DR-JEKL

Hey guys I have been in the JDM tuning scene for more more then 10 years, and now that I'm in my 30's having 600hp and being slammed on 20's isn't exactly something I aspire to drive on a daily basis.

I'm looking to buy a 530-545i E60 sedan for daily driving as it offers European styling, performance & class that the euro's do so well!

I realise this is a us based forum, but there doesn't really seem to be a Aussie E60 forum that I could find and figured most of you guys have a fair idea of the BMW general knowledge for options/issues as its pretty much generic for the worldwide market.

One thing that always amazed me with BMW was the lengthy options list. A 530i for example could be listed as an entry RRP of $110k AUD when new but could easily be $130k AUD by the time the car rolled out of the dealership when delivered with a few options. This makes buying a 2nd hand vehicle somewhat difficult when comparing prices as you cant just use age and mileage for an indication on price.

I have been using the following site to determine what car comes equipped with what options: http://www.rubmw.ru/vincode/eng/

So I have a few questions in regards to options:

1. adaptive headlights- do they really offer much of an improvement? I cant do without xenon/HID lighting but since I do little driving at night I dont think this feature would be all that critical and if anything could just be another thing to go wrong down the track?

2. Dynamic drive - This option interests me a great deal as I still enjoy a sweet handling car but don't enjoy the crashing over bumps. This option supposedly offers a compromise between comfort and performance, but is it just a bunch of marketing jargon with troublesome electronics (am I better off with conventional upgraded sway bars from eibach)

3. sports aero pack - I do like the look of the bumper kit how much lower is the m tech front bar then the standard item?

4.sports/comfort option seating - Do they offer an improvement over the oem items?

5. M Sports Suspension - What does it consist of? I believe they are 1" lower then standard is it just lowered springs with revalved shocks, or does it include reinforcing of the chassis with upgraded bushings also (once again is it just marketing BS when a simple KW coilover kit would suffice)

6. TV - How difficult is it to retrofit this option? I imagine reception would be quite poor in some areas

So if car A is $40k with no options and car B is $45k with sports seat adaptive headlights, dynamic drive, heads up display, is the extra $5k worth it? Or am I just better off buying Car A and putting coilovers and sway bars on with some rims?

Lastly thoughts and opinions on a low mileage 530i <80k vs a 545i with >120-130k? I believe the driveline of the 530i is most bulletproof as it had been honed from its predecessor the E39 and the 545 driveline has also been carried over yet is known to have a few mechanical issues. Needless to say once I purchase the vehicle it will be subjected to servicing as per the logbook, but I don't wish to be replacing major components.

I don't require the extra power that the 545i offers, but hey I'm sure many of you would prefer an extra 100HP & V8 burble at your dispense?

I apologise if this topic has been covered before, please before you flame me add the link of where this topic had been covered countless time before and then feel free to hook in with profanities (but hey this is a bmw forum not a honda forum right!?)

Cheers guys

Shane

Beemster530i

If it was me...get as much options as you can...because trying to retrofit or fitting it later will cost you a lot more and a lot of hassles. You'll end up wanting them later anyway.

My 530i didn't come with xenon's, M tech bodykits, suspensions, etc...
I'm trying to fit them now and it's costing me more and I'm sourcing everything from abroad as the prices here are just ridiculous.

Justin66mp

depends, are you a road warrior? the v-8 is nice to have but the gas is a killer. If you spend enough time on these forums you're going to want all the options so I would suggest (if you can) going a little newer like a 535 or an 08 550. I'm almost wishing I waited a little longer and got an 08 for LCI everything but my car had 25k miles on it so it was hard to pass up. If you plan on keeping the car til it explodes like I do, the extra 5k wont make much of a difference 10 years from now.