BMW E61 525i - Cheap, but for good reasons!
Discussion
I don't buy many cars, but I suppose I do fall into the category of being a bit of a gambler when I do, mostly by necessity of needing a car quickly.
There was the 944S purchased without an MOT (due to rust) whilst my other 944 was being restored (due to rust). A quick bit of back street welding saw it get through a couple of very enjoyable years before it needed a proper restoration, at which point I sold it as a project and got most of my purchase price back.
The next car, an E36 touring, was purchased cheaply as it was running on 5 cylinders. This was one that didn't really pay off, far from being an electrical issue it was rather a more serious mechanical issue, and whilst deciding what to do the 5 cylinders became 4 and then briefly 3... A new engine was fitted and it was great for the brief period before someone wrote it off whilst it was parked.
Its replacement was my last car, an E46 touring (detailed previously BMW E36 and E46 Touring) which was purchased long distance, with only a lift to the car and no easy return route if I didn't drive it home, thankfully it was a great car with only rust being the likely big cost on the horizon, and sadly only required replacing due to my own stupidity, when a low speed prang saw it written off.
I again needed a replacement fast. I poured over all the ads I could find, the stipulation was another BMW (as I have a great local BMW mechanic) and a touring (preferably manual). Oh and a notional budget of a couple of thousand pounds. Thoughts of scratching the V8 itch nearly tempted me into the lower end of 540s, but for once my head ruled.
In the end I spotted a very well priced E61 525i on a classifieds listing at £2,2k, for sale by an Essex based van dealer who was selling it as a trade in with no warranty (yeah right). The extra space of the 5 series appealed as we had to move our business a week later and the lure of a more modern (and rust free) car was difficult to ignore.
Pics from advert:
At the price I knew it was a gamble and almost certainly worse than described, but the bodywork looked promising in the pictures and the colour really suits the car, I spoke to the dealer and, well, lets say he fitted certain regional stereotypes rather well. I was assured it 'runs lovely' and was a 'great motor', so who could resist, particularly being told that if I saw his house (where he runs his business) that it would be obvious he didn't need the money...
£2k was agreed over the phone, a bit too eagerly perhaps, and I knew that there was a very good chance I was buying a lemon, it being under priced compared to the rest of the market, the reason was given that the automatic tailgate was broken.
Anyway, a very good mate (who had given me a lift to buy my previous 325, funnily enough) had business out that way, so kindly gave me a lift.
We arrived in the rain, never the best time to buy a car of course, but it looked good, I heard it run and all seemed fine for the price, I said to my mate to leave and get on with his work - being in the middle of nowhere meant I was driving it or walking 70 miles home, and I don't particularly like walking. I was in a rush, the whole process probably took 30 mins or less, I needed to get back to work so didn't have time to faff around.
A quick test drive revealed nothing catastrophic (apart from the seller obviously trying to distract me with inane banter), it felt very slow and remote after the 325i (still does) but it's hardly surprising. There was the odd clonking noise, but the gear change felt good, the steering awfully light and it was very flat on the road, and unusually firm too.
The drive home was largely uneventful, some ailment or other appeared on the I Drive display and I quickly came to hate the cheery bong noise it makes every time it tells you something new is broken.
More to follow!
There was the 944S purchased without an MOT (due to rust) whilst my other 944 was being restored (due to rust). A quick bit of back street welding saw it get through a couple of very enjoyable years before it needed a proper restoration, at which point I sold it as a project and got most of my purchase price back.
The next car, an E36 touring, was purchased cheaply as it was running on 5 cylinders. This was one that didn't really pay off, far from being an electrical issue it was rather a more serious mechanical issue, and whilst deciding what to do the 5 cylinders became 4 and then briefly 3... A new engine was fitted and it was great for the brief period before someone wrote it off whilst it was parked.
Its replacement was my last car, an E46 touring (detailed previously BMW E36 and E46 Touring) which was purchased long distance, with only a lift to the car and no easy return route if I didn't drive it home, thankfully it was a great car with only rust being the likely big cost on the horizon, and sadly only required replacing due to my own stupidity, when a low speed prang saw it written off.
I again needed a replacement fast. I poured over all the ads I could find, the stipulation was another BMW (as I have a great local BMW mechanic) and a touring (preferably manual). Oh and a notional budget of a couple of thousand pounds. Thoughts of scratching the V8 itch nearly tempted me into the lower end of 540s, but for once my head ruled.
In the end I spotted a very well priced E61 525i on a classifieds listing at £2,2k, for sale by an Essex based van dealer who was selling it as a trade in with no warranty (yeah right). The extra space of the 5 series appealed as we had to move our business a week later and the lure of a more modern (and rust free) car was difficult to ignore.
Pics from advert:
At the price I knew it was a gamble and almost certainly worse than described, but the bodywork looked promising in the pictures and the colour really suits the car, I spoke to the dealer and, well, lets say he fitted certain regional stereotypes rather well. I was assured it 'runs lovely' and was a 'great motor', so who could resist, particularly being told that if I saw his house (where he runs his business) that it would be obvious he didn't need the money...
£2k was agreed over the phone, a bit too eagerly perhaps, and I knew that there was a very good chance I was buying a lemon, it being under priced compared to the rest of the market, the reason was given that the automatic tailgate was broken.
Anyway, a very good mate (who had given me a lift to buy my previous 325, funnily enough) had business out that way, so kindly gave me a lift.
We arrived in the rain, never the best time to buy a car of course, but it looked good, I heard it run and all seemed fine for the price, I said to my mate to leave and get on with his work - being in the middle of nowhere meant I was driving it or walking 70 miles home, and I don't particularly like walking. I was in a rush, the whole process probably took 30 mins or less, I needed to get back to work so didn't have time to faff around.
A quick test drive revealed nothing catastrophic (apart from the seller obviously trying to distract me with inane banter), it felt very slow and remote after the 325i (still does) but it's hardly surprising. There was the odd clonking noise, but the gear change felt good, the steering awfully light and it was very flat on the road, and unusually firm too.
The drive home was largely uneventful, some ailment or other appeared on the I Drive display and I quickly came to hate the cheery bong noise it makes every time it tells you something new is broken.
More to follow!
I had an e61 525i touring. Loved it. Unfortunately it hated me and broke every 5 minutes. £2k in maintenance in 6 months and THEN the head gasket went. I had enough and traded it.
Oh and that death. Bong. My god. My heart sank every time I heard it.
Bong - you left a door open
Bong - coolant low
Bong - oil low
Bong - 3 degrees outside
Bong - tyre sensor f
ked again
Bong - impending death rattle from the timing chain
No bloody dipstick either!!!
Oh and that death. Bong. My god. My heart sank every time I heard it.
Bong - you left a door open
Bong - coolant low
Bong - oil low
Bong - 3 degrees outside
Bong - tyre sensor f
ked againBong - impending death rattle from the timing chain
No bloody dipstick either!!!
Glad it's not just me that dreads the cheery Bongs!
The most obvious problem that became immediately apparent was a leak of hydraulic fluid. Not the usual light dripping you might expect from an aged steering rack. No, this was pouring out almost as soon as it was poured in, and from the wrong end too. Thanks to Jason at Protech it was quickly identified as being a failed active rear anti roll bar which was squirting the stuff out at huge pressure, particularly during heavy loads on the power steering (and presumably when the ARB were working hard).
The bad news is that a new one is £1,200+, so that was not going to happen. I tried many breakers but the answer was always no (to be fair one did get back to me a couple of weeks later but with a rather high £500 price).
From what I can tell, the Dynamic Drive option, of which this is part of, seems to be rather unusual on these in the UK - I think it was quite expensive. In the end I managed to track one down in the States at a cost of just over £100 delivered (thanks to the Ebays Global Shipping system, which took about 3 weeks).
It has just been fitted by Protech and it's great not to have to keeping topping up the fluid. The old one naturally put up a bit of a fight, but ultimately it wasn't too bad for my wallet (a couple of hours labour with a few other little jobs done too).
I've now dared to drive it a bit more enthusiastically (which I really don't think it appreciates) and even though it's early days it has quite an odd feel, there's no real roll, but the when the tyres (reasonable) grip goes it turns (lurches) straight to understeer, but without any real progression.
The whole suspension setup feels a bit odd, it's very firm over bumps but at the same time has a smooth underlying ride, so long undulations like you'd find on a well surfaced road are no problem, but our pot holed roads make it feel like the dampers are set much too firmly.
It actually feels like they nailed the ride during development and then the sales department came along and insisted they offer a sports option and they begrudgingly just turned it all up a bit to keep them happy.
The Dynamic Drive brings me to the cars specification, usefully discovered on one of the vin websites. I don't quite understand why someone selected the options they did, on a somewhat under powered 525i they chose dynamic drive and sports suspension, two things that I guess a keener driver might choose, but then there's also Servotronic steering which I suspect is largely responsible for the non existent steering feel and weight. Other luxuries include the automatic tailgate, heated seats and Xenon lights, but no parking sensors (which would be really useful on a car this size - the 325 had them which has made me a convert).
Whilst the ARB was being done Jason very kindly fitted the new external temperature sensor that I'd left in the car. This has now stopped it warning me of frost even on a sunny day (by claiming it's -40 outside all the time). Even better the air condition has now sprung into life. A great result for a fivers worth of sensor, but I suspect I am somewhat responsible for the cold snap we're now experiencing (but aren't heated seats great!).
Ir's getting late, so I will post another time about its excessive consumption of another fluid, and no, it's not petrol... Oh and the tailgate is a bit more serious than the loom unfortunately, I'll try and get some pics done when I get a moment.
The most obvious problem that became immediately apparent was a leak of hydraulic fluid. Not the usual light dripping you might expect from an aged steering rack. No, this was pouring out almost as soon as it was poured in, and from the wrong end too. Thanks to Jason at Protech it was quickly identified as being a failed active rear anti roll bar which was squirting the stuff out at huge pressure, particularly during heavy loads on the power steering (and presumably when the ARB were working hard).
The bad news is that a new one is £1,200+, so that was not going to happen. I tried many breakers but the answer was always no (to be fair one did get back to me a couple of weeks later but with a rather high £500 price).
From what I can tell, the Dynamic Drive option, of which this is part of, seems to be rather unusual on these in the UK - I think it was quite expensive. In the end I managed to track one down in the States at a cost of just over £100 delivered (thanks to the Ebays Global Shipping system, which took about 3 weeks).
It has just been fitted by Protech and it's great not to have to keeping topping up the fluid. The old one naturally put up a bit of a fight, but ultimately it wasn't too bad for my wallet (a couple of hours labour with a few other little jobs done too).
I've now dared to drive it a bit more enthusiastically (which I really don't think it appreciates) and even though it's early days it has quite an odd feel, there's no real roll, but the when the tyres (reasonable) grip goes it turns (lurches) straight to understeer, but without any real progression.
The whole suspension setup feels a bit odd, it's very firm over bumps but at the same time has a smooth underlying ride, so long undulations like you'd find on a well surfaced road are no problem, but our pot holed roads make it feel like the dampers are set much too firmly.
It actually feels like they nailed the ride during development and then the sales department came along and insisted they offer a sports option and they begrudgingly just turned it all up a bit to keep them happy.
The Dynamic Drive brings me to the cars specification, usefully discovered on one of the vin websites. I don't quite understand why someone selected the options they did, on a somewhat under powered 525i they chose dynamic drive and sports suspension, two things that I guess a keener driver might choose, but then there's also Servotronic steering which I suspect is largely responsible for the non existent steering feel and weight. Other luxuries include the automatic tailgate, heated seats and Xenon lights, but no parking sensors (which would be really useful on a car this size - the 325 had them which has made me a convert).
Whilst the ARB was being done Jason very kindly fitted the new external temperature sensor that I'd left in the car. This has now stopped it warning me of frost even on a sunny day (by claiming it's -40 outside all the time). Even better the air condition has now sprung into life. A great result for a fivers worth of sensor, but I suspect I am somewhat responsible for the cold snap we're now experiencing (but aren't heated seats great!).
Ir's getting late, so I will post another time about its excessive consumption of another fluid, and no, it's not petrol... Oh and the tailgate is a bit more serious than the loom unfortunately, I'll try and get some pics done when I get a moment.
Great car, good luck with it. I ran an e61 525d tourer from 160k miles to 205k miles with little bother. I had it serviced twice. It had a couple of ball joints. The most expensive job was suspension airbags after it did the bong of doom and dropped its guts to the bump stops on the M6 full of ikea furniture! Make sure you check the compressor pipe as the fracture and drag ste in killing it, easy job.
My tailgate was the wiring harness and I repaired this myself. I also at the same time sealed the diversity antenna in as these sap water and die leaving no locking or radio.
Mine was slow, comfortable and a great car, a lot for 2k. I sold mine to some Latvians who promptly threw the history away, clocked it and put it on ebay
A shame as it had loads and loads of paperwork.
te in killing it, easy job.My tailgate was the wiring harness and I repaired this myself. I also at the same time sealed the diversity antenna in as these sap water and die leaving no locking or radio.
Mine was slow, comfortable and a great car, a lot for 2k. I sold mine to some Latvians who promptly threw the history away, clocked it and put it on ebay
A shame as it had loads and loads of paperwork.Edited by M3333 on Saturday 21st May 07:52
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