: I am considering purchasing a 530. I have read numerous posts NOT to own a BMW once it is past warranty. We tend to buy a car every 4-5 years. Wife gets it first then I inherit it when she gets a new car. So it will be in the family 10 years or so. What issues might I expect if I were to keep a BMW 530 10 years or longer. I have had many lesser cars go 150k-200k with minimal issues. The I drive & active steering for one scares the heck out me for long term durablity. Leasing isnt an option for us.

 

It's kind of hard to predict the future, but I do not think you should worry too much. As I wrote in another thread, I used to drive a 1997 Z3 for 8 years and more than 150K km (approx. 100K miles) with almost no issues. And this was a car considered to be of lower quality than the other cars manufactured by BMW (mostly due to ramp up issues in the than new production plant in Spartanburg, I guess).

I would possibly worry if this would be a car from the first production year, but now that we go into the third year, you should be rather safe.

 

Raaizin,

You're covered (warranty & maintenance) for 4yrs/50,000 miles so no problem there. Also, you can purchase extended warranty and/or maintenance that will cover you for a total of 6yrs/100,000 miles. Beyond that, the car's history up to that point should help you decide if you want to keep the car longer or not.

Others have commented about satisfactory reliability of their older BMWs. Keep in mind, however, that the newer cars are much more complex and repair costs may prove to be VERY expensive in later years. As for me, I would NOT own my 2005 530i without warranty (and possibly maintenance) coverage........ I like to sleep good at night!

 

Here in Finland where the cars costs ridiculously much, most of them are 10 yeras old.

I our BMW Club of Finland there is a lot of old BMW's and most of them seem to work alright.
No rust problems and the quality of everything seems to hold the high standards even old.

Engines, drivechains etc are strongly made, but the chassis (front axle wishbones etc.) needs
some small repairs (not expensive) and also the engines sensors need to repaired (changed)
once in a while.

But how the new cars (not only BMW's) with all the electrical features will hold, nobody can say.

The most important thing is to service the car from new, then it will easily have more than 10 years and 150,000 miles.

 

I would'nt touch those cars past the warranty personnally..mechanics are great but too much electronics and too expensive to repair

 

There's another thread here talking about this same issue. I've had many BMW's over the years and some of them well over 100k miles. If you're worried get the extended warranty. BMW covers EVERYTHING up to 4 years 50k miles. As for the active steering, I personally would avoid it but maybe not for the same reasons.

 

I have said that I'd not own my car past 49K miles, but after researching BMW Electrical CD and the car itself, I feel that the car is not as difficult and expensive to fix as we might think. The only expensive thing is part.
Most of the electrical problems are sensors. Mechanical wise, it's hard to beat.

 

my current car (2000 E46) has 136000 Miles on it. Have had the thermostat replaced under recall, power steering pump replaced, front control arm bushings replaced... Nothing MAJOR, the rest are wear items like brakes, oil, tires, etc... Car is good, it seems like it has less problems as it gets older. 136K miles & it drives like it is 50K miles! Get the BMW, but it is luck of the draw I guess.