I'm thinking of buying a one owner 2001 530i with 179k miles. I was told that it has a Dyna Chip, which is recognized by BMW USA & does not affect the warranty, & other 4-5k worth of upgrades which were done recently. I've never owned a BMW but always wanted one. On Edmunds & KBB, there are mixed reviews about how long the car can last & how expensive the maintenance could be. Does anyone know: 1.) About how reliable the Dyna Chip upgrade is & does it affect the life & durability of the car? 2.) Isn't 179k too much for a '01? 3.) What else should I be looking? 4.) How much gas mileage you can get? (I was told 26mpg on highway) 5.) How much yearly maintenance to expect? I'll be using it mainly for daily commute, 70% of which is on highway. Any suggestions are more than appreciated! Thank you! Warm regards, HitsOfMisses
That 179k is probably mostly highway miles, which is the best kind of mileage you can put on a car, unless you are frequently in stop-and-go. I do have to admit, having known someone who owns an E39, that the 5 series of that generation is a high-cost vehicle when it comes to maintenance. Parts aren't cheap and since it's a newer, more complicated vehicle, there are more things that can go wrong with it. That's true for any newer car, but especially true for a machine as complex as a BMW. A Dinan chip shouldn't affect the durability all too much. It doesn't add a whole lot of extra power like a supercharger or turbocharger would. Sure, there is extra stress on any modified vehicle, but the durability for the engine with a chip isn't probably going to be affected as much compared to as if you added a supercharger, which could shorten the life by years, depending on how you drive. Keep in mind that the car isn't running according to factory spec if you say there are modifications on there, so that's something to keep in mind, especially since you're worried about the longevity. The E39 I mentioned earlier is a V8 model. The owner says that if he babied it, he could get about 28mpg on the highway. In the city though, that's an entirely different story. If you're easy-going on the highway and don't variate your throttle position at all, you could stick with a solid 28mpg I would say, maybe more since the 530i is a 6-cylinder. I do have to admit that where I drive, the highways have lots of hills in them, so it's really difficult to maintain an average 30mpg though. It's actually more closer to about 22mpg, even on the highway. The city is even worse, so I wouldn't expect 4-pot economy from your 6-cylinder.
