Buying an E60 Bmw 530d

darragh o meara

My last car was destroyed by fire the other night so unfortunately I have to start looking for a replacement. Ive had it in my head for a while to buy a Bmw 530d or a 525d E60 model.

Im looking for opinions on these models from anyone who has them.

Kinda stuff Im asking is:

What are they like to live with?

What kinda MPG are they really producing?

Common problems and stuff to look out for when buying. ( The cars in my price range are all in the 2004-2006 era )

Do these earlier E60s have a diesel particle filter?

Is there much of a difference in the 525d and the 530d?

Spare parts are they easy get hold of?

Can the media system be upgraded in the car? ( Im a Dj and had a system in the last car where I can plug in a USB stick or SD card and listen back to sets etc after the gig )

At the moment Im leaning towards a 525 as I couldnt really justify the 1400 tax on the 530, however if needs be I can afford the 530 tax if its a much better car. Im assuming being a big car that the 2.5 engine would have plenty of grunt to move it. I have a 500 mile a week commute so yes a diesel is needed, before anyone recommends a petrol.

I know there is a few owners lurking around here so your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Idbatterim

the tax on the 525d is 1080 and opposed to E1094 on the 530D. They are both 6 cylinders, so the only difference I can see is that the 530d will have more hp, but its hardly like the 525 is underpowered. Also bear in mind the motor tax rates will probably go up again in the autumn, making the gap even wider and the 525d should have better residuals... Im not sure on the rest of your questions, so will leave that to somebody else...

Only way I would entertain the 530d is if the outrageous tax is majorly reflected in the asking price, which often it is to be fair...

what is your budget?

166man

Calling YBFocus, hopefully he might be aorund soon, has a 2004 one afaik...

MetzgerMeister

Darragh, if you can afford to tax the 530, why not go 535? Same tax, 1 more turbo.

166man

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Darragh, if you can afford to tax the 530, why not go 535? Same tax, 1 more turbo.

Because 535's are normally more expensive than the equivalent 530d. Can get an E60 530 for €6k these days.

If the 535 was more freely available then it;s the one id be having!

Tea 1000

I think post 2 there has a typo, €1,080 for the 2.5 but €1,495 for the 3 litre. However the later 525d's were 3 litre, so bear that in mind too.

MetzgerMeister

166man wrote: »

Because 535's are normally more expensive than the equivalent 530d. Can get an E60 530 for €6k these days.

If the 535 was more freely available then it;s the one id be having!

True but buying the car is one thing, upkeep is a different thing. He may have it in his buying budget the ability to afford the 535.

He only mentions price range when it comes to year so it's fairly vague.

And anyway, you know nothing about Das Auto.....feck back to Italy and fall apart :P

Idbatterim

I think post 2 there has a typo, €1,080 for the 2.5 but €1,495 for the 3 litre. However the later 525d's were 3 litre, so bear that in mind too.

true but the op says hes looking at 05-06 which is before the change...

Max Power1

166man wrote: »

Because 535's are normally more expensive than the equivalent 530d. Can get an E60 530 for €6k these days.

If the 535 was more freely available then it;s the one id be having!

There is normally a 50% premium on 535d's of the 04-06 era compared to their 530d counterparts.
If I were paying the 3.0 tax anyway (which I do :P) there would be no way I would settle for the less powerful car.

Re mpg, I get about 33 mpg on average from my e60 535d but that drops to <20 around town, and hits 42-45 on long city-city runs.

darragh o meara

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Darragh, if you can afford to tax the 530, why not go 535? Same tax, 1 more turbo.

Max Power1 wrote: »

There is normally a 50% premium on 535d's of the 04-06 era compared to their 530d counterparts.
If I were paying the 3.0 tax anyway (which I do :P) there would be no way I would settle for the less powerful car.

Re mpg, I get about 33 mpg on average from my e60 535d but that drops to <20 around town, and hits 42-45 on long city-city runs.

I really would love a 535d but to be honest I cant afford one at the moment, Most are well over 10k and out of my price range. I did look at one a while back but I got a bad feeling about the car when the driver jumped out with his socks tucked into his tracksuit and his jaw going like he was been sponsored by Wrigley's!! Then he told me that she was "Some yoke for doing donuts and how he'd burned 2 sets of tyres off her in Killarney" Cue exit stage left.......

Ideally I would like to keep my budget in the 6k area. I would also love a touring but again like the 535d they tend to be at a premium as they are not as common over here. In saying that there are a few for sale in the mid 7k -8k range that I will look at and maybe make a offer on but Im not sure there will be too many going to drop 1500 or 2000 euro for haggling but hey I will try...

When I started looking at 5 series it was the older E39 M sport touring that I wanted and if the truth be known I would still consider one as I think they are a beautiful car, Again there are one or two for sale at the moment with Msport kits but they seem to be way overpriced. Heres an example of what I mean:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-5-series-530-td-e39-05dr-hi-spec-m/3510499

The colours nice, the interior is nice even though its not an M sport interior so probably is really only a bodykit fitted.. but she looks the part. However look at the price and that in my eyes is where it falls down. Ive been watching that car for months ( at least 4 or 5 ) and it hasnt dropped in price once. I could go up there and offer him 3500 for it but id imagine Id be told to f£$k off out of there

So back to my current situation. Im buying the car to give me a bit of comfort on the daily commute. Tax is a pain but I can live with that but the less I can get away with paying the better so hence the 525d was mentioned as an alternative. I have seen a few 530d's that are taxed as 2 litres and these do appeal to me, but I dont want to be collared a few years down the road for back tax when someone realises that Ive been driving a 3 litre and paying half the tax.... Might never happen but it would always be on my mind.

Bigus

Go offer him the 3500 in person and report back, it might be no harm to show the actual cash before you walk away. Red 3.0 cars are not an easy sell.

Max Power1

that e39 is a beautiful car in really high spec (going from the photos)

If I wanted an e39 that was not an m5 I would buy that specific one. Just saying.

the merchant

That E39 has been for sale for about 2 years at this stage. It started off at €9k.

Max Power1

Must be overpriced (which it is) and perhaps something major wrong that we can't see from the pics so!

YbFocus

Hello hello I'm here
They are a great car to live with darragh, I have a 530 and I find it way more economical than I was expecting, City is Crap obviously but driving it on a bit going home you can expect ~37mpg and letting her cruise on the motorway you get 42mpg.

Things to watch at this vintage are:

For swirl flaps, if they are still in there get them out and have them blanked, if your handy with tools it'll take you 2 hours.

At this age some have the dpf some don't.
The rule is if the pipes point down there isn't and if they're straight out it has one.
My one had the dpf but it fell off

This car is a single turbo, and they do give trouble sometimes. Replacing is expensive enough but you may never have this trouble.
I always think of the 535's like this, the fact they have 2 turbo's means you're doubling your chances of failure. Anyway 500Nm's of torque is enough for anyone's back sorry Max!

I've had trouble with an injector but it was swapped out and she's been perfect since, I've put 20,000 miles on my one since March.

They take just about the dearest 5w30 going and remember they also take 8.3 litres of it so the usual 4 litres doesn't cut it with these.

I would have no hesitation in recommending one though, mine gets fair abuse but is well minded and never gives hassle.

But the 30 not the 25, if you have deeper pockets get the 35 but to me they demand to much of a premium to be worth it, unless your loaded like Max is

Gumbo

Ive had an E60 525d, E39 530d and current car is an E60 535d LCI.

The 525d i had was a 2005 MSport model in Auto. 177bhp remapped to approx 210bhp by Autoremap. Long term MPG going by the OBC was 21.9 and that was 90% city commute. It would open up on the motorway and conservative driving at the speed limit would yield 50mpg. This car had a DPF fitted.

The 530d over the same kind of driving was giving my 24mpg, but bear in mind that wasnt remapped and it was an E39 so the older 194bhp as opposed to the 231bhp engine in the E60. The early 530d's didnt have a DPF IIRC, only from 2005 onwards, but somebody might confirm that.

My current 535d over the same driving condioons so far is giving me 28mpg.

525d is a great car, and its right in there at the max tax brack that most normal people would buy, the 530d is a better car, full stop but you will be limited to who you can sell it on to, but that will be reflected in the price, hence why they are same price os cheaper than a 525d. I sold my 2005 525d in April for 11k btw, just to give an idea of what the really good ones can sell for.

535d will be more expensive to buy and tax, but there is so few of them in the country and so few good ones for sale at any one time, the kind of people that buy them are people into cars, so they will spend the bit extra.

The E39 touring linked above has been for sale many times over the last 2 years by various dealers, approach with care and do your checks.

YbFocus

Hey man my 2004 530d has a dpf, it seems as if for 2004 they were running the two as it was random when I was looking at 30's.
Some would some wouldn't.

darragh o meara

Max Power1 wrote: »

that e39 is a beautiful car in really high spec (going from the photos)

If I wanted an e39 that was not an m5 I would buy that specific one. Just saying.

Agreed, but would you pay the money he's asking for it? For an extra 2 grand you'd be in a more desirable 05 E60 Msport.

Idbatterim

Ill probably be banned for this forum for putting a 520d up here, but this one could probably be had for close enough to your budget op...

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/5-Series/520-D-E6/201336218167929/advert?channel=CARS

YbFocus

Idbatterim wrote: »

Ill probably be banned for this forum for putting a 520d up here, but this one could probably be had for close enough to your budget op...

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/5-Series/520-D-E6/201336218167929/advert?channel=CARS

Cloth seats, no test left and it's a 520. Wouldn't touch it.

Max Power1

darragh o meara wrote: »

Agreed, but would you pay the money he's asking for it? For an extra 2 grand you'd be in a more desirable 05 E60 Msport.

As an e60 owner, if I didnt have a 535 I would prefer an e39 in msport trim. However he is asking too much. Give me that one for 3k over an e60 any day.

YbFocus wrote: »

Cloth seats, no test left and it's a 520. Wouldn't touch it.

+1
Not with a bargepole. Reccomending a 520d should be an infraction, reccomending a 518d should be a permaban!

YbFocus

pure irish car:

diesel Sir? Yes please.

What size engine? What's the smallest you have?

What options would sir like? None, just the badge please.

darragh o meara

YbFocus wrote: »

Cloth seats, no test left and it's a 520. Wouldn't touch it.

Cloth seats I can live with as I live near a decent BMW breakers and he has told me in the past that a full leather interior for an e60 could be had for about 5-600 euro and he'd take a trade in if the cloth interior was anyway good.

As for it being a 2.0litre, I don't really know how I feel about that. As well as being an DJ Im also a Mechanical Engineer so I know that even though a 2 ltr may be cheaper on tax, Its gonna strung out dragging that heavy body around.

When I worked for Mercedes a few years back I remember asking an engineer in the factory why I only seen the E200 Cdi and E220 Cdi in right hand drive rolling on the factory floor, His response was " You Irish would prefer to save some money on running your car with a underpowered car, Everywhere else buys a big car with a big engine " He couldn't understand why people would go and buy a big car and decide to put a underpowered engine into it.

MetzgerMeister

Since you're a MechEng, it would actually be true blasphemy and an offence that carries a punishment of crucifixion carried out by demons if you buy a 520d

YbFocus

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Since you're a MechEng, it would actually be true blasphemy and an offence that carries a punishment of crucifixion carried out by demons if you buy a 520d

Exactly metz, don't do it darragh you'll regret it everytime one passes you by. 700 extra for a 530 or 535 is 2 euro a day! One less coffee!

HandsomeDan

darragh o meara wrote: »

Cloth seats I can live with as I live near a decent BMW breakers and he has told me in the past that a full leather interior for an e60 could be had for about 5-600 euro and he'd take a trade in if the cloth interior was anyway good.

As for it being a 2.0litre, I don't really know how I feel about that. As well as being an DJ Im also a Mechanical Engineer so I know that even though a 2 ltr may be cheaper on tax, Its gonna strung out dragging that heavy body around.

When I worked for Mercedes a few years back I remember asking an engineer in the factory why I only seen the E200 Cdi and E220 Cdi in right hand drive rolling on the factory floor, His response was " You Irish would prefer to save some money on running your car with a underpowered car, Everywhere else buys a big car with a big engine " He couldn't understand why people would go and buy a big car and decide to put a underpowered engine into it.

Actually the e60 is only marginally more heavy than the e90, and the turbo 2 has no problem hauling it around.

0-60 in around 8: not fast, but by no means slow.

darragh o meara

Many thanks for the replies lads. IM gonna go have a look at the red e39 and a few e60's too. As I said earlier, Id love a touring and even though I dont have a real need for a touring ( 1 kid ) I just have a thing for nice estates.

Are 530d's a hard sell?? Suppose what Im really asking is: Would there be a lot of haggle room with some sellers? Would I be cheeky to try lowball a lad by 1000-1500 euro on a car??

Max Power1

darragh o meara wrote: »

Are 530d's a hard sell?? Suppose what Im really asking is: Would there be a lot of haggle room with some sellers? Would I be cheeky to try lowball a lad by 1000-1500 euro on a car??

It depends on the list price. You wont get 1500 off a 6k car. But I got 1500 off a 13k car.

Also depends on many other factors, how much it "owes" the seller, seller needs money quickly or not, etc.

You'll only know by chancing your arm and bidding him

Idbatterim

right just to throw out another 520 as that one was taken apart... Im leaving it at this one. I thought the whole point of going diesel was to save money... If you ask me, I wouldnt pay 6k for a car and be spending a quarter of the worth per year in tax alone (I know the reason they are only that cheap is the high tax before anyone throws that out there) A person buying a 6k car to me doesnt seem to be able to or want to spend a lot on car ownership (i.e the entire cost)...

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/5-Series/520-DIES/37013782838231760/advert?channel=CARS

If the point is that the 520d is a compromise to a 525d, the 525 compromise a compromise to the 530d... why not just go out and buy an M5? Nobody is going to tell me that a 520d is underpowered for city driving or not capable of comfortable motorway cruising... This is coming from a 2.5L petrol driver by the way and the next one is going to be a 3L or plus petrol bm. Im not going to dispute that the 6 cylinders arent an upgrade to 4, but the difference in tax is another 400 per year on top of an already ridiculous rate, Im just playing devils advocate here, I think it really depends on what the persons requirements are and how much of their hard earned money they are prepared to put into a car. I.e just something that gets you from a to b for some people or much more than that to others (like myself and other posters on this thread)...

Idbatterim

t depends on the list price. You wont get 1500 off a 6k car. But I got 1500 off a 13k car.

Also depends on many other factors, how much it "owes" the seller, seller needs money quickly or not, etc.

You'll only know by chancing your arm and bidding him

this pretty much, also you are likely to get a better deal from a private seller for a number of reasons...

Max Power1

Idbatterim wrote: »

If the point is that the 520d is a compromise to a 525d, the 525 compromise a compromise to the 530d... why not just go out and buy a 535d? .

FYP

Idbatterim

FYP

ha yeah i was going to put that in, but got tired lol!

YbFocus

What sad cnut put the 530d badge on the back of that?
520 wheels and 4 cylinder knock are enough to tell.
Grand car to look at though.
...

I don't think they're all compromises but the 30's I think are right in the middle Or ahead for price.

Both when it comes to buying them, because 30d's are cheaper than 20d's by a long way. Where as the 35d's aren't cheaper, they demand a bigger premium.

And when it comes to service and repair a 30d will be more expensive than a 20d yes but still less than a 35d.

A 30d is a good car for someone that can't afford a 35d, as there is such a huge price difference between them.

Overall I think 30d's are the cheapest to run overall after price etc. Because the 20's are priced closer to the 35's, meaning they are way behind from the start.

ants09

darragh o meara wrote: »

Many thanks for the replies lads. IM gonna go have a look at the red e39 and a few e60's too. As I said earlier, Id love a touring and even though I dont have a real need for a touring ( 1 kid ) I just have a thing for nice estates.

Are 530d's a hard sell?? Suppose what Im really asking is: Would there be a lot of haggle room with some sellers? Would I be cheeky to try lowball a lad by 1000-1500 euro on a car??

That e39 530D looks nice but it aint a msport :mad:
i wouldnt be cheeky to lowball him by 1000 - 1500 euro's for that car as she aint a msport

darragh o meara

Idbatterim wrote: »

right just to throw out another 520 as that one was taken apart... Im leaving it at this one. I thought the whole point of going diesel was to save money... If you ask me, I wouldnt pay 6k for a car and be spending a quarter of the worth per year in tax alone (I know the reason they are only that cheap is the high tax before anyone throws that out there) A person buying a 6k car to me doesnt seem to be able to or want to spend a lot on car ownership (i.e the entire cost)...

The reason Im only going to spend that kinda money is that at the moment Im racking up 500 miles plus a week, If I was to go out and buy a newer car, say a 2011 BMW 530d Id loose an awful lot of money if in say 12 months when the car would have added at least 26000 miles take depreciation etc into it and you get the picture. However buying something that has a low initial price and is not going to loose a massive amount of value if it has an extra 26k is something I believe in. As for maintenance I can do almost anything I need to do to it myself with maybe the exception of one or two jobs.

Finally, Im on the way in to a mate of mine who has a 2006 520d for a spin later. Im hoping it puts any doubts in my mind to rest. At heart Im a petrol head and do enjoy the odd blast every now and again. The past 2 years Ive strayed away from the high power petrols Ive been used to driving in the past to drive a Tdi Passat which was a major put down but a necessary one as running some of the other cars I had over that kinda mileage would have bankrupted me pretty quick. Now that I have the opportunity to buy something that ticks some of the boxes (Ie. a high powered diesel) I may as well take it. The cost of the tax in my eyes while exorbitantly expensive is irrelevant when you have the comfort of a decent car for the daily commute, When I can spend my 3 hours travelling each day in something comfortable the extra few quid a day seems insignificant 1400 tax is less than 4 euro a day or 2 euro a day more than I was already paying... For the sake of comfort I believe it would be worth it.

Idbatterim

I agree with your Darragh, the point of discussion has been the engine size though, the bigger diesels wont be any more comfortable than the 520d, theyll just have more power. Im totally with you on the depreciation of newer cars by the way, hence Im looking at 7/8 year olds 645's... If its comfort you are after and are ok with paying the 3L tax, how about going the whole hog and getting something like below? ASSUMING its legit...

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/7-Series/730d/201333217729875/advert?channel=CARS

darragh o meara

ants09 wrote: »

That e39 530D looks nice but it aint a msport :mad:
i wouldnt be cheeky to lowball him by 1000 - 1500 euro's for that car as she aint a msport

When I said lowballing I was on about on an E60 touring. Im not gonna gain anything by not trying but will probably pick up a few insults on the way. But ya never know how much a lad will drop his price til he sees the money starting to walk away.

And yeah Ive been in a few real Msports to know a real one when I see it.

Max Power1

If I were doing that sort of mileage (30k miles) I would not buy a 535d unless the miles were motorway miles. Anything other than motorway driving and you are looking at a fair bit below 30 mpg.

I do 35k km per year roughly, and, in the 10 k km since I got my 535d I have averaged about 31 mpg. I would guess that the figure would be nearer 40 if I had a 530d and probably above 40 if I had a 520d. Thems the differences.

ants09

darragh o meara wrote: »

When I said lowballing I was on about on an E60 touring. Im not gonna gain anything by not trying but will probably pick up a few insults on the way. But ya never know how much a lad will drop his price til he sees the money starting to walk away.

And yeah Ive been in a few real Msports to know a real one when I see it.

Aint a insult if you walk away paying 1k - 1.5k less as if they are desperate to sell and see a wad off cash in front off them people do make decisions they wouldnt normally make :D

YbFocus

I know for the 30d your talking 38 or so, if you never drove it on you might see 40-41.
Hard not to though the odd time.

drunkmonkey

I'm getting mid 40's in a 07 lci, she'll do 44mpg at 130km in cruise control on the motorway and 45-50+ mpg on country roads 80-100km, on average mixed driving she's doing 40mpg.
Saying that i'm only on my 2nd tank of diesel so probably still being a bit refrained. No black smoke yet:) Only 52,000 miles on it..

R.O.R

I've driven a 2.5 525d, and it really wasn't worth any sort of premium over a 520d.

The 3.0 525d was much better to drive, but if you are paying tax on that, you may as well pay it on a 530d or 535d.

The performance difference in the 2.5 525d over the 520d is very little.

As far as fuel consumption, I'm doing approx. 700km a week. Returning 6.0L/100km in an LCi 520d Auto. Full tank (65 litres) is returning 1,100km every time, unless filled in Tesco - only just over 1,000km on their fuel.

Idbatterim

I've driven a 2.5 525d, and it really wasn't worth any sort of premium over a 520d.

why was this ROR? simply difference in power not enough or what? Its funny how everyone has a different opinion on this. Was the 6 cylinder not a good bit smoother?

Tea 1000

Idbatterim wrote: »

why was this ROR? simply difference in power not enough or what? Its funny how everyone has a different opinion on this. Was the 6 cylinder not a good bit smoother?

6 cylinder diesels are smoother, but still not smooth!!

R.O.R

Idbatterim wrote: »

why was this ROR? simply difference in power not enough or what? Its funny how everyone has a different opinion on this. Was the 6 cylinder not a good bit smoother?

Didn't feel any quicker than the 163bhp 520d's that I've driven a good few of. Didn't seem to have any better mid range accleration that you'd expect from the larger engine.

Also, can someone define smoothness for me? For day to day, humdrum commuting, at steady revs, I can't say I've really noticed any difference between 3/4/5/6/8 cylinders.

Idbatterim

Op, did you test drive the 520d?

Gumbo

R.O.R wrote: »

Didn't feel any quicker than the 163bhp 520d's that I've driven a good few of. Didn't seem to have any better mid range accleration that you'd expect from the larger engine.

Also, can someone define smoothness for me? For day to day, humdrum commuting, at steady revs, I can't say I've really noticed any difference between 3/4/5/6/8 cylinders.

+1 on the 520d V 525d power things, its 163bhp V 177bhp so no mad differences, but my cousin got into mine from his 520d and straight away noticed the difference on idle and commuting into town when i gave him a lift one morning.

maybe its in our heads as the noise from the 20d engine is a rattle box compared to the 6 Cycl engines.

Max Power1

I parked my 6 cylinder beside a 520d in lidl the other week. By god the 4 cylinder diesel is way more tractory. I had to look around to see if there was a TDI golf near me!

darragh o meara

Idbatterim wrote: »

Op, did you test drive the 520d?

Yes I did drive a 520d last night and to be honest it wasn't too bad, not as pokey as I expected but still well able to keep up with the traffic. I then managed to get a spin in a mates e39 530d Msport and thats where my mind was made up. Id forgotten how nice the 6 cylinder diesels were to drive.

Im going to have a look at 2 e60's this evening a 530d and a 525d in the hope of making my mind up once and for all. To throw a spanner into the works Ive found a nice e39 530d Msport touring in the UK that could be brought in extremely right.... Decisions decisions decisions

Would I be mad to turn down the newer E60 for a E39??

Heres the car:




Oh and I know where there is a beautiful full M5 interior altered to fit a touring that could be bought very handy

Idbatterim

http://cars.donedeal.co.uk/cars-for-sale/bmw-525d-m-sport/5425036

spotted the above earlier, in case its the 525d you are looking at.

ok just checked stats on autotrader, it says the 20d will do 0-100 in 8.6, the 25d in 8.1, 30d in 6.8...

or you could go for the smoothness of the straight 6 with the more reasonable tax of a 525 and get a remap...

http://www.dmsautomotive.com/models.asp?upid=1

darragh o meara

Idbatterim wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.co.uk/cars-for-sale/bmw-525d-m-sport/5425036

spotted the above earlier, in case its the 525d you are looking at.

ok just checked stats on autotrader, it says the 20d will do 0-100 in 8.6, the 25d in 8.1, 30d in 6.8...

Spotted that earlier but I think Im gonna go with an automatic.