E61 V8 Bearding

[james_zy]

six wheels said:

james_zy said:

I was thinking the same thing of late. Could be that the market is a little slow at the moment!

Frustrating as my lease went back last week so I’m ready now.

The SE on AT looks lovely if a little pricey. I’d hate to buy that and see M-Sports start to come up.

Looks like they have bumped the price of the SE from £8k to £10k!!

[ATM]

550i

2007
155000 miles

wolf in sheep’s clothing - description says it so it must be true

£7500

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283946745505

[phil_cardiff]

ATM said:

I'd say it will replicate but its tricky. I've heard some people talk about BMW spending more on the 5 in terms of development than the 3 as it sells in higher volume. No idea if that's true but the 5 is a good car. I'm not sure how much better my 550 feels because it has the big v8 and the new bilstein shocks and the new brakes and the auto box service etc etc. So I can't say if a different car would feel as good. Dont wanna sound like a Dick but these cars are getting older now so bare that in mind. Also the 5 is a bigger heavier car so I dont know if the smaller 6 cylinder can haul the bigger car around and a tired 5 might feel poor compared to a fresher 3 so its difficult to say which I think you would prefer. But simple things like the size of the seats differentiate it for me. The 3 feels like a smaller car which is trying to be bigger. It doesn't feel small but it feels smaller. The 5 feels just right size wise. People can sit in the back without moving the front seats forward and everyone has leg room. The 5 estate can swallow 3 bikes without putting the seats down so 3 adults and 3 bikes is no drama. You could probably do 3 bikes and 5 adults but I've never had to try that. I'm waffling now so not sure if this is helping or not. Lets just say that fun and excitement aside the 5 makes more sense size wise if you need to move people or stuff or people and stuff. Can you enjoy throwing one around is a different set.of variables. But let's face it the 5 series can't be a bad car if its BMW's main product right?

I know where you're coming from. I'd refresh the suspension as a minimum on whichever model I bought.

I like the idea of a V8 E61 but the tales of oil leaks put me off, compared to the relative reliability of the earlier 3.0

[ATM]

phil_cardiff said:

ATM said:

I'd say it will replicate but its tricky. I've heard some people talk about BMW spending more on the 5 in terms of development than the 3 as it sells in higher volume. No idea if that's true but the 5 is a good car. I'm not sure how much better my 550 feels because it has the big v8 and the new bilstein shocks and the new brakes and the auto box service etc etc. So I can't say if a different car would feel as good. Dont wanna sound like a Dick but these cars are getting older now so bare that in mind. Also the 5 is a bigger heavier car so I dont know if the smaller 6 cylinder can haul the bigger car around and a tired 5 might feel poor compared to a fresher 3 so its difficult to say which I think you would prefer. But simple things like the size of the seats differentiate it for me. The 3 feels like a smaller car which is trying to be bigger. It doesn't feel small but it feels smaller. The 5 feels just right size wise. People can sit in the back without moving the front seats forward and everyone has leg room. The 5 estate can swallow 3 bikes without putting the seats down so 3 adults and 3 bikes is no drama. You could probably do 3 bikes and 5 adults but I've never had to try that. I'm waffling now so not sure if this is helping or not. Lets just say that fun and excitement aside the 5 makes more sense size wise if you need to move people or stuff or people and stuff. Can you enjoy throwing one around is a different set.of variables. But let's face it the 5 series can't be a bad car if its BMW's main product right?

I know where you're coming from. I'd refresh the suspension as a minimum on whichever model I bought.

I like the idea of a V8 E61 but the tales of oil leaks put me off, compared to the relative reliability of the earlier 3.0

No oil leaks here.

[phil_cardiff]

ATM said:

phil_cardiff said:

ATM said:

I'd say it will replicate but its tricky. I've heard some people talk about BMW spending more on the 5 in terms of development than the 3 as it sells in higher volume. No idea if that's true but the 5 is a good car. I'm not sure how much better my 550 feels because it has the big v8 and the new bilstein shocks and the new brakes and the auto box service etc etc. So I can't say if a different car would feel as good. Dont wanna sound like a Dick but these cars are getting older now so bare that in mind. Also the 5 is a bigger heavier car so I dont know if the smaller 6 cylinder can haul the bigger car around and a tired 5 might feel poor compared to a fresher 3 so its difficult to say which I think you would prefer. But simple things like the size of the seats differentiate it for me. The 3 feels like a smaller car which is trying to be bigger. It doesn't feel small but it feels smaller. The 5 feels just right size wise. People can sit in the back without moving the front seats forward and everyone has leg room. The 5 estate can swallow 3 bikes without putting the seats down so 3 adults and 3 bikes is no drama. You could probably do 3 bikes and 5 adults but I've never had to try that. I'm waffling now so not sure if this is helping or not. Lets just say that fun and excitement aside the 5 makes more sense size wise if you need to move people or stuff or people and stuff. Can you enjoy throwing one around is a different set.of variables. But let's face it the 5 series can't be a bad car if its BMW's main product right?

I know where you're coming from. I'd refresh the suspension as a minimum on whichever model I bought.

I like the idea of a V8 E61 but the tales of oil leaks put me off, compared to the relative reliability of the earlier 3.0

No oil leaks here.

I've read the 550i is better in that regard than the 4.4 but it's the Internet so who knows what to believe?

[ATM]

phil_cardiff said:

ATM said:

phil_cardiff said:

ATM said:

I'd say it will replicate but its tricky. I've heard some people talk about BMW spending more on the 5 in terms of development than the 3 as it sells in higher volume. No idea if that's true but the 5 is a good car. I'm not sure how much better my 550 feels because it has the big v8 and the new bilstein shocks and the new brakes and the auto box service etc etc. So I can't say if a different car would feel as good. Dont wanna sound like a Dick but these cars are getting older now so bare that in mind. Also the 5 is a bigger heavier car so I dont know if the smaller 6 cylinder can haul the bigger car around and a tired 5 might feel poor compared to a fresher 3 so its difficult to say which I think you would prefer. But simple things like the size of the seats differentiate it for me. The 3 feels like a smaller car which is trying to be bigger. It doesn't feel small but it feels smaller. The 5 feels just right size wise. People can sit in the back without moving the front seats forward and everyone has leg room. The 5 estate can swallow 3 bikes without putting the seats down so 3 adults and 3 bikes is no drama. You could probably do 3 bikes and 5 adults but I've never had to try that. I'm waffling now so not sure if this is helping or not. Lets just say that fun and excitement aside the 5 makes more sense size wise if you need to move people or stuff or people and stuff. Can you enjoy throwing one around is a different set.of variables. But let's face it the 5 series can't be a bad car if its BMW's main product right?

I know where you're coming from. I'd refresh the suspension as a minimum on whichever model I bought.

I like the idea of a V8 E61 but the tales of oil leaks put me off, compared to the relative reliability of the earlier 3.0

No oil leaks here.

I've read the 550i is better in that regard than the 4.4 but it's the Internet so who knows what to believe?

My car is never loved. It is just used and abused. It just works and works without fail. It does use oil but that's just the valve stem oil seals. The car drinks oil due to them. It doesn’t drop oil on my path. It never has.

[james_zy]

ATM said:

phil_cardiff said:

ATM said:

phil_cardiff said:

ATM said:

I'd say it will replicate but its tricky. I've heard some people talk about BMW spending more on the 5 in terms of development than the 3 as it sells in higher volume. No idea if that's true but the 5 is a good car. I'm not sure how much better my 550 feels because it has the big v8 and the new bilstein shocks and the new brakes and the auto box service etc etc. So I can't say if a different car would feel as good. Dont wanna sound like a Dick but these cars are getting older now so bare that in mind. Also the 5 is a bigger heavier car so I dont know if the smaller 6 cylinder can haul the bigger car around and a tired 5 might feel poor compared to a fresher 3 so its difficult to say which I think you would prefer. But simple things like the size of the seats differentiate it for me. The 3 feels like a smaller car which is trying to be bigger. It doesn't feel small but it feels smaller. The 5 feels just right size wise. People can sit in the back without moving the front seats forward and everyone has leg room. The 5 estate can swallow 3 bikes without putting the seats down so 3 adults and 3 bikes is no drama. You could probably do 3 bikes and 5 adults but I've never had to try that. I'm waffling now so not sure if this is helping or not. Lets just say that fun and excitement aside the 5 makes more sense size wise if you need to move people or stuff or people and stuff. Can you enjoy throwing one around is a different set.of variables. But let's face it the 5 series can't be a bad car if its BMW's main product right?

I know where you're coming from. I'd refresh the suspension as a minimum on whichever model I bought.

I like the idea of a V8 E61 but the tales of oil leaks put me off, compared to the relative reliability of the earlier 3.0

No oil leaks here.

I've read the 550i is better in that regard than the 4.4 but it's the Internet so who knows what to believe?

My car is never loved. It is just used and abused. It just works and works without fail. It does use oil but that's just the valve stem oil seals. The car drinks oil due to them. It doesn’t drop oil on my path. It never has.

I heard you can actually get this fixed now for about £500 if you go to the right place. Every car has its Achilles heel, back in the day this one could be ruinous but won’t be putting me off

[james_zy]

ATM said:

550i

2007
155000 miles

wolf in sheep’s clothing - description says it so it must be true

£7500

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283946745505

Good find. Reminds me of one that was on Autotrader for a similar price? Might even be the same one (it sat for ages, crap photos)?

[ATM]

james_zy said:

ATM said:

550i

2007
155000 miles

wolf in sheep’s clothing - description says it so it must be true

£7500

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283946745505

Good find. Reminds me of one that was on Autotrader for a similar price? Might even be the same one (it sat for ages, crap photos)?

Could well have been posted already - not sure. If I see a 550i T for sale I post it. Simples.

[james_zy]

ATM said:

james_zy said:

ATM said:

550i

2007
155000 miles

wolf in sheep’s clothing - description says it so it must be true

£7500

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283946745505

Good find. Reminds me of one that was on Autotrader for a similar price? Might even be the same one (it sat for ages, crap photos)?

Could well have been posted already - not sure. If I see a 550i T for sale I post it. Simples.

Ha I wasn’t calling you out - just wondered if anyone else recognised it!

[ATM]

james_zy said:

ATM said:

james_zy said:

ATM said:

550i

2007
155000 miles

wolf in sheep’s clothing - description says it so it must be true

£7500

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283946745505

Good find. Reminds me of one that was on Autotrader for a similar price? Might even be the same one (it sat for ages, crap photos)?

Could well have been posted already - not sure. If I see a 550i T for sale I post it. Simples.

Ha I wasn’t calling you out - just wondered if anyone else recognised it!

Just hurry up and buy it

[six wheels]

james_zy said:

Looks like they have bumped the price of the SE from £8k to £10k!!

I’d told my partner I was sure they’d take £8k for it (it was on at £8.5k I think).

Got to be fast now and prices seem inflated - the 550i with 150k being a case in point.

I think I’ll wait unless something amazing pops up.

[ATM]

six wheels said:

james_zy said:

Looks like they have bumped the price of the SE from £8k to £10k!!

I’d told my partner I was sure they’d take £8k for it (it was on at £8.5k I think).

Got to be fast now and prices seem inflated - the 550i with 150k being a case in point.

I think I’ll wait unless something amazing pops up.

I've sen a few comments from people about corona pushing down prices. But if people stop buying new cars and leasing new cars then surely that could increase demand for older cars. So I think a change in the way people get cars or which cars they want could push prices up in some segments.

[tobinen]

I agree. In my searches for a V8 estate I see no drop in prices.

[BigMacDaddy]

One bad thing about working from home currently is the ease of spending money on car bits
So far this month I've added a set of wind deflectors and some Eibach 20mm spacers for the rears, then today this thing arrived:



Took about 20 mins to install and so far colour me impressed; I'll have to take the car out for a longer run later but just going for a quick nip around the block on the default settings the throttle response is much better than before. Had a very quick try on the "race" setting but that was massive overkill tbh, I'll have a play later til I find the sweet spot. Added bonus is it also lets me restrict the throttle input for if the wife ever has to use the car, or totally disable the throttle pedal altogether if I have to park anywhere less salubrious

[tobinen]

4.4. No visible reg no. to check history. £4,250

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bmw/bmw-545i-se-v8-4.4-t...

[ATM]

[james_zy]

https://auctionview.bca.co.uk/Results/LotDetail/18...

This one up for auction. Wonder where it will appear!

Don’t understand the mileage though. The photo says 51,315, but last MOT was in Jan 2019 with 80,734.

Last MOT also advised an oil leak - could be a loose gasket, or it could be valve stem seals

Edited by james_zy on Wednesday 22 July 11:46

[ATM]

james_zy said:

https://auctionview.bca.co.uk/Results/LotDetail/18...

This one up for auction. Wonder where it will appear!

Don’t understand the mileage though. The photo says 51,315, but last MOT was in Jan 2019 with 80,734.

Last MOT also advised an oil leak - could be a loose gasket, or it could be valve stem seals

Edited by james_zy on Wednesday 22 July 11:46

The valve stem seals do not leak anywhere visible. They leak into the combustion chamber. This then gets burned off. It causes no damage that I can see. It produces some smoke which can be tad embarrassing. And its potentially bad for the environment. Otherwise just crack on.

[pewe]

Two slight niggles at present on my 2010 Touring:-
1) HUD is intermittent at start-up - seems to work if I press the on/off button a few times - dry or loose switch connection or did someone mention a software update?
2) An M5 owner of the same age lost his when it toasted itself.
Insurer's report suggest power steering pipe failure.
Anyone know if this is common and/or preventable? Presumably age and/or proximity to hot bits?

BTW I had a main dealer electrical upgrade to do with positive cable run which was on a recall done recently.
Credit to the guys at Berkshire Motor Works for giving me the heads-up on that one