530d things to look out for

rowanh

Hi,

I went to have a look at a 530d yesterday, it was a bit rough, im going to look at another hopefully tomorrow intending to buy it. Just wondering if anyone knows of specific things to look out for with it or diesel bmws generally?

Thanks.

beams

rowanh wrote: »

Hi,

I went to have a look at a 530d yesterday, it was a bit rough, im going to look at another hopefully tomorrow intending to buy it. Just wondering if anyone knows of specific things to look out for with it or diesel bmws generally?

Thanks.

They're generally rock solid but - turbo at about 100K (2+grand to fix), mass airflow sensor (at any stage about 300 to fix)

mickdw

Turbo failure, Cat failure, Exhaust manifold failure at about 140,000 miles seems common

mickdw

Beams has one for sale I think

maidhc

mickdw wrote: »

Turbo failure, Cat failure, Exhaust manifold failure at about 140,000 miles seems common

At which point you may as well scrap the car?

joeperry

What's the year?

They have similar problems to all heavy cars and modern diesels.............Turbo,injectors,Shocks,bushings.

Do a google search on swirl flaps in BMW diesel engines. It's a good idea to remove the swirl flap straight away if it hasn't been done.

mickdw

maidhc wrote: »

At which point you may as well scrap the car?

Ive seen these faults in 3 year old 530d so no wouldnt scrap that.

Gumbo

maidhc wrote: »

At which point you may as well scrap the car?

why?


check out www.bmw-driver.net if you get a chance, a good few 530d owners over there.

beams

mickdw wrote: »

Beams has one for sale I think

...and a great deal she is :eek:

Matt Simis

kceire wrote: »

why?


check out www.bmw-driverS.net if you get a chance, a good few 530d owners over there.

You mean:
http://www.bmw-driver.net/forum/

I always put the "s" in too.

Gumbo

Matt Simis wrote: »

You mean:
http://www.bmw-driver.net/forum/

I always put the "s" in too.

sorted now, thanks

E39MSport

check out rebel.ranters post - first on the page
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055566063&page=2

K

rowanh

Thanks for the info, im going to look at one its 2000, i think its 118k miles, its just had two injectors replaced and the airflow meter too. Im going to try and get it for close to 4k, looks like a nice one too, nice interior and nice wheels.

Is the only way to check to see if a turbo is on its way out to look for smoke coming out of the exaust? Black or blue smoke?

Also beams if you have one for sale feel free to send me a link to it though it might be a bit over my budget..

GB15

I think it was September 2000 that the facelift model came in.

Are you looking for a sport or an SE? The sport looks a lot better but the ride is stiffer. Also are you looking for manual or auto?

Apart from things going wrong I'd be looking for the following spec: digital climate control, sports steering wheel with multi function controls, aluminium interior trim and parking sensors.

Captain Slow IRL

rowanh wrote: »

Is the only way to check to see if a turbo is on its way out to look for smoke coming out of the exaust? Black or blue smoke?

Excessive black smoke out of the exhaust could be due to a blocked oil seperator - if it's left long enough, it can starve the turbo of oil and make sh*t out of it! (The point is, don't condemn the turbo straight away)

When you're test driving it, make sure it's pulling well and consistently - failing fuel pumps can show up as a reluctance to accelerate.

rowanh

i was just talking to the guy again and found out its not 116k miles its 160, guess i misheard him the first time, 160k seems very high though maybe its not too bad for this kind of car, he was saying there is some service history. Any opinions on that mileage if its too high?

maidhc

rowanh wrote: »

i was just talking to the guy again and found out its not 116k miles its 160, guess i misheard him the first time, 160k seems very high though maybe its not too bad for this kind of car, he was saying there is some service history. Any opinions on that mileage if its too high?

I think you are mad.

Get a big 6 pot petrol with under 80k miles for the same money. It will cost more to run, but most likely less to repair and will probably work out cheaper overall.

rowanh

You might be right, im thinking maybe just i dont have quite enough money to get one so im having to get one of the cheapest ones possible which is not a good idea.. I dont really want a petrol 5 series, i want something semi economical.

Maybe back to the drawing board, i need to have a car by next Wednesday so a bit of time, i just sold my car today, its a real pain trying to get a car when you dont have one to go look at them..

maidhc

rowanh wrote: »

You might be right, im thinking maybe just i dont have quite enough money to get one so im having to get one of the cheapest ones possible which is not a good idea.. I dont really want a petrol 5 series, i want something semi economical.

Maybe back to the drawing board, i need to have a car by next Wednesday so a bit of time, i just sold my car today, its a real pain trying to get a car when you dont have one to go look at them..

A 3L diesel is not a particularly economical car once you factor in tax and all that and when moderns diesels break down they do it in style.