RE: BMW 550i (E60): Spotted

RE: BMW 550i (E60): Spotted

Sunday 13th January 2019

BMW 550i (E60): Spotted

There are rare BMWs and then there are rare BMWs - as this manual, V8 5 Series proves...



Car fans are notoriously fickle. They'll talk themselves blue on cars they want to buy if only the manufacturers would make them, only for those models to emerge and be left languishing on pricelists. The Toyota GT86 is the perfect example; enthusiasts wanted a rear-drive, lightweight alternative to hot hatches, which Toyota then sold fewer than 5,000 of across the EU in the three years to the end of 2018.

Manual V8s are another category. As the big cube, naturally-aspirated V8 continues its interminable decline, so a few want to keep control via a stick and three pedals. But clearly not in sufficient numbers to keep the things going; combine all that with emissions regulations and the drastic improvements in auto tech and the demise is hard to avoid. Beyond the Mustang GT, what else is currently available?


That said, it is still possible to combine the reasonably modern and usable with the traditional appeal of a big V8 and a manual gearbox. See, as an example, this E60 BMW 550i. While it is now a 10 year-old car, our recent M5 comparison revealed what a contemporary car the E60 generation remains, inside and out. Certainly those au fait with current BMW infotainment tech will be at home here.

What they'll be less familiar with, pleasingly, is the charm of a 4.8-litre V8 deemed good enough for Morgan until very recently allied to the satisfaction of a manual gearbox. BMW has never supplied the sweetest of manual gearboxes, but there would surely be enough novelty appeal in the Munich take on a muscle car to overlook that.


Moreover, any manual 5 Series is pretty rare (and therefore interesting) - let alone one with a V8. Howmanyleft suggests that there just 11 other 5 Series like this one registered in the UK, which if anything is higher than expected. There are five SE-spec manual saloons, 10 M Sport 550i Tourings and, staggeringly, three manual 550i SE Tourings - by comparison there are currently 146 550i M Sport auto saloons of this generation registered. Clearly, there are rare BMWs and then there are rare BMWs.

This particular 550 is nicely specced in carbon black with cream leather, and comes with new Pirelli tyres plus a wheel refurb, paint touch up work and wiring repairs. A car like this is surely not the kind of 5 Series where ownership is fallen into by accident, so you would have to assume a level of care and commitment that may elude the more ordinary versions. Certainly it's looking good at 109,000 miles.


Some will likely baulk at that mileage with a £12,500 price tag, but this was a near-£60k car once upon a time. And, well, it becomes a case of find another after that, really. Indeed, find another interesting four-door saloon with a manual that isn't simply an E39 M5. Which is a pretty compelling alternative, granted. Otherwise there's the odd MG ZT 260 and, er, well, that's about it.

So while the appeal of probably the most controversial 5 Series ever in one of its least popular derivatives is going to be extremely narrow, the 550i is most definitely welcome here. As a car for combining much of what we like about the old days with a good chunk of the new, it looks very alluring indeed. Try it while some are still around!


SPECIFICATION - BMW 550i

Engine: 4,799cc, V8
Power (hp): 367@6,300rpm
Torque (lb ft): 361@3,400rpm
MPG: 25.9
CO2: 260g/km
Year registered: 2008
Recorded mileage: 98,000
Price new: £N/A (optioned to £58,000)
Yours for: £12,500

See the original advert here.



Author
Discussion

VolvoMariner

Original Poster:

38 posts

146 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
Great car. My brother in law had one that I borrowed a few times. Spoiled by a poor Auto box, which made the car all or nothing. I always said the manual would be the one to have.

However it was a money pit...not an easy car to sell for a decent amount, either... massive risk for private buyer and most the trade would offer you about half.I would suspect you'd need to wait a very long time to get that much for it. I think his went for closer to £7-8k in the end.

anonymous-user

53 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
Seems like a lot of money for a car two generations old with a gas guzzling engine without *that* much power these days.

It's not going to be much fun to hustle, so why bother with the manual?

Hence only selling new in tiny volumes.

Jag_NE

2,949 posts

99 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
VolvoMariner said:
Great car. My brother in law had one that I borrowed a few times. Spoiled by a poor Auto box, which made the car all or nothing. I always said the manual would be the one to have.

However it was a money pit...not an easy car to sell for a decent amount, either... massive risk for private buyer and most the trade would offer you about half.I would suspect you'd need to wait a very long time to get that much for it. I think his went for closer to £7-8k in the end.
In fairness to this seller, if the manual box is much better (and rarer), as the auto fetched 7-8k then this manual may not be too badly priced. Very niche car however so it’s hard to apply exact science.

Genuine Barn Find

5,782 posts

214 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
I owned a 545i E60 a couple of years back. Ok, so it was an Auto, but it had that peach of a V8 under the bonnet and lower miles than this car.

I paid £4500 for mine.

As nice as this car is, the price is a touch optimistic (to say the least). You could pick up an M5 E60 for a little bit more if you got lucky at the auctions. (Our Le Mans car in 2017 was an E60 M5 with a massive spec - my friend paid £12,500 for it after putting in a cheeky bid).

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
article said:
“......Indeed, find another interesting four-door saloon with a manual that isn't simply an E39 M5. Which is a pretty compelling alternative, granted. Otherwise there's the odd MG ZT 260 and, er, well, that's about it......”
Vauxhall VXR8

Manual box

Vauxhall VXR8 V8 430BHP | 61000 MILES | FULL | Full Service History https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...


Edited by s m on Sunday 13th January 09:17

st4

1,359 posts

132 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
The manual will be the one to have - at that age and miles an automatic could be a ticking time bomb. From an ease of ownership point of view this is the one to have and better than any horrible noisy diesel.

Alex P

180 posts

127 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
I agree that the BMW manual gearboxes that I have driven (mainly early 2000s generation) were disappointingly clunky to use. However, this car seems appealing to me (more so than an equivalent M5). I like the idea of an N/A V8 in a crusing saloon whether manual or not - also nice not to see a gloomy all-black cabin. Despite the rarity and the work done already, the price does seem a bit optimistic given the mileage it has covered as the iffy reliability/cost of maintenance of older BMWs can be off putting, especially rare ones with potentially limited parts availability and expertise.

The car carries a Yorkshire registration - would be interesting to know if it was originally a BMW press car/management vehicle as they carry Yorkshire registrations because BMW's UK import processing facility is at Thorne near Doncaster. They also have a VERY generous employee car scheme which allows employees to run new BMWs for very little cost. It would be interesting to know if this car was originally ordered by someone there in the knowledge that they would not have to worry about the depreciation on an 'odd spec' car.

E65Ross

34,946 posts

211 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
st4 said:
The manual will be the one to have - at that age and miles an automatic could be a ticking time bomb. From an ease of ownership point of view this is the one to have and better than any horrible noisy diesel.
The 6 speed 'boxes in these are reliable units. I had one in my 7 series, had it serviced by a gearbox specialist and they said they don't get many problems with the 6 speed units, more the older 5 speed ones.

Why do you say it'll be a ticking time bomb? I'm just going off my own personal experience and the comments from a highly reputed gearbox specialist, what are you basing your facts from (you stated it as a fact smile )

Cheers

Frimley111R

15,537 posts

233 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
s m said:
article said:
“......Indeed, find another interesting four-door saloon with a manual that isn't simply an E39 M5. Which is a pretty compelling alternative, granted. Otherwise there's the odd MG ZT 260 and, er, well, that's about it......”
Vauxhall VXR8

Manual box

Vauxhall VXR8 V8 430BHP | 61000 MILES | FULL | Full Service History https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...


Edited by s m on Sunday 13th January 09:17
It looked quite nice until you see the inside. Would it have killed them just to clean that up and run a cloth over the engine bay?!

Frimley111R

15,537 posts

233 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
A friend of one of my colleagues was trying to persuade him to buy one of these when they were new. I persuaded him to get the 535d and then his friend bought the 520d after all that. Glad I won that battle, even if he did write it off later by driving it through a stream!

TurboRob

309 posts

172 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
Nice car, but £12.5k is good e39 M5 territory and bottom of the e60 M5 market.

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
Frimley111R said:
s m said:
article said:
“......Indeed, find another interesting four-door saloon with a manual that isn't simply an E39 M5. Which is a pretty compelling alternative, granted. Otherwise there's the odd MG ZT 260 and, er, well, that's about it......”
Vauxhall VXR8

Manual box

Vauxhall VXR8 V8 430BHP | 61000 MILES | FULL | Full Service History https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...


Edited by s m on Sunday 13th January 09:17
It looked quite nice until you see the inside. Would it have killed them just to clean that up and run a cloth over the engine bay?!
Probably true......plus some will hate it because of the badge and image

It would certainly be top of my list though if I wanted a big 5 seater saloon of around that age with a manual box

TheAngryDog

12,394 posts

208 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
s m said:
article said:
“......Indeed, find another interesting four-door saloon with a manual that isn't simply an E39 M5. Which is a pretty compelling alternative, granted. Otherwise there's the odd MG ZT 260 and, er, well, that's about it......”
Vauxhall VXR8

Manual box

Vauxhall VXR8 V8 430BHP | 61000 MILES | FULL | Full Service History https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...


Edited by s m on Sunday 13th January 09:17
Only issue there is that it is 4k more than the car in the article. But I do like the vxr8 and would have a supercharged one.

st4

1,359 posts

132 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
E65Ross said:
The 6 speed 'boxes in these are reliable units. I had one in my 7 series, had it serviced by a gearbox specialist and they said they don't get many problems with the 6 speed units, more the older 5 speed ones.

Why do you say it'll be a ticking time bomb? I'm just going off my own personal experience and the comments from a highly reputed gearbox specialist, what are you basing your facts from (you stated it as a fact smile )

Cheers
I had an X5 4.4i with that gearbox. It had constant shifting issues. I got rid of it and it had a fraction of the miles this car has.

Chances are most automatic BMWs haven't seen a gearbox oil change either.

A manual transmission is a much simpler, cruder technology. They (unless it's a Vauxhall) never go pop and any old place can fit a new clutch.

urquattroGus

1,845 posts

189 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
My Grandfather had an auto one of these as his last ever car, I only drove it once but I was super impressed by the engine.

It was a smooth peach that revved out with much more vigour than I ever expected, felt much more sporting than I expected.

His was proper grandad spec, Auto and SE trim level with cream leather and not the M Sport stuff, a bit of a sleeper, echoed the man's personality nicely.

Chestrockwell

2,624 posts

156 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
About last year, a customer of my dad pulls up in one, Carbon black 54 plate 550i manual, dad was shocked and showed interest, said he might sell it soon so he’ll come back if it does, dad asked how much?

‘It’s not worth much, probably around 4 grand’

Me, my brother and dad have been fighting over who gets to buy it, problem is, the man hasn’t come back and my dad didn’t take his number!

I’d value the one in the advert at about 7-8 grand max for the mileage but then again it is an LCI and a late model.

Edited by Chestrockwell on Sunday 13th January 11:38

Bradgate

2,819 posts

146 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
The E60 was a design statement when it was launched, and it has stood the test of time. Likewise the E85 Z4. Both look so much bolder, more original and more interesting than most of today’s BMWs, which are generic and boring in comparison.

BFleming

3,589 posts

142 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
Chestrockwell said:
About last year, a customer of my dad pulls up in one, Carbon black 54 plate 550i manual...
‘It’s not worth much, probably around 4 grand’
That would have been a 545i if it was a 2004 car. Not that I think there's a lot of difference between the 545i & 550i. I'm sure someone will list the differences soon.

172

182 posts

137 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
what kind of weirdo specs. a 5 series with a manual box?




Chestrockwell

2,624 posts

156 months

Sunday 13th January 2019
quotequote all
BFleming said:
Chestrockwell said:
About last year, a customer of my dad pulls up in one, Carbon black 54 plate 550i manual...
‘It’s not worth much, probably around 4 grand’
That would have been a 545i if it was a 2004 car. Not that I think there's a lot of difference between the 545i & 550i. I'm sure someone will list the differences soon.
I’m quite certain it was a 550i, maybe I got the year wrong, it was definitely a pre facelift, I’m stuck between 54 plate and 56, but then the 56 plates were facelifted then