jm545i

I agree totally that maintenance means much more than mileage on these vehicles. Historically BMW has been known for extremely long-lived engines - the old 'big-6' was legendary in this regard, and you see many examples of the both this engine and the small 6's doing upwards of 200k miles with no appreciable trouble beyond cooling system failures and such.

The one big black eye that BMW received in recent years was in the US primarily and that was in prior versions of the V-8 that were found in the E34, where cylinder linings would wear due, so they said, to the high sulfer content in US fuel.

The wisdom from my own mechanic was that he's seen many a high-mileage v-8 in recent years, and although they haven't really been around long enough to know if they can easily pull of 300k+ without a teardown, they seem to be wearing pretty well without fundamental problems. He DID say however, like some others here, that the sensors, electronic systems, various complications that make these engines so relatively powerful and efficient, DO break down, and it wouldn't be surprising at all to have to replace some of these components over time.

Still cheaper than a new one!

hmc

I am not sure about that. Many electronics items require reprogram of the car and usually only dealer can do it.

xBMWx

I will do a BIG collective thank you for all the swift responses here -- thanks everyone. Thank you Iceman for the PM'ed info.

There is a lot of useful info here for me to consider and go investigate further. As always its trying to understand how well the car has been looked after.


Now this I cannot quite get clear in my head --
Assuming I can establish the cars have been maintained well, and assuming I have the BMW Garantee for faults / generic design defects, what is more important; the age or the miliage?
My example is a mid-2006 550i with 80k miles (120k KM) or a early/mid-2004 545i with 50-60k miles (80-100k KM)

What would you suggest?


(I would normally go for low miliage, but my current car which I was orginally planning on keeping for a few years has 65+k miles on it of which 10k miles are from me. I bought this from BMW because it was such a good deal, so why not go for another car with a similar number of miles.)

Jambers

My view is go for newest, mileage ideally 20k p/annum, as old + low miles equals lots of shorter journeys. Long journeys on a lumpy V8 should be good and better for it, running low revs and warm most of the time. Older car, even low mileage, will have seals (internal to engine and external) that have warmed and cooled a lot more, so prone to deterioration. Rubber and plastic that warms and cools will age, and so I tend to not go for the One Old lady owned type of cars....

Also, newer car = more up to date software/hardware, teethers all out. Updated spec's etc which will be better, and don't just buy one because it has every option. The more lights a Christmas tree has the higher the chance of bulbs blowing, if you get my drift, especially as it gets older!!

The big thing is Service History - just make sure it has every receipt.

Good luck

bha7176

+1

I was struggling with this same dilemma myself a few months back and decided on a newer car over older. I was lucky to find a newer one with low miles and a good deal too. Too me, in the US, I was very concerned about CPO coverage as well, and the newer the car the longer the original and CPO warranties carried forward for me. I ended up getting a 2008 550i sport with only 12,XXX miles, but with an in service date of 7/2008 which means i have a total of 5 years factory/CPO coverage on the car - better than buying it new and a hell of a lot less.

Good luck with your decision.

xBMWx

Thanks Jambers and bha7176 for the feedback.

That's the logic that was going through my mind too, so I think I would conclude the younger car with higher miles would be the way forward.
Having said that, its still a lot of miliage and I'm creeping further and further out of my comfort zone here! I would normally go for a lot less KM, but with my current car already having so many KMs on the clock, I'm thinking why not go for another one with so many KMs. Its simply a question of risk, which I guess I now need to go work out for myself.....

I want an E60 again, so now its...
- heart says V8 with high miliage
- head says 6 cyl with fewer kms (even though they are not much cheaper than the V8s!)

lets see which one wins......

bha7176

Can you not wait until you find a V8 with lower mileage? It will come along, just need to be patient - which is not a virtue I personally have very much of. It's all impulse here - and impulse usually comes from the heart, not the head.

xBMWx

Thats real sound advice, thanks.
It echoes what another member wrote to me in a PM.
I have a great car at the moment, so am in no rush... but wow is it difficult to be patient when it comes to buying a new car

Iceman

AGE!

I only have 56000 KM's on it and they keep telling me it's too old so everything is my own problem!

DD_545i

Ha Ha Ha, LOL, LMAO

Seriously though, BMW has never provided free maintenance and only offers one year of warranty.

Now BMW USA on the other hand, that's a different story. They feel the need to offer customers a decent warranty, especially because in America you have to pay so much more less for your cars.

In the rest of the world we have to bend over when we buy a new car. Not only do we pay more for our cars, we get less options as standard and get no maintenance included and only a one year warranty. For the price most countries pay for a bare 520i, in the U.S. you get a fully loaded M5.