DXXXi

Sorry, that was me.

530iii

Remember those are based on surveys that their readers complete.

Most of them are probably anal in general, i used to be one!

bmwpartsguy

Dont forget about the seat heaters catching on fire or at least burning a hole through the seat. IMHO the E39 was a MUCH better car. Except for the cupholders of course.

Guest

Please look carefully at the Consumer Reports breakdown on reliability issues -- the worst rating for the e60 is "average" on electrical. The Consumer Reports breakdown is identical to the one issued in March/April of 2004 for the 2004 e60 (i.e., it did not change for the remainder of 2004, even though Consumer Reports must have had only a very small sample of surveys in March/April 2004 since the e60 had been out only about 6 months).

If you scan the Consumer Reports ratings, you will find that other cars with the same breakdown as the 2004 e60 achieved "recommended" ratings from Consumer Reports ==> definitely, not a very consistent assignment of recommendations from Consumer Reports.

If you have read postings to this board carefully, you should be well aware of the nature of the problems various e60 owners have experienced. The e60 has undergone 2 recalls (one voluntary emission warranty and one for a fuel clip) and 2 partial recalls (heated seats recall and V8 engine defective part recall for certain V8 e60s built between March-June 2004). Even my 2004 Lexus had one recall.

Many of the problems are caused by and fixed with software upgrades. If you have not picked up your car yet, it will likely have one of the latest software versions installed so you will not experience many of the prior problems.

In the end, you may want to consider whether you would lose sleep over some of the other issues reported on this board as part of your final decision to buy.

manc5

Long post - comparing e60 530 to my previous cars....

Ok.. i rate my 530dse that i have owned since 05-28-2004 and covered 30,600 miles in at an 8/10 so far... I drive it pretty hard and it is withstanding my lead foot driving style vey well. All i have had are small problems in my eyes compared to other cars i haev owned.. i consider a dead key turn or something falling off to be a real problem... so i have listed my other previous and current rides and compared them,

e60 issues to date =
Drivers window in error state (fixed s/w upgrade)
Passengers electric seat works intermittently
Bluetooth isseues with SE k700i
Tappett type noise when cold (i know it's a diesel but this sounds wrong)
Bizarre oil dipstick readings (hard to explain but not level, sort of plunging line on dipstick)
Turbo feathering on run down.. sort of stuttered off in 3 stages.. this has gone away all by itself...
Apart from above i have no trim rattles or running issues..

In comparison to my last few cars -

Current -
Mar 2005 to current day = 2001 Lotus Exige VHPD = 200 miles of smiling .. a lot. I accept this is a one trick pony type car, it will break and things will fall off but it is an occasional use car so i can live with that . my rating ?/10 but ask me again in 12 months.

Apr 2002 to may 2004 = Jag xj8 sport = 70,000 miles of dealer torturing... big trouble, owned from new for 2 years, it broke down twice, (electrical faults). countless trim and electrical errors, failed emu, failed cold air sensor, failed oxygen sensor .. it lived at the dealership for lots of bad reasons. My rating 1/10.. i should have bought maybe 5 ford sedans for the Jag money and treated them as disposable cars...

Apr 1999 through Apr 2002 = BMW Z3Mcoupe 3.2 euro = 60,000 miles of fun... never broke down, visited the dealer a lot due to 6000mile service interval which was more like 5000 on cbs, had a special relationship with the tyre man ! faults, all solved under warrnty = seized nsf brake caliper replaced under warranty along with front disks + pads, A/C failure due to pipe fracture.. caused during servicing, electric window fault, spurios dash rattle. my rating = 6/10

Oct 1999 through Dec 2002 = BMW e46 323ci coupe = 25,000 miles of reliability.. only problems were driver door handle assembly replaced 3 times in 3 years, alloys replaced after 18ths due to manufacturing error, faulty thermostat replaced on recall, rattling rear seats... good car. my rating = 7/10

Feb 1998 through Apr 1999 = BMW M3 Evo convertible = 20,000 miles of reliability apart from minor rattles and clutch judder which needed a replacement under warranty. great car dubious image... My rating = 7/10

Jun 1997 through Feb 1998 = BMW Z3 2.8 AcS = 8,000(ish) miles of hell.. the single worst BM i ever owned.. spent so long at the dealers they thought it was their demo car... faults with roof, electric seats, brakes, A/c, AcS exhaut fitment, (it snapped) etc etc etc.. dealer basically gave me my money back against the M3 evo.. My rating = 0/10 junk car.. even the lifeforce sapping Jag was better..

May 1995 through Jun 1997 = BMW E36 328 convertible = 20,000 miles of reliability.. no real faults other than those taken care of at service.. pretty dull car though not v high spec .. my rating 6/10

Feb 1993 through May 1995 = BMW E36 325 coupe - Ac Schnitzer - 30,000 miles of fun.. great car v.fast and balanced.. only fault was a gearbox syncro problem and valve problem which the dealer noted at service and sorted out under warranty.. my rating 8/10

The rest are lets say.. non BMW ...

Only notable in comparison is my wife's current car a 2002 Honda CRV .. 18k miles not a single fault of any description.. i know it is a cheap car etc etc but it is abused ritually, driven hard from cold and i never even check the oil between services.. it really does apear to be indestructable.. even the trim won't rattle....

fishskis

I did notice this inconsistency, but I could not figure it out. In the detail categories for '04 (4/1/03-3/31/04), the car did well; is it possible these were the ratings for the last year of the previous 5er, or a blending of the old and new 5ers?

In any event, in the overall predicted reliability for '05, the car had the lowest rating possible. Additionally, this low rating was confirmed in their editorial comment.

Thanks for the responses. let's hope they've gotten the bugs out.

Guest

No, the ratings are only for the new 2004 e60. The final years of the last generation 5 series had better reliability breakdowns than the first year of the e60.

My point was that the Consumer Reports ratings assignments appear to be completely subjective (based on the editors opinions, rather than the data); otherwise, all cars that had the same breakdowns would have the same overall reliability ratings. Unfortunately, the Consumer Reports ratings appear to be severely biased against the e60 (based on CRs own breakdown, the e60 should get an overall rating no worse than average reliability since everything else is above average).

The bottom line here is that the MB E-class got the same reliability rating as the 2004 e60 ==> Consumer Reports is the only magazine which thinks this is true.

naseby1645

for what it's worth I have recently read reports that in germany MB E class is currently being panned for its reliability issues, guess its a case of the more complex you make something..........

marty530d

Unfortunately - I have to agree with the sentiments here. My E60 has been the least reliable car I have ever owned (including two Alfa Romeos!).

Sure- S/W fixes have cured many ills but that is no excuse. The systems on this car were released a year before they were ready and that is not acceptable for a car in this class. My car has also been in the dealers more times than I can be bothered to count and that is very irritating.

OK you may argue that this is leading edge technology and I was an early adopter so one should expect some problems. WHAT about things like auto air conditioning not working for a year - how leading edge is that! Auto wipers not working properly - ditto. To me that is just poor engineering which is dissapointing from BMW.

Bottom line: Warranty expires -> car goes. In the mean-time I'll enjoy the car for what it is - A great driving machine

bmwin14rsm

I like my car