Is it worth to purchase a used BMW 528i (1998)?

Question

Is it worth to purchase a used BMW 528i (1998)?
is it high on fuel consumption? high bills on maintenance? and what are the usual breakdowns of this model? thanks for the advice.

Answer 1

A 10 year old 528 - beautiful car, not too bad on gas, but could be a real money pit. You don't mention how many miles on it, but whatever they are ask for service records. If it's been well cared for it might be OK, but if not or you don't know - run away. The potential is great for big repairs bills in older european cars.

Make sure you check all the usual sites (edmunds, kbb, autos.msn.com) to make sure you don't overpay either - no matter what you buy.

Answer 2

Only if your ready to keep up maintence 10 year old BMW might not be bad. First off find a BMWCCA menber and check the car over. IF the owner is a BMWCCA menber think about buying the car. Receipts have to be overflowing the glove box on any properly maintained 10 year BMW that maintence cost thousands a year. And if there is iffy lube receipts and no BMW dealer receipts run away fast. Proper care of the BMW requires special tools and good service information.

Answer 3

No, yes, yes, everything to your questions. ....It you can afford it, buy a newer model. The 528's are notorious for having thermostat issues as well as electrical problems.And a 9 year old Bimmer is also going to need all the belts replaced at the very least. Try to purchase one with low miles and excellent maintainence records. Before you buy you might want to check out online if it's been in an accident. It's worth it to pay the $30 or so dollars at Carfax.com or check out the DMW site www.dmv.org/car-history to uncover the vehicle's history. Good luck and happy driving!

Answer 4

first of all, maintenance for a bmw, no matter if it's a new one or a 10 year old one can be expensive, very expensive. so i would recommend first to check with a bmw dealer and see their rates and how much it would cost you to own a bmw.
for bmw 5 series manufactured prior to 2001, the most common problem is the automatic gearbox. it's ok for 70-80k miles, but after that a very high number of automatic gearboxes have to be replaced. the problem was fixed after 2001, but for 1998 models that can be a very expensive problem.