E61 BMW 550i Touring
Discussion
junglie said:
Toby-sjjx8 said:
I have a 550i LCi touring with a manual gearbox, lots of extras if anyone us looking for one. Covered 108k miles with service history
Keep talking, very interested.https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
A long overdue update!
I last updated this in April 2020, so quite a lot to report. I may have to do it in stages. In summary though, the 550 is an amazing all rounder. Family wagon, motorway express, Ring weapon (of sorts, keep reading...) and generally lovely place to sit, with plenty and plenty of power when you need/want it. A friend with an E93 335i borrowed it over the summer to take his kids away and he was somewhat blown away with it.
I last posted in April, in the prime of lockdown 1. I had changed the brakes - new discs and pads front and rear and not much else. Having bought the car in October 2019 I was desperate to do a long run in it.
My brother lives in France (in the Alps) and had his first baby in June. As soon as restrictions were eased between here and France in July 2020, I jumped in the car (with my mother!) and headed down there for a long weekend.
I cannot think of a better car for the trip for this kind of money. Radar cruise control on, sat nav on the HUD, some decent playlists and the 550 monstered the autoroutes: over on Eurotunnel, A26 to Reims, then Troyes, Dijon, Macon and Lyon. From there east to Chambery, then the twisty autoroute to Moutiers and up the valley into the 3 Valleys area. I had ordered an Emovis tag for the tolls, which was revolutionary - I never got bored on slowing down to 20mph then flooring it as soon as the barrier lifted. Massively cuts out any toll queues too.
Excellent 3 days in the mountains, in the sunshine. Before drinking too much rose, I managed to find a couple of excuses to head out onto the mountain roads solo - sport mode on, using the paddles - such a turn of pace from a big car, the V8 making a fantastic noise.
Then home again, the same way I had come.
I am afraid no photos of the car - just a Eurotunnel shot (boring when you can't get out) and my stats from the OBC
More to follow...
I last updated this in April 2020, so quite a lot to report. I may have to do it in stages. In summary though, the 550 is an amazing all rounder. Family wagon, motorway express, Ring weapon (of sorts, keep reading...) and generally lovely place to sit, with plenty and plenty of power when you need/want it. A friend with an E93 335i borrowed it over the summer to take his kids away and he was somewhat blown away with it.
I last posted in April, in the prime of lockdown 1. I had changed the brakes - new discs and pads front and rear and not much else. Having bought the car in October 2019 I was desperate to do a long run in it.
My brother lives in France (in the Alps) and had his first baby in June. As soon as restrictions were eased between here and France in July 2020, I jumped in the car (with my mother!) and headed down there for a long weekend.
I cannot think of a better car for the trip for this kind of money. Radar cruise control on, sat nav on the HUD, some decent playlists and the 550 monstered the autoroutes: over on Eurotunnel, A26 to Reims, then Troyes, Dijon, Macon and Lyon. From there east to Chambery, then the twisty autoroute to Moutiers and up the valley into the 3 Valleys area. I had ordered an Emovis tag for the tolls, which was revolutionary - I never got bored on slowing down to 20mph then flooring it as soon as the barrier lifted. Massively cuts out any toll queues too.
Excellent 3 days in the mountains, in the sunshine. Before drinking too much rose, I managed to find a couple of excuses to head out onto the mountain roads solo - sport mode on, using the paddles - such a turn of pace from a big car, the V8 making a fantastic noise.
Then home again, the same way I had come.
I am afraid no photos of the car - just a Eurotunnel shot (boring when you can't get out) and my stats from the OBC
More to follow...
ATM said:
I find the mpg only really gets low on the motorway when you are doing a fixed 50mph. A slight increase to 60mph and it drops. Then again at 70mph and so on. These older autos are revving quite high at sensible cruising speeds compared to more modern eco friendly machinery.
Yup, I entirely agree.Update 2
August 2020: family holiday. We had an Airbnb booked for late August in Provence, and had provisionally booked another one near to my brother in the Alps. Would France go back on the quarantine list? Would it not? If it did, would we go? It did, and we did.
As a consequence on France going back on the quarantine list, Eurotunnel was eerily quiet - other than a quick comfort break in the terminal, we drove straight through and on to a train.
Same route as before, and effortless in the 550. We left London at 6pm and arrived in Bozel in the Alps at 6am. Due to driving overnight I set the lane departure warning on (just in case) but I didn't have any drowsiness at all, stopping every 2.5 hours or so for toilet/unleaded/coffee. I jumped out at the other end feeling sprightly - just a nap needed to catch up on sleep.
Trip stats: 9 hours 49 mins, 666 miles, 27.9 mpg, 69.6 mph - 4 up and with a half full boot of luggage.
Excellent week alternating between exercise and then food consumption. Not bad scenery:
Then on to Provence. I forget the exact route but I think to Grenoble, then Valence, then autoroute to near Carpentras. If on my own I may have hunted out the Route Napoleon but with children it was just too far from the direct route. As the temperature crept up and up I noticed that my air con was getting weaker and weaker. This was not ideal! However getting to the Airbnb was worth it:
Can highly recommend the Airbnb which is in Pernes les Fontaines, a very picturesque Provencal village.
The home at the end of the fortnight, a very long drive due north to Lyon, then Dijon, Reims etc which we did in a day. Lots of time saved with the toll tag, zipping past the toll queues whilst slightly sweaty due to the anemic air con!
Total for the holiday: 31 hours 45 minutes, 1,708 miles, 25.6 mpg and 55.7mph. Not bad at all (particularly given the several cases of wine now in the boot), and other than the air con, the car excelled itself. We then dealt with 2 weeks of quarantine at home, but it was worth it for the holiday.
Incidentally, BMW 550i review by my children:
9 year old: "It makes me sick" (this is probably just my driving)
6 year old: likes the heated seats in the front and the TV
August 2020: family holiday. We had an Airbnb booked for late August in Provence, and had provisionally booked another one near to my brother in the Alps. Would France go back on the quarantine list? Would it not? If it did, would we go? It did, and we did.
As a consequence on France going back on the quarantine list, Eurotunnel was eerily quiet - other than a quick comfort break in the terminal, we drove straight through and on to a train.
Same route as before, and effortless in the 550. We left London at 6pm and arrived in Bozel in the Alps at 6am. Due to driving overnight I set the lane departure warning on (just in case) but I didn't have any drowsiness at all, stopping every 2.5 hours or so for toilet/unleaded/coffee. I jumped out at the other end feeling sprightly - just a nap needed to catch up on sleep.
Trip stats: 9 hours 49 mins, 666 miles, 27.9 mpg, 69.6 mph - 4 up and with a half full boot of luggage.
Excellent week alternating between exercise and then food consumption. Not bad scenery:
Then on to Provence. I forget the exact route but I think to Grenoble, then Valence, then autoroute to near Carpentras. If on my own I may have hunted out the Route Napoleon but with children it was just too far from the direct route. As the temperature crept up and up I noticed that my air con was getting weaker and weaker. This was not ideal! However getting to the Airbnb was worth it:
Can highly recommend the Airbnb which is in Pernes les Fontaines, a very picturesque Provencal village.
The home at the end of the fortnight, a very long drive due north to Lyon, then Dijon, Reims etc which we did in a day. Lots of time saved with the toll tag, zipping past the toll queues whilst slightly sweaty due to the anemic air con!
Total for the holiday: 31 hours 45 minutes, 1,708 miles, 25.6 mpg and 55.7mph. Not bad at all (particularly given the several cases of wine now in the boot), and other than the air con, the car excelled itself. We then dealt with 2 weeks of quarantine at home, but it was worth it for the holiday.
Incidentally, BMW 550i review by my children:
9 year old: "It makes me sick" (this is probably just my driving)
6 year old: likes the heated seats in the front and the TV
Great effort, we haven't done one for a couple of years due to the restrictions in force (our getaways are usually timed for the final couple of weeks in August, so that the children end the hols on a high).
From Provence, we stayed the night in Chalon-sur-Saone, which broke the day up nicely -- however, we were detouring via Briancon to collect my Mother. A long schlek back to Calais is some going, so good on the children. We did the Loire to Briancon in a day, which was quite long and altogether quite comfortable.
From Provence, we stayed the night in Chalon-sur-Saone, which broke the day up nicely -- however, we were detouring via Briancon to collect my Mother. A long schlek back to Calais is some going, so good on the children. We did the Loire to Briancon in a day, which was quite long and altogether quite comfortable.
The Ring part I
Neglected to mention: MOT passed in August 2020 with no advisories - result.
I was invited by a friend with a similar interest in cars to join a trip to the Nurburgring with some other like-minded blokes. It did not take me long to say yes. On the way out we had the 550, an E93 335i, a Range Rover Sport SVR and a chipped F11 535d. Some others came from Switzerland meeting us there with an E46 M3, 2 x 997.1 GT3s and a far from stock Audi S1.
Many, many highlights including watching a Range Rover go round the Ring, plus some fantastic tuition from the passenger seats of the Porsches and the M3, as their owners have done many, many laps before. Having done many a lap on Gran Turismo back in the day I thought I knew it, but the bonkers altitude changes, and the sheer scale of the thing, simply don't come across via Playstation.
The first lap in the 550, with someone telling me which way the next corner went and when to brake, was mind boggling, with more 911 GT3s than you've ever seen bombing past you, plus the odd local in a 30 year old Polo. Insanely good fun, and the 550 was surprisingly good, hanging on around the corners although obviously very heavy, and the brakes were sadly not really up to it. The active seats have never been so busy! I think I did 3 laps over the course of the weekend in my car, plus many more laps as a passenger in others.
The autobahns were relatively busy, with speed limits imposed on some of the normally derestricted stretches, but still saw an indicated 135 mph on a derestricted stretch. The car was pretty stable, and have more to give, although I think air resistance was beginning to make itself firmly heard.
We stayed in a hotel next to the GP track, and hit the Pistenklause one evening for excellent steak on hot stone.
I think the Karrussell must have shaken my car to bits. The drive home revealed:
- air con still not working (as I hadn't got round to sorting it out)
- washer fluid leaking
- something not right at the front - suspension, wheel bearings, alignment?
- brakes not up to track work, unsurprisingly
Neglected to mention: MOT passed in August 2020 with no advisories - result.
I was invited by a friend with a similar interest in cars to join a trip to the Nurburgring with some other like-minded blokes. It did not take me long to say yes. On the way out we had the 550, an E93 335i, a Range Rover Sport SVR and a chipped F11 535d. Some others came from Switzerland meeting us there with an E46 M3, 2 x 997.1 GT3s and a far from stock Audi S1.
Many, many highlights including watching a Range Rover go round the Ring, plus some fantastic tuition from the passenger seats of the Porsches and the M3, as their owners have done many, many laps before. Having done many a lap on Gran Turismo back in the day I thought I knew it, but the bonkers altitude changes, and the sheer scale of the thing, simply don't come across via Playstation.
The first lap in the 550, with someone telling me which way the next corner went and when to brake, was mind boggling, with more 911 GT3s than you've ever seen bombing past you, plus the odd local in a 30 year old Polo. Insanely good fun, and the 550 was surprisingly good, hanging on around the corners although obviously very heavy, and the brakes were sadly not really up to it. The active seats have never been so busy! I think I did 3 laps over the course of the weekend in my car, plus many more laps as a passenger in others.
The autobahns were relatively busy, with speed limits imposed on some of the normally derestricted stretches, but still saw an indicated 135 mph on a derestricted stretch. The car was pretty stable, and have more to give, although I think air resistance was beginning to make itself firmly heard.
We stayed in a hotel next to the GP track, and hit the Pistenklause one evening for excellent steak on hot stone.
I think the Karrussell must have shaken my car to bits. The drive home revealed:
- air con still not working (as I hadn't got round to sorting it out)
- washer fluid leaking
- something not right at the front - suspension, wheel bearings, alignment?
- brakes not up to track work, unsurprisingly
October 2020
After that trip to the Ring, winter and Lockdown II hit, so not much to report.
Me and a mate tackled the front wheel bearings, which were replaced. Whilst the front wheels were off we got to the washer fluid reservoir, which sits behind the front passenger side wheel arch cover. There is one large reservoir with three pumps - one for the front windscreen, one for the rear and another for the front lights. One of the pumps was leaking so I bought a new pump and seal and replaced. Job done (although the rear washer has now stopped working, although this could be the usual E61 rear hinge problem).
March 2021
Time for a service, and with summer coming, a look at the air con. I also put the fuse back in for the comfort access, to see if an easy fix for the increased battery discharge could be diagnosed.
The service was all fine, no issues. The air con turned out to be a leaky compressor, with a new one required. This was a fairly painful hit to the wallet, so other than registering the battery to the car, nothing was done re the comfort access. Somehow though, the comfort access problem resolved itself, with no battery discharge issues, which was a result.
I also managed to get a puncture on the M25. I got the car off the motorway and into a layby. "Thank goodness for that spacesaver I bought off eBay" thought I. Oh - it doesn't fit over my brakes, either on the front or the rear, bugger. The AA had to be called, who put a spacesaver on with massive spacers and he followed me as I gingerly drove to a nearby tyre place. My rears were nearly at their limit anyway, and with a front puncture I decided to replace all 4 tyres, and get a 4 wheel alignment.
A fairly expensive month, but with 4 new tyres, proper alignment with the tyres going in the right direction and icy cold air con, all was good again with the 550!
After that trip to the Ring, winter and Lockdown II hit, so not much to report.
Me and a mate tackled the front wheel bearings, which were replaced. Whilst the front wheels were off we got to the washer fluid reservoir, which sits behind the front passenger side wheel arch cover. There is one large reservoir with three pumps - one for the front windscreen, one for the rear and another for the front lights. One of the pumps was leaking so I bought a new pump and seal and replaced. Job done (although the rear washer has now stopped working, although this could be the usual E61 rear hinge problem).
March 2021
Time for a service, and with summer coming, a look at the air con. I also put the fuse back in for the comfort access, to see if an easy fix for the increased battery discharge could be diagnosed.
The service was all fine, no issues. The air con turned out to be a leaky compressor, with a new one required. This was a fairly painful hit to the wallet, so other than registering the battery to the car, nothing was done re the comfort access. Somehow though, the comfort access problem resolved itself, with no battery discharge issues, which was a result.
I also managed to get a puncture on the M25. I got the car off the motorway and into a layby. "Thank goodness for that spacesaver I bought off eBay" thought I. Oh - it doesn't fit over my brakes, either on the front or the rear, bugger. The AA had to be called, who put a spacesaver on with massive spacers and he followed me as I gingerly drove to a nearby tyre place. My rears were nearly at their limit anyway, and with a front puncture I decided to replace all 4 tyres, and get a 4 wheel alignment.
A fairly expensive month, but with 4 new tyres, proper alignment with the tyres going in the right direction and icy cold air con, all was good again with the 550!
bolidemichael said:
The Nordscheife is great... I over-revved the engine on my 645Ci there (equipped with a rare manual box)... thankfully the resulting oil leaks were covered under Mondial warranty 
Which tyres did you opt for?
The old ones were Michelin PS4s which sadly were out of stock in my size at the time on Black Circles, so I went for the older model, the Pilot Super Sports.Which tyres did you opt for?
Good job for the warranty on the 645!
Summer 2021
Right, we are getting more up to date.
No foreign jollies this summer, too much of a faff! So lots of UK based trips, starting with a family holiday to Northumberland in July. We left south London at circa 6am and had the most unbelievable journey up. I got to the bottom of the M1 without breaking any speed limits in 35 minutes and other than a spot of traffic going round Newcastle, and where the A1 went from two lanes to one, it was a breeze.
Proof:
We stayed at a fantastic holiday village in Shilbottle just outside Alnwick and were blessed with a very good week of weather. Explored Alnwick Castle and Gardens, boat trip from Seahouses to the Farne Islands to see the puffins and seals, Bamburgh Castle, beaches at Newton and Morpeth and lots of delicious seafood. Potted Lobster in Bamburgh and the Boathouse in Amble very good.
We followed this with a few days in Suffolk without the children and a long weekend glamping in Sussex with some friends.
The 550 took it all in its stride, other than immediately prior to Northumberland, it threw up a "airbag/restraint system" fault. A quick google pointed at the passenger seat occupancy sensor as the culprit. A watch of the You Tube video proved to me that I have neither the skill nor the patience to do it myself. So I didn't, the local indie did.
While with the indie, a slightly nervous customer managed to reverse into the car, scratching the bumper and smashing the rear light cluster. Annoying, but these things happen and the garage was very good - it was a Friday so they taped up the light cluster and delivered it back to me for the weekend. They then dropped off a hire car (2011 Skoda Fabia) on Monday and mine was back to me the following day.
It then sailed through its MOT, again no advisories, in August. It is so good, I do not think I will replace it. My wife's Fiat 500 comes to the end of its deal next year, and we are tempted to get something electric as our London car, keeping the 550 for family duties, while it remains affordable to do so. I am also very glad to report that an 11 year old 4.8 petrol V8 is ULEZ compliant, so people in London should trade in their diesel SUVs for 550s and the like immediately. On that basis, I hope to get a less sensible car purchase past Mrs A...
Right, we are getting more up to date.
No foreign jollies this summer, too much of a faff! So lots of UK based trips, starting with a family holiday to Northumberland in July. We left south London at circa 6am and had the most unbelievable journey up. I got to the bottom of the M1 without breaking any speed limits in 35 minutes and other than a spot of traffic going round Newcastle, and where the A1 went from two lanes to one, it was a breeze.
Proof:
We stayed at a fantastic holiday village in Shilbottle just outside Alnwick and were blessed with a very good week of weather. Explored Alnwick Castle and Gardens, boat trip from Seahouses to the Farne Islands to see the puffins and seals, Bamburgh Castle, beaches at Newton and Morpeth and lots of delicious seafood. Potted Lobster in Bamburgh and the Boathouse in Amble very good.
We followed this with a few days in Suffolk without the children and a long weekend glamping in Sussex with some friends.
The 550 took it all in its stride, other than immediately prior to Northumberland, it threw up a "airbag/restraint system" fault. A quick google pointed at the passenger seat occupancy sensor as the culprit. A watch of the You Tube video proved to me that I have neither the skill nor the patience to do it myself. So I didn't, the local indie did.
While with the indie, a slightly nervous customer managed to reverse into the car, scratching the bumper and smashing the rear light cluster. Annoying, but these things happen and the garage was very good - it was a Friday so they taped up the light cluster and delivered it back to me for the weekend. They then dropped off a hire car (2011 Skoda Fabia) on Monday and mine was back to me the following day.
It then sailed through its MOT, again no advisories, in August. It is so good, I do not think I will replace it. My wife's Fiat 500 comes to the end of its deal next year, and we are tempted to get something electric as our London car, keeping the 550 for family duties, while it remains affordable to do so. I am also very glad to report that an 11 year old 4.8 petrol V8 is ULEZ compliant, so people in London should trade in their diesel SUVs for 550s and the like immediately. On that basis, I hope to get a less sensible car purchase past Mrs A...
Final update: The Ring part II
Having had such a good time last year, we did the Nurburging again earlier this month, this time staying in self-catering style accommodation in the shape of two interconnecting houses. The group was similar in number but there had been a raft of 911 buying in the last year or so. 6 cars left Maidstone Services in convoy: the 550i, the E93 335i and 3 x 997 Carrera Ss and a 991 Carrera S. We met up with 2 x 997.1 GT3s, a 996 GT3 and the Audi S1 (and a brief visit from a mega GT3 Touring).
Good trip down, with some more derestricted autobahn action. A lap or two that evening and the next day. Slightly terrifying scene as we went past an E60 M5 stopped on the side of the track, huge flames from his engine bay - poor bloke.
We went go karting on Saturday when the track was closed. Karting was excellent: 10 minutes qualifying, then reverse grid for a 20 minute race straight after.
Sunday it rained, so a few of us went for a steady drive in the 550 round the Nordschliefe, even taking it easy it was very twitchy - it is very very slippery in places in the wet. I did spot one of the photographers point and laugh at us, as it got somewhat out of shape. A good day to watch from the side of the track under an umbrella and with a beer.
Then back on Monday, cross country on some great roads to Spa Francorchamps for a sandwich and to spend a bit of time watching a track day there, which had a great range of cars.
Again, the 550 was brilliant. Awesome on the long run down, so so comfortable and able to keep pace with the other cars (until the numbers got big on the autobahn), and then amusing round the Nordschliefe. It still needs new brakes, but now that I have decided to keep it, I am going to look at brake upgrade options, whether new pads/discs/hoses etc or whether to do an M5 brake upgrade. I may also get an Apple Car Play android thingy installed, that keeps the original CIC but works alongside it.
Trip stats: 20 hours 38 minutes, 942 miles, 21.9 mpg [that'll be the Ring and autobahn for you], 47.5 mph
Obviously as I was departing my house for Germany, the BMW bong of doom informed me that the increased battery discharge was back, but I have my head in the sand about that for the moment.
That last picture in on the Sudschliefe, that also used to form part of the old track, now disused.
Having had such a good time last year, we did the Nurburging again earlier this month, this time staying in self-catering style accommodation in the shape of two interconnecting houses. The group was similar in number but there had been a raft of 911 buying in the last year or so. 6 cars left Maidstone Services in convoy: the 550i, the E93 335i and 3 x 997 Carrera Ss and a 991 Carrera S. We met up with 2 x 997.1 GT3s, a 996 GT3 and the Audi S1 (and a brief visit from a mega GT3 Touring).
Good trip down, with some more derestricted autobahn action. A lap or two that evening and the next day. Slightly terrifying scene as we went past an E60 M5 stopped on the side of the track, huge flames from his engine bay - poor bloke.
We went go karting on Saturday when the track was closed. Karting was excellent: 10 minutes qualifying, then reverse grid for a 20 minute race straight after.
Sunday it rained, so a few of us went for a steady drive in the 550 round the Nordschliefe, even taking it easy it was very twitchy - it is very very slippery in places in the wet. I did spot one of the photographers point and laugh at us, as it got somewhat out of shape. A good day to watch from the side of the track under an umbrella and with a beer.
Then back on Monday, cross country on some great roads to Spa Francorchamps for a sandwich and to spend a bit of time watching a track day there, which had a great range of cars.
Again, the 550 was brilliant. Awesome on the long run down, so so comfortable and able to keep pace with the other cars (until the numbers got big on the autobahn), and then amusing round the Nordschliefe. It still needs new brakes, but now that I have decided to keep it, I am going to look at brake upgrade options, whether new pads/discs/hoses etc or whether to do an M5 brake upgrade. I may also get an Apple Car Play android thingy installed, that keeps the original CIC but works alongside it.
Trip stats: 20 hours 38 minutes, 942 miles, 21.9 mpg [that'll be the Ring and autobahn for you], 47.5 mph
Obviously as I was departing my house for Germany, the BMW bong of doom informed me that the increased battery discharge was back, but I have my head in the sand about that for the moment.
That last picture in on the Sudschliefe, that also used to form part of the old track, now disused.
Lovely 550i and enjoyed reading about the trip to Provence, one of my favourite places in France. We haven't been since 2019 but a great area to explore, stayed in Goult. If you go back again can recommend roads around Verdon Gorge, Mt Ventoux. Little villages like Lacoste, Menerbes, L'isle sur Las sourge.
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