has the bmw 520d a reliability problem?

manus30

hello there,
in the market for a 06 bmw 520 d. have heard some stories about reliability problems with the 520d. are the a bad buy? what commonly goes wrong with them? currently have a honda accord exec which has never missed a beat and would hate to change it for a problematic car.
thanks in advance for advice.

unkel

There aren't really any known (reliability) problems with the current 5-series that I have heard of. Have a look at this.

JHMEG

Interesting in that it was the topic of another thread recently:

General Warning about Automatic Transmissions: Many BMWs have "sealed for life" automatic transmissions. Regardless of whether you have a full BMW service history, the dealer will never change the auto fluid. Many of these boxes are failing around the 120-150k mark - often well outside of warranty and to a cost of £3.5k plus VAT.

galwaytt

manus30 wrote: »

hello there,
in the market for a 06 bmw 520 d. have heard some stories about reliability problems with the 520d. are the a bad buy? what commonly goes wrong with them? currently have a honda accord exec which has never missed a beat and would hate to change it for a problematic car.
thanks in advance for advice.

I don't think it's unreasonable to say that, no matter what you change your Accord for............it'll me more likely to visit the garage than your Accord........that's just the way it is, tbh......that doesn't mean the 520 is bad, quite the contrary, but the Accord is notable for it's lack of visits to garages.........

JHMEG

galwaytt wrote: »

I don't think it's unreasonable to say that, no matter what you change your Accord for............it'll me more likely to visit the garage than your Accord........that's just the way it is, tbh......that doesn't mean the 520 is bad, quite the contrary, but the Accord is notable for it's lack of visits to garages.........

Indeed, Which? magazine found the Accord to be the most reliable car on sale in the UK only last month

kluivert

If the Honda Accord diesel came with a 6 speed box it would be my only choice.

Even with a 5 speed box its a good car, but fuel economy is important to me so an extra gear would help.

BMW 530d is known for its longevity so if its long term liability your after then maybe the 530d is a better choice.

JHMEG

kluivert wrote: »

If the Honda Accord diesel came with a 6 speed box it would be my only choice.

It's 6-speed since the start of 2006.

unkel

JHMEG wrote: »

Interesting in that it was the topic of another thread recently:

Honest John has that paragraph about automatics in the review of most cars with sealed for life boxes. It is a controversial issue and there is no concensus about should one or should one not change the ATF on a sealed tranny. But that's getting off topic.

bojangles1

I bought a beautiful 520d m series with 6k miles 2008 reg in early 2009 from bmw dealer up north.The car has been minded like a baby parked at house most of the time school runs etc and serviced by bmw dealer from new.
I have had major issues with the 18inch alloys cracking regularly,throwing away run flats and buying a spare slowed down the occurence of expensive wheel replacing everytime I got a flat wheel.
Next came the timing chain replacment last February done under goodwill by BMW and replacement car provided. Would have cost 4.5k euros, this was done at 50k miles.
Next in line last week the turbo failed with 60k miles done and cost 1450 euro with 30% goodwill I was also informed when collecting the car that the alternator needs replacing @ 950euro,not a good week needless to say.
I dont think Ill be buying another ONE:mad:

godtabh

bojangles1 wrote: »

I bought a beautiful 520d m series with 6k miles 2008 reg in early 2009 from bmw dealer up north.The car has been minded like a baby parked at house most of the time school runs etc and serviced by bmw dealer from new.
I have had major issues with the 18inch alloys cracking regularly,throwing away run flats and buying a spare slowed down the occurence of expensive wheel replacing everytime I got a flat wheel.
Next came the timing chain replacment last February done under goodwill by BMW and replacement car provided. Would have cost 4.5k euros, this was done at 50k miles.
Next in line last week the turbo failed with 60k miles done and cost 1450 euro with 30% goodwill I was also informed when collecting the car that the alternator needs replacing @ 950euro,not a good week needless to say.
I dont think Ill be buying another ONE:mad:

You are doing school runs in it. What do you expect?

TestTransmission

bojangles1 wrote: »

I bought a beautiful 520d m series with 6k miles 2008 reg in early 2009 from bmw dealer up north.The car has been minded like a baby parked at house most of the time school runs etc and serviced by bmw dealer from new.
I have had major issues with the 18inch alloys cracking regularly,throwing away run flats and buying a spare slowed down the occurence of expensive wheel replacing everytime I got a flat wheel.
Next came the timing chain replacment last February done under goodwill by BMW and replacement car provided. Would have cost 4.5k euros, this was done at 50k miles.
Next in line last week the turbo failed with 60k miles done and cost 1450 euro with 30% goodwill I was also informed when collecting the car that the alternator needs replacing @ 950euro,not a good week needless to say.
I dont think Ill be buying another ONE:mad:

Please don't dig up old threads.