540i

Love that body style but I think some years had problems with the aluminum blocks on the 8 cyls....I will post a link with more info...

Edit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M62

 

Your university dorm looks great in the pic.

 

You're going to take a loan out to buy a 15 year old car? Did I read that right?

 

Sorry, but how is taking a loss going to be worth it? That makes zero sense.

I'm all for getting the car you want, but IMO, seems a bit unreasonable to buy a car to keep for 4-5 months and take a loss on it in the end.

 

I did I loved it it was a gearshift 2000 car

 

+1

 

great car...i have a 2003 version of it. solid as the rock of gibralter and a great performer. why keep it for only a few months? can you tell me a better looking bimmer sedan?

answer: NO

not great on gas however but you will arrive in style and refreshed!

pcb

 

Engine and chassis are rock solid, but the electronics and mechanical parts are tricky.

Most recent stories I have heard with a 2002 540I, (automatic)

Broken reverse gear
Faulty water pump
Faulty cooling unit
Various switches etc.

Most major parts such as pumps, switches cost an arm and a leg...beware.

 

Maybe you can save some money if you looked for an Acura Legend. They're handsome and maybe parts wouldn't be as expensive if something goes wrong.

 

Get a Lexus GS400 - superior quality, very similar performance, and far cheaper.

The GS gets a bad rap on handling, but I own one and can tell you that it's a competent sports sedan.

 

I drive a GS too and it's extremely grippy, I don't know where people got the idea it wasn't. I wouldn't buy this car. You're going to drive it for 5 months and then you're going to have to deal with selling it and you might lose your ass on the price. Not worth the hassle to own it for 5 months, but that's just my opinion. If I were you I'd hop on lease trader

 

The fiscally responsible thing to do would be to get a used Honda or Subaru. I wouldn't be driving a used BMW during or right out college, regardless of what my pay was.

 

Great cars, but maintenance can get pricey....VERY pricey on a limited budget.

 

I understand about the financial responsibility and the questionable prudence of a college kid buying a bmw arguments.

However aren't we talking about a car from 1997-2003, a car that could cost anything from $2000 to $20 000? Even for a college kid, I don't think its outside the realm of possibility.

The guy said he has a good job lined up and that he is interested in building his credit. The way I see it, is that he could buy a high miler cheap, make sure to get a ppi and an extended warranty to cover catastrophic incidents, then enjoy the car for a few months before he sells it.

Lets say he gets a car for around $8000 and 4-5 months later sells it for $6000, which I think is feasible, he will be out the difference, warranty, insurance money and a few months of loan payments. All in all not such a bad proposition, especially considering the infamous guy a few years back that financed his exotic with a bunch of credit cards.

I dated a girl that had a 540i. Besides cels coming on, it was a good reliable car. I dont think the newer civics and the equally old lexuses (lexi???) are any cheaper than the 540i.

If I were your dad, I'd say do it kid. Who knows, you might be able to flip it for a few hundred bux more than you bought it for. So after warranty and insurance and loan payments, you might end up with a wash or a slight profit.

Good luck with the acquisition.

-P

P.S If I were you, I'd put an ad out for the car the day I got it. Selling a car usually takes a few months.

 

My advice comes from personal experience. I bought a used A6 wagon while still in college. That thing sent me to the poorer house. I only kept it 11 months because the repairs were ridiculous.
When it was all over I lost $4,000 not including the cost of all the repairs.

 

My 540 was very unque, had the BMW body kit on it and lightly tinted windows, and I was on my way to a mall yesterday with with new women and all the kids, and I saw it at a stop light with Jersey plates, it was strange but there it was, still looked great.

 

German maintenance and/or repairs are expensive on a car that age. They are fun to drive until you have to shell out 2-3k on a car worth 5k.

I had a MB for 6 years and I loved that car...but I will never own another one out of warranty.

 

That is the risk. If nothing goes wrong, they're a smart buy. But it doesn't take many problems to make short-term ownership expensive. Sometimes short-term owners end up fixing the big problems for the next guy.

My two euros...

 

I thought these V8 cars had the crazy coolant tube that runs from the front of the block to the back of the block and the seals give up the ghost at about 100k miles. It is a very expensive job as you have to pull the intake (and maybe the heads) to replace it.

 

The 525 has BMW's 24 valve strait six, the M50 motor. Bulletproof except for the 80 dollar waterpumps. Great engine access, unlike the v8s. Excellent web support and parts network.

Find a nice clean example, with records, and you shouldn't lose much when the time comes to sell.

The V8s are nice but too risky IMHO, plus gas prices are only going one way....this will be a drag on resale.

Good luck,

John