Hi there guys. I've been thinking for months and I have finally made up my mind.... I am going ahead and buy my dream car - an E39 523. Found a cpl from the auto-trader and cbg websites.It would also be my first ever car ( been driving my parents cars for years !), adn therefore I must admit that I am somewhat naive when it comes to buying used cars. Thats why I am here with a few questions and I hope u guys can help me:

1) What should I look out for when buying a second hand car. I know this may sound silly, I havent a clue to to inspect and what questions to ask before buying a used car. The 2 cars I short listed has a FBMWSH ( took me AGES to figure that one out ! ). Is that usually enough ?

2) The Nikasil issue - Is there a way to tell if the car is affected or now. I know I can always ask the garage owner but how to I get proof?

3) What is the fuel consumption like ? How much is a full tank usually?

4) Anymore tips/hints for a first time car buyer ?

Thanks Guys !

good choice for a first car!

As far as i know Nikasil issue affected cars made until 04.98 if you buy newer than that you're ok. if car made before that your best bet would be to check compression in each cyllinder. it very simple and quick test, but it is hard to find garage wich has that tool. Also you can start engine (must be cold),  fully open door and look at the top edge for vibation. good engine vibration should be barely visible.

Other common issue is steering rack. on the test drive go trough pot holes (not the very big ones ) and see what is like.

Fuel consumption depends on your driving style. In Mondello yesterday i got 16 mpg but on the motorway driving 65 mph you'll get 37-40 mpg. (at least that is what my computer says)

Im not great on buying cars myself, but i know that perfect one does not exist (similar like with the women ) so have few spare quid ready for repairs or upgrades.

good luck on buying your first car!

Here are a couple of options for you... http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&sortby=PriceAsc&maxrows=100&Make=BMW&MakeID=3&Model=523&ModelID=24&Year_Min=1998&GroupID=738 - carzone .

Watch out - in the interior pics, look for pictures of the steering wheel.  If there are buttons on it, you should have radio controls and cruise control and, possibly, a button for switching your air around (haven't figured out exactly how to use that myself, yet!)

Also, look at price v mileage - a lot of the cars are the same price with completely different mileages.  Also, hold out for a good spec - I did and I'm happy! (my absolute MUST was cruise control!!!)

Good choice of motor, and happy driving.

Oh, yeah - welcome to the forum.  Where are you based?

Rosso

Welcome! 

As Killian mentioned, there are a few of us that have 5's of one sort or another, including 523i's.  If you let us know where you are based and some more about the cars you have shortlisted, we should be able to help more. 

On mine, I'm averaging 34mpg according the the on board computer, but most of my driving consists of long runs and not much town driving.  It cost me about €80 to fill up from running on fumes the other day and I typically get about 520-550 miles from a tank.  They are a great car but you do need to be careful buying them because they are complex and if you buy a bad one you'll end up paying more in the long run.  A full dealer history is definitely an asset but it is no guarantee against things like nikasil.  Mine has been totally reliable, in every respect, but there have been horror stories.  Let us know more!

Fey! wrote: Get 30.7mpg on long runs, and anywhere from 18-22  mpg in town - most of my driving is start/stop short run town driving.

My figure of 34 has been the average over the last 6-7000 miles.  My best trip figure was close to 37 on an uninterrupted (by plod, plonkers, traffic, etc.) run to Donegal and back.

I am the same as Fey my E39 520 gets me about 400 miles for €80 also. I just wish I had of waited and got a 523i instead, mine is way underpowered.

Just a tip which I did and it worked out well. I rang Jd's and asked them where they send the cars that they won't sell themselves i/e trade ins from 01 or older. They happened to have one that they would sell me as they thought it was perfect and were prepared to stand over it. It was a 1997 520i and this was in 2004.

They did the full BM check,  fixed anything that was wrong i.e new clutch and hand brake and gave me 12 month full BMW warranty.

It might be worth ringing a BM dealer, it work well for me.

Thanks for the offer Kbannon. Another question..how fussy should I be about the mileage on the cars? I mean, my friends just cringe when I mention anything above 80k miles. Are cars with 100k in them worth buying ?

I am based in Dublin, City center. and thanks for the website, Fay.

My budget is about 12k. That should be enough for a decent car right? Ideally I would like mine to be automatic, with 17" alloys. Leather interior would be a bonus !

Also, is it safe/worth buying privately, instead buying it from a garage?

Thanks for your replies guys !

Give Richie a PM - I know he had a fabulas '99 728 for sale for very right money, and one of the lads who came to the Antrim meet deals in BMW's.

hehe. a 728 ? dont think i have the $$$, but tempting enough though.

Russo - it wasn't too much above your budget, was auto, leather, and the full toy dept!

Richie - what's next???

Mileage is less important than condition and history.  I bought mine in early '03 with 44k and full BMW history.  I've added over 50k since then.  Mechanically they car shows no noticable signs of wear and tear (bar stone chips).  The car drives just about as well as the day I bought it.

If you look at higher mileage cars, then you need to check the more obvious, mileage related, stuff like clutch, shock absorbers, ball joint wear, etc.  One thing to watch for on a car with over 80k is the cat.  They seem to start making a bit of noise around about this stage.  Myself and one or two others on here have replaced them around about that mileage.  If the exhaust is noisy or rattling, think cat, not back box.  Watch also that all the pixels on the dash display work.  Disappearing pixels is a fairly common issue and expensive to put right.

If you do a search of the 5 series section you'll find a lot more specific information about what to look for (I've contributed to a few of those, if you search for my handle as a start), but I can heartily recommend an e39 5.  I've never kept a car as long as the 523i and I still can't think of a reason to change it (other than appreciating a little more power from time to time!).  There really isn't a better car for mile munching, in my opinion.

The key thing to check is the build date (on a plaque on the offside inner wing under the bonnet).  For the sort of money you are budgeting, you should be able pick up a post nikasil car and remove that worry. 

Generally, you get what you pay for too.  In my experience, if a car is cheap, there is usually a good reason.  Buy based on what you can see (i.e. with head, not heart).  Warranties are a bit hit and miss, depends too much on the mood of the dealer or small print, so put the time in to finding the genuine example out there rather than expecting the warranty to deal with anything you missed in the test drive.  If there is the faintest whiff of something not right, vote with your feet.  There are plenty of cars available here (or in the UK, all but one of my BMW's have come from there) so there'll be another along in a few minutes. 

I'd also suggest looking at a few before you go searching for "the one".  Mark them one against the other so that when you do go looking for real, you'll have an idea of what's right and not.

was looking at carzone : found a few possibilities

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=279443 - http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car& carID=279443

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=305771 - http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car& carID=305771

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=306968 - http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car& carID=306968

what do u guys think ?

Rosso

The first of these, the 99, looks promising.  The spec is very good, leather, full climate control, multi-function steering wheel (and m-tech wheel), cruise control, 16" alloys, etc.  All in all, a very good spec for an original Irish car and with a 99 reg should be safe as regards nikasil.  The only slight reservation is that it has had 3 owners and depends on what service history there is to support the mileage.  Its a private sale too, but if the history and a test drive were OK then it could well be a possible.  It does seem a little bit cheap (could be because its a private sale) so I'd be looking carefully for reasons why.

The second one is almost certainly a nikasil car (NCT until April, so it was registered in April '98.  Nikasil engines went in until week 10 manufacturing of 1998 (around mid March).  Doubtful if the car was built shipped and registered in a max of 6 weeks.  Its worth asking if the engine has been done (if the dealer doesn't know, get the reg and chassis numbers and ring BMW).  Since there is no picture I can't see if the reg is an original Irish or an import.  If its an import, you might need to check with BMW UK about the engine.  The spec is pretty good, but there isn't a mention of climate control, just air con (which, if true, would suggest it is an original Irish car).

Again, with no picture to see the reg, its difficult to know if its an Irish or UK car.  The spec reads well (sunroof and climate, a fairly unusual combo) but no mention of leather.  Its down to condition and history and knowing when the car was built.

Hope this helps!

BM Fan wrote: Personally I would recommend auto, especially in the city however it will cost more in petrol but much more relaxing which is the main point of these cars.  More attractive at resale also and will cause the price to be higher. One note on auto's thats worth mentioning - its hard to find an auto that has been abused as the ECU prevents over reving and shift changes if the car is not in the approriate rev range hence they can be more reliable than manuals, no popping clutch, grinding gears, replacing clutch etc. The tiptronic on the auto box in fine for a bit of manual indulgence when required

Good point Martin, but I'd question whether auto is the preferred choice after the second owner as BMW's are usually bought then as drivers cars.  The point about abuse is very valid, auto's tend to be specified by cruiser type drivers and therefore often lead a slightly easier life.  That was the case when I bought my e30 325i last year in the UK.  Many manuals were dropped, max powered and knackered.  The car descriptions I tended to be drawn to semed to be mostly auto's (the one I bought was completely standard and unabused, at 13 years old).

thanks dergside. the first car does seems too good to be true. nice specs. decent price. shall make more enquiries about the car.

The 2nd car is a bit pricey at almost 13k. There is a possibility that engine as already been change. Again, shall make more enquiries.

BM Fan - I've been adviced by many against buying an auto though, been told that changing the auto gear box would be very very expensive.

3 more - cheap but very high mileage

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=289513 - http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car& carID=289513

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=300919 - http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car& carID=300919

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=302483 - http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car& carID=302483

automatic anyone ? worst case scenario : assuming that my auto-gearbox is FUBARed, how much would replacing it set me back by, compared to a manual ?

Rosso wrote: 3 more - cheap but very high mileage http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=289513 - http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car& carID=289513 http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=300919 - http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car& carID=300919 http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=302483 - http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car& carID=302483 automatic anyone ? worst case scenario : assuming that my auto-gearbox is FUBARed, how much would replacing it set me back by, compared to a manual ?

Rosso, the first of these has a very good spec and looks tidy in the photo's.  What sort of annual mileage do you do?  If its low, then don't worry too much about it being a bit leggy, assuming the history checks out.  It has a decent duration of NCT too.

The second one is wholly dependent on the build date and engine situation.  The third one has a mixed bag in spec, its got leather and climate but no multi-function wheel (and hence no cruise control) and 15" alloys.  However, it is 99 and therefore post nikasil (still check the build date though, in case it was parked in afield for a while).

Re. auto, personally its not my own preference, but they are mostly reliable and as Martin said, don't dismiss them.  They don't go wrong too often, but there have been some comments on the 5 forum that suggest that although BMW claim they are sealed for life, a service by an auto transmission specialist as you approach 6 figures might be advisable.  I've driven some 3's with the Tiptronic change and the manual change segment of the box works well if you prefer to change your own gears from time to time.

Dergside - dont think my annual mileage would be much. Will be spending most, in the city. Besides, I will be living and working in a smaller town (Mullingar) for 6 months starting January before coming back, therefore I dont think it would be that high.

KBannon- oh yeah, angel eye headlamps *drool*, wide chrome grills *drool*

sigh, decisions, decisions

Rosso wrote: dont think my annual mileage would be much

In that case, buy primarily on condition, spec and history with mileage as a secondary consideration.

thanks Dergside.

A cpl of private sales there looks quite interesting. However, as previously said, private sales can be quite risky. Not being very technically minded, I plan to bring in an independent inspector ie AA autocheck. Anyone know how much do they cost? Also, anyone knows if AA Autochecks also provide vehicle history checks ie outstanding payments ? if not, how do i go about doing it ?

Thanks.

Rosso, I can't say I've ever used anything like Autocheck.  I was going to get one checked a number of years ago (starship mileage Mk3 GTI 16v) but the car sold in the few days it took to try and organize the inspection. 

We don't have the equivalent of HPI here so there is no easy way of tracing insurance and finance history, making a solid and verifiable service history all the more important.  If the car has ever been a UK car then get a HPI check done ( https://www.hpiecheck.com/ - https://www.hpiecheck.com/ ).  It looks good in the document file when it comes time to sell too.

Thanks Killian - I set up an appointment with Robert Harrison to view a car from a Pvt Dealer next week.

One thing though, assuming it does looks on that day and has a FBMWSH, is it safe to assume that it hasn't been written off in the past? Also, if there is a Registration Document present with the car, can I assume that its not a stolen car in the first place? Can it be forged?