2002 original owner 525i sport wagon w/58k miles

To buy or not to buy... That is the question.

I have been reading this forum for years and always had an eye for this style of wagon. Forums seem split on whether these are reliable or a constant maintenance vehicle. No question that they are fun to drive.

This one was a one owner, factory serviced car without any accidents. Had new brakes, rotors and sensors replaced this week.

Price is $9,400 . See many cheaper wagons with 100k+ miles. Seems like many of the big maintenance issues happen between 70 to 100k miles and that is right around the corner.
Thoughts? Any assistance appreciated! Thanks in advance.

JL

Looks awesome. I have no idea of touring values, but one owner low mileage cars are in a class of their own...

AGREED, not many low milage E39s around and for it being a touring, if you like it buy it and don't look back.
You will love it.
TomK

This sounds like an excellent specimen. You'll have several years before the costs start to accumulate. The major service starts to hit at 100K. Cooling system in mandatory PM ($650 parts + labor). The suspension begins to go around 100K. A complete rebuild is $1200 in parts + labor. The Vanos should be done, about $100 in parts + 4-6 hrs labor. Then there are things like CCV, DISA, FSU, SAP and the consumables like filters, tires, brakes, etc. Keep in mind, doing these things makes the car good to go for another 100K. That makes the annual cost pretty cheap if you DIY. These cars are very affordable to buy but no so affordable to maintain. If you send it out, double the parts cost. If you send it to the dealer, triple the parts cost. Now you know what you're getting into. Good luck.

Originally Posted by jlarson4

To buy or not to buy... That is the question..............Thoughts? Any assistance appreciated! Thanks in advance.

JL

No question, Go for it. Do not delay, or it will be gone. The wagon is the most versitile car I've had since my 1st generation Plymouth mini van, and A LOT more fun!

The car your looking at has the sport and premium packages. Looks like the only thing missing is the third pedal!

With the last seven digits of the VIN, you can verify service work done by the dealer or BMW indy. Check the history with your favorite BMW independent.

I agree with what Fudman said. Those items are about 30-40K miles away. Keep an eye out for the cooling system. Even though you have 58K on the clock, it is still a 10-11 year old car.

Rear subframe bushing will also fail. A member here has the tool you will need to remove/replace. Very easy DIY.

Tailgate rusting might not be an issue in CA. It is here in Ohio.

I spent about $2K last year on my wagon. Suspension and cooling systems. Nothing this year.........yet. I also have 250K on the clock. Black and Blue cars need attention this year........

I don't know about CA prices, but as always, try to get the sell price down.

Good luck!

Thanks for the great replies. I can DIY just about anything, but prefer not to spend every weekend in there. Much more fun to drive than to repair. I just wanted to get a sense on the price and nobody really pushed back on that.

It is tough when Edmunds, KBB and the rest think these things should sell for $3,750-5,000. Good luck finding one with low mileage for that!

JL

Great car with a very hard to find (and awesome) color combination. That's the wagon I wanted when I bought my blue over tan '03 525i in 2006.

If you can DIY I think you'll find this car surprisingly easy to work on. It is designed to come apart for service and go back together the way it came apart, which is something you can't really say about most cars. Mine has only failed to start once, and that was when the 6 year old OE battery gave out.

See if you can get 'em down to $7500, spend the difference on a cooling system, VANOS, DISA, some suspension work. BMW claims the trans fluid is "lifetime", but we all know that's nonsense.

We recently picked up our 2000 528 touring and love it!!!

118,000 miles on the clock in fantastic condition for a bit under $6,000.

My wife likes to tease......we now have a mini van AND a wagon in our house and love them both!!!



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I have a 99 wagon. Love it. Common issues with the e39 sedan. Only difference is the tail gate struts that will fail and suspension in rear is more expensive . I purchased mine for $4000 last year with 100k miles. All I have done is cooling system,front calipers with pads, pass window reg and minor things here and there.


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