You want to "know if I can rely on [a used BMW] as long as I keep up with maintenance."
How would you define the terms "rely" and "maintenance?" At those higher mileages, maintenance means more than fluid changes. How much do you plan to drive each year? Low usage is still probably 10k miles per year and by the end, you'll be approaching 150k miles. I'm not sure any brand just needs "maintenance" at the age. Things start to break, leak, and wear out and on German cars, those things can be expensive. You good with (and prepared for) that?
Why do you "need" a car this summer? Is there truly an imminent need, or could you get by on a bus or some ubers until you found the right car?
The smart money would definitely not do what you're proposing. Assuming (based on the "about to graduate" comment) you're late teens/early twenties, financing a German car that old, for 5 years, will probably have you in an 8% loan, in the best case scenario. That's not great. Go buy a brand new or barely certified, strip-o Nissan or Kia or Mitsubishi for 17k with 100k warranty if you're dead set on spending that amount of coin. Would the 20 year old me listen to the middle age me and take my advice? Definitely not
and there'd probably be some curse words involved but I throw it out there just because someone's got to be a dutch uncle. My drug of choice back then was an s2000 that I put about 140k on, tracked all up and down the east coast, and drove all over the US with. I loved that car dearly and miss it daily. If you decide to make the foolish move that I did, I hope you also have as much fun as I did.
