BMW 5 series for suburban wife duties?

[da Vinci Dan]

Our older will be given our Volvo XC90 for another year of highschool. When he goes off to college it will become our younger son’s car.

This leaves my wife in need of another AWD (live in the mountains) suburban mom ride. We have had Grand Cherokees, Lexus LX570, and a Tahoe and are now, I think ready to go back to a sport sedan. My company car is a Toyota Siena which gives us all the people and stuff moving needs one can imagine.

What’s your experience with BMW been like?

Are we crazy to think that the two guarilla armed and legged boys of ours can comfortably fit in a 5 series?

Besides the 5 and MB E class, are there other sport sedans we should consider? Not really interested in Japanese / Chinese options. Is there an American AWD sports sedan? Is concern about Cadillac reliability legitimate?

[asphaltgambler]

I'm BMW 5-r guy for a long time. The E60's are great cars if you stick to the base 6 cyl. The later F series are also good, but obviously pricier as they are newer. My current DD is an '08 528 XI with @150k on the clock. It was a 1 owner with good service history. Its been a great car.

But, I'm now paying the BMW TAX, as I'm replacing the entire engine cooling system - it's due.

As many have said, try to find a 1 owner with good service history.

[scott540]

Have had our daily driver 2008 550i for over 6 years. Knock on wood. Not one real problem. Only regular maintenance.

[OldSpool87]

I have a 2009 535 wagon (E61). It has the N54 engine (twin turbo 3.0). It gets up pretty good for a heavy car. With Conti DWS and a 6MT I like it’s overall stability in snow. The panoramic sunroof puts a lot of weight where you might normally not want it but makes for a nice sunny cabin. Kids like it too (ages 12, 4 & 4). BMW repairs aren’t cheap though. Just replaced water pump with Indy shop at $1600.

[wdfifteen]

I had a 2008 535 and hated it.
It had the best lights of any car I’ve ever driven.
The ergonomics sucked.
My MB E 320 was a much more enjoyable car.

[gduke2010]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

I'm BMW 5-r guy for a long time. The E60's are great cars if you stick to the base 6 cyl. The later F series are also good, but obviously pricier as they are newer. My current DD is an '08 528 XI with @150k on the clock. It was a 1 owner with good service history. Its been a great car.

But, I'm now paying the BMW TAX, as I'm replacing the entire engine cooling system - it's due.

As many have said, try to find a 1 owner with good service history.

Yes, I’ll second that. Love my BMW. It’s a 2011 335d premium luxury with M Sport suspension, solid as a rock, reliable, and fast. They only made the them from 2009-2011. Plenty of power, 265 hp and 425 lb torc. The same engine is in the X5 diesel. A friend of mine has one with 150 k, no issues and looks like brand new.
Of coarse I might be a bit biased. You’ll have to try out several cars and chose what You or your wife like best.

Good luck car shopping.

[gduke2010]

Btw, it gets 36 mpg and over 40 mpg on the highway

[asphaltgambler]

BTW, overall the V-8 cars are fine too. As I've said before - buying a used high-end car is a lot like shopping for a wife in a whorehouse.................
There's a LOT to pick from - but long term happiness is elusive. Pretty faces everywhere you turn - only hiding the past abuse and neglect.

Do your homework, put the time in to find a good one.

[Crowbob]

The OP sounds liek a pretty good trade to me.

[MRM]

I highly recommend the BMW 5 series and the Mercedes E Class. I drive a 2011 BMW 535 and have about 115,000 miles on it. Other than parking ramp dings it still looks new. All the power I need in daily traffic and a great highway cruiser. The 8 speed transmission is invisible puttering around town but sparks to life if you need a jackrabbit start to merge onto the freeway.

The only other car in its class to consider is the Mercedes E Class. The 2012 and later E350 has the larger engine with 302 HP. My wife has had hers for about three years. it has 60,000 or so on it. It still looks and feels new. When we took it to spring driver's training with the BMW club the instructors lined up to toss it around the track. It is surprisingly sporty if you hit the go fast pedal. If I closed my eyes I couldn't tell whether I was driving the Mercedes or the BMW.

Both are all wheel drive and I highly recommend it for daily drivers. Both have been absolutely flawless except for wear items and (for the BMW) bent rims. The Mercedes rims are much more durable.

I don't recommend any of the competitors. The Japanese equivalents are nice and reliable but aren't better and don't have the same luxury and feel as the Germans. I was badly burned by Audi and will never buy one of their cars again. They are also more expensive. The BMW and Mercedes simply fill all the boxes and get the midsized car segment right.

[Cajundaddy]

The 5 series are comfortable, fun to drive, and easy on the eyes. I like the 530 and 528 a lot. I did not like an earlier 535 at all. Downsides- After 40k miles they need a lot more repair than average and parts are expensive.

Another nice grocery getter: Lexus RX 350 4wd

My wife is on her 3rd one of these and we have now logged 400k on this platform. Comfortable, looks good, absolutely bulletproof build quality. Downside (for me): Less engaging to drive than the BMW. I find it a bit too soft but that is the part my wife likes the best. I could not get her into a Porsche Macan/BMW 530.