I am currently driving a 01 Lexus GS 300 w/ 198K on the clock. The compressor went out and from what I'm told its going to cost anywhere from $400-700 to replace it. The car itself is only worth ~2K so I'm having a hard time deciding if I should fix it, or sell it and walk away. On one of my many searches, I found an 05 530i w/ 79K miles. From the pictures, it seems to be in good shape, but one thing that I find odd is that there is a DVD entertainment system in the rear headrests for the back seat passengers. Was this a factory option? Also, based on the Carfax, I gather the car was a dealer curtsey vehicle. The first owner was a BMW dealer and it was listed as "Corporate fleet". It changed hands according to carfax 3 times, but all the service was done at the same dealer that bought it originally. It is currently for sale by a 3rd party dealer, so my question is, is this worth it? Anything to look out for? I am going to take a drive by it tonight and do a visual inspection, maybe take it out for a drive. What does everyone think?

Thanks!

 

Any dealer can give you a full service history on the car just by you providing the VIN number. Also, since it's not at a BMW dealer and (obviously) not a CPO car I'd take a mechanic familiar with BMW's along with you to check it out. They usually charge around $100 to accompany you but that pales in comparison to possibly thousands of $$$$ in repairs if you buy a lemon.

 

Thanks for the tip Pjinca. I don't know any BMW mechanics, but a friend of a friend is one and my wife's boss has driven BMW's for the past 10 years so maybe I can tap his resources at a local dealer for help. Anybody know anything about the entertainment system? I've uploaded one of the supplied pictures from the dealer.

 

Pretty sure that the entertainment system is after market. Although that wouldn't concern me. The quality of many aftermarket systems is better that what you would get from a car mfg anyway.

I would however get a very good understanding of how or if they integrated it with the car's stereo or iDrive system. iDrive can be tempermental enough, and integrating an aftermarket system might impact any dealer's willingness to service an issue on it.

and +1 on getting a dealer to give you a readount on maintenance performed.

 

Just from my little experience:

1. Dealer courtesy cars are good because they have all the options - so pretty much loaded with everything to impress people.
2. They are driven pretty badly and mostly for short distances. So that 80k miles or so are all city miles.
3. You didn't mention if the dealer you are buying it from is the same dealer who owned the car. If this isnt true, I would really not be too keen to buy the car.

Just 1 person's input - take it with a grain of salt. Others might disagree.

 

Try to look for factory "Demo" cars. I am on my 3rd and very happy with the price and reliability!