CakePie

Can anyone school me on 2008-2010 e61's in the US?

I know I want one with a spare, which seems rare. And one with comfort seats (12 way seats, or whatever), which seems rare. One with M sport pack would be nice (if that's what it's called), but it also seems rare. My neighbor has one that meets these specifications but I think it's super super rare. I haven't seen any for sale like it in the U.S.

So, if you were in the market for a U.S. e61 535 for the first time, what would you want to know before you bought? Do I hold out for that ^^^ car or is it impossibly rare? What do I need to know?

crewzer

Welcome to the forum!

Information about the E61 is readily available, and this forum has plenty. Just surf on over to the Information sub-forum, slide ~3/4 of the way down the page, and you'll find a lovely library of price lists, ordering guides, sales brochures, and owner's manuals.

Finding an LCI 535xi E61 (MY2008-10) may be another matter. There were only ~82,000 E61's (aka "Touring") sold globally in 2008 and '09. There are none listed for sale in the September issue of Roundel, the national journal of the BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA), and there are just two 2006 E61 530xi's listed for sale.

As of this morning, there are a total of just four LCI 535xi E61's (all MY2008) listed in CarMax' national database.

What do you need to know? Based on my experience and research, along with a dose of hearsay, you need to know that the sunroof may leak (or its drains may clog), leading to water accumulation in the spare tire well, where several bunches of electronics are located; the filter and/or pump for the rear air suspension may fail, the engines require premium fuel, and that dealer service is expensive.

You also need to know that these cars are very well-equipped, and that they are lovely long distance cruisers. Maintenance, service, and repair parts are readily available (i.e., Bavarian AutoSport, ECS Tuning) if you're a DIY'er.

At the risk of spouting some sort of heresy, I think the latest generation X3 (the "F25") is worth a look. It's quite a bit larger than the previous generation, and you can pretty much have it built just the way you want it.

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

crewzer

Here's a link to the sales brochure for the 2008 535xi Sports Wagon.

And, you can download previous years' owner's manuals from bmwusa.com.

Enjoy!
Jim / crewzer

Lotus99

Glad to hear you're considering this car. It's awesome. I've not regretted one day having bought it a year ago. I was going to do everything in my power to avoid an SUV, and lucked out that I found this. I was persistent enough that even though I couldn't find one locally, not even in Canada with specs close to what I wanted (not even the exact ones, I was willing to compromise), I went to the US to get mine (a local importer did all the work for me).

I don't know if comfort seats are super rare, and the sport package pretty much gives you cosmetic stuff only AFAIK (IIRC, it was only in the 2010 year that they offered the M sport package on these cars), so if you can't find one with it, don't pass up on getting the car would be my advice. Quite a few of us here got the sport package on the car, so it can't be that rare? Most of the pieces if you're really set on it you can just buy afterwards anyway worst case. Finding a 6MT though I'd think would be tough...

I ended up getting mine imported from San Fran actually, up to Canada, so if you're looking for a particular car and aren't fussed about it being local, you're bound to find it I'd think with a bit of patience. And one with a CPO warranty would give you some comfort on taking a risk on one not local, worst case. On Autotrader.com there are 125 535's from 2008+ (go to advanced search and plug in 5 series BMW wagons, not just the 535xi, as they changed them to 535i xdrive at some point). That's not bad?

Funny enough, if I hadn't managed to land this car, an Audi A6 Avant was my next choice, which is super rare, and if not, I would have gone for a new X3 actually. Wouldn't have had the same amount of trunk space though, but I couldn't bring myself to get an X5 or similar sized 5000 pound beast of an SUV.

Here's a 2008 beauty with your specs with only 26,000 miles on it, in California (says it's 800 miles from Denver): http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...ngId=325088970

If your budget allows, I'm sure you'll find one that's newer too with similar specs.

Good luck on the search!

CakePie

thank you very much for those excellent replies you guys. That's great information.

I think you might be right about finding a car with some of the options I want and then just adding the others in later. I think the seats are the one thing I probably wouldnt want to modify myself. The front bumper isn't that big of a deal and I bet I can get a set of used 135 wheels pretty cheap...they've been making those for years. That leaves shadowline trim, the steering wheel and some other odds and ends.

The e61 just seems like the perfect car for my regular driving. I want SUV utility without giving up something sporty. I'm in a 2002 330xi right now and it's great but way to small.

time to start searching for 5-series wagons instead of 535xis....that's genius. tyvm

Lotus99

YW. Yeah, when I first put in the Advanced Search criteria and picked the 535xi for 2008 to 2010, it gave me only 2008 models (55 of them nonetheless), and I thought to myself, wow, there are NO 2009 and 2010 models for sale? Everyone must know how rare these cars are I guess, and are holding on to them! Then all of a sudden it struck me of the silly change in naming, and that's when I redid the search and got all the others.

You're right, Comfort Seats I don't think can be retrofitted, and if you were to truly source all the sport package parts, it may not even be worth doing it on your own as opposed to just waiting it out more, but if I had to decide today between getting the car without the sport package, but otherwise with the options I want, vs. ending up in an SUV, I'd still not pass up the car in a heartbeat, and probably not even add those bits later either (though I love them on the car).

PS I double checked, and the Sport Package included the Comfort Seats, though if the car didn't have the Sport Pkg, the seats could have been added as an option separately.

And in 2010 only, there was the M Sport Package you could get (which had the C seats too). I have the 2010 brochure, but can't upload it here, as it's 6 MB and the limit's 2 MB. So I uploaded it here:

Download link

Hope it works.

Glowin

And to add to what ^^^ said, don't pass up on a 535 if you can't get it with a sport package (the suspension's the same as the non sport models). If you're into tuning it at all, you can easily get an extra 70 HP or so with a little $800 handheld flashing device in half an hour, from Cobb Tuning! Who wouldn't like a 370 HP car!

mmitev

Just one note: the comfort seats can be retrofitted, and it's not that difficult.
A friend got it done last month and after he found the right indy specialist, it was a few hours' job.
He had standard seats, and now has comfort ventilated seats and everything on them works. That's on a pre-LCI car.

Lotus99

Wow, where do the ventilation buttons go? I thought they were on the center console below the radio? Like by the seat heater buttons?

constant

Yes, they are below the seat heater buttons. So on the driver's side, they are a cluster of 3 buttons: DSC, heater, ventilation. This was not a required option when I was looking for my CPO'd E61, but an added bonus.