e39 530d economy

trabpc

I Bought an 2003 E39 530d (manual) last July. very happy with it bought it with 66,000miles now heading for th 88,000 mark. all it has cost me so far is Diesel.
I am finding this car very economical averaging about 47mpg. My old 1998 s40 1.9d was only doing 44mpg.

My friends 02 Auto is only magaging 34mpg

I drive from Portlaose to Rathcoole every day so I suppose it a nice handy run with a smll bit of city driving but it still averages 47mpg(trip comp says 48-49)

I should add I use the Cruise control alot and set it at about 110-115km/ph.


What are other e39 diesel owners getting from there car and what are the newer e60 525d and 530d returning?

is the e60 520d not a bit underpowered for such a big car 4cyl?? whats its mpg like?

E92

The 520d with EfficientDynamics more economical than a Prius even when 80% of the time in a Sunday Times test the conditions favoured the Prius.

The latest 177 bhp version with the aforementioned EfficientDynamics does 0-60 in just over 8 seconds, very good for an entry level 2.0 diesel Executive Saloon.

I am still of the opinion that Executive Saloons should really have 6 rather than 4 cylinders. The 520d isn't very cultured sounding, and at this level and size of car, not refined enough either.

So a 6 cylinder 5 series still wins out for me!

unkel

trabpc wrote: »

I am finding this car very economical averaging about 47mpg

That's amazing frugality from a 3 litre 6 cylinder engine!

trabpc wrote: »

bought it with 66,000miles now heading for th 88,000 mark. all it has cost me so far is Diesel.

Did you not service it since you bought it?

junkyard

They're a fantastic engine alright, you should get it chipped and see how much better it will be both on performance and economy. I chipped my X5 and it was like adding another turbo to it and way better on diesel too.

trabpc

Agreed the 6cyl sounds more at home in the Car.

I should add ..sorry yes I gave it one service. Brake pads all round and full service after 11,000 miles due again in 2 weeks. Plus a €35 turbo filter and full synthetic oil cost €480 however i don't really count this as anything other than regular servicing what i should have said the car has not cost me anything above normal.

my old s40 volvo.. looking through old dockets was serviced 3 times in the 1st yr alone. Above the normal service I put in Ball joints, Bushings brake hoses and a Clutch!! costing weel over a 1200 on top of servicing!

junkyard

You can't really compare a Volvo and a BMW to be honest, they're poles apart.;)

Lord Nikon

i have an E39 2 litre petrol, doing about 17k miles a year, 34mpg average. Would a 3litre diesel be a cost saving purchase. My only quams is the increased motortax bill? Insurance shouldn't go up by much.

trabpc

junkyard wrote: »

You can't really compare a Volvo and a BMW to be honest, they're poles apart.;)

do you mean in reliability or looks, and know they are miles apart but I was just saying I put 1200 into the volvo in it first 12-13 months above servicing and I found it reliable and was happy with that. so do you think the BMW will cost me less in part over its life?


TAX
530d 1200 a yr tax
520-2.2 800 odd

400 difference don't know but at 17,000 a year I doubt it.



However I think they are completely different cars.

the 530 will also cost a little more to buy over the 520 so with that and tax you might not save much.


my Insurance is about 470 Fully comp with Glass cover.

i'm 31

unkel

neuromancer wrote: »

i have an E39 2 litre petrol, doing about 17k miles a year, 34mpg average. Would a 3litre diesel be a cost saving purchase. My only quams is the increased motortax bill? Insurance shouldn't go up by much.

Probably not. Most people underestimate the transaction cost of changing cars. To top that up, the second hand car sales market here is as dead as it has ever been at the moment...

junkyard

The BMW will hold it's money better too and won't cost as much on general wear and tear. As far as I'm concerned the E39 is a better car than the E60.

Lord Nikon

Hopefully, the 530d would be a swap(long story). basically in the short term to long term and daily bills would it be good economy for my wallet.

Esel

trabpc wrote: »

I should add ..sorry yes I gave it one service. Brake pads all round and full service after 11,000 miles due again in 2 weeks.

I would have thought the oil and filter should be changed a lot more frequently?

Lord Nikon

Usualy do an oil change every 6k miles, filter every 12k. Whatever your having yourself though.

the merchant

I have a 2002 E39 525d Touring Auto. I'm averaging around 35mpg but mainly around town and M50 so it's not really a fair comparison to the OP's 530d.

Lord Nikon

i'm sure i heard it somewhere, but cruise control "ON" restricts higher MPG, and an auto gearbox also restricts a high MPG.

unkel

neuromancer wrote: »

the 530d would be a swap(long story)

Ok, so comparing just tax and fuel. Doing 17k miles per year. Tax is €590 on the petrol and €1,231 on the diesel. Following assumptions:

-petrol €1.20 per litre, diesel €1.25 per litre
-if you can manage 34MPG out of the 6-pot petrol, you'd easily get 47MPG out of the 530d

You'll save yourself €30 per year going diesel

Even at 40k miles, the saving would be less than a grand...

That said, I'd have the 3l diesel over the 2 litre petrol any day!

Cyrus

junkyard wrote: »

The BMW will hold it's money better too and won't cost as much on general wear and tear. As far as I'm concerned the E39 is a better car than the E60.

e39 is a modern classic imo, residuals are taking a massive hammering here tho

which is a great thing if buying, crap if selling thp

Cyrus

unkel wrote: »

Ok, so comparing just tax and fuel. Doing 17k miles per year. Tax is €590 on the petrol and €1,231 on the diesel. Following assumptions:

-petrol €1.20 per litre, diesel €1.25 per litre
-if you can manage 34MPG out of the 6-pot petrol, you'd easily get 47MPG out of the 530d

You'll save yourself €30 per year going diesel

Even at 40k miles, the saving would be less than a grand...

That said, I'd have the 3l diesel over the 2 litre petrol any day!

er, simple answer there is the 530i :cool:

E92

I'd never choose diesel over petrol in general. I don't do a lot of driving, so economy is not a priority.

Apart from economy, diesel still is not as good as petrol, and probably never will be either. In saying that I don't have any problems driving derv powered motors, far from it in fact. I have no problem recommending people to choose derv power over petrol, and with the new VRT rules and more importantly the motor tax rules, you'd really want to have your head stuck in the sand NOT to choose diesel in a lot of cases. I love the torque at low revs!

But the petrol engine is undergoing a serious revolution at the moment, direct injection is clawing back a lot of the economy advantage that diesel has, and turbocharging is starting to restore the power advantage and more importantly is now giving the petrol engine that big shove at torque at low revs that diesel drivers and diesel fanboys love.

As direct injection gets better and more and more petrols start to have turbos fitted, the only disadvantages of petrol over diesel are going, meaning that once again petrol is unquestionably better than diesel like it always was until 5-10 years ago.

Boots2006

'03 E39 530d auto here.

Best I've managed to get:
53 mpg on a run at 90 kph (cruise control on)
50 mpg at 100 kph

On a run, mainly national roads, not watching the mpg, including overtaking etc. I'd get 43-44 mpg regularly.
City driving depends heavily on the traffic/route (lights etc.). Typically I'd get 29 mpg, that would include leaving it in Drive at the lights, and light enough traffic.

I do think that people generally overstate mpg figures though. e.g. to put the 29 mpg in perspective I once got 12 mpg :eek: driving 10 miles into the city centre, stuck in stop-start traffic the whole way.

commited

I've had the same experience with my 2003 530d Sport. Fantastic cars. My record was 62mpg over 200 miles

macnab

On the Manual v's Auto topic, I have had Auto and Manual 523i's, the Manual averaged about 30mpg while the Auto averaged about 24mpg, combined country and city driving (50% each ish) I now have an E39 M5 that averages 19.5mpg:D

vectra

E92 wrote: »

Apart from economy, diesel still is not as good as petrol, and probably never will be either.

The SEAT team is doing quite well in the Diesels on the BTCC this year and are keeping many Top Petrol heads behind them :pac:

trabpc

just wondering about that guy looking to change from 520 to 530d. Is his 520 an 2.2 or older 2.0. if its the 2.2 his tax would be 790 more like.

I usually use fully synthetic oil at €200 a fill if I was to change evey 6000 miles surely I should use a cheaper oil?

I still have 2 green lights left and I thought changing early at 11,000 using fully synthetic was good enough.

Whats the consensus here fully synthenic or regular?

niceirishfella

I had a 2003 530D M sport in auto......the onboard computer said i was averaging 38mpg but on a real "fill her up to the brim test and then fill it again and do the maths test", it was doing 33 in reality. The car was chipped to may i add.
If anyone here is posting from onfo on their dashboard.........i'm sorry, its not accurate. The fill it to the brim test is the only true way of knowing your mpg imho.
The driving i was doing was motorway stuff..........not urban.

Lovely car.........oodles of power, comfort and fun to drive.......I sold it there a while back........and miss it now.
I'm looking at buying into the brand again.

unkel

niceirishfella wrote: »

If anyone here is posting from onfo on their dashboard.........i'm sorry, its not accurate. The fill it to the brim test is the only true way of knowing your mpg imho.

QFT

And measuring several fills in a row (rather than just the one fill) makes it more accurate again

niceirishfella

unkel wrote: »

QFT

And measuring several fills in a row (rather than just the one fill) makes it more accurate again

+1.......agreed.

Boots2006

I've done the brim-to-brim thing several times, and it was pretty much spot on each time (dash readout being within +/- 1 mpg of the pump figure)...

TheBazman

I currently have a 07 535d (auto) which is getting around 36mpg in a good mix of motorway and city driving, and thats reasonably aggressive driving

I did have an 06 pre ED 520d (auto) and was getting around 42 mpg

trabpc

I Never trust the comp my self. My last 2 tanks brim to brim were 48mpg and 47mpg. comp said 50 and 49


e39 530d manual 80% motorway 20% city

Elessar

I'm thinking of getting myself an auto 5 series as my next car - currently have a manual 01 320ci which is getting about 20-22 MPG and costing anywhere from €25-30 for a hundred miles (city driving). I love the car but I am wondering if I would get better results with say an auto 520d auto in the same setting?

E92

Elessar wrote: »

I'm thinking of getting myself an auto 5 series as my next car - currently have a manual 01 320ci which is getting about 20-22 MPG and costing anywhere from €25-30 for a hundred miles (city driving). I love the car but I am wondering if I would get better results with say an auto 520d auto in the same setting?

You'll save some money, but you'll also be giving up a fantastic engine note and all the smoothness 6 cylinder motoring brings as standard, and of course the joie de vivre of a petrol engine.

A new petrol 6 cylinder 5 series should average around 38 mpg overall, or around 28 mpg in town.

A 525d should do around 34 mpg in urban driving for the manual, and 33 mpg for the Auto, while the 520d Auto does 37 mpg in a similar situation.

The cheapest option by far would be to stick with your current car.

Cyrus

Elessar wrote: »

I'm thinking of getting myself an auto 5 series as my next car - currently have a manual 01 320ci which is getting about 20-22 MPG and costing anywhere from €25-30 for a hundred miles (city driving). I love the car but I am wondering if I would get better results with say an auto 520d auto in the same setting?

are you driving it in first fear all the time?

i get better than that with an m3

E92

Maybe he's fond of giving it plenty of stick - like I am with my 6 pot E34 which does nothing for the economy:D!

Cyrus

doubt he is giving it stick in city traffic

E92

My bad:o!

Elessar

Cyrus wrote: »

doubt he is giving it stick in city traffic

You're right. I rarely get the engine above 4k rpm. When I do it's great but I'm no speed demon. It's all urban/city driving that I do, I thought that 22MPG was right on the numbers for this car - what are you getting Cyrus?

E92 tbh I'm not mad about speed or sound of an engine (though the M54 is smooth as silk) which is why I was considering the diesel 5. It's just I heard that while diesels are great for MPG on long journeys, the gap narrows considerably when it's all start-stop. If I only got a few extra MPG I don't think it would be worth it, and manufacturers figures are not always correct in a real world setting.

Cyrus

ah i suppose im not being fair, if i drove in that kind of traffic id get 14 or so, id also be gone mad!

ive just down 400 miles of long commuting at a cruise speed of 130 or so on motorways (gps speed not speedo) with some b road blasts and the trip computer is telling me 32 mpg, cant quiet believe it!

Alfasudcrazy

I had a 2002 530d for a while and it averaged 42mpg - I thought that was the best you could get from these cars?

Obviously on a long (mainly motorway) journey it could average over 60mpg - are you doing lots of motorway driving?

trabpc

as I said before mainly 80% motorway.

Last week I drove maybe 30%city 70% Motorway at around 80mph

Brim-Brim 45.5mpg

Lord Nikon

Mine is the 2.0 version, pre-facelift(pre-september 2000)...

Usually get between 300 & 340 miles for 50e. This is not brim to brim, but i always put in 50quid and get the same milleage out. Yellow light is my tank empty, give or take a few miles.

Current driving is 90% motorway/10% city. Economical gear changes most of the time, some 3rd gear overtaking too.

But I need the justification money wise of getting a 530d, tax being my only concern, insurance not.

Esel

neuromancer wrote: »

... i always put in 50quid and get the same milleage out.

Ah, right Ted. Doesn't vary with fuel price then?

Lord Nikon

If you read the rest of the post you would know what I mean. 50cent difference .isn't going to be a whole lot of miles. Stop nitpicking at nothing.

Esel

I read it again, nothing there to qualify your statement.

Lord Nikon

neuromancer wrote: »

Usually get between 300 & 340 miles for 50e.

....

macnab

neuromancer wrote: »

....

if petrol costs €1 per litre and you average 35mpg then €50 will return 385.46 miles.

if petrol costs €1.50 per litre and you average 35mpg then €50 will return 256.97 miles.

Thats 128.49 miles of a difference.

Lord Nikon

At the current price I'm paying €1.26 at 35mpg will return 318.666 miles.

If you read one of my previous posts I said I get between 300 & 340 miles for €50. is 318.666 miles not close enough to 320 miles for you?

Lord Nikon

You've taken my figures out of context, i should have said 50cent a fillup, not 50cent a litre extra. Why would you assume 50c a litre, when was the last time petrol was €1, and when will it be €1.50???

FFS

macnab

neuromancer wrote: »

You've taken my figures out of context, i should have said 50cent a fillup, not 50cent a litre extra. Why would you assume 50c a litre, when was the last time petrol was €1, and when will it be €1.50???

FFS

€1 per litre, about 3 years ago
€1.50 per litre, probably next week

chill;)

positivenote

Im looking at upgrading to a e39 530d at the moment around 2002ish. Im coving approx 22k a year... anyone any links to anything worth a look out there. Problem is im looking at a trade in on a 02 bora tdi cmfrtline with 78k on the clock...

AlanD

junkyard wrote: »

They're a fantastic engine alright, you should get it chipped and see how much better it will be both on performance and economy. I chipped my X5 and it was like adding another turbo to it and way better on diesel too.

what sort of MPG do you get with your X5?