E60 545/550's - Anything I should be wary of?
Discussion
It's all in the title really - I'm looking to replace my 330i and the 545's and 550's have caught my eye.
To be honest I would be stretching my budget very far for a 550, unless I can drive a very hard bargain, but has anyone got any experience of e60 5 series V8 ownership and any tips for what I should be looking for?
I've had a good trawl of the internet, but there doesn't seem to much info about them except a few stories about oil leaks and large bills to fix them, but they're all in the states, no UK stories...
I'll be looking at examples that have done around 70k miles, so any help will be much appreciated.
Cheers
Si
To be honest I would be stretching my budget very far for a 550, unless I can drive a very hard bargain, but has anyone got any experience of e60 5 series V8 ownership and any tips for what I should be looking for?
I've had a good trawl of the internet, but there doesn't seem to much info about them except a few stories about oil leaks and large bills to fix them, but they're all in the states, no UK stories...
I'll be looking at examples that have done around 70k miles, so any help will be much appreciated.
Cheers
Si
Before buying my 650 (It is a lovely piece of kit and based on the 550), I did a little research, two potential issues seem to be;
1) Gearbox plastic sump, check for leaks, circa £400
2) CCC module is a potential issue, circa £1k.
I think you would need to be a little unlucky for them to go.
My car still had all it's original SW, but my specialist updated it (23 modules needed to be updated). I have seen various prices from BMW @ £900 to mates rates at £150. My BMW specialist charged £60 + VAT. It took 9 hours to do the upgrade, and menus are different, colours on the screen are different, and gearbox is smoother when cold. Sat nav seems quicker as well.
Interestingly the 650 is more economical than our 2002 330i convertible (long run on motorway @ ~80 is 30 mpg). If you get one registered before March 2006, you get the cheaper road rent @ £260 (or there abouts).
1) Gearbox plastic sump, check for leaks, circa £400
2) CCC module is a potential issue, circa £1k.
I think you would need to be a little unlucky for them to go.
My car still had all it's original SW, but my specialist updated it (23 modules needed to be updated). I have seen various prices from BMW @ £900 to mates rates at £150. My BMW specialist charged £60 + VAT. It took 9 hours to do the upgrade, and menus are different, colours on the screen are different, and gearbox is smoother when cold. Sat nav seems quicker as well.
Interestingly the 650 is more economical than our 2002 330i convertible (long run on motorway @ ~80 is 30 mpg). If you get one registered before March 2006, you get the cheaper road rent @ £260 (or there abouts).
Had my 550i coming up for a year now, just turned 43k miles. The only problem I had was to do with the microswitch in the rear window, but that only applies to the touring. Other than that, been a solid car. However, I will most definitely be renewing the warranty, even I'm not that brave and I have a manual gearbox!
I had a E39 540i which I ran for 6 years and up to 110,000 mile with no real issues.
I replaced this with a 550i, which i've had for5 years and run up to 111,000 miles now with no big issues. The 4.8 in the 550 is a different block to the 4.4/4.6 in the 540 and 545i. The 4.8 is quite a lot nicer engine. It likes to rev a bit more and uses a bit less fuel. So I would spend the time to try and find a 550i over a 545i
If you get a touring model that has a sun-roof then there is a quick mod to remove valves at the end of the drainage tubes that block up and cause water to get into the floor under the boot, frying expensive electronics and giving fun error messages like 'total central failure'....
I replaced this with a 550i, which i've had for5 years and run up to 111,000 miles now with no big issues. The 4.8 in the 550 is a different block to the 4.4/4.6 in the 540 and 545i. The 4.8 is quite a lot nicer engine. It likes to rev a bit more and uses a bit less fuel. So I would spend the time to try and find a 550i over a 545i
If you get a touring model that has a sun-roof then there is a quick mod to remove valves at the end of the drainage tubes that block up and cause water to get into the floor under the boot, frying expensive electronics and giving fun error messages like 'total central failure'....
I had a 550Msport for 2 years and almost 20k miles with no issues. It was a very good car tbh - I owned it as my daily with a couple of Porsches for leisure use - and I only sold it because it got to the point where parking and lack of use of the Porsches became such an issue that I decided to get one car that could do it all.
I used BMW for all routine servicing and a specialist for most of the other stuff - but it was all just maintenance. I would definitely recommend having the gearbox fluids changed at 60ish K miles - even though BMW say it is a lifetime fill....
Great cars imho.
I used BMW for all routine servicing and a specialist for most of the other stuff - but it was all just maintenance. I would definitely recommend having the gearbox fluids changed at 60ish K miles - even though BMW say it is a lifetime fill....
Great cars imho.
Biggest thing on the 545 is the aluminum coolant tube that goes through the middle of the engine.the o ring perishs causing a slow coolant leak that looks like its coming from the waterpump.the parts are very cheap but the labour involved is huge,front of the engine of to change it etc. The 550 has the same pipe but they don't seem to suffer from it yet,it seems more age related than mileage related. The E65 745 suffered badly with the problem,its well documented. I unfortunately fell fowl of it and it wasn't cheap to rectify. People who do know of the problem shift the car on passing it off as a usual coolant leak.
Deano_BMW said:
Biggest thing on the 545 is the aluminum coolant tube that goes through the middle of the engine.the o ring perishs causing a slow coolant leak that looks like its coming from the waterpump.the parts are very cheap but the labour involved is huge,front of the engine of to change it etc. The 550 has the same pipe but they don't seem to suffer from it yet,it seems more age related than mileage related. The E65 745 suffered badly with the problem,its well documented. I unfortunately fell fowl of it and it wasn't cheap to rectify. People who do know of the problem shift the car on passing it off as a usual coolant leak.
How much was it?Thanks guys, interesting stuff. I assumed the 545 and 550 were the same block, just bored out. Interesting that the 550 seems to be better on fuel, so with similar maintenance costs it could be a false economy to buy the cheaper car (cost spread over 3 years).
Any other tips are welcome...
Any other tips are welcome...
scz4 said:
Had my 550i coming up for a year now, just turned 43k miles. The only problem I had was to do with the microswitch in the rear window, but that only applies to the touring. Other than that, been a solid car. However, I will most definitely be renewing the warranty, even I'm not that brave and I have a manual gearbox!
You've got a 550i with a manual gearbox ?!?! There can't be many of them around....Cheib said:
You've got a 550i with a manual gearbox ?!?! There can't be many of them around....
Nope, just 7 M Sport tourings taken in to the UK between 2006 to 2010 
Journal & pictures here if you're interested
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1018271
smack said:
My dad had one of the first batch of 545i from just after they had been launched, until he replaced it with a new F10 550i in 2010.
I know it had issues during the time he had it, fixed under warranty, and when I next speak to him I will ask him what they were.
Just chatted to him - I got it wrong. He ended up doing 55,000km in his over 7 odd years, and had no problems with his at all. I know it had issues during the time he had it, fixed under warranty, and when I next speak to him I will ask him what they were.
His current F10 had a control unit that went wrong, that had the car in the dealer for a week with them trying to figure out what had screwed up. BMW didn't want to bite the bullet and replace an expensive ECU, but when they finally did, it fix it.
scz4 said:
Cheib said:
You've got a 550i with a manual gearbox ?!?! There can't be many of them around....
Nope, just 7 M Sport tourings taken in to the UK between 2006 to 2010 Journal & pictures here if you're interested
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1018271
I'm not sure the 550i is any more economical than the 545i. In my auto 545i Touring, I managed an average over 9,000 miles of 25mpg; better than I get out of my E46 330i! I'd say the 545i and 550i fuel economy is pretty similar. They both have similar Valvetronic heads which is the reason for the parsimony.
Mine had the plastic gearbox sump replaced under warranty while I had it; took them a while to work out that that was warped. This was at about 80k miles, so expect to have to replace that; by doing so you get a gearbox oil change of necessity.
My car also had two cracked alloys; they weren't leaking air but couldn't be balanced so I had them checked and the cracks were found. Check whether there are any vibrations at over 70mph on a test drive if you can;; wheels aren't cheap to replace.
Overall, the 545i is quick but doesn't feel it, refined but the ride is awful on run-flats and 18" wheels, and it has less character and a more plasticcy interior than an E46 or E39. Objectively it's great but I sold mine within a year because it didn't grab me.
Mine had the plastic gearbox sump replaced under warranty while I had it; took them a while to work out that that was warped. This was at about 80k miles, so expect to have to replace that; by doing so you get a gearbox oil change of necessity.
My car also had two cracked alloys; they weren't leaking air but couldn't be balanced so I had them checked and the cracks were found. Check whether there are any vibrations at over 70mph on a test drive if you can;; wheels aren't cheap to replace.
Overall, the 545i is quick but doesn't feel it, refined but the ride is awful on run-flats and 18" wheels, and it has less character and a more plasticcy interior than an E46 or E39. Objectively it's great but I sold mine within a year because it didn't grab me.
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