BMW 5 Series (LCI)

[Farky]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 31 October 2021 at 09:53

[rassi]

E60 or F10? Budget?

[Farky]

rassi said:

E60 or F10? Budget?

I have a budget of £5k to £7k...... defo E60......

[GregorFuk]

Farky said:

Hi Guys
Looking at getting a 5 series, definitely either the 530d or 535d M Sport.
Car will definitely need to be LCI......
What can Owners tell me what i need to know? Pro’s/Con’s etc.
What do i need to look out for when viewing at prospect of buying?
Maintenance schedules, engine/gearbox etc (wanting the Auto box!)
Any help would be greatly appreciated

I have ran a 535d M sport for the last 5 years. Bought at 65k now just clipped over 150k. It’s been a fantastic car and i’ll Likely keep it till it dies, though that feels years off. I’ll return to this thread and give you some more info tomorrow.

[Farky]

GregorFuk said:

Farky said:

Hi Guys
Looking at getting a 5 series, definitely either the 530d or 535d M Sport.
Car will definitely need to be LCI......
What can Owners tell me what i need to know? Pro’s/Con’s etc.
What do i need to look out for when viewing at prospect of buying?
Maintenance schedules, engine/gearbox etc (wanting the Auto box!)
Any help would be greatly appreciated

I have ran a 535d M sport for the last 5 years. Bought at 65k now just clipped over 150k. It’s been a fantastic car and i’ll Likely keep it till it dies, though that feels years off. I’ll return to this thread and give you some more info tomorrow.

That would be much appreciated mate, thank you

[GregorFuk]

Farky said:

That would be much appreciated mate, thank you

Sorry for the delay.

Have ran our 535D for almost six years now. Bought it from a dealership with 65k on the clock I was worried about paying the money I did for such a high mileage car. I need not have worried, the car has now clipped over 150k and is still going strong.

It’s not all been faultless motoring, but the problems have been fairly minor. I’ll give some details.

Seized actuator on second larger turbo. This was replaced and so were all turbo associated vacuum hoses as they were cracked.

The wiring to the antenna for the key fob. I’ve had this repaired twice. The antenna is in the rear spoiler and the cables run through the rear hatch hinge. They get flexed every time you open & close the boot and eventually fail. There is a BMW repair kit and since the last fix it has been fine.

The button to open the glass in the boot lid failed. I replaced this DIY, easy job, and the replacement item had been redesigned to fix the weakness that caused failure.

Sat Nav DVD drive failed twice. I never bothered fixing it second time around as the Sat Nav is crap compared to a modern smart phone.

The self adjusting wing mirrors have never worked right. They are supposed to self adjust to saved positions along with the memory seats. Mine have always ended up with one mirror pointing up at the sky or down at the ground. I gave up trying to get BMW to fix the issue. Two new mirror units under warranty and countless return trips never got the job done. Now I just live with it.

Water pump went around 120k.

Panoramic sunroof failed, that was a big bill and it was my own fault. I pushed the button without thinking when it was frozen shut in mid winter. Cost the guts of a grand to get it working again. Many would have left it shut but I do like the panoramic roof, it lets loads of light into the cabin.

Last year I had a few issues with the particulate filter in the exhaust but my local independent injected some cleaning gel upstream and this coupled with a series of long drives seems to have cured the issue.

It’s be easy on brakes; I’ve only put front pads on it in all the time I’ve had it. I’ve never had an issue with the air suspension. Never had leaks into the boot from the sunroof, something that you’ll read about all over the internet.

I did ask my local independent to change the transmission fluid at 100k. The box is supposed to be ‘sealed for life’ but I did it anyway.

I keep thinking I should replace the bloody thing but it gives my very few reasons to do so. It just keeps trucking and is the perfect family wagon.

Here it is loaded up after a trip to Centre Parcs. 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 bikes on the roof. A 20” wheeled kids bike, toddler’s balance bike, chariot bike trailer, all the boot along with luggage. PLUS a weeks worth of food under the boot floor. It stomped down the motorway in cruise without fault and did the whole return journey (Aberdeen > Penrith) on a single tank of diesel.

A genuine Supercar!



Oh, and should it need to be said, it pretty quick by anyone’s standards.

Edited by GregorFuk on Sunday 5th May 21:22