Mark Miwurdz

Having made the decision to go for a car with longer legs (change of jobs means a 150 mile round trip on the M40 most days), I've been looking at 4-5 year old 5 series BMs. A dealer near to me has just taken in a 'V' reg 528 Sport Steptronic. It's done 100K miles but has a full history and is immaculate. The price sounds about right at £14K but is there anything about this model I should look out for?

Cheers
Kav

GaryC

Earlier 2.8 cylinder linings were a problem, but if weak they went before 20k. You can never tell if the car has been dogged with problems, it could have been in the dealership every month....but it's highly unlikely

Is it one of their cars (they supplied serviced?) If so, ask the dealer to show you the car's history on the BMW system, all events (including servicing times) will be on there - make sure you can see the screen and get him to talk you through. Even if it's not his car, there will be details of any warranty claims.

Aside from that, make sure no smoke on full acceleration. Test drive it from cold to make sure it's silky smooth...and enjoy. On launch they were said to be the best real world car in the world, and are still class leading now.

malvinas

the problem with that engine and other BMW's of that era was the high levels of sulphur in petrol-this cause premature bore wear. I believe this was in the north of england primarily so if your are buying one from up there be wary.

Mark Miwurdz

Thanks chaps

Gary - It's actually from an independent dealer in N'pton but I do have a mate who's a general manager for a dealer in the midlands. Would he be able to look it up for me? (I think it's called Viewdata)

Cheers
Kav

GaryC

Yes he should - when I took my 330d to a dealer in Edinburgh (my car was bought from and service in North West England) for some new windscreen wiper blades, he inputted my reg no and was able to pull up my cars full history...even down to when the last set of blades was purchased

The Sulphur issue was what was thought to have affected the cylinder lining issues, but as I say, only in the first 20k miles, and it was only the very first 'batch' of 2.8 engines which would have been c1996 N/P plate.

Beautiful car, quick, handles like a large car really shouldn't and well built. To my mind, £14k for a V-plate is ok, but no unbeleivable bargain if not from a main dealer, especially with that Mileage. Make sure it's an SE, Auto, has leather and at least the 17" wheels (which were std with the SE spec). £250 on a private plate and no-one will suspect it is anything other than a £30k motor

GaryC

PS - the garage in N'hampton isn't 'The Car Shop' is it? I know the Finance Director there and may be able to get a keener deal for you if it is. Furthermore they only sell ex-leased cars which means high mileage will be largely low-wear motorway and servicing and maintenance will be faultless.

Mark Miwurdz

Thanks mate

No, they're called Autobarn, up on the Abington Road. I had a look round the Car Shop and was really disappointed at the quality of the stock. Every single car I looked at had a ding or was scraped.

Cheers
Kav