Help, Thinking of Buying 1997 530i

[maywil]

I am not a care expert, but I have been looking at a beautiful 1997 BMW 530i. The car looks like new but has 120,000 miles. The guy wants $10,500 and is willing to take a trade in. I am wondering if anyone out there is acquainted about this make, model and year and if you would be willing to guide me one way or another. FYI it is a 6-cylinder with a great maintenance record. How many miles can this car go if well maintained before I start racking up a lot of maintenance expense? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Will

[csieminski]

Are you sure it's a 530i? If the car is indeed a 1997 6-cylinder (and American-spec, being in Utah), it would be a 528i--unless it's imported from Europe or some other country.

Anyway, BMW's will last a very long time, especially the engines--I had an '86 528e that had almost 300K when I sold it (although the engine was rebuilt around 250K), and now have a 535i with 137K that feels (and looks) almost brand-new.

If the car's a 528i, you should be aware that its 2.8-liter 6-cylinder is known to be extremely reliable (and quite fuel-efficient), based as it is upon an earlier 2.5-liter engine that traces its roots back several decades.

According to "BMW Buyer's Guide" by Fred Larimer (an excellent book), here are some things to check for:

*catalytic converters can be weak in 1997 models--check this
*rear end ball joints in suspension, as well as front struts
*make sure power steering hoses don't leak
*VANOS (valve-timing) solenoid issues--refer to service bulletin

I don't see any issues FROM A GENERAL PERSPECTIVE with buying this model. Other specific things to check for can be explained by more mechanically knowledgable people than myself--hopefully they will post as well.

Lastly, if you buy this car, congratulations--and enjoy it! The 1997-2003 5-Series is a model I've coveted for a long time.

[Presley348]

Originally Posted by maywil

I am not a care expert, but I have been looking at a beautiful 1997 BMW 530i. The car looks like new but has 120,000 miles. The guy wants $10,500 and is willing to take a trade in. I am wondering if anyone out there is acquainted about this make, model and year and if you would be willing to guide me one way or another. FYI it is a 6-cylinder with a great maintenance record. How many miles can this car go if well maintained before I start racking up a lot of maintenance expense? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Will

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Hi Will, and future Bimmer owner:

I cannot say no more than the one who wrote you at the forum did, (he gave you some good advice), but I was able to find you the Kelly Blue book value, (CLICK: http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/search?...&ie=ISO-8859-1), of $11,375.00 which is an average price for the 1997 BMW 528i in excellent condition.

I own a 04 530i, and I love it. I owned new corvettes over the years and had some problems with them, but I have never heard nothing but great things about the BMW 5 series over the years, and that is one of the main reasons I bought a Bimmer!

I wish you the best with your Bimmer purchase!

Sincerely,

Presley348

[csieminski]

See! Between Presley348 and myself, that's three 5-Series owned, covering the 1982-1988, 1989-1995 and 2004-current generations of this car (hopefully someone will post who has a 1997-2003), and they are all great cars!

I mean to add that I think $10,500 is a great price, even for 120K (as the KBB value indicates). I always keep an eye on Autotrader.com, and the lowest I've ever seen for a 1997-2003 version was $9,500 for a 1997 528i with 150,000 miles.

Let us know if you buy the car.

[hurley9192]

I have a 97 528 and it is a weak car...not enough power for the size of car. My 2000 540 blows it away on every aspect and I got it in April on ebay for $22,000. It is the sport model with M series upgrades and navigation...fully loaded and it just plain flies. It is indeed the ultimate driving machine. I let my wife drive the 528 now because it is a dog.