E39 525d vs 530d
E39 525d vs 530d
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Discussion

miniman

Original Poster:

30,188 posts

293 months

Wednesday 29th June 2011
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Aside of outright performance, what are the drawbacks of the 525d? Is it any more economical?

sparks_E39

12,738 posts

244 months

Wednesday 29th June 2011
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I hear that they are near on identical.

miniman

Original Poster:

30,188 posts

293 months

Wednesday 29th June 2011
quotequote all
I figured as much, similar to 535i vs 540i I guess.

sparks_E39

12,738 posts

244 months

Wednesday 29th June 2011
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Seems the unwritten rule with BMW, go with the biggest capacity for that engine, as you won't be out of pocket.

MJTD

33 posts

188 months

Wednesday 29th June 2011
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I have an E39 525D. They are supposed to be bit more reliable than 530d going by stuff I researched on the net and by my mechanic who does a lot of work on 5 Series etc and by friend who has a car sales place and he has had far less bother with people in 525's as opposed to 530s. It’s a slightly less stressed engine. But I’m sure a lot of this could be to do with how people maintain their cars and the fact 530d is [I think?] more common so more people reporting problems with them. You gotta service them regular, change all filters and change the engine breather every 2 services. The engine breather is cheap to buy and easy to change, worth doing every other service for all the cost of it

As for economy the 525d will be a bit more economical. Def go for a manual if you want economy, mine is manual and I get average 650 miles/approx 45mpg which is pretty good considering its a big car with reasonably performance. 530s is a bit quicker but there isn’t that much in them. 530d Auto’s are a lot sorer on juice – ie 35mpg

If thinking of buying one I wouldn’t really specifically look for a 525 or 530 - look at both – they are very similar so just buy the best there is when looking. I didn’t care if I got a 525 or 530 just looked at a few the 525d was the best for sale at the time