Buying A 1997 Bmw 525 Tds (e39)

Jaggu · 11th June 2009, 17:59

Show it to the BMW dealer and get it evaluated so that you can rule out any expensive jobs, apart from the seats (leather crumbled) no signs of bad usage. I would want to add that since its a used car dealer, they are very good at dressing up the car and pass it off as excellent. So please check with Beemer guys before you sign that cheque.

GTO · 11th June 2009, 18:44

A rough guesstimate : Annual maintenance cost averaged to 1,25,000 p.a. minimum, and 2,00,000 maximum over a period of 5 years. Also, there will in all certainly be downtime, due to the wait period for parts.

Bargain hard. Not too many car guys out there willing to buy a decade old BMW.

Raj1008 · 11th June 2009, 20:11

Used car dealers are great with dressing up flaws, however leaving small issues like door not shutting, horn not working should have been taken care of. It would raise a red flag and I would dig deeper. If its a small issue they would have taken care of it before presenting to a client. It maybe just that they are lazy but still dig deeper to get a satisfied answers.

passion4cars · 11th June 2009, 20:32

Hi ,

I would suggest you take the car to a BMW authorized center and just tell them to have a look at the car and tell them you want to know a rough estimate about the repair work. even if they charge small amount for it for diagnosing the problem it should be ok , for all you may know that it might be small nick nacks non expensive things which need a tinkering ? or maybe if its not your day then you might have a series of problems .

If i would be you I would take the car to BMW authorized service center and show them and ask for rough estimate about the repairs . rest your shot

passion4cars · 12th June 2009, 00:58

sorry forgot to mention - dont tell the BMW authorised guys about the price , as they will always say - you are paying too much for this model done this much kms and blaah blaah

LOVE HER(ALD)! · 12th June 2009, 14:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

A rough guesstimate : Annual maintenance cost averaged to 1,25,000 p.a. minimum, and 2,00,000 maximum over a period of 5 years. Also, there will in all certainly be downtime, due to the wait period for parts.

Do you mean a min maintenance cost of above 10K a month !!

!! Guess a Merc 124 250D seems a better buy, what say? The gentleman is not willing to budge below 6.15L claiming an expenditure of approx 75K on the suspension and aircon which he has done already.

After reading all the posts I am preparing to back out of the deal. However as all of you recommend, will be taking the car to an authorized dealership for a check-up before the final NO.

jesal · 15th June 2009, 11:08

you say the car is in delhi ? the pics show bombay if i am not wrong ? car is MH registered is it ? who is the dealer ? never seens this in bombay anyways.

LOVE HER(ALD)! · 15th June 2009, 18:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesal

you say the car is in delhi ? the pics show bombay if i am not wrong ?

Woops! my mistake. It is with a dealer in Mumbai not Delhi (guess

)! It is MH registered and the person is into many other activities besides dealing in cars, so cant exactly call him a car dealer.

dipen · 16th June 2009, 04:00

Looking at the condition of the car, I would recommend you to go for it if you are in the market for a E39 diesel. Closing the deal at 6.00 would be fair to both parties. This is assuming the car does not need any expense greater than 30-40k estimated by a reputed service center. Its hard to find German workhorses of this age in good shape. The history of the car means a lot if you plan on keeping this car for about 3-4 years. Since no one has mentioned any mods, I will list my choices :
1. No mechanical mods, an absolute zero.
2. A good quality M5 bumper. No M badges please on a oil burner.
3. M5 wheel and gear knob if not too expensive.
4. Alloys aren't bad but team-bhp spoils you.
3. 530i tails lamps (white and red ones).

jesal · 16th June 2009, 16:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOVE HER(ALD)!

Woops! my mistake. It is with a dealer in Mumbai not Delhi (guess

)! It is MH registered and the person is into many other activities besides dealing in cars, so cant exactly call him a car dealer.

i thought as much. which dealer has this car in bombay ? so the car is for 6 laks and how much do you think one has to spend after buying it to fix niggling issues as mentioned ? 1 or 2 laks more ?

LOVE HER(ALD)! · 16th June 2009, 19:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesal

i thought as much. which dealer has this car in bombay ? so the car is for 6 laks and how much do you think one has to spend after buying it to fix niggling issues as mentioned ? 1 or 2 laks more ?

Guess that would be max i'd need to spend on the car. But the bigger problem is the spares like filters, brake pads, shocker bushes etc, for which you need to be entirely dependant on your stockist after paying the full amount as advance. On enquiring at Opera House, Mumbai came to know that the E39 is one of the most expensive BMWs to maintain and very few shops stock spares for these cars. The smallest of things need to be ordered from either Germany or China / Taiwan.

Add to that the highly complicated vaccuum-assisted self levelling suspension that this particular top-of-the-line car has, and you are poorer by a lakh and a half should something happen to the suspension.

toms_2191 · 16th June 2009, 21:35

Seems like you are running out of faith in your love. if you ever had a slight inclination towards a diesel W124 ( E class 96-98 model) try to test drive one. you will find it much more easy and cheaper to maintain compared to your current love. only thing is you have to find a well maintained 250D.

As far as my research goes it will cost you any thing between 3.5 to 7 Lac depending on the condition.

Ultimately it depends on whether you love a Beemer or a well built GERMAN CAR.

Decide!!!

jesal · 16th June 2009, 21:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOVE HER(ALD)!

Guess that would be max i'd need to spend on the car. But the bigger problem is the spares like filters, brake pads, shocker bushes etc, for which you need to be entirely dependant on your stockist after paying the full amount as advance. On enquiring at Opera House, Mumbai came to know that the E39 is one of the most expensive BMWs to maintain and very few shops stock spares for these cars. The smallest of things need to be ordered from either Germany or China / Taiwan.

Add to that the highly complicated vaccuum-assisted self levelling suspension that this particular top-of-the-line car has, and you are poorer by a lakh and a half should something happen to the suspension.

lol. looks like you are in deep 2 minds about this. i would be as well. i was hunting as well. but found out its too high to maintain all this in india. im gonna stick to japanese cars at around 10 laks. they last much much more than all these beautiful but expensive cars. if you think you have 1 lak a year to spend on this, get it. its not like it will break down often or something but be ready for it as well. update if you buy it. im looking out for a 3 series myself, would love a convertible.

Ramsagar · 17th June 2009, 10:39

Great car,neatly maintained & nice color.Is it diesel or petrol.

ImmortalZ · 17th June 2009, 11:41

525TDS.

It's a diesel.

11th June 2009, 17:59	#16
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,215 Thanked: 15,907 Times	Show it to the BMW dealer and get it evaluated so that you can rule out any expensive jobs, apart from the seats (leather crumbled) no signs of bad usage. I would want to add that since its a used car dealer, they are very good at dressing up the car and pass it off as excellent. So please check with Beemer guys before you sign that cheque.
	() Thanks

11th June 2009, 18:44	#17
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,546 Thanked: 300,788 Times View My Garage	A rough guesstimate : Annual maintenance cost averaged to 1,25,000 p.a. minimum, and 2,00,000 maximum over a period of 5 years. Also, there will in all certainly be downtime, due to the wait period for parts. Bargain hard. Not too many car guys out there willing to buy a decade old BMW.
	() Thanks

11th June 2009, 20:11	#18
Raj1008 BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 119 Thanked: 64 Times View My Garage	Used car dealers are great with dressing up flaws, however leaving small issues like door not shutting, horn not working should have been taken care of. It would raise a red flag and I would dig deeper. If its a small issue they would have taken care of it before presenting to a client. It maybe just that they are lazy but still dig deeper to get a satisfied answers.
	() Thanks

11th June 2009, 20:32	#19
passion4cars BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Melbourne Posts: 156 Thanked: 6 Times	Hi , I would suggest you take the car to a BMW authorized center and just tell them to have a look at the car and tell them you want to know a rough estimate about the repair work. even if they charge small amount for it for diagnosing the problem it should be ok , for all you may know that it might be small nick nacks non expensive things which need a tinkering ? or maybe if its not your day then you might have a series of problems . If i would be you I would take the car to BMW authorized service center and show them and ask for rough estimate about the repairs . rest your shot
	() Thanks

12th June 2009, 00:58	#20
passion4cars BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Melbourne Posts: 156 Thanked: 6 Times	sorry forgot to mention - dont tell the BMW authorised guys about the price , as they will always say - you are paying too much for this model done this much kms and blaah blaah
	() Thanks

15th June 2009, 11:08	#22
jesal BANNED Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 2,323 Thanked: 13 Times View My Garage	you say the car is in delhi ? the pics show bombay if i am not wrong ? car is MH registered is it ? who is the dealer ? never seens this in bombay anyways.
	() Thanks

16th June 2009, 04:00	#24
dipen Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: mumbai Posts: 2,236 Thanked: 730 Times	Looking at the condition of the car, I would recommend you to go for it if you are in the market for a E39 diesel. Closing the deal at 6.00 would be fair to both parties. This is assuming the car does not need any expense greater than 30-40k estimated by a reputed service center. Its hard to find German workhorses of this age in good shape. The history of the car means a lot if you plan on keeping this car for about 3-4 years. Since no one has mentioned any mods, I will list my choices : 1. No mechanical mods, an absolute zero. 2. A good quality M5 bumper. No M badges please on a oil burner. 3. M5 wheel and gear knob if not too expensive. 4. Alloys aren't bad but team-bhp spoils you. 3. 530i tails lamps (white and red ones).
	() Thanks

16th June 2009, 21:35	#27
toms_2191 BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Kannur/Calicut Posts: 136 Thanked: 40 Times	Seems like you are running out of faith in your love. if you ever had a slight inclination towards a diesel W124 ( E class 96-98 model) try to test drive one. you will find it much more easy and cheaper to maintain compared to your current love. only thing is you have to find a well maintained 250D. As far as my research goes it will cost you any thing between 3.5 to 7 Lac depending on the condition. Ultimately it depends on whether you love a Beemer or a well built GERMAN CAR. Decide!!!
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 10:39	#29
Ramsagar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: BLR_Nellore(AP) Posts: 1,396 Thanked: 252 Times View My Garage	Great car,neatly maintained & nice color.Is it diesel or petrol.
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 11:41	#30
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,179 Thanked: 488 Times View My Garage	525TDS. It's a diesel.
	() Thanks