2000 528i good buy?

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Guenter Scholz - 25 Jul 2006 02:00 GMT

Hi, I've had the opportunity of driving the above BMW recently and was
tryly impressed. I'm presently driving a 300e MB and am looking for a newer
car..... certainly wouldn't mind trying a BMW. Is this particular series
frought with problems? Anyone care to make a recomendation re a 3 to 5 year
old (or therabouts) BMW to get?

cheers, guenter

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Pete - 25 Jul 2006 04:28 GMT

> Anyone care to make a recomendation re a 3 to 5 year
> old (or therabouts) BMW to get?

A 5-year-old or younger will get you a 530i, which has the newer/bigger
engine. I'm looking for one myself, although I want one with a manual
tranny and the sports package and it's very very tough to find (i'm in
south FL).

Pete

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E Brown - 25 Jul 2006 05:38 GMT

>A 5-year-old or younger will get you a 530i, which has the newer/bigger
>engine. I'm looking for one myself, although I want one with a manual
>tranny and the sports package and it's very very tough to find (i'm in
>south FL).

Good luck - a buddy of mine has been looking for one of those for
over a year! Apparently a sport package with the manual a rare option
package.
epbrown
--
"Everybody wants a normal life and a cool car;
most people will settle for the car." Chris Titus
2003 BMW 325i Black/Black, 2003 BMW Z4 Black/Black

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Pete - 25 Jul 2006 15:07 GMT

> Good luck - a buddy of mine has been looking for one of those for
> over a year! Apparently a sport package with the manual a rare option
> package.
> epbrown

Yeah... I've been scouring various for sale boards for over 6 months
(although I'm not ready to buy yet), and they are very rare indeed. If I
can't find one, another car I'd consider is the 330ci manual sport, which is
a little easier to find, but still not abundant.

Pete

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John Carrier - 25 Jul 2006 19:53 GMT

>>A 5-year-old or younger will get you a 530i, which has the newer/bigger
>>engine. I'm looking for one myself, although I want one with a manual
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> over a year! Apparently a sport package with the manual a rare option
> package.

Because their owners have no reason to ever let them go.

John
530i SP 5sp

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Guenter Scholz - 25 Jul 2006 17:05 GMT

>> Anyone care to make a recomendation re a 3 to 5 year
>> old (or therabouts) BMW to get?
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>tranny and the sports package and it's very very tough to find (i'm in
>south FL).

there's a few up here in Toronto... I need an auto for my wife. Is
the difference only the engine size of 2.8 vs 3.0 or are there other significant
aspects to the newer 3.0 engine?

good luck in your search,
guenter

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Pete - 25 Jul 2006 20:19 GMT

"Guenter Scholz"

> Is the difference only the engine size of 2.8 vs 3.0 or are there other
> significant
> aspects to the newer 3.0 engine?

Looks like the 3.0 also gets better mileage (on paper at least). Other than
that, there don't appear to be any differences:

http://autos.msn.com/research/compare/default.aspx?c=0&n=3&i=0&tb=0&ph1=t0&ph2=t
0&dt=1&v=t1795&v=t92979

But then again, I'm no expert on the 5-series, or any other BMW. I'm just a
prospective buyer.

Pete

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Dave Plowman (News) - 25 Jul 2006 22:53 GMT

> > Is the difference only the engine size of 2.8 vs 3.0 or are there
> > other significant aspects to the newer 3.0 engine?

> Looks like the 3.0 also gets better mileage (on paper at least). Other
> than that, there don't appear to be any differences:

I can only talk about the autos, but the 530 is a lot more lively than the
528 - indeed it actually beats the 535 V-8.

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Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
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ambrose88@e-mailanywhere.com - 26 Jul 2006 02:35 GMT

Anyone care to make a recomendation re a 3 to 5 year

> old (or therabouts) BMW to get?

I got a 2003 530 (e39) a few months ago. The best car I have ever
driven. It got great reviews from Consumer Reports when the model was
released and I can understand why.

Anything newer than 2003 will get you the newer model (e60), which some
consider to be less desirable.

Ambrose

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Guenter Scholz - 26 Jul 2006 16:45 GMT

> Anyone care to make a recomendation re a 3 to 5 year
>> old (or therabouts) BMW to get?
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>Anything newer than 2003 will get you the newer model (e60), which some
>consider to be less desirable.

thanks for that Ambrose, much appreciated

cheers, guenter

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