Sai Paladugu

Hey guys,
Just bought a Pre LCI 530i with 78k miles on the car. Well maintained by the dealership until i bought it. Biggest job done on the car was transmission replacement at 58k miles. Other than that, no major issues. Just wondering if you guys know what I should look out for in the future, as this is my first BMW. Also what is going to cost me the most on this car.

Thanks

Sai Paladugu

Also ive been hearing a lot about software updates for the car. Where would i go to get these updates? How much do they help? And will i have to pay for the software updates?

KyleB

'05 was the last year BMW used the M54 in the 5 series. It is arguably one of the most, if not the most, reliable engines of the 'modern' BMW era. Keep up with the oil changes and cooling system maintenance, and you are unlikely to have much trouble with the engine. If the car has never had a water pump and thermostat, do yourself a favor and replace them. If you are at all mechanically inclined, it is something you can do yourself in an afternoon. It's going to leak oil from the valve cover gasket, oil filter housing gasket, and rear main seal at some point. All BMWs leak oil, and your car won't be an exception to that rule. Google "BMW M54 maintenance" for more info on the typical stuff required.

The automatic transmission seems to be a bit of a toss-up; either you have problems or you don't. I'd service your transmission at 108,000 miles if it was changed at 58K. Replace fluid and pan/filter at that point. incredible that the car had total transmission failure at 58K. shame on you ZF, SHAME ON YOU.

Software updates are typically done at the dealer level. You could always schedule the car in for an oil change or some other mundane service, and ask about software updates at that time. Honestly I think the necessity for software updates on a car that old are a little overblown, but to each his own. I bought my '04 in 2012, and I have never even thought about updating any software, if there even is anything to update at this point. If everything works as it should, that's good enough for me.

Spend some time on this forum reading through new and old threads and you'll learn more than you'll ever need to know.

Good luck with the car. That's incredibly low mileage on a ten year old car. I'm pretty proud of the 114K on my '04, but you have me beat by a bunch!

crooney1970

I just bought a 2004 530i with 80900 miles.

KyleB

Nice find!

Tsoup

I just purchased mine last month, 04 530i @107k mi...I noticed on the carfax the tranny was replaced early w/low miles in 2004!! Hoping that's to my advantage/favor! (praying hands). :-)

Sai Paladugu

That's what I was hoping for too. Even though the transmission isn't brand new, my car still has only 20,000 miles on the new transmission. one less thing I have to worry about I guess.

ooshishi

I brought my 07 530(pre lci) @ 82k. at that point the tranny was replaced @ 76k and i had to put in 4 new struts and shocks @ 86k (damn NY roads!), other than that i had one failed ignition coil, and a small oil leak on the oil/coolant thing next to the oil filter right under the hood

Kasmo

I got 2006 BMW 525ix (Pre-LCI but with the N52 engine), July 2014. Got it with 97k on the clock. Right when I kit 99k-100k we changed the trans fluid, changed the oil. Had no problems until around October (so 3 months into owning the car). I was leaking coolant. Turned out one of the clamps had to be tighten down. So that fixed that. And then I started to leak oil. Found out its because of the oil filter housing gasket. So that is going to get changed soon. Other than that, car runs great, it puts a smile on my face every time i drive it, even though its an auto trans.