1UP

I think I can officially say that I hate my 535d and wish I had never bought one. Which is a massive shame as I had been looking forward to owning one for ages and the shine has been completely taken off it.

Story so far...
* Bought car (after a clean bill of health from an independent check, that I am now raising concerns over)
* Took ownership of car and within the first few miles it goes into 'limp home mode'
* Take to indi garage and apparently tranny sump was leaking (replaced sump tray, new oil, reset box etc many £££ spent)
* Get the car back and now under light accelleration its occasionally surging up and down by about 200rpm when you get above 40mph. Take it back to the garage, no fault codes showing.

Having done some reading around on this subject it looks like the start of terminal problems within the box itself. This makes me feel physically sick as it was a private purchase and I have no warrenty with the car and all I see now are very, very big bills ahead of me.

Just dont know what to do next. As its an 04 plate apparently it has a unique box in it specific to the 535d only for that year and was changed for 05> so the chances of finding a used box are remote. I could get it overhauled but this then relys on the fact that its a mechanical issue in the box and not an electrical one plus the cost on this is £2K+ and may not solve the problem!!

Seriously I just dont know what to do and feel totally gutted. Has anyone got any advice or experienced similar problems.

v_therussian

I would say, whoever gave the car a "clean bill of health" is financially responsible. I don't think you even need to prove anything beyond what's indisputably true - they gave the car a clean bill of health, transmission broke almost immediately after.

Also, the private seller most likely had the car patched up only to get it out of the door. Most likely you have some recourse there as well.

It will, no doubt, be an uphill battle. But hang in there and don't lose your spirit

PS why wouldn't a transmission for another MY 535d fit? Why does it HAVE to be an '04?

1UP

Thanks for the reply.

I have opened the case with the company who inspected the car and hope to hear shortly, although I am expecting them to wiggle out of it on some small print clause etc.

The seller, seemed very genuine and I guess by the letter of the law its now my problem so unlikely to be able to do anything here. Plus his argument would be that I had an independent inspection that verified it was all good when he sold it, so my own inspection works against me.

Re the box itself...this is what I have been told by two specialists, there was on the 535d a box fitted when it was released in 04 that only ran up to 05, then 05> they changed this and all the boxes are the same.

I so wanted to enjoy the car and now just have a dark cloud of massive expense hanging over me......So far 2011 has been a very bad year for many reasons

luigi524td

I agree with v ... I'm not familiar with the consumer laws in your country and wish you good luck dealing with the "inspection" warranty. If you paid for a clean bill of health and the car was sick they should have some financial liability.

That said, some used cars are "buying someone else's problems. Many people sell or trade when it becomes increasingly apparent to them that something is going wrong. And, too bad, most will not be forthcoming and tell the prospective buyer "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!"

Good luck with your car!

umichchris

i hate to say it...but you might want to take it to the dealership. i know someone who had transmission problems and after a lengthy reprogram of the car...the issues disappeared...

crash2646

Sorry to hear... i wake up with the same feelings sometimes.
Im guessing this is your first BMW? i say that because you are driving with out protection - With all the precision and sensors on these cars, something is going to break... and it is all $$$. I would recommend looking into an extended Warranty. Mine has been a life saver - since December 2008, they have had to shell out $9k in repairs (warranty was $3,600 for additional 3yr/60k mi - covers everything minus iDrive and wear/tear items)

1UP

Yes this is my 1st BMW, previously had high performance Jap cars and assumed the BMW (being the quality item it is) would be as trouble free as they were. Unfortunately I am very wrong! In fact now reading these forums I am beginning to think that they are in no way as reliable as the cars I have owned previously.

One of my cars a Toyota Supra Twin Turbo I owned for 7 years and in that time did not give me a moments problem. Within a week of owning the BMW i have spent more (or looking to possibly spend more) on it that I did on the entire time I owned the Supra. My opinion of BMW I have to say has been very much tarnished!

mercutio

i used to work in the car trade, worst 7 years of my life. it's an awful business full of cynical people.
anyway, in the uk you have no recourse if you've bought from a private seller, no matter what happens.
the independent check will have a disclaimer buried somewhere in the small print, they all do.
your best bet is to purchase a warranty that covers the gearbox, and see if you can soldier on for a month or two before claiming. but do your homework on the policy wording and don't buy some cheap RAC crap.

i feel for you, i had a re-mapped 530d that did the same thing with the gearbox sump. the gear oil is something like 50 quid a liter and you can only get it from BMW. I would check that your guy used the right oil too.

i wouldn't let it put you off e60's, they're a top car but i wouldn't buy something like an 04 535d from a private seller. not that that helps you now but for your next car. and put some of it on hire purchase. that means the finance company are equally compelled to fix anything that goes wrong.

hope you get it sorted.

PaoChe

everything i've heard about the twin turbo screams stay away from them...I'll stick with my 525i. 57k miles and not a single dollar spent on repair. I realize transmission issues don't have much to do with the fact it's a 535 but it doesn't help the twin turbo's case.

tristan

Where about I'm the uk are you based? I know a guy via another forum who's a genius with auto boxes and would probably manage to fix it. He's up near Glasgow though so could be a cross country run for you. Or you could take out a warranty with someone like warranty direct. Then when you have troubles at least your covered. They offer 2 types, firstly a fully comp warranty that covers the majority of repairs and secondly a breakdown warranty that only covers repairs following a breakdown and vehicle recovery. The later is a fraction of the cost and the 1 I went for. I figure if somethin major happens it will breakdown n need recovery so it'll be covered under warranty. Smaller repairs I'll just have to pay for. Anyway sorry you've had a bad experience and an unlucky purchase. Good luck gettin it sorted either way.