Don't be cruel, just honest help needed!

[Drinkwaters]

I am about to make a non-clothing purchase and retire my 1993 Volvo 940 wagon which has served us well. We are still on the austerity program since we dumped all our dough into the opening of our store. I need reviews of this car or ones like it. I have never owned a BMW and some say they are not good snow cars, is this true? Use this link and tell me what you think and if this car is worth investigating. Thanks in advance!

http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/car/229351792.html

Best Regards,

Gary

 

[DM.ru]

Nice one, but I would rather get one from Lexus...better reliability and service.

 

[j]

If you need something for snow, you should look at FWD or AWD cars. As these go that BMW is barely broken-in, but the price seems high to me. For that much I'd look at a Volvo or maybe a Subaru.

 

[texas_jack]

Check consumer reports, I'm sure they do a car review. Check blue book for reasonable pricing info.

As far as looks and fun it hard to do better than a BMW. Several cars ago I had one and I miss it everyday. They offer something that many other companies have tried to emulate and that is the balance of sport and luxury. When it comes to snow front wheel drive is only a benefit under 25 miles an hour. Above that speed it doesn't make any difference. AWD is what you need if you are really concerned about snow. Frankly, if you are carefull you don't need either.

 

[Renault78law]

great car, but some are leary of purchasing a German car without a warranty, as service can be very expensive. though, you've owned an old Volvo for a while, so you're probably well aware of the risks.

 

[UMass]

Does this model have traction control? You will need it for the snow along with snow tires. Big V8 + rear wheel drive = not so good on ice and snow.

Also, around 50K miles things will need to be replaced and as a fellow German car owner they are not cheap to repair.

I would not discount it, but might look at the X5, X3 or 330ix for those nice Mass. winters.

 

[DNW]

Gary,

The 540i is a great car. It's not great in snow, so buy yourself a decent set of Blizzak tires and decent rims (under $2000). The traction control and winter tires work together very well, and those tires will last for 4-5 years. Most of my family in Boston drive Bimmers, and I had one until recently, so I'm pretty familiar with them. You will have a pretty reliable and fun car for the next several years. As for a 2002, this is a decent deal given the condition and mileage. Take it to a local body shop and mechanic, pay them a few bucks and have them inspect the body and mechanical parts. IMO, carfax is pretty useless in comparison to a competent mechanic or bodyshop inspector. One thing that stands out here is that the CD changer isn't factory. But pioneer is compatible with BMW, so that's not a problem. As to the dealer, I'm not familiar with them, even though I'm pretty familiar with the Boston BMW crowd. Just have the car checked out. It costs you a couple of hundred up front, but you'll be happy in the long run.

If this car doesn't work out, PM me and I'll hook you up with some BMW connections. And joint the BMWCCA after you've bought one. A bunch of great people who're really into BMWs.

 

[Dakota rube]

Gary,

Great looking car. I'll echo DNW as to the Blizzaks; my Benz is a ***** on snow and ice 'til I get my snow tires on.

The price seems a tad high, though. But that is a gorgeous car.

 

[maxnharry]

How did the 540 work out? Am thinking about one myself.

 

[HomerJ]

The maintenance cost on a 540 is considerable. 540 likes to eat.

 

[HomerJ]

An Edmunds article on long term ownership of a used BMW 530. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=102443 It only gets worse when you stuff a V8 into that bay.

 

[FidelCashflow]

Originally Posted by HomerJ

The maintenance cost on a 540 is considerable. 540 likes to eat.

They all do. You are really going to pay through the nose on an out of warranty beemer