BMW E60 550i. Bring More Wallet!
Discussion
Thought I would start a thread on my daily, as it’s a rare one!
It’s a 550, it’s an M Sport and it’s the one below.
Picking it up on a Saturday morning from where it was left Friday night. Had to take a picture of that beading.
The car was cheap for what it was. I wanted another one which was exactly the model I was after, but this one had more history than the Romans.
It still has a full BMW service history, and up until Christmas still had an extended warranty, not the drivetrain one either.
She has covered 150 k miles. 140 when I bought her.
She has had the valve stem seals done, timing chain done, and has a new gearbox.
Here’s some of the write up when I bought it.
It’s a 550, it’s an M Sport and it’s the one below.
Picking it up on a Saturday morning from where it was left Friday night. Had to take a picture of that beading.
The car was cheap for what it was. I wanted another one which was exactly the model I was after, but this one had more history than the Romans.
It still has a full BMW service history, and up until Christmas still had an extended warranty, not the drivetrain one either.
She has covered 150 k miles. 140 when I bought her.
She has had the valve stem seals done, timing chain done, and has a new gearbox.
Here’s some of the write up when I bought it.
So I get it home and have a poke around.
Firstly it’s been debadged! I know people like clean lines but I personally don’t like it.
First spend. I got the badge before the car
I did all my research for this model on US forums, it just didn’t sell her and people that own them over here seem to like a big torquey estate.
In the US they are rightly seen as a performance car in its own right.
One overwhelming thing came through though, American’s seem to view BMWs in the same way we used to look at Italian or French cars. Interesting junk in other words.
Firstly it’s been debadged! I know people like clean lines but I personally don’t like it.
First spend. I got the badge before the car
I did all my research for this model on US forums, it just didn’t sell her and people that own them over here seem to like a big torquey estate.
In the US they are rightly seen as a performance car in its own right.
One overwhelming thing came through though, American’s seem to view BMWs in the same way we used to look at Italian or French cars. Interesting junk in other words.
First thing I did was take it to Bluebell BMW and have a health check.
This revealed corroded brake pipes.
I replaced nearly every pipe in it.
The new BMW pipes were different, they had a coating on them which made them incompatible with my flare tool, luckily these were pre cut and flared.
So after I replaced them I did the front.
These I didn’t buy, so they were copper!
Now the only pipes original are the ones in the engine bay. Except the front offside and because it’s one piece I have a single copper one going into the ABS pump. This looks horrible to me!
As you can see.
This revealed corroded brake pipes.
I replaced nearly every pipe in it.
The new BMW pipes were different, they had a coating on them which made them incompatible with my flare tool, luckily these were pre cut and flared.
So after I replaced them I did the front.
These I didn’t buy, so they were copper!
Now the only pipes original are the ones in the engine bay. Except the front offside and because it’s one piece I have a single copper one going into the ABS pump. This looks horrible to me!
As you can see.
This was it on my mates drive pre op.
I can’t emphasise what a horrible job this was.
The pipe for the offside rear wheel came off in three pieces, this pipe required the lowering of the Diff carrier, the other three pipes took about the same time as that one.
Then the car took hours to bleed. Manually and using an eazybleed. Iirc it took a litre of fluid to bleed the front alone. 535d uses the same callipers, so any owners of these will have the same problem.
So what’s it like?
It’s a large cruiser that can hustle the A roads very well. It’s not a lightweight sports car, but for its size it handles brilliantly.
The power is effortless and the sound track is sensational.
The car has a 1400 quid Magnaflow system on it, it is supposed to put 9 bhp and 12 lb of Torque on it.
Whatever, it makes one hell of a noise.
It’s a large cruiser that can hustle the A roads very well. It’s not a lightweight sports car, but for its size it handles brilliantly.
The power is effortless and the sound track is sensational.
The car has a 1400 quid Magnaflow system on it, it is supposed to put 9 bhp and 12 lb of Torque on it.
Whatever, it makes one hell of a noise.
but day to day it performs flawlessly.Scrump said:
Great car. Many years ago I had a V8 535i e39 in a similar colour and I found the US forums much better than the UK ones for technical help.
Is yours manual or auto?
Didn’t know you had one of these scrump.Is yours manual or auto?
It’s an auto. I think it really suits the lazy nature of the car. I do drive it permanently in manual mode just to hear the noise.
I cleaned the car inside and out, tbh it was already immaculate.
The drivers seat was the usual BMW mess.
It’s Dakota leather which gets generally slated on here, but I think it’s ok and hard wearing, the last BMW I owned had the Nappa leather and it isn’t up to the job, I have a low opinion of BMW leather and if your buying an older car, frankly it looks s
t.
This was after a wipe down with G101 diluted 3 to 1.
I then treated it to gliptone leather conditioner.
Incidentally the best thing I have every used on leather seats is Gunk degreaser diluted 5 to 1. Your car will stink for a day or so, but it strips back all the grease and cack that builds up.
I had run out so used G101.
The drivers seat was the usual BMW mess.
It’s Dakota leather which gets generally slated on here, but I think it’s ok and hard wearing, the last BMW I owned had the Nappa leather and it isn’t up to the job, I have a low opinion of BMW leather and if your buying an older car, frankly it looks s
t.This was after a wipe down with G101 diluted 3 to 1.
I then treated it to gliptone leather conditioner.
Incidentally the best thing I have every used on leather seats is Gunk degreaser diluted 5 to 1. Your car will stink for a day or so, but it strips back all the grease and cack that builds up.
I had run out so used G101.
The car has the professional Idrive, which is a must for future upgrades.
The previous owner removed the CD changer and in its place is a metal box.
This is an interface for an iPhone, it allows me to play music/podcasts etc.
I pulled it out but there are now markings or names on it, sorry, can’t review it for you.
The car has Bluetooth already, it doesn’t have heated seats but does have an Auxiliary heater, it also has Auxiliary climate. If you leave early, set it on the timer and your car is warm and defrosted.
The previous owner removed the CD changer and in its place is a metal box.
This is an interface for an iPhone, it allows me to play music/podcasts etc.
I pulled it out but there are now markings or names on it, sorry, can’t review it for you.
The car has Bluetooth already, it doesn’t have heated seats but does have an Auxiliary heater, it also has Auxiliary climate. If you leave early, set it on the timer and your car is warm and defrosted.
ChocolateFrog said:
What does 'coding' a battery actually do?
I'm a bit of a neanderthal but really can't see the necessity.
From this era on, they have an intelligent earth strap which controls the battery and what charge etc to keep it optimum.I'm a bit of a neanderthal but really can't see the necessity.
It’s technology for technology sake.
Unnecessary complication in my book.
On the other hand, you will all be pleased to know I sorned my Honda Jazz and the 550 is the sole family runabout.
Not very smart, but the P.H thing to do.
Jobs to do.
Bonnet and bumper respray.
Idrive control and the gearshift knob are worn, need replacing.
And fit some decent tyres!
I was going to keep it a year and see how it went, in my opinion it’s performed flawlessly for a 15 year old car.
It’s a 55 reg so low tax, 300 fully comp insurance, 22 mpg all in. That’s a 5 mile commute sometimes in traffic and mainly A road drives, it rarely goes on the motorway.
My only concern is whether to keep up the history or not. On one hand my original trade was a mechanic, so I am not afraid of the oily bits and it’s an old worthless car at the end of the day.
On the other, it’s a shame to let the history go on such a rare car, and a car that’s almost impossible to sell.
As far as I can tell, only 147 saloon sport autos came to these shores and 113 survivors exist.
It’s rare whatever the numbers, I’ve never seen another one in the flesh.
Edit. I have noticed the prices creeping up on these as well. I got mine for 4.5 k, I wore a mask and had a large black and white stripped bag with SWAG written on it.
They seem to be doing 6 now, what they sell for is anyone’s guess.
Not very smart, but the P.H thing to do.
Jobs to do.
Bonnet and bumper respray.
Idrive control and the gearshift knob are worn, need replacing.
And fit some decent tyres!
I was going to keep it a year and see how it went, in my opinion it’s performed flawlessly for a 15 year old car.
It’s a 55 reg so low tax, 300 fully comp insurance, 22 mpg all in. That’s a 5 mile commute sometimes in traffic and mainly A road drives, it rarely goes on the motorway.
My only concern is whether to keep up the history or not. On one hand my original trade was a mechanic, so I am not afraid of the oily bits and it’s an old worthless car at the end of the day.
On the other, it’s a shame to let the history go on such a rare car, and a car that’s almost impossible to sell.
As far as I can tell, only 147 saloon sport autos came to these shores and 113 survivors exist.
It’s rare whatever the numbers, I’ve never seen another one in the flesh.
Edit. I have noticed the prices creeping up on these as well. I got mine for 4.5 k, I wore a mask and had a large black and white stripped bag with SWAG written on it.
They seem to be doing 6 now, what they sell for is anyone’s guess.
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