Re: Considering 1992 525i (archive)

I have an opportunity to buy a '92 525i with 93k miles. It's been pampered, and I'm going to have it inspected fully. Having never owned a BMW, I have some questions that I hope someone on this list can help with:
- How durable is this car? I need to drive it 40k highway miles a year. Can it last past 200k miles, or is that pushing my luck?
- What is the dependability of the sealed automatic transmission? I have spoken to a '88 5-series owner and a '92 7-series owner who both said they had to spend $3k at 130k miles to have their transmissions replaced. Coincidence?
- What are the most common flaws that these cars reveal over the years? I've heard nothing but praise for the electrical and the hardware in the interior. But, how about the control arms? The engine mounts? Anything?
I hope to make the purchase next week, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Bob

I have a 91 525i with the M50 engine. This is truly a very well designed engine, and I'm very happy with it. There are not many issues with these engines, but bear in mind that the original water pump has a plastic impeller, that WILL fail. Replace as soon as possible with the new type, which has a metal impeller. Some people will also claim that these models are very prone to coil failure (6 of, remember). This is more of a case with the coils made in late 1990 from a certain manufacturer , which you are unlikely to have.

Jone

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