VW Vortex - Volkswagen Forum banner

Should I trade (my 97 4runner for 03 BMW 530i)

3K views 27 replies 17 participants last post by  J2G 
#1 ·
#3 ·
I already talked to him -- 4runner fits the bill of a good offroading car he needs to go to beach. The bmw will be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic manual is just not a good idea. He said it runs good-has some dead pixels in the dash and it has a check engine light on nobody can figure out but is a good commuter

tbh ill probably sell the bmw as it has a higher book value

flares different because it got in a minor accident and front end panels were replaced. The front end is newer I believe and I have the matching trim to go across the car just not putting it on too much work
 
#11 ·
One of my friends has a 2003 530i like the one in the ad that you are considering trading your 4Runner for. The amount of money that he has spent as a non-enthusiast on keeping that 530i on the road is quite staggering. I for one would have dumped it a long time ago but to him the idea of having a BMW to drive is so very appealing that he just keeps on spending four digits every six months to keep it running. :screwy:
 
#14 ·
I'm looking to go the other way, 10 year old BMW to 10 year old 4Runner.
 
#20 ·
Here's how I see it. The E39 doesn't look like it was owned by someone you want to buy an E39 from if you wanna keep it long term. I mean, it has three chips?!

Yet, it's nicer than your 4Runner. Make the trade. Sell the E39, and buy a nicer 4Runner than you currently have.
 
#21 ·
That would be my rationale as well. If you go to the guy's house and can determine that the CEL is something easy, clean up the car and throw it out and trade up or make a few sheckles.
 
#22 ·
Agree, that's not the guy I'd buy an E39 from, that's gonna need some work.

My brother has an E39 528i, and man, he has spent SOOO much money on that thing... All control arms, sway bar links, shocks, goes through brakes quickly, ABS module completely died, couldn't be rebuilt, the entire cooling system **** the bed, various sensors going bad randomly, power steering pump, P/S hard lines, etc. That's not all of it either, just what I remember him telling me about. I would have dumped the thing a long time ago.

To make matters worse, he bought it from the original owner, an older guy, and it was serviced regularly at the dealer, and not ragged on. This example is... not like that.

In my opinion, it's not enough car to warrant spending that much money to keep it going. If it were an E38 or M5, I could understand the maintenance costs, but for a 6 cylinder midsize sedan, this is ridiculous.
 
#24 ·
All control arms, sway bar links, shocks, brakes, ABS module, the entire cooling system, various sensors, power steering pump, P/S hard lines, etc.
Pretty much every 90/00s BMW needs these items replaced more often than most cars.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top