BMW 5-Series

If you are like me. Someone who is in the market for car that is fun to drive yet practical. Look no further. The 5 series BMW offers heaps of both.

What I love about it....
1. Detail - No one engineers a car quite like BMW. Everything is designed with the driver experience in mind - right down to the rear view mirror which has an auto dimmer to reduce the glare from the high-beams behind you.

2. Handling - It handles every bit as good as everyone has ever told you a BMW would. Put it this way, the recommended speeds for on/off ramps become irrelevant. The car corners effortlessly at virtually any speed.

3. Power - for what appears to be a bigger, heavier car - it really accelerates. Both from a dead stop and at speed. Passing on the freeway is a pleasure. The car roars to life whenever you touch the accelerator.

4 Sound - the engine has an undeniably attractive low growl that lets you know that you are driving a powerful machine.

Things I didn't like:
1. Cup holders - the cup holders in the 1999 model suck. They are fragile and break all the time

2. Phone option - many were built in to the '99 model. Pretty much irrelevant in today's cellular world

3. Back Seat - pretty limited room back there. Not much different than any other mid-size sedan but for some reason with a 5 series, you expect more than you get.

4. Maintenance - you probably already know this but this car is not cheap to maintain. You have to stay on top of the service, you don't want any old mechanic doing the work and it is going to cost you more than $500 (minimum) every time you take it in.

5. It spoils you. You will never buy a more "affordable" car again.

That said, it is worth it and at this point, you probably already know what you are in for from a cost perspective. The experience is definitely worth it.

I think most people are reluctant to purchase a vehicle on eBay with seeing or driving it. Keeping in mind that I live in South Carolina and I bought the car in Colorado. I can say with 100% conviction that the car was exactly as advertised, but for my peace of mind I had an independent inspection (AIM Inspection) done before an monies changed hands. The inpection report showed minor flaws on a car that had 55,000 miles, but certainly acceptable..... and I am very fussy! When the car was delivered, the car carrier driver could not say enough positive things about the quality and condition of the car. The Sienna Red exterior color is a rare, but beautiful deep red color. The gray leather interior looked brand new...no stains, tears/rips, or excessive wear. When I sat in the bucket seats, I got that feeling of satifaction, because BMW seats are very, very comfortable. I placed the key in the ignition and started the engine and pulled out in to traffic noticing 2 immediate things. (1) The car is quick with a 5.4 liter V-8 and (2) the six-speed manual tranmission was smooth as silk. After driving for a litte while, I had the opportunity to check out some of the car's options. I especially like the programable radio/CD and the onboard computer that tells everything I need to know about the car. My favorite feature are the Xenon headlights. I will never have another car without these lights because they make nighttime driving such a pleasure with the significant amount of visibility over traditional halogen lights. My only complaint with the car is it's cup holders. Their design is poor, their location is poor (in front of 6 speed shifter) and they don't hold anything. At best they can prevent a drink from sliding in 2 of 4 directions. The gas mileage is OK....about 17/18 around town and about 24/25 on a trip. This is probably to be expected in a BMW with high performance V-8. If you never have driven a BMW, I personally find it as one of the very few cars that provides handling, comfort, performance, and "the ultimate driving experience" in one package.

Car not road ready mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Best car ever! It has the performance of a souped up sport car (5.4 sec from 0 to 60!) and yet 5 adults are very comfortable in it. Surprisingly for a powerful 4.8 lit engine it has reasonable gas mileage in mixed driving and a very good gas mileage (~28 mpg) on the high way! And best of all, I love the Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go, it makes driving safe and enjoyable in busy highway driving conditions.

LOVE THE CAR BUT THE PREVIOUS OWNER DID NOT MAINTAIN CAR! BMW NEEDED EVERY THING FROM ALL FLUIDS SUPERCHARGER REBULD NEW FLYWHEEL & CLUTCH ($2600+ CLUTCH PARTS ONLY) NOT TO MENTION THE ISSUES HE MENTIONED LIKE WINDOW OFF TRACK AND TRUNK LATCH(VERY MINOR COMPARED TO THE REAL ISSUES SELLER FORGOT TO MENTION.

I love the car, the only problem is that it did in fact, had some problems, 3 days after a bought it, the enginle light came on, cost me $500.00, 3 days after that the transmission light came on.......cost me another $140.00....now it needs transmission service that will be antoher $600.00, since the light keeps on coming on. I still like the car but now it did not cost me $6,500.00. but I still like the car.

Smooth running, peppy, comfortable, good fuel economy, nice sized trunk, premium stereo has exquisite sound quality. Easy to change the oil. Repairs infrequent but expensive. Great value for one with low mileage.

Superb maneuvering. Excellent pick-up. Great performance vehicle. A little pricy but still worth the $$$$ !!!!

there are issues with the design of the sun roof seals ... common replacement if you can get the dealer to take care of it. lots of wind noise. it is a very nice car, but there's plenty that can go wrong; I'd recommend a warranty.

the seller lied. he stated the car needed nothing it was perfect. it had two bad rotors a collapsed right front sping, a non working rear window reglator and an working sometimes radio. Since it was a good title and didnt have frame damage, I cannot exercise the 50000 dollar warranty and will never buy a car on ebay again thanks ebay for protecting me