This next car comes as a tip from Pushrod who writes: The owner has had this car posted for a while now. The price has come down once so far. Modifications appear very tasteful. Who doesn't like tasteful mods -- and a 6-speed late model BMW is just about perfect for daily driver use. Find this 1998 BMW 528i offered for $6600 near Richmond, VA via craigslist.
BMW started producing their 5-series executive class sedan way back in 1972, but it wasn't until 1991 that they added the wagon version, which they called the touring. And if you ask certain minimalist dudes/ladies around the world they will claim that the 90s BMWs offered the best combination of simplicity, usability, and non-computer aided driving experience. Find this 1999 BMW 528i Touring offered for $2700 in Crown Hill, WA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
The E12 generation (1972-1981) was the first executive class BMW to wear the 5-series badge. With a the Gruppo Bertone born design, Paul Bracq penned and Claus Luthe facelifted (post 1976), the E12 is a classic you can afford to drive every day. Find this 1980 BMW 528i offered for $5,000 in SF Bay Area, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
The first car to wear a 5 Series badge was the E12 generation of BMW's executive platform, and technically the 5 was a designation that this was the fifth generation of BMW's New Class platform. Regardless of naming convention, the Gruppo Bertone conceived, Paul Bracq designed and Claus Luthe facelifted (post 1976) E12 is a classic you can afford to drive every day. Find this 1980 BMW 528i offered for $3,500 in Eagle, ID via craigslist. Tip from Chris.
The Paul Bracq designed E12 luxury sedan was the first BMW to wear the 5-series name. It was a huge leap forward in performance and build quality when compared to the E3 (aka Bavaria) it replaced, but isn't quite as well built as the E28. Fortunately prices for a nice E12 are very favorable for the buyer and nice ones are cheap. Find this 1981 BMW 528i here on eBay
offered for $4,850 buy-it-now located in Washington, CT.
The E39 BMW 5-series was sold from 1997 to 2003 for the North American market. The selection of engine/transmission & suspension parts was an evolution from the outgoing E34 5er, but the classy styling was one of the last pre-Bangle designs and penned by Tokyo born Joji Nagashima. Find this 2000 BMW 528iT wagon for sale in Burke, VA for $6,000 via bimmerforums.com
The station wagon has always been the answer to the question of: how do I shove all this junk and my kids into a car and drive around? For most wagons, the handling/ride quality seesaw has been tilted toward the comfort side of the spectrum. This was the case until the Germans put their eye on the sporty wagon market and built all manner of fun and crazy 5-series, E-Class and S6 longroofs with room for 7 (or 5 + lots of junk). Find this 2000 BMW 528iT 5-spd for sale in San Diego, CA for
Welcome to Thifty Thursday - and today we are going to focus on the cheap, cheap, cheap. The features on DT today will make your new Ford Fiesta look as expensive and overpriced as a Rolls Royce Phantom and that is just the start of it. Everybody wants cheap, manual transmission, fun to drive, useable, rear-drive, drivable cars, with working air conditioning -- so we are going to obsessively focus on these...with a few riddlers thrown in the mix. Start the day off right with a hot cup of BMW Touring; find this 1999 BMW 528i wagon with 5-spd manual transmission for sale in San Mateo, CA for $5,000 via craigslist. Another BayArea BMW from DT logo guru Kaibeezy.
We've heard (and said!) it many times: BMWs are the best, they even smell great covered in guano, they taste good dipped in ipecac and wagons are even better...yaddy-yaddy-yah <insert generic BMW fanboy nonsense here>. The real problem is that you can't beat the amount of depreciation and hoonability of a good used BMW, especially the 5-series because they plummet in price like hay prices after the circus leaves town. What is better than a cheap 5-series wagon like we've posted in the past? One with a clutch pedal! Find this 1999 BMW 528iT E39 Wagon 5spd for sale in Ridgewood, NY for $3,500 via bimmerforums.com. Hats off for another winner from Kaibeezytips (tm).
Drive an E39 BMW 540 or M5 and one of the biggest complaints you will have is the steering feel and feedback. The powertrains are great, but the ancient reduction box steering system with recirculating ball power assist feels like it's been adapted from a trash truck. Only the lowly inline 6 powered E39s got a proper rack and pinion system, allegedly because of packaging issues with the BMW DOHC V8. However, you can have your kuchen and eat it too if you swap a pushrod V8 into the front of an inline 6 equipped E39 and put the beefier M5 LSD in the rear. Find this 1997 BMW E39 "557" w/ Chevy LS1 V8 swap in Palmdale, CA offered for $10,900 via craigslist.