amigo525

Think about warranty

-- that is all i have to say about that.

crgoda

But does it really matter if is still under warranty? What am I missing here?

DINAN530i

why would you want to buy a car that you really dont know the history off. What if it was in a major accident? what if they had body work done at a shady place. All i am saying is if BMW sells that car for 52000.00 why do you think they can sell it for42000.00..

crgoda

I see what you are saying...But it is not as if there are no others 530i's in the same price range.... On cars.com there are at least 15 2005 530's for under $45k....The same for the 2004 545i....

Busta

I would go for the 545.

gabman

Do yourself a favour and get the dealer to give you the name and phone number of the previous owner and then call him. Also if you know anyone at another BMW dealer, ask them to run the vin number and print you out a list of all the warranty service that has been done to the car. Or better yet, ask BMWNA to give it to you. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security by the fact that the car is under warranty, sure it is good that they will try and fix things, but who wants to own a car that is always in the shop. Also, one thing that I have learned by owning a BMW is that things are not always fixable with BMW's, or it may take many visits to correct a particular problem.

I have a 2004 545 that I took delivery of in Feb /05 with around 300 miles on it.
20 days later the engine needed to be changed. Since that time a rod in the steering had to be replaced, 2 weeks ago I went to start the car and nothing happened, had to get towed in, turns out a contact to the starter was loose. I have been complaining since day 1 that the car is very rough from a standing stop until I get over 3,000 rpms, have complained abouth this since day 1, finally just last week they did something to it and it is fine now but it took 8 months for them to get it right. Had all the door seals as well as sun roof seals replaced and some other issues.

In all the cars that I have owned, I never had so many issues with a new car.

BUT, with all the time wasted taking this car in and all the issues, I still love the car and the way it drives, go figure!

crgoda

Thanks guys..
Called the dealership, got a copy of all of the service. This was not a buy back. There was only one owner with delivery on 8/18/2004. There were only minor issues such as replace tire and rim due to nails, etc...Also there was a recall done. The only other thing was the "Engine Check Light on" problem, that according to the dealer, was fixed. Also ran Carfax and nothing to report..The seller also bough an extended warranty up to 100,000 miles...

I will test drive it this Friday and if all goes well, I'll be driving back home on a 545....

jk479

My 2 Cents:


If you are thinkign about an 2004 545i or a 2005 530. Go with 545i for sure. Now if you have the option of getting an 2005 530. Here's where it gets interesting.

It cannot be denied that BMW stepped up the performance of the 530 when the new motor was dropped into the car. It's truly in between an 05 530i and and 06 545i. You are not going to feel the torque of the 4.4 liter...but an 06 530 will feel friskier.

I compared then 05 and 06 530i and theres a definite change in the personality of the two cars. While the 05 felt sporty but slower, the 06 felt very similiar to the 03 330i i am turning back in. 255 hp does wonders for the car, and I can imagine less shifting since peak torque is 1000 rpm lower. It still is only 220...but look how long you have it for.

The V8 peak torque is around 325. But it has to climb higher and does not last as long. The best way to analyze it is to look at torque curves.

The advantage is the 545i but the new 2006 530i is a leap from thr 04 - 05 model. Anyone who refutes this hasn't done the comparison.

Plus, you carry more weight with a 545i, so the lbs per bhp is effected slightly.

Honestly thought, if you can't get your hands on an 06...take the 545i.

crgoda

THanks for the review!
The two cars i'm trying to decide is now the 04' 545 with 11000 miles and an 06 530 with 1500 miles. The 545 is $1000 more....

DINAN530i

as i have stated in above post that carfax will not report any damage unless the damage ios 20% of the cars value, so if this car had a bad accident say 9000.00 worth of repairs Carfax would not report that. All i have to say is good luck and i hope it works out for you. I really do, what sales guy are you dealing with? thanks
Aston