Are 97 528's reliable?

I'm new to BMW's, usually liek Honda/Acura and Toyota. I've found a 97
528iwith 110,000 miles. It looks to be in good shape and it's really sharp.
The asking price is $10,900 so I bet I could get it down to $10,000. From
what I found looking this model up this would be a very good price, what do
you think.

Also, this was the first year for that new body style, right? That's one of
the reasons I'm interested as it looks newer that it really is. Did this
year of 528 tend to have any problems?

Stan Dowiat wrote:
> I'm new to BMW's, usually liek Honda/Acura and Toyota. I've found a 97
> 528iwith 110,000 miles. It looks to be in good shape and it's really sharp.
> The asking price is $10,900 so I bet I could get it down to $10,000. From
> what I found looking this model up this would be a very good price, what do
> you think.
>
> Also, this was the first year for that new body style, right? That's one of
> the reasons I'm interested as it looks newer that it really is. Did this
> year of 528 tend to have any problems?
>
>
I have a 97 528I with about 200,500 miles on it. I purchased it almost
two years ago when it had 147,000 miles on it. In the time I've owned it
I had to replace the front wheel bearings at about 160,000 miles (about
$330 for parts doing the work myself), I needed to replace a resistor
pack that controls the climate control(about $75) and just this past
fall one of my rear springs broke and it blew out the shock. I replaced
the shocks springs and other hardware with factory BMW parts which cost
about $560 and $125 in labor at a local mechanic. I have no idea what
the car ran like when it was new, but at over 200,000 miles it runs
better than ANY American POS I've ever owned that had less than 100,000
miles on them.

Prior to the BMW I had a 1993 Nissan Maxima with about 185,000 miles on
it. I'd probably still be driving it now if I hadn't lost it to a fire.
prior to that I had a 1987 Nissan Maxima with 285,000 miles on it. I
sold that just cause it was getting rusty and it needed some expensive
repairs.

I really liked the Japanese cars I but I really love the BMW. When my
last Maxima burned up I was looking for something under $10,000 when I
ran across this 528. It was either this, I always wanted a BMW, or a new
Caviler. WTF, I went with the BMW and I'm not sorry I did.

Good luck with your decision.

Joel

I'm from the UK and have owned a 97 528 since 2000. It has now done over
130,000 miles and I have experienced some problems but nothing major. I
would certainly buy another but you must bear in mind the cost of repairing
anything that goes wrong is more than with other makes.

"Stan Dowiat" > wrote in message
...
> I'm new to BMW's, usually liek Honda/Acura and Toyota. I've found a 97
> 528iwith 110,000 miles. It looks to be in good shape and it's really
> sharp. The asking price is $10,900 so I bet I could get it down to
> $10,000. From what I found looking this model up this would be a very
> good price, what do you think.
>
> Also, this was the first year for that new body style, right? That's one
> of the reasons I'm interested as it looks newer that it really is. Did
> this year of 528 tend to have any problems?
>

1997 is the 2nd year of the 5 series.
The 5 series is quite strong but you cannot expect japanese-like
reliability. Many things will fail, but basically nothing major.
In my old 1997 535, I had to replace the clutch, power windows, rear
suspension, a few sensors, leaking engine, etc.
In 2004 I spent about $2000 for maintenance and small repairs, not including
tires.
Conclusion: reliable, but expensive to maintain.
Just my $ .02

--
Best regards.
Giovanni Tarantino
Bevaix (NE)
Switzerland
1997 Audi A4 2.8 Q 238,000 km (146,000 miles)
1997 BMW 535i 236,000 km (145,000 miles)

"GT" > wrote in message
...
> 1997 is the 2nd year of the 5 series.
> The 5 series is quite strong but you cannot expect japanese-like
> reliability. Many things will fail, but basically nothing major.
> In my old 1997 535, I had to replace the clutch, power windows, rear
> suspension, a few sensors, leaking engine, etc.

That kind of stuff happens on all cars, even Japanese cars. My 1985 635CSi
is a much more reliable car than my 1988 Supra was. When I sold the Supra
in 2002, more pieces were falling off than I knew what to do with, and it
was well cared for. The BMW still looks and runs like it was pulled of the
showroom floor yesterday. Just my .02

"Paddington" > wrote in message
ink.net...
>
> "GT" > wrote in message
> ...
>> 1997 is the 2nd year of the 5 series.
>> The 5 series is quite strong but you cannot expect japanese-like
>> reliability. Many things will fail, but basically nothing major.
>> In my old 1997 535, I had to replace the clutch, power windows, rear
>> suspension, a few sensors, leaking engine, etc.
>
> That kind of stuff happens on all cars, even Japanese cars. My 1985
> 635CSi
> is a much more reliable car than my 1988 Supra was. When I sold the Supra
> in 2002, more pieces were falling off than I knew what to do with, and it
> was well cared for. The BMW still looks and runs like it was pulled of
> the
> showroom floor yesterday. Just my .02

You can't be serious. BMW's are high maintenance vehicles. I'm on my 3rd
BMW, and all of them have been just as unreliable so far, old or new. I
often say: "BMW's are easy to work on, and that's fortunate, because you
have to work on 'em a lot."

From experience and from research I can say that almost any Japanese car
would be more reliable than a BMW. If your '85 Big Coupe looks showroom
new, with no body rust forming, either you live in a desert, or you never,
ever drive in the rain or road salt. Or possibly you have had the car
completely stripped, zinc primed, undercoated and repainted with 2-stage
paint. 6-series coupes rust notoriously. They are fraught with electrical
problems, the main seals leak, cam oilers fail, they have steering failures,
A/C problems, failing hydraulic struts, loose shifter bushings, weak timing
chain idlers, "rocking" front seats, ECU problems, etc, etc. I had to
repair all four electric window motors in my Coupe at least twice, which
involved taking the doors completely apart. That was barely the beginning.

The 6-series are beautiful cars, no doubt; but after spending hundreds of
hours endlessly repairing and de-rusting my low-mileage '83 633csi, I
finally gave up and sold it. That was a decision that I don't regret.

Now I drive a 2000 BMW Z3 Roadster. It's obviously a better car than the
old 6-series in every respect; but I can already see that it's not as
reliable as my bombproof '92 Honda Civic with 160,000 miles on the clock. I
love BMW's for the driving experience; but I'll never lie to myself about
their reliability. Buy a BMW with your eyes open, and be ready to either
roll up your sleeves and fix it yourself, or write some fat checks to the
local Stealer.

YMMV, HTH

R

"Rocketman" > wrote in message
news:kQbYd.54851$r55.12685@attbi_s52...
> "Paddington" > wrote in message
> ink.net...
> >
> > "GT" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> 1997 is the 2nd year of the 5 series.
> >> The 5 series is quite strong but you cannot expect japanese-like
> >> reliability. Many things will fail, but basically nothing major.
> >> In my old 1997 535, I had to replace the clutch, power windows, rear
> >> suspension, a few sensors, leaking engine, etc.
> >
> > That kind of stuff happens on all cars, even Japanese cars. My 1985
> > 635CSi
> > is a much more reliable car than my 1988 Supra was. When I sold the
Supra
> > in 2002, more pieces were falling off than I knew what to do with, and
it
> > was well cared for. The BMW still looks and runs like it was pulled of
> > the
> > showroom floor yesterday. Just my .02
>
> You can't be serious. BMW's are high maintenance vehicles. I'm on my 3rd
> BMW, and all of them have been just as unreliable so far, old or new. I
> often say: "BMW's are easy to work on, and that's fortunate, because you
> have to work on 'em a lot."
>
> From experience and from research I can say that almost any Japanese car
> would be more reliable than a BMW. If your '85 Big Coupe looks showroom
> new, with no body rust forming, either you live in a desert, or you never,
> ever drive in the rain or road salt. Or possibly you have had the car
> completely stripped, zinc primed, undercoated and repainted with 2-stage
> paint. 6-series coupes rust notoriously. They are fraught with
electrical
> problems, the main seals leak, cam oilers fail, they have steering
failures,
> A/C problems, failing hydraulic struts, loose shifter bushings, weak
timing
> chain idlers, "rocking" front seats, ECU problems, etc, etc. I had to
> repair all four electric window motors in my Coupe at least twice, which
> involved taking the doors completely apart. That was barely the beginning.
>
> The 6-series are beautiful cars, no doubt; but after spending hundreds of
> hours endlessly repairing and de-rusting my low-mileage '83 633csi, I
> finally gave up and sold it. That was a decision that I don't regret.
>
> Now I drive a 2000 BMW Z3 Roadster. It's obviously a better car than the
> old 6-series in every respect; but I can already see that it's not as
> reliable as my bombproof '92 Honda Civic with 160,000 miles on the clock.
I
> love BMW's for the driving experience; but I'll never lie to myself about
> their reliability. Buy a BMW with your eyes open, and be ready to either
> roll up your sleeves and fix it yourself, or write some fat checks to the
> local Stealer.
>

Yeah, I won't deny we've put a lot of money into it. It was repainted two
years ago. My experience comes from owning a money pit Supra. We put $3,000
in engine work alone, followed by much more. Total up the receipts and the
bix six has been cheaper to run so far, and it feels much more solid and
bomb proof than the Supra did.

I won't argue with you that they aren't expensive to own and run, they are.
But I do think it's a more solid vehicle than my Supra was, and the quality
of materials is much better as well.

"Paddington" > wrote in message
ink.net...
>
> "Rocketman" > wrote in message
> news:kQbYd.54851$r55.12685@attbi_s52...
>> "Paddington" > wrote in message
>> ink.net...
>> >
>> > "GT" > wrote in message
>> > ...
>> >> 1997 is the 2nd year of the 5 series.
>> >> The 5 series is quite strong but you cannot expect japanese-like
>> >> reliability. Many things will fail, but basically nothing major.
>> >> In my old 1997 535, I had to replace the clutch, power windows, rear
>> >> suspension, a few sensors, leaking engine, etc.
>> >
>> > That kind of stuff happens on all cars, even Japanese cars. My 1985
>> > 635CSi
>> > is a much more reliable car than my 1988 Supra was. When I sold the
> Supra
>> > in 2002, more pieces were falling off than I knew what to do with, and
> it
>> > was well cared for. The BMW still looks and runs like it was pulled
>> > of
>> > the
>> > showroom floor yesterday. Just my .02
>>
>> You can't be serious. BMW's are high maintenance vehicles. I'm on my 3rd
>> BMW, and all of them have been just as unreliable so far, old or new. I
>> often say: "BMW's are easy to work on, and that's fortunate, because you
>> have to work on 'em a lot."
>>
>> From experience and from research I can say that almost any Japanese car
>> would be more reliable than a BMW. If your '85 Big Coupe looks showroom
>> new, with no body rust forming, either you live in a desert, or you
>> never,
>> ever drive in the rain or road salt. Or possibly you have had the car
>> completely stripped, zinc primed, undercoated and repainted with 2-stage
>> paint. 6-series coupes rust notoriously. They are fraught with
> electrical
>> problems, the main seals leak, cam oilers fail, they have steering
> failures,
>> A/C problems, failing hydraulic struts, loose shifter bushings, weak
> timing
>> chain idlers, "rocking" front seats, ECU problems, etc, etc. I had to
>> repair all four electric window motors in my Coupe at least twice, which
>> involved taking the doors completely apart. That was barely the
>> beginning.
>>
>> The 6-series are beautiful cars, no doubt; but after spending hundreds of
>> hours endlessly repairing and de-rusting my low-mileage '83 633csi, I
>> finally gave up and sold it. That was a decision that I don't regret.
>>
>> Now I drive a 2000 BMW Z3 Roadster. It's obviously a better car than the
>> old 6-series in every respect; but I can already see that it's not as
>> reliable as my bombproof '92 Honda Civic with 160,000 miles on the clock.
> I
>> love BMW's for the driving experience; but I'll never lie to myself about
>> their reliability. Buy a BMW with your eyes open, and be ready to either
>> roll up your sleeves and fix it yourself, or write some fat checks to the
>> local Stealer.
>>
>
> Yeah, I won't deny we've put a lot of money into it. It was repainted two
> years ago.

I kinda guessed that ;-) My '83 633csi was repainted in 1991 - and it
actually looked very good. It's not BMW's fault that the paint was weak.
The 1980's were a dark time for auto paint, across the entire industry.
Metallic paints in the 1980's were particularly notorious for literally
peeling off in sheets, especially on American cars. I was following a late
80's Chrysler recently that actually had long paint "fronds" waving in the
wind on every top surface. Strange.

> My experience comes from owning a money pit Supra. We put $3,000
> in engine work alone, followed by much more. Total up the receipts and the
> bix six has been cheaper to run so far, and it feels much more solid and
> bomb proof than the Supra did.

Yeah, an old girlfriend of mine bought an '84 Supra in '87, with barely
24,000 on the ticker. Before she had owned it 1 year, she put ~$2,000 into
it. The cooling system had been trashed by some idiot who put several cans
of Bars Leaks in it (god knows why). Gummed it up real nice. The local
Toyota $tealer really worked her over. Total frauds.

> I won't argue with you that they aren't expensive to own and run, they
> are.
> But I do think it's a more solid vehicle than my Supra was, and the
> quality
> of materials is much better as well.

Once you get all of the bugs worked out, and if you live in a dry, warm area
(or run it summers only), a Big Coupe is a nice touring car, and still a
head-turner. I just wish I could have kept mine from rusting. I'd probably
still have the darned thing. They grow on you. It's a version of Stockholm
Syndrome ;-)

R

I don't know about your 5 Series, but I have a 3 Series with the same motor,
and it has been almost completely trouble free in over 100,000 miles
(California). I bought my car with about the same miles as your car, and
before long the plastic radiator tank broke on a narrow mountain road with
no pull outs. I limped my car to the top of the hill after stopping several
times to let it cool off. From the failure point to the top of the hill was
only about 5 miles, and three stops. From the top of the hill, I switched
the motor off and coasted to the bottom, about 7 miles, where I was able to
get a tow truck to take me home.

The limping part proved to be more hazardous that I expected, and I damaged
the head. I bought my car below current market value, but the repairs
brought me back to market value for arguably a nicer car, but I have had no
further troubles. I have replaced the front brake pads a couple of times and
the front rotors once, and the rear pads once. Other than these normal
repairs and the regular maintenance, the car has not cost me a dime after
fixing the radiator and damaged head.

You need to look at the radiator and determine if it has plastic tanks. If
it does, and most do, then you need to check the inlet (top) hose and
fitting to see if the plastic is strong. My inlet tube physically broke
completely off and the engine pumped all of the coolant out onto the ground.
If you can catch this before it breaks, you can avoid potential damage to
the head.

I bought my '94 in 2000 with 105,000 miles. It just turned 210,000. I get
25mpg or better on every tank of gas with combined city and freeway driving
and doing mostly 80+ on the freeway. I can safely say that I never do less
than 70 on the freeway unless traffic demands, and when traffic permits, I
do 80 or better. If I could clamp my velocity at 70, I'm sure my mileage
would climb to about 30mpg.

My BMW has been the most pleasurable auto I have ever owned, with the
possible exception of my modified Jeep that goes places vehicles are seldom
asked to go.





"Stan Dowiat" > wrote in message
...
> I'm new to BMW's, usually liek Honda/Acura and Toyota. I've found a 97
> 528iwith 110,000 miles. It looks to be in good shape and it's really
sharp.
> The asking price is $10,900 so I bet I could get it down to $10,000. From
> what I found looking this model up this would be a very good price, what
do
> you think.
>
> Also, this was the first year for that new body style, right? That's one
of
> the reasons I'm interested as it looks newer that it really is. Did this
> year of 528 tend to have any problems?
>
>

In article >,
Jeff Strickland > wrote:
> I don't know about your 5 Series, but I have a 3 Series with the same
> motor, and it has been almost completely trouble free in over 100,000
> miles (California). I bought my car with about the same miles as your
> car, and before long the plastic radiator tank broke on a narrow
> mountain road with no pull outs. I limped my car to the top of the hill
> after stopping several times to let it cool off. From the failure point
> to the top of the hill was only about 5 miles, and three stops. From the
> top of the hill, I switched the motor off and coasted to the bottom,
> about 7 miles, where I was able to get a tow truck to take me home.

With pretty well any car these days if it runs low on coolant for whatever
reason it's best to just stop. Aluminium heads - and or blocks - really
don't take kindly to being cooked. The cost of a tow off a motorway -
dunno what the US equivalent is - is likely to be less than the repair
costs if you limp on. Cast iron donks could stand all sorts of abuse, but
those days are gone.

--
*Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.