My brother in law's 2007 BMW 530I....

[shp4man]

My brother in law passed away in August of last year, he was a physician, made really good money.
His ride was an 07 Bimmer 530I, silver, leather , sunroof, immaculate condition..you get it.
The POS sat for a long time and the battery went bad. I went over to the widow's house, tried to recharge it, but no go.
The trade in value is about $5K.
How much did this admittedly beautiful car cost new? Like 60 or 70K?
I'd love to drive it, but the car is just not me. At all.
Parts are insanely expensive.
Still, the thing's silver paint is perfect, not a scratch on it....I rejected buying it. Tell me I'm wrong.

[FoMoJo]

2nd car for the wife?l  You could take it out from time to time when you felt the urge.  It might grow on you.

[Submariner]

A 530i base would have gone for high 40s.  With options it could easily get up into high 50s/low 60s.

They're really nice cars.  Not as emotionally dead as the new ones, but still plenty comfortable.  Even though they were Bangalized, they still felt like older BMWs.  Not sure you can say that about the new ones.

You might have been a little bit wrong, especially considering the condition it was/is in.

[giant_mtb]

Coulda been a great road trip car.  But I agree...probably not really your style.

[CaminoRacer]

Didn't Dave have that same car basically?

[BimmerM3]

I really liked my dad's '08 535i, but I too would be worried about long term maintenance costs.

[GoCougs]

12-year-old turbo BMW? Not wrong. I mean, if you get it for free, maybe, but paying for it? No way.

[12,000 RPM]

That gen of 5 series isn't the worst, and that engine is relatively robust

But still more of a PITA than it's worth if you're not a Bimmerphile

[veeman]

I wouldn't touch it because it's your brother in law's car and not your brothers.  My father in law died a little over 2 years ago and had a well kept older model Lexus ES.  It just sat in the garage, driveway, street.  His wife eventually sold it to a local dealer 2 years later. The eldest son wanted to keep it but never outright said so.  He kept saying he would drive it to work but never did.  There's a lot of emotional baggage with these things, a lot of it unsaid, so, personally, I wouldn't drive it.  Especially because your brother in law drove it for years and apparently took real good care of it. 

[2o6]

12-year-old turbo BMW? Not wrong. I mean, if you get it for free, maybe, but paying for it? No way.

A 2007 530i is naturally aspirated.

[2o6]

I'm not a huge BMW fan, but the old style I6 engines are pretty solid. Parts are more expensive than a typical Ford or Toyota, but these cars aren't really known for being unreliable or hard to fix.


If it's really not of interest to you, you could probably get ~$8500 out of it depending on miles.


If it's a 2007, I don't even think it has the joystick shifter.

[shp4man]

It has 66K miles on it. Veeman makes a point I didn't consider, the emotional baggage thing. I could flip it or keep it, still have to talk about it for the next 10 years. The widow says she wants it to go away...so I guess Carmax gets it. 

[CALL_911]

Oh I'd keep that thing. Has an N52, which is the last gen of the NA I6. They're really nice cars and if you have a nice example, I'd keep it.

[Submariner]

I'm not a huge BMW fan, but the old style I6 engines are pretty solid. Parts are more expensive than a typical Ford or Toyota, but these cars aren't really known for being unreliable or hard to fix.


If it's really not of interest to you, you could probably get ~$8500 out of it depending on miles.


If it's a 2007, I don't even think it has the joystick shifter.

2007 has the joystick.

[CALL_911]

2007 has the joystick.

I'm assuming he's referring to the gear selector, in which case 2007 does not have the joystick. It has a standard gear selector.

[r0tor]

My buddy just picked up a similar xdrive wagon 530i... Those engines will run forever if properly maintained

[12,000 RPM]

Germans have a different definition of maintenance I don't really agree with.

[shp4man]

She paid an independent German car repair place to put a battery in it. The charged her $340 for it, with PCM and accessory reset. They said the power steering was leaking. The guy that ran the garage offered her $4500 cash- she took it.
I talked to our used car guy, he said it would have become expensive, apparently there are some o-ring seals that fail from age in the engine.
So, that's that.

[cawimmer430]

Keep it. Buddy, this is the pinnacle of the sport sedan driving experience.

This is the equivalent of having a permanent erection and non-stop orgasms! 


And it's a 2007? By this time there are so many dedicated communities for these cars that offer cheap and easy maintenance tips - to keep that permanent erection and non-stop orgasm experience going on and on. 



Sorry about your loss, BTW. 

[CaminoRacer]

She paid an independent German car repair place to put a battery in it. The charged her $340 for it, with PCM and accessory reset. They said the power steering was leaking. The guy that ran the garage offered her $4500 cash- she took it.
I talked to our used car guy, he said it would have become expensive, apparently there are some o-ring seals that fail from age in the engine.
So, that's that.

Spark plug o-rings, maybe? I had those replaced in my 328i. It's part of the valve cover gasket.

[RomanChariot]

Spark plug o-rings, maybe? I had those replaced in my 328i. It's part of the valve cover gasket.

The Vanos seals were a pretty common failure on earlier models but I don't know about the 2007.

[HurricaneSteve]

Sounds like you dodged a bullet. Sorry for your loss as well.

She paid an independent German car repair place to put a battery in it. The charged her $340 for it, with PCM and accessory reset. They said the power steering was leaking. The guy that ran the garage offered her $4500 cash- she took it.
I talked to our used car guy, he said it would have become expensive, apparently there are some o-ring seals that fail from age in the engine.
So, that's that.

[Char]

Former N52 driver here -

Engine is solid, though they can leak oil. Oil pan leaks are common. There is also a common leak around the valvetronic sensor, which requires the valvecover to be removed to replace it. It's a DIY job, but its not a fun job - about 3-4hours.

Otherwise, the drivetrain is plenty solid and the car would have gotten excellent gas mileage. It being a N52 HO means it already had a 3 stage intake manifold, which really keeps the powerband thick.