how many miles can a bmw have on it before it starts having problem

probably 100,000

The old quality ones way back in the 80 is to 88/89. They pretty much went 220 or 250K before the motor started using a little oil but r good for MANY MANY more miles by keeping a close eye on a few things. With very very very few problems with other small stuff. Since the very late 80 is & till today BMWs have become a nightmare of maintenance & repairs. Todays BMWs have a range of problems varying from model to model. Basically before u see 100K on a newer BMW ur wallet says good bye to a lot of dough.

l bought a 318 few months back at a mileage of 50K region, When l asked the salesman (they sell only prestige marquees) about the mileage he said these cars (mine is a E46 late 2003) engines r usually bullet proof for atleast 150K miles. On further research with my car nut friends, they all agree with one common thing. Anything less than 60 K is perfectly fine, but never go above the 100K mark. Thats when the uncertainity on whether the car was abused at high rpm etc is higher.

A low price for a high mileage car, like £14K for a 2005 5 series car that has done 130K might be a problem waiting to happen, as u could get a 2004 330 with 40K miles for the same amount.