Looking to get a cheap car out in the us, an I’ve stumbled across a 2008 528i for $4000.

car looks good, oil is clean as is the coolant. Brakes are fairly new and only one tyre is running close to the limit.

odometer is currently on 233,000, and the guy has done 30,000 in the last year on the highway.

Does anyone have experience with this kind of mileage? What should I expect/ look for before buying. Would it just be a money pit?

 

If you're not handy with a wrench, be prepared to shell out at least $2000 a year in repairs depending on what has already been done to the car. People think paying $4000 for a bimmer is a steal until the repair bills start to hit. E60's will easily go to 300,000 miles if maintained properly, but I'm betting you don't know much about this car's history or previous ownership. Like I said, unless you're mechanically inclined, I'd walk.

 

I’d be doing much of the work on the car myself.

What kind of things tend to go wrong with these cars at this mileage? What things should I look for that I ideally would already want replaced?

From what I can tell the major components are in good order. The engine, transmission, suspension brakes and tyres. It’s had 2 owners and the current one claims regular oil changes and servicing.

I’m not looking to put crazy miles on it, just need a run around and this car popped up. Might this car be too unreliable to be a daily?

 

E60s are definitely great daily's. Just need to make sure you have someone look it over unless you have INPA at a minimum. Also test drive the heck out of it. Oil leaks is your number 1 concern and the transmission. If the transmission wasn't serviced that will be the first thing you need to tackle which will run you about $600 if done right DIY depending on how good the solenoids are. You'll know the status of the transmission during the test drive if you push it

 

Not a chance I'd buy a 233Kmi 5 series. I can fix anything, but holy crap: No history means no idea what was deferred in a car old enough to have many things at end of life. Even if meticulously maintained, still quite a bit is at EoL. Bunch of owners? It's a money pit.

Jay's absolutely right: they'll do really high mileage -- but who knows what's on the edge of failure?

 

I went for a second viewing tonight plus a test drive. As soon as I turned out of the parking lot I’d decided it was a terrible investment. The steering wheel was about 30° off centre to the right. I had the same issue funnily enough with a dog of an e46 I bought earlier this year (was cheaper than cheap). After my experience with that and knowing the e60 suspension is surely more complicated and parts more expensive than an e46 it was just a massive no. The owner claimed it had an alignment recently so that was clearly a lie. Car felt all over the place. Really glad that it had that problem because it made the decision so easy for me.

Thanks for your help anyway guys. I have come to my senses.

 

E60's need a specalist allignment, since the mechnic needs to know how to use ISTA and calibrate the steering wheel sensors and such. otherwise it will be a mess XD
but yea i would walk away. no history very cheap. something is clearly wrong with this car.