Servcing costs - 5 series

[windsorrob]

Thinking of picking up an older 5 series - say 98 / 99 523 or 528 auto and just wondering about the servicing costs.

Can anybody advise roughly how much the BMW services are i.e. Service 1 and 2 ?

Also - I imagine there are independants that service much to the same schedules - what could I expect for this. If it makes any difference, the cars I'm looking at are 70 - 80,000 milers, and I'd probably do 25000 miles a year for the next two years.

Any info appreciated.

[northernmonkey]

if you buy one over 4 yrs old it will qualify for BMW's "Four Plus" service prices. Phone your nearest BMW dealer to check.

i am on my second BMW now and can say I have not found the servicing to be anymore expensive than the equivalent engined ford/vauxhall, at a main dealer anyway.

only other advice would be try and find a 5-series that has been owned by someone who extended the BMW warranty after the original 3yrs lapsed so that you can transfer warranty into your name and keep it going. I had the extended warranty on my last 3 series and it paid for itself when the throttle control unit went. also the warranties inc BMW MOT insurance.

if you not fussed about warranty, just get it serviced at an independent bmw specialist, there are plenty about.

now the new 5-series is out, there are loads of the old shape E39's in the classifieds,auto trader etc so you should have plenty of choice and opportunity to bag a mint one.

happy choosing.

[mustard]

Dont know where about in the Midlands you are windsorob, but Robert Sterns in Evesham (soon to be Worcester) are diamonds, my old mans '95 5 series still recieves their attention because they are very reasonable in their costs and offer a very good deal on 4 Plus

[dcb]

I've just had my 530 in for it's first service under my ownership.

Bearing in mind I've done 16,000 miles since the last service, and that includes a 145 mph burnup near Dusseldorf, and hundreds of miles of 130 mph cruising on the German autobahn and up & over the Alps to 7,500 feet, then a service 2 and brake fluid change at less than 480 quid seems very reasonable.

Added to that, no extra work needed doing.

So much better than the Jaguar - it needed work every time. Most services ran 800 to 1,000 quid every 9,000 miles.