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Car Forum / BMW Cars / March 2005Are 97 528's reliable?
I'm new to BMW's, usually liek Honda/Acura and Toyota. I've found a 97 528iwith 110,000 miles. It looks to be in good shape and it's really sharp. The asking price is $10,900 so I bet I could get it down to $10,000. From what I found looking this model up this would be a very good price, what do you think. Also, this was the first year for that new body style, right? That's one of the reasons I'm interested as it looks newer that it really is. Did this year of 528 tend to have any problems? > I'm new to BMW's, usually liek Honda/Acura and Toyota. I've found a 97 > 528iwith 110,000 miles. It looks to be in good shape and it's really sharp. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > the reasons I'm interested as it looks newer that it really is. Did this > year of 528 tend to have any problems? I have a 97 528I with about 200,500 miles on it. I purchased it almost two years ago when it had 147,000 miles on it. In the time I've owned it I had to replace the front wheel bearings at about 160,000 miles (about $330 for parts doing the work myself), I needed to replace a resistor pack that controls the climate control(about $75) and just this past fall one of my rear springs broke and it blew out the shock. I replaced the shocks springs and other hardware with factory BMW parts which cost about $560 and $125 in labor at a local mechanic. I have no idea what the car ran like when it was new, but at over 200,000 miles it runs better than ANY American POS I've ever owned that had less than 100,000 miles on them. Prior to the BMW I had a 1993 Nissan Maxima with about 185,000 miles on it. I'd probably still be driving it now if I hadn't lost it to a fire. prior to that I had a 1987 Nissan Maxima with 285,000 miles on it. I sold that just cause it was getting rusty and it needed some expensive repairs. I really liked the Japanese cars I but I really love the BMW. When my last Maxima burned up I was looking for something under $10,000 when I ran across this 528. It was either this, I always wanted a BMW, or a new Caviler. WTF, I went with the BMW and I'm not sorry I did. Good luck with your decision. Joel I'm from the UK and have owned a 97 528 since 2000. It has now done over 130,000 miles and I have experienced some problems but nothing major. I would certainly buy another but you must bear in mind the cost of repairing anything that goes wrong is more than with other makes. > I'm new to BMW's, usually liek Honda/Acura and Toyota. I've found a 97 > 528iwith 110,000 miles. It looks to be in good shape and it's really [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > of the reasons I'm interested as it looks newer that it really is. Did > this year of 528 tend to have any problems? 1997 is the 2nd year of the 5 series. The 5 series is quite strong but you cannot expect japanese-like reliability. Many things will fail, but basically nothing major. In my old 1997 535, I had to replace the clutch, power windows, rear suspension, a few sensors, leaking engine, etc. In 2004 I spent about $2000 for maintenance and small repairs, not including tires. Conclusion: reliable, but expensive to maintain. Just my $ .02  SignatureBest regards. Giovanni Tarantino Bevaix (NE) Switzerland 1997 Audi A4 2.8 Q 238,000 km (146,000 miles) 1997 BMW 535i 236,000 km (145,000 miles) > 1997 is the 2nd year of the 5 series. > The 5 series is quite strong but you cannot expect japanese-like > reliability. Many things will fail, but basically nothing major. > In my old 1997 535, I had to replace the clutch, power windows, rear > suspension, a few sensors, leaking engine, etc. That kind of stuff happens on all cars, even Japanese cars. My 1985 635CSi is a much more reliable car than my 1988 Supra was. When I sold the Supra in 2002, more pieces were falling off than I knew what to do with, and it was well cared for. The BMW still looks and runs like it was pulled of the showroom floor yesterday. Just my .02 >> 1997 is the 2nd year of the 5 series. >> The 5 series is quite strong but you cannot expect japanese-like [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > the > showroom floor yesterday. Just my .02 You can't be serious. BMW's are high maintenance vehicles. I'm on my 3rd BMW, and all of them have been just as unreliable so far, old or new. I often say: "BMW's are easy to work on, and that's fortunate, because you have to work on 'em a lot." From experience and from research I can say that almost any Japanese car would be more reliable than a BMW. If your '85 Big Coupe looks showroom new, with no body rust forming, either you live in a desert, or you never, ever drive in the rain or road salt. Or possibly you have had the car completely stripped, zinc primed, undercoated and repainted with 2-stage paint. 6-series coupes rust notoriously. They are fraught with electrical problems, the main seals leak, cam oilers fail, they have steering failures, A/C problems, failing hydraulic struts, loose shifter bushings, weak timing chain idlers, "rocking" front seats, ECU problems, etc, etc. I had to repair all four electric window motors in my Coupe at least twice, which involved taking the doors completely apart. That was barely the beginning. The 6-series are beautiful cars, no doubt; but after spending hundreds of hours endlessly repairing and de-rusting my low-mileage '83 633csi, I finally gave up and sold it. That was a decision that I don't regret. Now I drive a 2000 BMW Z3 Roadster. It's obviously a better car than the old 6-series in every respect; but I can already see that it's not as reliable as my bombproof '92 Honda Civic with 160,000 miles on the clock. I love BMW's for the driving experience; but I'll never lie to myself about their reliability. Buy a BMW with your eyes open, and be ready to either roll up your sleeves and fix it yourself, or write some fat checks to the local Stealer. YMMV, HTH R > >> 1997 is the 2nd year of the 5 series. > >> The 5 series is quite strong but you cannot expect japanese-like [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > roll up your sleeves and fix it yourself, or write some fat checks to the > local Stealer. Yeah, I won't deny we've put a lot of money into it. It was repainted two years ago. My experience comes from owning a money pit Supra. We put $3,000 in engine work alone, followed by much more. Total up the receipts and the bix six has been cheaper to run so far, and it feels much more solid and bomb proof than the Supra did. I won't argue with you that they aren't expensive to own and run, they are. But I do think it's a more solid vehicle than my Supra was, and the quality of materials is much better as well. >> >> 1997 is the 2nd year of the 5 series. >> >> The 5 series is quite strong but you cannot expect japanese-like [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > Yeah, I won't deny we've put a lot of money into it. It was repainted two > years ago. I kinda guessed that ;-) My '83 633csi was repainted in 1991 - and it actually looked very good. It's not BMW's fault that the paint was weak. The 1980's were a dark time for auto paint, across the entire industry. Metallic paints in the 1980's were particularly notorious for literally peeling off in sheets, especially on American cars. I was following a late 80's Chrysler recently that actually had long paint "fronds" waving in the wind on every top surface. Strange. > My experience comes from owning a money pit Supra. We put $3,000 > in engine work alone, followed by much more. Total up the receipts and the > bix six has been cheaper to run so far, and it feels much more solid and > bomb proof than the Supra did. Yeah, an old girlfriend of mine bought an '84 Supra in '87, with barely 24,000 on the ticker. Before she had owned it 1 year, she put ~$2,000 into it. The cooling system had been trashed by some idiot who put several cans of Bars Leaks in it (god knows why). Gummed it up real nice. The local Toyota $tealer really worked her over. Total frauds. > I won't argue with you that they aren't expensive to own and run, they > are. > But I do think it's a more solid vehicle than my Supra was, and the > quality > of materials is much better as well. Once you get all of the bugs worked out, and if you live in a dry, warm area (or run it summers only), a Big Coupe is a nice touring car, and still a head-turner. I just wish I could have kept mine from rusting. I'd probably still have the darned thing. They grow on you. It's a version of Stockholm Syndrome ;-) R I don't know about your 5 Series, but I have a 3 Series with the same motor, and it has been almost completely trouble free in over 100,000 miles (California). I bought my car with about the same miles as your car, and before long the plastic radiator tank broke on a narrow mountain road with no pull outs. I limped my car to the top of the hill after stopping several times to let it cool off. From the failure point to the top of the hill was only about 5 miles, and three stops. From the top of the hill, I switched the motor off and coasted to the bottom, about 7 miles, where I was able to get a tow truck to take me home. The limping part proved to be more hazardous that I expected, and I damaged the head. I bought my car below current market value, but the repairs brought me back to market value for arguably a nicer car, but I have had no further troubles. I have replaced the front brake pads a couple of times and the front rotors once, and the rear pads once. Other than these normal repairs and the regular maintenance, the car has not cost me a dime after fixing the radiator and damaged head. You need to look at the radiator and determine if it has plastic tanks. If it does, and most do, then you need to check the inlet (top) hose and fitting to see if the plastic is strong. My inlet tube physically broke completely off and the engine pumped all of the coolant out onto the ground. If you can catch this before it breaks, you can avoid potential damage to the head. I bought my '94 in 2000 with 105,000 miles. It just turned 210,000. I get 25mpg or better on every tank of gas with combined city and freeway driving and doing mostly 80+ on the freeway. I can safely say that I never do less than 70 on the freeway unless traffic demands, and when traffic permits, I do 80 or better. If I could clamp my velocity at 70, I'm sure my mileage would climb to about 30mpg. My BMW has been the most pleasurable auto I have ever owned, with the possible exception of my modified Jeep that goes places vehicles are seldom asked to go. > I'm new to BMW's, usually liek Honda/Acura and Toyota. I've found a 97 > 528iwith 110,000 miles. It looks to be in good shape and it's really sharp. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > the reasons I'm interested as it looks newer that it really is. Did this > year of 528 tend to have any problems? > I don't know about your 5 Series, but I have a 3 Series with the same > motor, and it has been almost completely trouble free in over 100,000 [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > top of the hill, I switched the motor off and coasted to the bottom, > about 7 miles, where I was able to get a tow truck to take me home. With pretty well any car these days if it runs low on coolant for whatever reason it's best to just stop. Aluminium heads - and or blocks - really don't take kindly to being cooked. The cost of a tow off a motorway - dunno what the US equivalent is - is likely to be less than the repair costs if you limp on. Cast iron donks could stand all sorts of abuse, but those days are gone. Signature*Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. > > I don't know about your 5 Series, but I have a 3 Series with the same > > motor, and it has been almost completely trouble free in over 100,000 [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > costs if you limp on. Cast iron donks could stand all sorts of abuse, but > those days are gone. Agreed, but when the road is narrow, winding and dark, and there is no place to put the car so it will not get hit or the tow truck that comes to get it will not get hit, driving to the first wide spot is the only option. My mistake was in waiting for the motor to cool, then going the next 2 miles to the top of the hill so I could coast to the bottom. The red warning light only came on as I crested the hill. It was on for perhaps 30 seconds, I am sure this must be about 31 seconds too long. You're right, the tow would have cost much less than the repairs. But I was so much younger then, I'm older that that now. |
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