dieseltouring

Hi all,

After five years in an E39 530d, taken the plunge and just bought a LCI E60 530d. Advice to others thinking of doing this? Think very carefully. There are improvements, but some things are significantly worse. Sad to say my >100k mile E39 is, overall the better car.

First the E60 positives:
Looks - M Sport E60 Makes the E39 look old inside and out. Hated look of E60 when it first came out, but it has aged very well and now looks great.
Interior feels special
iDrive / Sat Nav is a bit slow, but good despite what some say
Overall, refinement is better - but see comments below
Diesel engine note and lack of clatter is much more sophisticated
Slightly bigger and has more space

And the negatives: (big ones)
The fuel consumption is significantly worse. (thought mine was faulty, but read here and everyone is the same) LCI official figures are a joke
You feel more engine vibration through steering and pedals (particularly when cold and accelerating hard). Again, read here, others say the same
Low resonance at idle makes car noisy at rest

These are significant issues. How the LCI E60 can be less economical than a 10 year old design I have no idea, but it is. My consumption has decreased almost 20%. Ok I have gone from Manual to Auto, but with LCI difference should not be that big. I do almost all gentle motorway miles and have gone from 42mpg to 35 (brim to brim). Engine vibration too. Have BMW skimped on the engine mounts? The slight high frequency vibration through the steering spoils the up market feel of the car.

Small negatives:
Ride with RFT
Lack of small stowage space in the cabin
Smaller less useful door pockets
No adjustable seatbelt height
No Aux heater
No seperate intensive screen wash
No temp guage
No digital A/C heater temp displays

The E39 grew on me as the time went by. My two month view of the E60 is one of disappointment. If it was stolen, not sure I would replace it, which says it all.

Jambers

I'm surprised by this....

You must defo have some problem with consumption - my 525d Auto averages 45-50 no matter how I drive it on a run, and 28-32 in town too...according to official figures, the 525 and 530d's are only a couple of mpg apart...

Some of the other points you make though are true. The car does feel lethargic and noisy when cold.

But hey, this is supposed to be progress. No doubt the E60 is safer, but they E39 was very special. The E39 was such a good car that the E60 had to be radical. They went from evolution to revolution to try and sway owners... in some areas at least!

Dr Dave

you have a bad car then i would say.
i had an E39 M5, and my E60 535d is much better, you also cant compare car with car as they are totally different.
its like comparing a boiled egg with a fried egg, both eggs but totally different, you can prefer the E39, but its wrong to compare.
run flats can be chainged,
there is a guage (of sorts) for engine temp
with climate control, why would you need a digital readout?
fuel?? i think your car is broken.
where does it say on here that vibration is worse than a E39

i suspect we have a subversive in the camp

bradleyjs

I did get much better gas mileage on my '99 540i/6 but it was just costing me too much in maintenance.... I'm completely satisfied with my 550i and wouldn't go back. If I did have the extra disposable income I'd of course upgrade to the ///M5

320d touring

I know the feeling, I like my E61 but there are some downsides compared to the E39.

I had an E39 530da, now I have an E61 530da and the fuel economy is worse 30 MPG for the old one with 10x18 wheels and 25 MPG for my current car. The quality of the Leather is much worse and the comfort in the front (standard seats) and back is also less (more upright than the sofa-like sitting in the E39). A big plus of the E39 was also that you could change the 'glass' of the headlights separately.

But........,

IMHO overall the E60/61 is a much better car and I am addicted to the comfort seats and HUD that were not even available on the E39

EBMCS03

Sounds like you're upset at it more because of the gas consumption more than anything else. Your small annoyances is just you not liking the car and picking at it. Or that youre too use to the E39

Ricracing

Sorry that you feel that way, but I cannot agree with you.

My first '04 525iA E60 was indeed a better car than than my '01 525iA E39,
even if they had the same engine.

My current LCI E60 is a much better built car than my '04 and '05 E60's.
The LCI 520dA is also quieter inside than my old '05 525iA.

Dr Dave

the general oppinion on here, seems to favour the E60 (wonder why that is? )

prehaps you should have done your homework better before buying one?
when i was thinking about buying my first E60, i researched it thouroughly, and then parted with my hard earnt....then dont look back, think about the positives.

cars are like relationships...if you kept thinking about what was better with the old one...you will never fall in love with the new one...

but what do i know??

chris f

I had an e39 before my 360 and that was a much more reliable car, no problems in 18 months of ownership.
My e60 by comparison broke down on the second day of ownership, nothing but problems with it.
Gearbox is shocking, the gearchange is better in a cheap ford, mpg is shocking and ride quality is skittish, the car does not feel sure footed at all.

Very disappointed with it.

ObD

1) The E60 is heavier than the E39.
2) The E60 engine makes more power and torque than the E39.
3) The E60 auto transmission is geared different from the E39 manual.

If you wanted the same fuel economy, choose the 520d.

I think your vibration issues are due to the auto transmission and driveshaft.