As each year passes, the list of performance estates offered here in the US dwindles. Audi pulled the plug on their A4 and A6 Avants recently and BMW no longer sells their 5 series Touring here. That mantle has been taken over by the aesthetically challenged 5 series Gran Turismo. Volkswagen still offers the Jetta Sportwagon, but the Passat Wagon is conspicuously absent from the current lineup. Mercedes still sells their venerable E class wagon here, and even offer up the E63 AMG Wagon at a shade under $100,000 for the power hungry. If we dial back about a decade or so, the selection of sporty estates was a bit more vast, and one of my favorites was the BMW 5 Series Touring. Offered with the 2.8 liter inline six or a 4.0 liter V8, the six cylinder version was the only one to offer buyers the chance to row their own gears. This 528i Touring for sale in New York is one of those Tourings so equipped.
2000 BMW 528i Touring on BMW Car Club of America Classifieds
Sport & premium packages, short-shift kit (545), new brake pads, all fluids flushed, third owner, over nine years of records, mechanically solid, great body, great interior, only minor wear on driver’s-side bolster, well cared for, daily driver.
The price on this one is a bit optimistic, somewhere between $6,500 to $8,000 is probably more like it. A more comprehensive description with regards to the car’s history and service records would have gone a long way towards assuring potential owners as well as possibly securing a bit more on the sale price. Still, it’s nice to see a few of these three pedal Tourings are still out there which haven’t been completely worn out. For the SUV averse, it’s a breath of fresh air.
-Paul
A manual transmission would have made my 2000 528iT pretty much perfect.. Maybe if it was a manual, I might have held off trading it in at almost this same mileage. That’s when the monthly repair costs started exceeding what a new car payment would be. Given that, the asking price seems even more untenable. Perhaps the seller will find a buyer who has no idea what’s coming…
Yes we all know monthly repair costs can often exceed potential new car payments. Not to mention the book values are so low, and replacement parts so expensive (or NLA) that a 5 mph crash can total the car. These are the types of rationalizations that keep sane people from participating. This hobby is completely senseless unless you do 75%+ of the wrenching yourself. Fact is even with paying fanciful premiums on clean low mileage cars, and high running costs; there is something to be said for owning an immaculate, fast and beautiful kraut wagon that will never be manufactured again for sub-10k.
I’m wondering when clean, unmodified B5/B5.5 1.8T Passat Variant (wagons) will begin turning up here. They drive VERY well, are plenty quick, get 32+ mpg, and are all German built, so the build quality is great/very good, and they’re fairly cheap to run. They even look nice! I just picked up a 1 owner, Ink Blue, 107K 2002 for under 5K. It’s probably the best bargain going in German motoring. This is my second 1.8T wagon, and they’re just phenomenal cars. You could even get a rare 5 speed/1.8T/4 motion/wagon, though they’re hard to find and more expensive to fix. They have more space than the Audis and are cheaper to insure and fix. The longitude engine placement makes the timing belt harder to do but nearly everything else easier to work on than the transverse Golf/Jetta platform, plus they drive better with the equal length driveshafts. At least in New England, they were massively popular but finding a clean 1.8T 5 speed wagon is VERY hard to do, as most were autos, and most have been beaten on or not maintained well. It’s just a thought and counterpoint to the E39 wagon – I would say in 95 percent of driving situations for 95 percent of people, you wouldn’t really benefit from having the “sportier” BMW.
@ URSDRIVER: We all have our breaking points, I guess. My 2000 528iT was a great car, no question. And I am also very upset that similar cars are no longer being offered here. But as a daily driver that was costing me a fortune in repairs and maintenance, and which was often not available to be my daily driver because of the need for those repairs, I just had enough.
If it was a weekend or project car, that balance might have been different. Many of us aren’t in a position to do 75% of the wrenching ourselves, but are nevertheless completely addicted to this senseless hobby. Therefore, we need to make these types of rationalizations sometimes to balance our insanity with our ability to pay the bills.
We have to make these choices when our passion and desire for a car runs head-on into the reality of continuing to own it. Yes, there is absolutely something to be said for owning this beautiful kraut wagon that is rapidly becoming NLA to us. But that has to be balanced with the reality that it isn’t really immaculate and the joy of owning it will come with substantial cost and time out of service.