E60__530D

alright guys, i'm thinking of buying a 530d..i've found one for ?14k its a 54 Reg 530d in auto with PDC and the usual but has no Auto Box or SatNav two things that i really want. my budget is around ?15k do you think this would find me a:
(UK)
(2004+)04-54+ 530d
leather interior
automatic
PDC
Sat Nav
?

anything i should be wary of when buying 530d? when are the major servicings? what should of been done? things that are likely to go wrong and what should i check? is 80,000 on a 2004 reg bad for the engine? i know the diesels are very strong but should i be worried?

also looking at the 525d but would prefer the 530d.

also what kind of urban mpg do you guys get out of your 530d's?

thanks in advance

E60__530D

i'm guessing i'm not going to get alot of help here looking at how many people on here are from the UK..can anybody point me in the right direction to a UK
E60/5 series forum?

daven

Ok I'll bite!
I've got a 530d auto. UK car.
Firstly IMHO don't bother with the nav. be it business or professional. A TomTom 720/920 is by far better and the upgrades to the maps are a hell of a lot cheaper than the dealers disc.....
Look for a car with bluetooth it really does work well with the majority of the mobile phones around BUT if it needs a (dealer) software upgrade be prepared for ???$$$???.
Drive the car and listen for creaking sounds, if it sounds like an 'old wooden boat' the door seals will need replacing for the modified type. Even driving on smooth roads it will be apparent.
The engine is a real peach something BMW got right! mine gets 35/36mpg no problem at all (I drive it quite hard) and on a run from the 'bottom' of the country to the other side of Manchester and back it achieved average speed 78mph with 49.6mpg...very impressive!
80k should be no problem for the diesel.
Servicing is menu driven so depending on how you drive it will depend on its schedule, although something like 17k between oil changes is a bit excessive IMO.
Active steering if fitted, IMO is a gimmick and expensive if it goes wrong (like mine did but covered under warranty!)
The auto (slush) box is the way to go, again IMO UK roads are now too clogged up for a manual... 15mph on the m25 with stop start traffic is a good example. The only worrying thing with the auto box is it's sealed for life so no way to top up the oil, sadly a lot of modern cars are the same.
The sound system...... er! adequate is all I'll say. The CD player will not even play mp3 files. My old XJ40 was light years ahead and that was 15 years old. The 'hifi' sound or the logic 7 is a lot better.
Build quality! ok! although I don't think its as good as the previous model.
Tyre wear, good on my car but reading the forums there does appear to be a trend with poor wear patterns and life. JFI mine are Goodyear Eagle runflats.
Clonking from the rear suspension is a common fault see usedcarexpert. Caused by worn bushes in the arms which do not seem to have a long enough life....it says budget 50quid.....more like 250quid if you go to a main dealer.
Repairs: DIY or find a good independant. Mechanically they are not complicated but the problems arrive if it needs anything doing that requires software upgrades then it's a good idea to phone around the dealers as their prices seem to vary quite a lot. For example: If you want a CD changer installed it involves a software upgrade. If you want an ipod kit fitted it involves a software upgrade, do you get the drift!
Hope that helps.

jonno_

From what I've heard, there really isn't much mpg upside to the 525d over the 530d - same dispacement, just a few different components.
Try www.autotrader.co.uk - plenty of 3y.o. high-mileage metal with full, no expense spared history there.

Despite comments above, a decent spec inc. pronav (or better, media pack) will help your residuals, as will visability pack etc.
Welcome on board!

E60__530D

yeh i've had a look into it and the difference between the 525d and 530d is only a few mpg. thats the only thing that puts me off all those they all 80k+ on trader.

i've seen a 54 reg 530d in manual with no satnav with only 40k on the clock, and thats going for 14k!

but no auto box or nav lol.

can you tell me what consists of the media pack? and is visability pack the xenons?

E60__530D

thanks, very informative.

0asis2007

Definitely wouldn't bother with a 525d if buying used - the small price benefit is far outweighed by the better performance of the 530d.
Also would be wary of an E60 with no auto or nav - it'll be harder to sell on when you're done, but also, IMHO a manual on an E60 just ain't right. To my eyes, a tom-tom stuck on the windscreen also doesn't look right in a car of this type.....
I'm quite sure your budget of ?15k will get you the spec you're after. Hold out 'til the right car comes along - it's a buyer's market!!!

I'm getting around 30mpg in my auto 530d, which is a mix of London city driving/motorway (50:50)

HTH

boltoa

Last May I bought a 53 plate 530d manual with 108000 for ?13.5k. It's now got 124000 on it. I do very little urban driving - 25mile each way commute on A/B roads and I consistently get 40mpg average (calculated - dash display usually says around 44mpg). Auto gets 10% worse, according to official figures. Mine has got business nav, but that's about all options wise. I love it, frankly. Best all-round car I've ever owned. I much prefer manual cars to auto, but I can see the advantage if you're doing a lot of urban driving. I got dealer to retrofit an aux input to mine, so now have 60Gb MP3 player plugged in. Audio quality is acceptable - it's certainly not the best I've heard . The nav is ok, and has served me well on a couple of long European cruises, but it's extremely poor value considering no maps. I think quite a few company cars got the business nav though - it seems surprisingly easy to find one with that, compared to professional nav (which gave much better option value new, IMHO).

Reliability wise, I've had no problems apart from a stuck bonnet (which I suspect a windscreen fitter did, but can't prove). I've had oil service, rear brakes, and it needs a set of tyres (I'm going to move to non-runflats, mainly cos they're cheaper, my car has a spare wheel, and ride is supposed to improve). Service intervals depend how you drive it. It took around 4000 actual miles for my rear brake service to go from 1500 miles indicated to 0. Recent service included rear brake pads, cleaning off handbrake drum/shoes, full air con service, air con sanitise, a problem with a windscreen washer, and came to ?440, which I consider to be vaguely reasonable. Despite mileage, my car has zero squeaks/rattles.

PDC is/was standard on all UK cars, AFAIK. I haven't kept track of prices, but you're certainly looking at a high mileage car for that money. You'll probably have to trade miles for options to get the car you want. Personally I have no problem with high mileage cars. I figure if a car has got to 80000 miles with no problems, no reason why it shouldn't last another 80k . I like to look for cars just over the 100k mile mark - it seems there is a psychological barrier there for a lot of people that seems to bring the price down considerably. Obviously it then makes it slightly harder to sell on later, but as long as your pricing is realistic, I've never had a problem finding a buyer in the past (last car I sold had 144000 miles on it).

Good luck!

Andrew

smarty156

Be careful with mpg figures that people give. You say you're doing urban driving - how urban? Being stuck in very slow moving traffic, particularly if you get an auto, will kill consumption. Have a search on here for fuel consumption - it's not unusual for people to be getting mid to low 20's if it's used in heavy London traffic. I'm guessing daven has an LCI car which would do quite a bit more to the gallon than a 2004 car despite having the more powerful engine.

I drive about 10 miles each way to work plus some motorway driving and mixed fast A/B roads. I'm currently averaging 29.1mpg.
Just my journey to work in traffic I was getting about 26mpg. On a motorway run at 80mph average I can get around 40mpg. If you want economy get a 520D. If you want performance and reasonable economy (provided not used in heavy traffic) go for the 530D.
I personally see no reason to get a 525D - less performance than 530D and no fuel economy gain. I also think a couple of standard items on the 530D were non-standard on the 525D (front parking sensors I think).

Try BMWLand.co.uk for a UK forum.