willowcreek

I will be test driving a 2008 535i in a couple days and wanted to get some ideas on what to look and listen for. Any help is greatly appreciated. I have included some information about the car and maintenance information I have found from Carfax. Again, thanks for the assistance.

2008 with 85k mileage. $8k
Pretty much every package possible including Sports package with M

Fuel injectors were replace at 11k miles, 2009
Battery replaced at 25k miles, 2011
Water pump replaced at 37k miles, 2013
Cooling system hose replaced at 43k miles, 2013
Coolant reservoir replaced at 78k miles, 2017
Oil filter adapter gasket and oil cooler seal, as well as drive belt replaced at 81k miles, 2018
Oil cooler and seal replaced at 83k miles, 2018
Oil cooler seal (again) replaced about 600 miles later
Lower control arms replaced at 84k miles, 2018
Washer pump replaced at 85k miles
ACeon recharged at 85k miles

willowcreek

I currently have a 2004 530i with sports package that I've had for the past 8 years. Love the car but got "nascar" on the passenger side by another car on the interstate a couple of days ago. At 203k miles it's totaled. I would not be buying another car if not for that. So, I guess I'm familiar with the 5 series but not to the extent that I know problem areas to look for on a 2008. Thank you.

audiophool

The list of 'what can and might go wrong' on these is lengthy, but some (including mine) are dead reliable. A water pump that old may be in need of replacement on spec. I'd replace all the large cooling system hoses plus thermostat and expansion tank on spec too. Listen for wastegate rattle. When cold, reach down and see if you can find play in the wastegate actuators. The rest of the potential problems are just E60 things, and those should be known to you now.

For the 'every possible package', does it have HUD? Active steering and roll bars? Adaptive cruise? IR night vision? If so, I'd snag it for those features. Still love my 535 after owning it for 7 years.

willowcreek

Thank you. All good info and very helpful. I'm not sure what those actuators look like but hopefully I can do some research and find out before looking at the car.

It does have active steering and adaptive cruise but not sure on hud or roll bars. It seemed like it had a lot on it compared to my 04

I've also found a 2010 with a few more miles I may look at. Also has sports M package. From what I've read BMW may have had some things corrected with hpfp and fuel injectors by that time.

audiophool

Active roll bars are easy to spot. Look under the back and there's a fat cylinder with flex hoses attached, visible on the rear sway bar. If not, you have normal ones. the 2010 model did have the updated CIC infotainment system, which is a plus. HPFP and injector problems were supposedly remedied during recalls on the earlier models, so I'd not be too concerned about that, particularly if you have access to service records confirming it was done. HUD is easy to spot - it's a big karbunkle on top of the dashboard that you can see through the front window.

Kaane

Must take off under shields and look at oil pan and transmission to engine connection. At this age oil pan and rear main seal might be leaking and very expensive to repair. I would also try to check wastegates for rattle. Active swaybars will be leaking, they always do. Check what index the injectors are if they are less than 12 they will fail. Car will need walnut blast service to remove carbon deposits from valves. I would also hook up a good scanner and scan every module in the car, especially the transmission.

SMOKESHOWIN1

Considering the service record you have listed, seems like it was well maintained. I am no mechanic, but I would say, get it up on a lift. As someone mentioned, remove the panels, that should give you a good visual. The turbos, hpfp, fuel injectors, water pump, etc., are things that can go wrong @ any time for any of us. This past weekend, I followed an excellent instructional YouTube video on how to clean the intake manifold ports, & intake valves (as opposed to having a walnut blast). 2 cans of CRC intake manifold cleaner, a set of 6 gaskets, & a throttle body gasket. I couldn't find a shop, or indy in my area who does wb, (didn't even want to consider the dealership). Oil pan gasket was leaking on my 08 535xi. Big job, outta my skill set. Found a local indy who did it for $700. I've done myself, ofh /oc gaskets, valve cover gasket, replaced broken gears on front seats upper thigh extension, replaced cracked coolant expansion tank, few other things. Point is, between youtube, & searching the Internet for how to's, you can do much on your own if you have confidence. For the bigger stuff, you'll have to pony up . I love my car, don't regret the purchase at all, best of luck!

willowcreek

Thanks for the great info. Very helpful and much appreciated. I've decided to look at the 2010 first.

Kaane, this car is located in Dallas. I plan to look at the car Saturday morning. Do you know a good indy that would have a little time to do a once over and put a scanner on it? I would pay them $150 to do an inspection for me.

Thanks again to all of you for the great info.

Kaane

I can do it for free if you bring it to my house. I have a lift and every scanner. I also have a 535i, so very familiar with the platform.

willowcreek

That would be awesome! Holy cow, I would be happy to pay you. Trust me, whatever we find - good or bad - would be worth it to me. Sorry I didn't get to check back on this earlier. I will send you a PM tomorrow morning. The car is at a small lot called Classic Cars. I'm planning to be there at 9am when they open