> wrote
>I am looking at a 1995 525i that is for sale for $8000
> Condition is excellent, car is fully loaded, and has 97K miles,
> and at least on paper, this looks like a good deal.

IMO, that's about $1,000 too much. Our '91 (granted, with
fewer options and the non-vanos engine) is only worth about $4500.

> Having driven only Toyotas all my life, can you shed light on
> - yearly maintenance costs ?

It's probably about due for front-end bushings - anywhere from $500
to $1200 or so. Other than that, see the other sources.

> Toyotas are fairly economical to maintain and they run for a long time
> without serious breakdowns. Having heard only horror stories on BMW
> maintenance costs, but of course, great driving pleasure, I want to
> understand if I can 'really afford' to drive a BMW.

I have two Toyotas and 2 BMWs (and have had two others). IMHO,
modern BMWs are no more expensive to maintain than Toyotas.
Both make beautifully engineered and manufactured cars.

Floyd