545 v 535d

[Quavers]

Looking at 5 series. Any experience of either car? Only do 3 k a year so diesel possibly hard to justify however the v8 engine has it's share of issues which I am aware of. The sun appears to be setting on V8 engined cars , hlwever the guture for diesel is alsk uncertain.

I have seen an 04 plate 545 with 85k and an 05 plate 535d with 75 k. The diesel is £300 more.

Any advice appreciated. Family have suggested I buy a mondeo.

[P700DEE]

3K a year!! How often will you drive it? Once a month? Unless you get the diesel up to proper temperature on a regular basis you are likely to be building up soot in the DPF. This may kill the car, if not in your ownership in a shorter time than it should. Get the petrol, they warm up quicker and if you drive every day and still only do 3K miles will probably give similar mpg to a diesel on the same runs.

[aaron_2000]

For anyone driving about 8k+, the 535d is a no brainer, but for your miles, the 545 should be a no brainer. Yes the 545 has some issues, but I promise you'll run into way more with a diesel doing those miles. We had an X3 3.0sd (so the same engine as the 535d) which had done 15k in 6 years, the DPF was so clogged that it blew both the turbos, I don't remember how much the repair bill was, I just know it was hefty. Enjoy the pointless, thirsty V8 while you can, they're worth every penny you'll spend on one.

[gizlaroc]

aaron_2000 said:

For anyone driving about 8k+, the 535d is a no brainer

Is it?

535d doing 8k a year will probably sit at around 26mpg on a pre lci car, the 545i will sit around 23mpg.

So £37 a week in fuel vs £40 a week.

Hardly a decision maker.

[Mike335i]

Certainly go for the V8, no reason to go diesel for that mileage!

[Quavers]

Thanks for the replies. I actually drive more than 3k year but I use my wife's b5.5 passat - I only covered circa 3k per year in my previous audi a6 c6. It had the 2.4 V6 petrol, it was smooth but thirsty and 174 bhp in car that size means traffic light gp's are a non starter.

[philmots]

I’m surprised posting on PH they you even need to ask the question, V8 it is!

I had a 550i, 535d was near as damn it quick.. that’s missing the point in buying the 550i

[rayyan171]

I guarantee diesel related issues at under 12K miles. General rule-of-thumb is to go diesel above 12K miles. If fuel is too much for you then a smaller engined car is needed, but doubt there is much difference in mpg considering the power of the 535d. It's a 3mpg difference for diesel vs petrol in an X5!

The pre-LCI engine had 'only' 258hp, LCI had 285hp. Tunes are fine for the pre-LCI engine, they handle it fine, but be wary of the gearbox as I am not sure if the pre-LCI engine has the ZF 6HP gearbox unit. Believe there were 5 speed units and they don't handle extra power well, and may not be the best for reliability, although more research is required there.

545i engine is the same engine in the 645ci, generally strong engine with little issues other than standard BMW stuff e.g. cooling systems.

I'd have most concern about the fact that this is an old E60 BMW. Early models were the ones which had more issues because they were new to BMW, thus all the issues of the older models were engineered out as the years go along, leading up to the final 2010 cars having fewer issues overall.

The PistonHeads answer is the 545i. We had the dilemma with our latest Audi, went with the petrol and it's very fun. We do have a 35d engined BMW and the engine is akin to a train.

[clockworks]

I ran a 2007 525D (3 litre, but with a smaller turbo) LCI for over 3 years. Took it from 94k miles to 120-odd. I had zero problems with the engine/gearbox/suspension. Just a couple of relatively cheap to fix electrical problems, and a failed wiper linkage. It had been well looked after by the previous owner, and I kept this up.

I was doing about 8k miles a year, using the car most days, so relatively short local journeys. I did make a point of doing at least one longer journey a month though. Throughout my ownership the car averaged 39mpg, measured brim to brim. Because it was an LCI model, the fuel economy was appreciably better than the equivalent earlier car.
Friend of mine has just bought a 2006 520D with getting on for 200k on the clock, and that is averaging about 33mpg (with a remap, so it feels quicker than my 525d did). Again, his car is mechanically fine, but has some electrical and poor maintenance gremlins which we are working through. It only cost him £850!

My point is, diesel can be fine for low annual mileages - as long as it gets a decent run every now and again. Even if it's no cheaper to run over the period that you own the car, taking into account servicing/fuel/depreciation, the extra torque from a decent diesel just makes it a more relaxing drive.

If I was looking to buy an E60/61 again, I'd go for a 530D LCI as having the best balance of performance and running costs. I never really found the 525D lacking in performance, but I think there's more choice with better spec if you opt for a 530D.