Since you're on a budget, give a new Acura TL-S a try. It's fully loaded in the low 40K (the base 528i starts at 45K). I drove one (from my brother) and thought it handles pretty good for a FWD.

If I were you, I'll sacrifice a bit of space and go with the 335i sedan.

 

A friend of mine drives a TL and let me say that it's a nice car BUT it can't be compared to a BMW. Alot of small details that a BMW has that you can never get on a TL such as premium leather seats, sport package suspension, premium package interior ambient lighting, when closing the doors, the 5 series sounds like "swoosh" where as the TL is like a "clank" (cheap thin metal door feel), aerodynamics are superb while driving at high speeds. This list goes on....

Alot of Japanese car makers try to copy German engineering. They're close BUT as the BMW radio advertisement says, "There's nothing like the original". I agree by 1,000,000 times!!!!

I've had 5 Japanese cars all my life and after driving in a BMW i will never settle for less. Trust me you want to get the "ultimate".

 

+1 if you're tight on $$ then get the 335i at least you get a taste of a real luxury car.

 

will not pay extra for a well dressed Accord (TL) here we get it as EU Accord and Accord Sport , very very good car , would get it over a ES350 or Camry, but really does not work comparing to the e60. Totally different ball park.

 

What is your location?
In the U.S. the base price of a 528i is about $45,000, the base price of an Acura TL is about $34,000, the base price of a 328i is about $33,000 and the base price of a 335i is about $39,000. A 335i with a few nice options is within your budget.
Are you looking at new cars only? Something else to consider is buying a CPO, certified pre owned, BMW from a BMW dealer. You can get a nice 5 series for under $45,000 with low miles. I have seen cars listed with mileage as low as 2,000 miles on the web site. The CPO cars come with a six year, 100,000 mile extended warranty.
Good luck.

 

Obviously you will get some biased answers on a BMW but truthfully, you cant go wrong with either car. The TL is very nice looking car and comes with a lot more standard features, albeit FWD. The 5 series on the other hand, comes with RWD but offers less standard features. Dont be thrown off by that fact that the TL is a FWD car because it handles pretty well. If you're looking for more of the prestige factor, the BMW will offer more of that than the Acura.

 

UPDATE: So after test driving the TL again, a friend convinced me to try out a 3 Series..........lets just say I bought one three days later! (had driven the TL twice over a 6 month period prior to that)

After ~4 weeks of ownership, I'd like to formally apologize to all 5 series owners (and bmw drivers everywhere) for ever comparing the two cars..........the TL is a great looking car and I'm sure an awesome ride for some.........but it does not even begin to compare to my Bimmer in terms of the drive.......I am hooked!

 

Congratulations. I am sure you will enjoy it.
What are the details on the 3 series?

 

It looks like a European Honda Accord.

They don't sell Acuras in the EU so can't really take a stand,
but over here the Japanese cars (Honda, Lexus, Subaru etc.)
don't have the same high status as BMW and M-B.

 

The Acura TL is a nice car. It looks good, has above average power, and nicely appointed inside. However, it can only be had with front wheel drive which is a deal killer for me. If they offered the TL with RWD or even AWD I would have given it more consideration. The other problem I had when I test drove the TL a couple of years ago is that you seem so disconnected from the driving experience. The experience seems so "mechanical" for lack of a better word. Obviously, the TL sells well and I am sure those that have it are satisfied with it, but I would take a 528 over the TL any day.

JUST SAW your most recent post (up a couple): GREAT choice on the 3 series. I would have suggested that, but I thought you had your mind set on either the TL or 528. Which 3 did you get? Give us some details.

I just turned in a 328Xi loaner while I had some minor repairs done to my car. The 328 really is a nice car. Good acceleration and good road feel.