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If your concern is that it has 70k to 100k, you have allot of learning to do on BMW's. Sold my last BMW (E30) at 275k and still going strong, and in show room condition. Current (E46) 3 series has 220k and engine is in perfect shape. Body is like new. That is not to say, I would not look for a lower mileage (50k) BMW, but at 100k a BMW maintained will deliver another 100k easily.
So unlike many other manufactured autos, 70k is not over the hill, it is not on its death bed.. But a BMW requires allot of maintenance ---and if you are handy--you can learn to do that. If not, it will be costly to maintain. What you will not be able to do is jump in it everyday and turn the key and forget about the maintenance. If you are the type who just wants to turn the key, and the hell with maintenance---the BMW will not support your habit.
My sister drives a 535 (e39) with relatively no problems besides an oil leak, which I think is a problem for these cars because my buddy has the same leak in his 325 of the same generation. Valve cover.
But one thing that people dont do, is get things fixed when they break. A light or a switch here and there no big deal, but then when it starts going down the line it becomes a big problem.
All the problems with the 535 are all small electric switches and lights in the cockpit.
A lot of people that drive these cars are just plain ignorant when it comes to mechanics. A light comes on in the gauge, that doesnt mean hit the gas and get home ASAP. When idiot lights illuminate, its almost too late and people just dont think anything of a flashing red light that is making beeping sounds.. Its only a problem when they ignore it and are really left on the side of the road with major problems, instead of having a piece of mind and fixing the $50 part that led to thousands more in damages.
My sister drives a 535 (e39) with relatively no problems besides an oil leak, which I think is a problem for these cars because my buddy has the same leak in his 325 of the same generation. Valve cover.
But one thing that people dont do, is get things fixed when they break. A light or a switch here and there no big deal, but then when it starts going down the line it becomes a big problem.
All the problems with the 535 are all small electric switches and lights in the cockpit.
A lot of people that drive these cars are just plain ignorant when it comes to mechanics. A light comes on in the gauge, that doesnt mean hit the gas and get home ASAP. When idiot lights illuminate, its almost too late and people just dont think anything of a flashing red light that is making beeping sounds.. Its only a problem when they ignore it and are really left on the side of the road with major problems, instead of having a piece of mind and fixing the $50 part that led to thousands more in damages.
Unless you're either really good at turning wrenches yourself (or willing to learn how to become very good at it) or you're getting some financial help/input from your parents, I wouldn't recommend an older BMW to a high-school-aged kid. Cars in that mileage range start running up against some pretty major repairs and those repairs can get massively expensive for European marques.
Independent Euro-marque repair specialists will charge less than dealers, but they typically charge quite a bit more than a corner shop or chain repair shops that can usually do repairs on American & Japanese cars in their sleep. And I learned the hard way that even though the Euro-marque specialists charge more, it's often cheaper to bring a Euro marque to them and have the repairs done right the first time than to take it to a chain shop and then take it to the Euro-marque specialist to get right what the chain shop messed up.
Even if you do a lot of the work yourself the parts can still be eye-openingly expensive. There's a great source of both OEM and aftermarket BMW parts called eeuroparts dot com (the double "e" is not a typo) that can help keep parts costs down, particularly if you go aftermarket. They were a godsend when I had a Saab that, unfortunately, eventually started needing replacement parts more frequently then I was willing to keep buying them.
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