E61 BMW 530i Touring
Discussion
V brief car history:
1995 Fiat Cinquecento Sporting: yellow, red seatbelts, silly exhaust, K&N air filter. Thank god I never crashed it.
1987 Ford Fiesta 1.0: bought for £500ish when I lived in Spain for a year, sold it for same price.
1995 VW Golf GTI 16v (mk 3): I know the mk 3 is much maligned but from what I had before, it was a huge step forwards and I loved it. Pretty quick and was very reliable, I kept it for 8 years.
2003 BMW 330i Sport Touring (E46): bought on a slight whim and found out two days later that my wife was pregnant. Great, rare post-facelift 6 speed manual which I kept for 5 years. No heinous bills during my ownership other than a refresh of the cooling system which is common, plus quite a few rear tyres, petrol (16 mpg in town) and oil.
However, with one daughter becoming two daughters a little more room was needed for trips away, that sort of thing. Plus I was worried that at 13 years old it might start throwing up some big bills.
So I began my search for a decent E61 BMW 530/545/550i Touring. Sadly the V8s are quite rare but a nice looking 530i M Sport appeared at a dealer down in Devon. We verbally did a deal for the trade in of the 330 and the purchase of the 530, which we could walk away from if, once I travelled 200 miles to Devon, things were not all as they should have been. All was well though, I had been sent a video tour of the car, in which a couple of small dents and scratches had been highlighted and we did the deal.
Old and new!
It was an LCI (i.e. post-facelift in silly BMW acronym speak) with the later iDrive and just over 52k miles. Dark grey with black leather inside. Good options: panoramic sunroof (although prone to problems), sport automatic transmission with paddles, pro nav, DAB radio and adaptive Xenons. Sadly no Logic 7 hifi but the standard one is just about fine and no heated seats which I think were only a £120 option new and I got used to in the 330. Annoying, but not a deal breaker.
Image from advert
All was well in Devon, after a 30 minute turn around I was heading the other way back up the A303, just this time in a larger, newer, more comfortable BMW estate. Sorry, “Touring”. 270bhp as opposed to the 330’s 230, but in a much larger, heavier car. Chucking it into a roundabout with vigour for the first time revealed that it is certainly not as nimble as the E46, but that is really not the point. It is a much nicer place to be 99% of the time and if progress is needed, hit the sport button or select manual mode and with a few revs it is actually pretty quick. Fuel economy also appears to be better than the 330 although on a recent run to Disneyland Paris I still only managed 30 mpg on cruise control at 130kph or thereabouts. That would give it a 500 mile range on the motorway.
All was well, I liked the car more and more, the kids had more room and liked the sunroof and I could get a huge amount of stuff in the boot. However, these were expensive cars new, are quite complicated and fixing faults is not cheap (although I did know that when I bought it).
Almost precisely on the 6 month mark, upon the expiry of the dealer’s warranty, the bong of doom (the harbinger of expensive trips to my local BMW indy) started to go, in certain circumstances, usually when on the motorway sitting at, say, 60mph and then putting your foot down to get back up to speed. The message on the iDrive would be “Engine fault – reduced power” and sure enough the engine would not run well. However, a turn off and turn on again would right the problem.
I eventually bit the bullet and booked it in. Diagnostics revealed a fuel pump problem – it needed a new high pressure fuel pump and a new low pressure one as well (which sits in the fuel tank). The new HPFP was £800 or so on its own, total bill with VAT and labour £1,800. Ouch.
Then immediately after Christmas I began reversing off the drive to the sound of metal scraping along the ground. Could not see anything obvious but on removing the driver’s side front wheel, a spring had just sheared. Thankfully, an easy fix.
Then a relative period of calm until the summer, and a family trip to Cornwall, when one of the rear lights which sits in the bootlid popped out. Closer examination revealed a broken plastic clip but as this is part of the whole assembly, I needed a whole new one. Euro Car Parts in Launceston were able to get one, so an enjoyable early morning drive over there to pick it up. Even with the mechanical skills of an elderly badger, I was just about able to replace it myself so cost of just the part: £120.
At the same time as driving to Launceston I was shifting gears with the lever. The car did not like this and I received the bong of doom, with a picture of the gear shifter “gear selector fault”. I went back to letting it change its gears itself. However over the ensuing couple of months this happened more frequently until at one point it would not get out of P. New gear thingy required: £450 all in.
The latest event to have befallen the car is the failure of the remote locking system. Neither key locked or unlocked the car this weekend and a brief Google suggests a new “diversity antenna/aerial” is needed, as these can get water damaged. It is booked in for Wednesday and we shall see. I have not had to physically unlock a car with a key for some time, which is novel. Less so is the fact that every time you do, the alarm goes off. Stealth departures no longer possible.
However the plan is to keep it standard and look after it. My wife is beginning to get bored of driving it round London, filling it up every week and trying to park it, so I think a small run around is on the cards for her to use during the week. In my mind this gives me plenty of excuse to trade in the 530i for an M5 (or C63/E63 AMG) to be used at weekends and for longer trips, although that will take some very interesting man maths!
1995 Fiat Cinquecento Sporting: yellow, red seatbelts, silly exhaust, K&N air filter. Thank god I never crashed it.
1987 Ford Fiesta 1.0: bought for £500ish when I lived in Spain for a year, sold it for same price.
1995 VW Golf GTI 16v (mk 3): I know the mk 3 is much maligned but from what I had before, it was a huge step forwards and I loved it. Pretty quick and was very reliable, I kept it for 8 years.
2003 BMW 330i Sport Touring (E46): bought on a slight whim and found out two days later that my wife was pregnant. Great, rare post-facelift 6 speed manual which I kept for 5 years. No heinous bills during my ownership other than a refresh of the cooling system which is common, plus quite a few rear tyres, petrol (16 mpg in town) and oil.
However, with one daughter becoming two daughters a little more room was needed for trips away, that sort of thing. Plus I was worried that at 13 years old it might start throwing up some big bills.
So I began my search for a decent E61 BMW 530/545/550i Touring. Sadly the V8s are quite rare but a nice looking 530i M Sport appeared at a dealer down in Devon. We verbally did a deal for the trade in of the 330 and the purchase of the 530, which we could walk away from if, once I travelled 200 miles to Devon, things were not all as they should have been. All was well though, I had been sent a video tour of the car, in which a couple of small dents and scratches had been highlighted and we did the deal.
Old and new!
It was an LCI (i.e. post-facelift in silly BMW acronym speak) with the later iDrive and just over 52k miles. Dark grey with black leather inside. Good options: panoramic sunroof (although prone to problems), sport automatic transmission with paddles, pro nav, DAB radio and adaptive Xenons. Sadly no Logic 7 hifi but the standard one is just about fine and no heated seats which I think were only a £120 option new and I got used to in the 330. Annoying, but not a deal breaker.
Image from advert
All was well in Devon, after a 30 minute turn around I was heading the other way back up the A303, just this time in a larger, newer, more comfortable BMW estate. Sorry, “Touring”. 270bhp as opposed to the 330’s 230, but in a much larger, heavier car. Chucking it into a roundabout with vigour for the first time revealed that it is certainly not as nimble as the E46, but that is really not the point. It is a much nicer place to be 99% of the time and if progress is needed, hit the sport button or select manual mode and with a few revs it is actually pretty quick. Fuel economy also appears to be better than the 330 although on a recent run to Disneyland Paris I still only managed 30 mpg on cruise control at 130kph or thereabouts. That would give it a 500 mile range on the motorway.
All was well, I liked the car more and more, the kids had more room and liked the sunroof and I could get a huge amount of stuff in the boot. However, these were expensive cars new, are quite complicated and fixing faults is not cheap (although I did know that when I bought it).
Almost precisely on the 6 month mark, upon the expiry of the dealer’s warranty, the bong of doom (the harbinger of expensive trips to my local BMW indy) started to go, in certain circumstances, usually when on the motorway sitting at, say, 60mph and then putting your foot down to get back up to speed. The message on the iDrive would be “Engine fault – reduced power” and sure enough the engine would not run well. However, a turn off and turn on again would right the problem.
I eventually bit the bullet and booked it in. Diagnostics revealed a fuel pump problem – it needed a new high pressure fuel pump and a new low pressure one as well (which sits in the fuel tank). The new HPFP was £800 or so on its own, total bill with VAT and labour £1,800. Ouch.
Then immediately after Christmas I began reversing off the drive to the sound of metal scraping along the ground. Could not see anything obvious but on removing the driver’s side front wheel, a spring had just sheared. Thankfully, an easy fix.
Then a relative period of calm until the summer, and a family trip to Cornwall, when one of the rear lights which sits in the bootlid popped out. Closer examination revealed a broken plastic clip but as this is part of the whole assembly, I needed a whole new one. Euro Car Parts in Launceston were able to get one, so an enjoyable early morning drive over there to pick it up. Even with the mechanical skills of an elderly badger, I was just about able to replace it myself so cost of just the part: £120.
At the same time as driving to Launceston I was shifting gears with the lever. The car did not like this and I received the bong of doom, with a picture of the gear shifter “gear selector fault”. I went back to letting it change its gears itself. However over the ensuing couple of months this happened more frequently until at one point it would not get out of P. New gear thingy required: £450 all in.
The latest event to have befallen the car is the failure of the remote locking system. Neither key locked or unlocked the car this weekend and a brief Google suggests a new “diversity antenna/aerial” is needed, as these can get water damaged. It is booked in for Wednesday and we shall see. I have not had to physically unlock a car with a key for some time, which is novel. Less so is the fact that every time you do, the alarm goes off. Stealth departures no longer possible.
However the plan is to keep it standard and look after it. My wife is beginning to get bored of driving it round London, filling it up every week and trying to park it, so I think a small run around is on the cards for her to use during the week. In my mind this gives me plenty of excuse to trade in the 530i for an M5 (or C63/E63 AMG) to be used at weekends and for longer trips, although that will take some very interesting man maths!
I've been mulling one of these, but then the OP's tales take me back to our 2011 F11 Touring; nothing but bills. BMWs don't seem to age well. Conversely my UK Legacy 3.0R Spec B hasn't missed a beat in over 16 years. Back to the drawing board on the succession plan I think. Although that could be another 16 years.
Man, this Forum feels like I'm still posting back in 2007; what gives?
Man, this Forum feels like I'm still posting back in 2007; what gives?
Edited by Janner582 on Thursday 19th October 19:53
Edited by Janner582 on Thursday 19th October 19:53
I bought one of these in August, barring changing the track rod ends and an occasional lumpy start, the car is a dream and ive never been happier!
Im throwing a ton at preventative maintenance and keeping it spruced up, but a 57 plate with 60k miles it hasnt needed much!
I love the engine, sounds fantastic and goes like stink considering.
Take the plunge, lifes to short
Im throwing a ton at preventative maintenance and keeping it spruced up, but a 57 plate with 60k miles it hasnt needed much!
I love the engine, sounds fantastic and goes like stink considering.
Take the plunge, lifes to short
I think the high pressure fuel pump thing is a myth. Maybe it is a common fault but not as common as the internet seems to make out. And having to replace both fuel pumps sounds mad. It's either one or the other isn't it! How can both fuel pumps fail, madness!
My opinion is most of these engine running faults are caused by faulty coils and spark plugs. If I get one of these BMWs with the coil on plug setup I tend to change them all as a preventative step. Initially it will be just one coil or plug which is causing lumpy running but I take that as a signal to change them all.
My opinion is most of these engine running faults are caused by faulty coils and spark plugs. If I get one of these BMWs with the coil on plug setup I tend to change them all as a preventative step. Initially it will be just one coil or plug which is causing lumpy running but I take that as a signal to change them all.
Janner582 said:
I've been mulling one of these, but then the OP's tales take me back to our 2011 F11 Touring; nothing but bills. BMWs don't seem to age well. Conversely my UK Legacy 3.0R Spec B hasn't missed a beat in over 16 years. Back to the drawing board on the succession plan I think. Although that could be another 16 years.
Man, this Forum feels like I'm still posting back in 2007; what gives?
My E61 530d I had gave me very little issues in the 2yrs/25k I owned it.Man, this Forum feels like I'm still posting back in 2007; what gives?
Edited by Janner582 on Thursday 19th October 19:53
Edited by Janner582 on Thursday 19th October 19:53
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