E39 or E46.

E39 was the best 5 series EVAR!!!!!

E46 cars were the best looking 3 series IMHO.

Both cars are cheap these days.

blackxs wrote:

carnurd wrote: E34 M5... and done... lol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_S38#S38 skeet skeet nukka What if reliability is important?

Huh?

Yeah reliability is important, or lowest cost to maintain.

Like I said I'm not that mechaincal, so at what mileage (estimate) do these things start to fall apart on an E39 or E46?

I mean in the same price range I saw a 07 Hunydai Tiburion with 25k miles for $8900 that still has a warranty. I currently have a BMW that I'm giving up to buy a house, so I don't know if I could go to something that's THAT big of a difference (not that their bad cars or anything), so that's why I'd rather get an older BMW but I don't want it to be come a money pit since I'll be putting about 26k to 30k miles a year on it for the next 2 or 3 years.

I have an E46 01 330i that I use to haul my daughter around, fits her carseat just fine. Gets about 25-31 mpg, and looks nice. I change the rear shock mounts, water pump, and thermostat every two years, oil change at 5k(ish), and expansion tank every 5 years, so far I havent been stuck on the side of the road.

Thats not to say it doesnt have its quirks, though. Just like every car it has some strange bumps and creaks

Ok I'm curious, I see quite a few of the E39 5 series with navigation. Do those still get the realtime traffic info on them? Can you update the maps still?

I have the 08 iDrive in my current car (the one I'm getting rid of to get my house) and I really love it around here for the traffic information on my commute to and from work so that would be appealing to me if those still get that.

Do the E39 and E46 (non-M's) need premium (91 octane) or can they use regular?

Evilsmith, about how much do those things cost to replace. honestly I don't know what some of those are, again extreme noob mechanically (though willing to learn).

thanks for all the help/advice guys, this is great

Rear Shock Mounts are $30 for both (Pellicanparts.com) top of rear shocks
Water Pump is $60 - $80 (Pellicanparts.com) circulates coolant
Thermostat is $66 (pelicanparts.com) regulates coolant circulation
Expansion Tank is $72 (Pelicanparts.com) pressurized plastic POS next to radiator

There are other things too like spark plugs and fluids, those are just the things I could think of that were specific to BMW maintenance.

wkohler wrote:

blackxs wrote: carnurd wrote: E34 M5... and done... lol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_S38#S38 skeet skeet nukka What if reliability is important? Huh?

I dont think an E34 M5 will be particularly reliable or cheap to maintain... just a hunch

Cheap to maintain? No. Reliable? Sure. I know several folks who daily-drive them. They just have the means to maintain them.

Whatever you find just make sure it has been well maintained. try and get something with full records and check all the fluids when your looking at the car. Try to get a car that is around the correct value of the car at least for there asking price. If they think it is worth less it probably has something wrong with it. That being said any 3 or 5 series with an inline 6 is a good bet. bmw knows how to build that motor better than just about any other company.

like 1_2 race said "make sure you check EVERYTHING on the car, dont just fall for a nice looking POS.. as far as E34's go, i have one with 248k and it runs great, its reliable, cheap for parts, and easy to work one due to all the elbow room under the hood. Its up to you though, i would look up info on what the car you are looking into is notorious for. i.e. e36's are notorious for quite a few things and my e34 wagon is know for dysfunctional sunroofs