bmwccc

Hi everyone, I am in the process of looking for a 2005 545i. I have a couple questions and hope you guys can help me out.

1. What was the last month in 2005 they produced the 545i? ( i am guessing July )

2. What differences are there on the 2005 545i vs. the 2006 550i? ( besides the engine )
ex: gauges, steering wheel, leather, wood trim, nav software, compartment & storage areas, oem tires, brakes, body style alterations even if minimal, bluetooth,

3. I have read on this and other forums of a problem with the 545i burning through tires very quickly, what caused this problem and did bmw fix the problem.

4. Lastly, more of subjective question but if the budget was tight to get the 2005 545i, would there be any compelling reason the pinch for the 2006 550i equally outfitted?

Thanks in advance
bmwccc

JDN

Ray Hull

I'd say generally, the 2005 will offer more reliability, after 12 mos or more of production...but that may not obtain in practice.

My 2004 was a left-over, bought new last fall, and has been satisfactory so far, except for a cold temp-related i-drive glitch that they have yet to nail down (because the weather has gotten warm).

Depending on what specifications you want, I'd DRIVE one to be sure it all fits. It's a very different car from the e-39/540 6 spd.

Cheers,
Ray Hull

znod

I would pinch some for the 550i, but only to get the extra HP/TQ. Note, however, that the 550i is not hugely faster than the 545i--at most a few tenths to 60 and in the 1/4 and 1 to 3 MPH in the 1/4.

nischalr

Hello,

I am not sure when the 545s were stopped being produced but I do Know that in week nine (3/05) the 545i's started getting some running changes along with the 525 and 530 and their new engines.


Some of these changes were Ruthenium(metalic look) on the ac dials(9/04 on 545i) and ruthenium on the vents(3/05)

soft stop
hill holder feature for manuals
rain clearing brakes


I can't recall if there were any more changes but a quick search for "week 9" or week nine changes will get you a lot of info. including the details of the above mentioned changes. If possible a post 3/05 car would be desirable.


I have been lurking here for some time in search of info for a 2005 545i also and have just acquired a 3/05 build, black sapphire on black dakota with anthracite trim, sports, logic 7, and manual transmission . Good luck with your search.

Nischal

JDN

Ray, I believe that the problems with the '04 were mostly caused by technicians that were not up to speed when servicing. In my case, I lost 28 days early on because a tech named Mario blew the computer with incorrect procedures, and so many others were doing the same thing 'til BMW had to reorder new units from the supplier who had to make them from scratch. I eventually filed the lemon law which got things corrected in a hurry.

Since then, my '04 has been as trouble free as my '97 540 is (still in the family).

Hormazd

I would get the 550. Why? Not for the extra HP. They drive almost the same. Because you will have a higher quality product. They do not announce or make public the little things they fix month after month on the assembly line. There are even structural changes in later E60s (don't know when) to score higher in NCAP tests.

Look at this post where I report the quality issues with my May 04 production car.

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=27367

Bimmer32

3. Lead foot. No, the runflats are horrible. I don't know if it was fixed in 06 models.

Evenflow545

If you can get a slightly used 545 for 45-48k, and a 550 costs 70k, and you're concerned about cash, that's a no-brainer.

If you don't care about money, get the 550.

e60545

To be clear, it's the Dunlop runflats that are just plain awful. The car
isn't causing the problems, it's these specific tires. My 2005 545 (built 7/05)
w/Sport Package has them and true to expectations, they began making
the most horrible noise after 8000 miles when doing more than 35-40 mph.
Sounded like wheel bearings going...yea, that bad. The car also
began to handle terrible, tracking even the most subtle undulations
in a paved surface. At times, I had to wrestle with the wheel.

OK....now the good news is that Dunlop will pay for a full set
replacement ONCE, and only if the mileage is under 20K (apparently,
even though there is NO warranty on these tires, Dunlop expects
them to last 20K miles). According to my service rep, Dunlop
has reformulated the tire and that's why they're doing a replacement.
Right. So I asked my service rep if I can get another replacement
set if the same thing happens. Nope. Apparently, Dunlop is not
THAT confident to replace more than one set. My bet is that it's
the same tire and with two sets, you'll get past 20K one way or
another......and that's what you would've gotten with a set
of Dunlops w/out problems.

I wanted the dealer to put on Bridgestone runflats, but he wouldn't
budge - anything other than Dunlops and I get to pay. It was a
pretty easy decision after that.

If you really want to read about the problems with these tires,
check out the Tire Rack website for a ton of reviews:

http://www.tirerack.com/survey/SurveyComme...gConditions=All