USED BMW 5 Series Saloon (96 - 04)

My car

I bought this 523i SE from a private seller. It has a high mileage, a full service history, and drives exceptionally well.

The fuel consumption is excellent. I would thoroughly recommend the car but would not get one without service history.

My car

I've owned the car for a good few years now, and I've never had any problems with it.

It drives like a dream, it has effortless accelaration at any speed and it feels glued to the road, unlike the 2001 Mercedes E-class I own.

The wind noise is very quiet, as is the road and engine noise (I regularly take mine to over 100mph, and pretty much the same applies). The car has covered 56,000 miles now, and it has never ever broken down or gone wrong. It feels solid, and I'm sure I could take it to 300,000 miles without a fault.

Fuel consumption is brilliant - I get 28-32mpg all the time, which is absolutely brilliant considering this car has a 2.8 straight six and does 0-60 in 8.8 seconds (automatic)! Insurance is very very good. I previously owned a MK3 1.8 litre VW Golf, and the insurance for this is only £150 extra!

I don't take mine to an approved dealer, I take it to an independent guy who's a friend of mine, so I get cheap servicing (£50 for a full service), high quality work and everyone's happy! Overall then, this is an excellent car, and I'd recommend it to anyone.

My car

I have one piece of advice to any one thinking about buying a bmw 5 series, and that is get one I bought - a 523i on p plate (96) with 89,000 miles for £4000, which is the SE model with all the toys and full leather.

I was pleasently surprised at the fuel comsumption considering the size of the engine and how easy it is to park and drive as it appears a large car when you look at it.

The comfort and the way all the instruments are laid out makes this a real pleasure to drive.

The 523 is group 15 insurance which has cost me with seven years no claims £270. fully comp for me and the wife, which I think is cheap.

These cars very rarely go wrong but get one with low milage if you can as there is some high milage ones out there. Not that is a problem as long as they have full service history. These cars go for ever and that's why they are so exspensive to start with. But as you can see from mine you can get bargains if you are prepaired to look and shop around.

This is my third BMW, but my first 5 series and I'm keeping this one and would certainly buy another.

My car

I've had my 530d SE auto Touring for two years and 40k miles. I purchased it from a BMW main dealer at three years old and with 33,000 miles on the clock. Great drive - terrible ownership experience.

BMW and their main dealer was only interested in selling the car. The aftersales service isn't up to much. I've had an endless run of faults. The turbo blew up and scrapped the cat (a week in the dealer to repair) , the rear suspension required six, yes six, visits and rebuilds at the dealer to find and eliminate failed bushes causing rattles.

The radio aerial in the rear window packed up. I can't use the opening glass hatch on the back door as it won't lock again. The driver's door seals failed, causing the door the rattle. The rear parking sensors failed. The battery went flat for no reason. And the soft paint work scratches if you look at it.

Services at the main dealer are very expensive but you need to go back there to keep the BMW used car warranty cover. Once the warranty ran out, I found a local independent BMW specialist, and the car seems to run better now. He's also more reasonable; oil services cost around £85.

BMW extended warranty is not cheap but then, if you get one like mine, you'll need it. This is my first and last BMW. Not for the faint hearted.