Hey All;

So in the next couple weeks I'm going to be purchasing a used car. I've pretty much got it narrowed down to; e90, e60, and a G. I realize this is a G forum, so most of the responses are fairly biased, but I think most of you can appreciate the German competition enough to look at things objectively.

Here is my break-down on the 3 cars;

I *love* the e60, the features, the sheer amount of car for the money is fantastic. Its a super quiet ride on the highway, and if you get a 545i w/ Sports Package you get some ungodly 330 bwhp and I think its substantially classier than a e90 or a G. Also, typically the purchasers/leasers are a bit older and aren't as hard on the car, this is a very good thing. The bad thing about the e60 - reliability isn't exactly stellar. It isn't Mercedes Benz horrible, but maintenance costs are definitely more than the other two. Right now I'm looking at a 2005 545i w/ SMG transmission with the Sport Package, Premium Package, Bluetooth, Cold Weather package, PDC, (essentially fully loaded) with 98k for $15k. I know I could get it for $13.5k.

I really really want a e90, moreso than the E60 or the G. I think these cars are unbelievably attractive, they are so much fun to drive, and the N52 engine has bulletproof reliability & I am fairly confident I could drive one of these for the next couple years without spending a cent on unexpected maintenance. The bad thing is its typically purchased by younger guys who beat the hell out of these cars. The other problem is younger people typically prefer a 3er over a 5er. Not normally a bad thing, but younger people can't normally afford new ones, ergo they go after the used ones, pushing up prices, Sports package .... price goes up substantially more than if a 5er had it, Sat Ratio, Xenon (on the 325i) same gig. So you can typically get a 06 5er for LESS money than a similarly equipped 3er ... it makes no sense what so ever. I'd have to spend about $17k to get what I want out of a car.

As far as the G goes -- I've had 3. I love these cars, I know what they are capable of, I know how to take them apart, how they work -- I know how to shop for these cars, I also know I can do about 200k on these cars without any issues -- the problem is the Infiniti G is a very good --- copy of the 3er. It is just that -- a very good $16k copy. That and when the 2014 releases all of our cars will go through another aggressive post-post-purchase depreciation cycle, whereas the new 5er and 3er have both released an the e60s have already gone through this depreciation cycle. I've found a fully loaded 07 G35S for $15k.

Anyways, any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

How do you plan to use the car? What are the most important criteria to you?

 

Great question. I am in my last semester of law school, and want the car to last a couple years before dumping it. It going to rack up about 25k highway miles in the first year and probably not all that many in the second.

Most important is a really comfortable highway ride. I also want a car that is a blast to drive and I can let my inner child out every once and a while. While reliability is important, I realize I'm purchasing a car with higher milage so I'd have to replace a few things ...

 

Based solely on this paragraph I would highly recommend the G. I, like you, would love to have a BMW, I know I'm not in the financial position to be able to afford repair costs if something were to happen to it, especially still being in college. My suggestion would be to buy the G for now, its comfortable, sporty, looks great, and on the cheaper end of repair costs than the BMW. You've already owned several G's so you know that.

I know I'm waiting till I'm out of college and have the majority of my loans paid off from school and for my current G before buying a BMW.

Either way you go let us know and post pictures of which ever car you purchase.

Good luck!

 

You've had three G's. It's time to treat yourself to something different and more upscale. Based on the way you wrote those options out, I'm thinking the 5-series is the right choice.

 

Thanks for the replies guys! I am really leaning 5er right now, especially given the Country I've lived in the past 9 months with another 7 more to go. I can pull the plates off my current German BMW and just throw them on this one.

I've had 3 G's, they have all been great, and the upcoming depreciation curve is really scaring me away. The lack of a replacement is a HUGE reason why the G's have held their values so well.

Come tomorrow I'll know more for sure, but I get the feeling I'm going to have that 545i in the driveway.

 

I've a buddy with a 530i 6MT. It's kind of slow, and the handling is pretty sloppy, but it's an extraordinarily plush drive. That, and he keeps it in immaculate condition. Nice car.

My employer drives a 545i 6MT, and that's a completely different car. Although he's kind of a poser when it comes to cars, the vehicle itself is worthy. It's slightly less the performance car of my G-Sedan 6MT, but that also doesn't matter. When you go drive that car, it feels awesome. Stats are meaningless to me, and unless you're on the track or street racing, how fast your car is in comparison to other cars is also meaningless if the driving experience suits you. And the 545i is a great driving car.

 

Love BMWs but had a 745Li out of warranty and wouldn't wish that on anyone. I'd love to have another Bimmer but only w/ factory warranty (those aftermarket warranties are a nightmare) and only if the dealership was within a reasonable distance from my house. Good luck w/ whatever you decide, I'd take the G for reliability alone, but if you're a gambler the out-of-warranty 5 series is a nice drive.

 

Seems like you are leaning more toward the BMW. You should go with what you really want not with what other opinions from an obviously biased forum would be.

 

Like others are saying reliability alone would be the reason I wouldn't suggest BMW, especially not a used 5 series, which you are potentially looking at 05-07 i guess. The mileage is going to be up there being that you are going that far back and that likelihood of encountering problems are increased that much more. To me its a no brainer to go with another g.

 

Or better yet it seems your in love with comfortability of the bmw, why not throw an M45 into the mix?? Luxury ride, enough power, and its still a nissan as far as reliability and a different feel from the G.

 

Hey Guys -

Thanks again for all the responses.

From my experience with BMW, the "higher end" the car is -- the less reliable it becomes. For examples the 1er and 3er are just bullet proof little cars -- they keep going and going and going. My current 01 316i in Germany has 210k on the clock and it works as it did they first day it left the lot - flawlessly. My fuel-pump died last week, and the fuel pump was designed to be easily replaced in less than an hour with nothing more than the $8 IKEA set of tools.

From what I've heard -- the 7er is a lease car, after that the BMW mechanics drive them as their dealers can get them for them at auction super cheap, and maintenance on them is almost free. The 5er fits somewhere in between -- you have a one owner car from an older person who bought it as opposed to leasing it -- and it'll go and go and go, whereas if you buy one of these cars or beat the **** out of them, expect problems and frequently. BMW's 15k fuel change was a horrible idea.

I found that 545i from above, 1 owner who was is a BMW freak, did the Euro delivery, and the whole 9 yards, and has replaced the hydraulic SMG pump and all sensors, alternator, radio, vacuum pump, rotors & pads, tires, coolant, etc., If he has replaced the clutch and did the 100k maintenance its sold. If not ... that is ~ $3k worth of stuff I'm going to have to do almost immediately and I might have to start looking elsewhere.

The G is an absolutely fantastic car -- I would have no problem going with a #4, the big SCARY thing (that should be freaking everyone out here) is the looming new cycle of deprecation all our cars out going to experience when the 2013.5 Q releases. The value of our cars is going experience something very similar to the Bay of Pigs. I know they are reliable and I know they look awesome, and are great everything cars, I am still just unsure. Its this reliability thing that haunts me. Too bad 2/yr 24k extended warranties cost about $4k. :-/

Edit -- I think the 05/06 M is about as attractive as the 06/07 ES 350. Meh.

 

Why not hold on a few months untill the price drop happens then get a G at the lower price?

 

I'm curious as to why people think the cars are going to take a huge depreciation hit.

So they renamed it... why would that make the previous incarnations worthless? More likely they become collectors.

 

Especially if the new model isn't all that, which is a possibility.