Drove a new 528 today; oh boy was that nice!

[berettafan]

Buddy leased a spanking new 528i recently and i drove it today. it had the auto but the 'sport shift' or whatever it's called was a LOT of fun. just something about going into a turn in 2nd gear at 30mph and flooring it halfway through.....

i loved the car but don't have big bucks for such a thing (not sure i'd every drop that much cash on a car really) but it got me thinkng again about a used 5er. saw a '03 530 with low miles for $25k recently; that i could almost stomach spending.

are the early to mid '00s 5ers reliable and are they DIY maintenance friendly?

do all 5er autos have the 'sport shift' option? when did that start?

thoughts on this? i have a Tundra right now and get a fair amount of use from it BUT recent events are teaching me that life is too short to be overly practical.

[TyFenn]

I can't stand how almost all of the new BMWs have that idrive knob - man, to express how much I don't like it...I don't like it. I feel like it's like sending a text message while driving. Plus, I'm the type guy who want to 'get right to it' as opposed to twist this knob here, then twist here just to change a setting (heat, music and so on.

Not for me...

[dtw]

E39 5 series is pretty much the greatest sedan of all time (more or less Consumer Reports words, not mine). I've got 127k on mine and counting, it is built like a bank vault. Check out this thread I started a couple years ago, tons of great info and links:

Any 5 series BMW owners here?

[the]

The 5 series has been the best overall sedan in the world, year in and year out, since the 70s.

[aigel]

Why a sedan? Have you driven any newer Porsches? 30k will buy you a lot of 911 and it may still be worth what you paid a few years down the line (guaranteed not the case on a run off the mill beemer). Yeah, life is short, but if it isn't it's nice to have a decent 401k and own your house instead of having leased every high line new car out there.

George

[Moses]

My son has an '03 e46 325 coupe. I drive it pretty often. I am always impressed by this car. It is solid, tight as can be. It has amazing road feel. It has the sport package and the nicest seats of any car I've driven. The motor has a great sound. That little 325 is an absolute pleasure to drive.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Great cars if sedans are your thing. A former boss of mine had two of 'em - one I believe was the 528 and the other was a 3-series wagon (which is surprisingly hard to find). My only objection to them is I think there is WAY too much electronic crap in them. My friend's 325i had a fuse block with 70-something fuses for all of the sensors and computers and other nonsense in the car. EVERY SINGLE fuse was filled. No spares. I can't imagine the 5 or 7 series vehicles are any less absurd with respect to the level of electronics in them.

Somehow, thinking down the road here the thought of one day having to chuck an otherwise good car because of some circuit or sensor or doohickey in that fails and is stupidly expensive to replace bugs me. That's something to consider if you plan on keeping the car long term.

Personally I see your only viable option as getting one new or CPO, and ditching it before the warranty expires. Obviously this means you take a horrific hit on depreciation. There's no way I'd ever own one without a warranty with all the electronics crap in them. No way.

[RANDY P]

mine just hit 102K - it's stored with my 911. I love the car. Only failure recently was the gas cap threw a code, otherwise mine still smells new inside.

[450knotOffice]

My wife and I bought her a brand new 525i a few years ago and loved it. That car handled great (for a sedan) and truly was built like a bank vault. The only aspect of it I hated was the IDrive. Ugh!

However, after I got the 996 about a year and a half ago, my wife kept taking my car to work and found out she actually preferred the Porsche. So, she traded in the 525 for Cayman and has not looked back.

I will say, however, that if we had enough garage space (and money), I'd love to have another one.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts

I agree. You guys might think I'm nuts, but it is indeed my all-time favorite car to drive every day.
-Wayne

Not nuts at all. My wife has a 335i coupe, I have a Mercedes E55 and my son has an '03 e46 325. I drive my sons car all the time. GREAT little car. Best "road feel" of the whole bunch. And you can pick them up for about $15,000.

[berettafan]

Do all e39 530's and 525's w/ auto have the manual shift mode? does it work well?

Is there much difference between the 525 and 530?

Is the sport package a necessity?