THIS IS a beautiful, well-maintained 1995 BMW 525i.

This car has been garaged all its life and has never been denied anything needed to keep it in absolutely tip-top condition.

It's first owner was the wife of a Bellevue physician. She kept it for five years and then traded it back in to BMW of Bellevue for a new Beemer.

The Bellevue BMW dealership then sold the car to another woman, a Bellevue Realtor, who loved it for eght years, and then sold it to me.

I looked at 525i's in the Puget Sound area for six months before buying this car, and I can tell you this is one of the nicest 1995 BMW 525i's out there. The paint has a few rock chips, but overall this is a very sweet, good looking ride, inside and out.

It smells like a BMW, and it drives like BMW. The front end is very tight, the leather interior is in good shape, and everything in the car -- electronic and mechanical -- works reliably. The only thing that isn't stock is the sweet in-dash Alpine CD player.

This car is also surprisingly economical to operate. I get around 25 mpg (calculated by the on-board computer), and I burn regular gas.

Additional highlights:

* A factory re-built transmission was installed 30,000 miles ago.

* I have the service record since 2000.

* Although the car now has an in-dash CD installed, I will give you the old original stock BMW in-trunk CD player.

* The 1995 BMW 525i has the OBD1 electronic diagnositic hookup, which can significantly service costs in some situations.