[disco stu]

Big money to fix and maintain, but still great cars. Parts most prone to failure, cam sensors, coils (not as common if it has the superceded part numbers, which have been required to all be replaced as per a service measure), window regulators, door seals, sunroof drives, sometimes the crappy plastic thermostats can fail and throw codes.

With 60k+ be sure that all suspension is checked out especially hub bearings, strut and shock mounts, and front bushings. If brakes have less than ~3 MM left demand new brakes (they are pricey, and they replace rotors and sensors with pads. They are too close to spec new, pads bed properly on new rotors, and BMW customers bitch about brake noise all the time if you can duplicate it or not). Salesmen will usually eat stuff like bearings, bushing and brakes to make a sale. Be sure they don't gouge you elsewhere for it.

Make sure it is a car that has been up on all service inspections, and service measures or recalls. Ask to see the service history on the car.

Shortblock has a great history, and architecturally has not changed much throughout all it's inceptions. Just progressed through small updates to stay up to date throughout the years.

Also, Certified Pre Owneds have a good warranty. But be sure they clearly define what is covered and what is not. You would be suprised what they consider "wear items" because they have a high index of replacement.