auction and gave it to his friend which neglected it, the new head was because of a previous cracked head from no oil in the engine, at least that's what I was told, the car was given to me in January of 2012 when I spent 5000-6000 to get it fixed with no problems most of the repairs above. At least he told me it was because of no oil. Not sure if it was true or not. I'm a senior in high school trying to sell the car to get a civic or something to go into college and not destroy my wallet as the bmw as

Any used car can be a money pit and destroy your wallet. Whatever you decide to get do your best to have the car checked out. But as always it is a roll of the dice with any used car, and that includes the mythical "Japanese reliability" ones.