[aparan schumi]

I understand that its all depends on individual’s situation however wanted to get some general opinion… Ever since I drove a car with adaptive drive, have been looking for a F10 with Adaptive drive/ARS.

Found a 2011 ( N55 engine build date April 2011) with Adaptive drive, Dynamic damper control, M Sports package, Pi and P2 package ec. It is tastefully slightly modded also with wheels, exhaust, intake, lip, diffuser etc .:thumbup::thumbup:

Only problem is that it has 110K miles. Most of it put in the last 3 years of daily highway commute by the owner. Looking at where the owner lives and works I am sure its mostly highway miles of 100 miles plus/day with free flowing traffic. Its serviced at the dealer with all service records.

This will be our third car and will not be driven daily. Expecting to keep the car for atleast next 5 years. My annual mileage should be around 8000 miles.

Highway miles or not its lots of miles for a F10.Given that I should be getting a decent deal on this of approx $17 or $18K, I am Ok to spent some money of repairs whenever it comes up.

What is the general opinion? What can I expect in terms of repair bills?

 

[Yinzer]

I'd budget at least 5k a year for repairs

 

[bmwe39lover]

no biggie just don't buy it, look for a car with 40k well kept, increase the budget about 3 k for a low mileage car,
don't buy a car modified its a signal the car has been abused, and.......
don't buy the car

 

[Kamdog]

My E60 has 105K miles, was well maintained, and has never caused me any problem. It is worth far more to me than anything it might be sold, or bought for, on the open market.

It is possible that that car is in the same shape, but, I don't know how likely it is in the same shape. It is a huge risk to buy a car with that many miles. If it were me, and I were buying a used 5er, I would look for a car newly off lease, 3 years, and 30K or fewer miles, all service records, and pay what it costs. That car is very likely to be just fine for years to come.

BMW charges, IIRC, 25¢ a mile. The car is ~ 70,000 miles too high, for which BMW would place a cost of $17,500. To me, that is a worthwhile gauge.

 

[jagu]

I'd budget at least 5k a year for repairs

At that rate, I'd just have to lease a new car.

 

[jjrandorin]

I understand that its all depends on individual's situation however wanted to get some general opinion… Ever since I drove a car with adaptive drive, have been looking for a F10 with Adaptive drive/ARS.

Found a 2011 ( N55 engine build date April 2011) with Adaptive drive, Dynamic damper control, M Sports package, Pi and P2 package ec. It is tastefully slightly modded also with wheels, exhaust, intake, lip, diffuser etc .:thumbup::thumbup:

Only problem is that it has 110K miles. Most of it put in the last 3 years of daily highway commute by the owner. Looking at where the owner lives and works I am sure its mostly highway miles of 100 miles plus/day with free flowing traffic. Its serviced at the dealer with all service records.

This will be our third car and will not be driven daily. Expecting to keep the car for atleast next 5 years. My annual mileage should be around 8000 miles.

Highway miles or not its lots of miles for a F10.Given that I should be getting a decent deal on this of approx $17 or $18K, I am Ok to spent some money of repairs whenever it comes up.

What is the general opinion? What can I expect in terms of repair bills?

The N55 engine is pretty solid, so if the car was maintained at a BMW dealership it may be ok. with that being said when you find a car with intake, lip, diffuser mods, what that says to ME is, this car was likely owned by someone who "drove" it, at least a little bit if you know what I mean.

The proverbial "grandma who drove the car back and forth to the grocery store" does NOT put rear diffuser, and intake mods on a car. So, while you may think the miles are only commuter miles, to me, its also likely that some of those commuter miles were driven pretty aggressively.

Thats not necessarily a problem, just would be a consideration of mine. Also, while we all love the electronic do dads on these cars (well most of us, I know I do), they all can be really expensive to repair. I have no idea how much adaptive suspension is to repair, but I guarentee it is much more than repairing a static one, for example. With that many miles on the car, some of that stuff will start to come due just from wear.

If I had to have that car, I think I would budget around 4-5k a year for repairs. It would bug me to spend that much on a used car, though, unless it was a car with sentimental value or something to me.

Its not that I think you cant drive a BMW to high mileage, its just that, normally people who put those kind of miles on want to know they put them on ("purchase and hold" buyers).

As long as you are signing off on that expense (going in with your eyes open), i guess thats ok.

 

[stevedenver]

Totally agree. It may have been driven hard, or not. We wont know.

What is the worst case scenario?
Engine, tranny, electronics, suspension, etc?
Or for me, the worst of all, reliability and repeat schedule interruptions.

Personally, id rather have a reliable unremarkable car, like a honda or subaru, if price is an issue, than a statement.
You are likely buying an unknown.

It is , imho, a 17k gamble.
It may be a huge saving, may be a value.

If you guess wrong, there is possibly no savings.

I am the other end of the spectrum regarding point of view. I buy new, and keep cars ten years, or more.
As tech advances, age seems to be a bigger distinguishing factor for cars.

As sagely mentioned, it is about your means......

 

[CALWATERBOY DUE]

Found a 2011 ( N55 engine....

It is tastefully slightly modded also with wheels, exhaust, intake, lip, diffuser etc.

Only problem is that it has 110K miles.

What can I expect in terms of repair bills?

A Sunday jest? What to expect? Why, any and everything. How would we know?

But [in here] is how you would know as much as you can.

Tastefully modded....I like that. Um......do you think it may have been chipped? At some previous interval?

 

[aparan schumi]

Thank you all.

Other than the cosmetc stuff, the other mods seems to be that of a beginer enthusiast ... its 1" lowered on springs+ exhaust ( as mentioned, it has Adaptive drive , Dynamic damper control). On the positive side, most of the car entusiasts are better than a average driver on maintanance and keeping the car in top form.

I understand its a gamble when you are buying a used high mileage car . Only thing I can do is to minimize the risk by looking for service records, taking it for a pre inspection at a dealer etc.

With less than 8000 miles expected per year, I will be putting 40K miles in the next 5 years.....


With what you all have seen on F10's with high mileage, what has been the typical problem areas or failure points?

 

[hufington]

At that stage (110k miles) anything can be a source of new problem. For once, I am not feeling very confident about the adaptive suspension which is lowered with aftermarket springs. I don't think the N55 engine will give you much trouble but all the electronics on the car is a possible concern.
I'd only buy such a car if it was me who put the 110k miles on it or with an aftermarket warranty (I am not sure if anyone is willing to provide such a warranty at 100k).
It is a gamble and you may win if you are lucky. Good luck with your decision.

 

[AlteBMW]

IMHO the potential downsides are both more likely and more expensive than the upside, which is purely a low price. In other words, you are gambling but with 110,000 miles on a modded car (yes I know it was only a "beginners" mod) the odds are against you. Is it possible you will have another 40,000 trouble free miles? Maybe. Is it likely? No. Especially with the electronics. These cars are computers on wheels.

What can you lose? Your initial $17,000 plus repairs unknown, but human nature being what it is, you will sink money into it on the first major repair in part to prove that you were right to gamble. On the second repair, you will not be so sure, and on the third, you will know you have learned a lesson. If you came here looking for an affirmation "it will surely be okay" I don't think anyone would say that about any car with 110,000 miles.

 

[Evenflow]

I'm just glad you're not asking us if you should buy a 2011 550.

If the car had no mods, I would say take a shot on it. Take the 18k plus the cash it would cost to keep the '11 on the road and just lease a new one.

 

[markl53]

Run, don't walk. Buy a car with 100K miles? Crazy ideas around here, IMO. But then again, I only buy new.

 

[rford]

Some vehicles are OK above 100k miles: We have a Volvo and a Toyota that both came to us after 100k. We recently kept a BMW past 100k because we had bought it new and thus knew the whole service history. That car became a huge drain on resources at about 105k. Never again! Don't buy used past 50k, any model!

rford - [1968 R69S, 1970 2002, 1974 R90S, 1987 325is, 1987 535is, 1988 M3, 1993 535i, 2002 330i, 2004 530i, 2006 325xi, 2007 530xi, all gone] 2011 535i

 

[bmwe39lover]

mr ford i feel your pain how much did it cost u?

 

[The X Men]

It is tastefully slightly modded also with wheels, exhaust, intake, lip, diffuser etc .:thumbup::thumbup:

A car with that kind of mods probably had a chip in it at some point. People with that kind of mods do not drive like a old lady. I would say keep looking or ask him to drop the price by another 15%. Also have him ask his dealer for the car's service records.

 

[lindros2]

$18k + $15k for three years of repairs (not even factoring in a replacement battery for EfficientDynamics, which we haven't seen a bunch of go bad yet) and excess wear on Adaptive Drive/DDC...

LEASE A NEW CAR.

3-year leases are $25k-$29k (total not including tax) for a new 535i right now.

You'll still come out way ahead.

You drive under 8k miles per year. Perfect - get a 10k lease and save even more.

 

[aparan schumi]

Thanks folks...

Miss my my 98 E36 M3 reliability When I sold it at 170K miles after some track and spririted driving it was rock solid...I know its different car different era.

I understand that some of the mods are playing a big part in the responses and how this particular 535i could be a messed up car.

In general, should we be worried about a F10 with just 110k miles? If this was a stock 528i with similar high miles, will it make a difference? I mean spending $5K annualy in repairs etc?

 

[jjrandorin]

Thanks folks...

Miss my my 98 E36 M3 reliability When I sold it at 170K miles after some track and spririted driving it was rock solid...I know its different car different era.

I understand that some of the mods are playing a big part in the responses and how this particular 535i could be a messed up car.

In general, should we be worried about a F10 with just 110k miles? If this was a stock 528i with similar high miles, will it make a difference? I mean spending $5K annualy in repairs etc?

German cars do not seem to be as reliable as japanese cars, speaking in generalities. Of course, if YOU are the one who put the high miles on it, then its different. I would probably give you the same response if you wanted to buy any car at 100k miles.

The only reasons I could think of that would be:

1. Cost (in which case I would advise you to get a lesser car with less miles
2. Specific usage (like a track car or something you were going to heavily mod and work on yourself, etc.
3. Sentimental value (such as a parents car, relatives car etc.
4. Classic car that you are going to work on etc.

Maybe its just me, but I would never recommend anyone purchase any car with that many miles (german, japanese, american etc) if it did not fit the reasons above. Even as a 3rd car.

That may be just me though. As for your question, I think any car with that amount of miles is going to be in the shop a bit, its just that something on a typical honda / toyota that is $1500 would be $2500-3k on a BMW. There is also more electronics on a loaded car, so there will be more of those things that go wrong.

An older one without all the adaptive stuff, etc might be better for that purpose, but would not be as enjoyable to be in.

 

[Nalod]

Fear mongers chiming in.

Yes, buying at car with that kind of mileage is an UNCERTAIN purchase. If you have the cash on hand for repairs lets think of what your getting for that price? A HELL OF A CAR!!!
Yes, you will have repairs. What condition is the car? Interior?
The mongers here are comparing it to a new car, but that's not your consideration.
Take it and have pay an independent to look the car over and give an opinion. Do you have experience with premium german cars? Tires costs and expected replacement? brake wear?
If so, then your aware of what your doing.

Vs Lease? You'll have spend about $50,000 to lease a car in the above scenario!!! Vs. far less to buy and keep your miles reasonable. And, the car in good shape, 160,000 miles be worth about $5-7000 in 5 years!

How long do you expect to keep the car is