Looking to buy BMW 530i used for £10k , request for some advice

Crixus00

Crixus00

Crixus00

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Hi guys, I have had my heart set on one of these for a long time and now I am ready to make it happen. First I just wanted to make sure I am aware of all my options.

Ideally I would like a manual transmission but if an auto came up it wouldn't be a deal breaker. Petrol, and more specially, the 530i is a must for me. There doesn't seem to be that many about at the moment.

Essentially for my budget I think I am looking for an e60 something around 70 - 90k miles 2008ish. Does that sound right? Is there anything I should be looking out for in particular e.g. minimum spec. Or if I go for an example with x miles on the clock (or year) make sure I have £ x in reserve to immediately take care of something?

Any input appreciated. Thanks.
 
Gah, don't spend £10k on an E60. Hate it with a passion.

Putting that to one side, get as many toys as possible, go private, go for low owners and go for condition. I'd go for auto, 6hp26 is pretty good.
 
I had a petrol, manual E61 and it chucked a wobbly with its gear box which needed replacing. If you go for it I would recommend you get the warranty in case of that sort of bill - although having said that the warranty gets more expensive above 60k miles.

Not sure it will feel like a particularly special car now to be honest.
 
Skidder said:
I had a petrol, manual E61 and it chucked a wobbly with its gear box which needed replacing. If you go for it I would recommend you get the warranty in case of that sort of bill - although having said that the warranty gets more expensive above 60k miles.

Not sure it will feel like a particularly special car now to be honest.
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What was the wobbly?
 
Fox being as subjective as ever...:p

It's certainly not a bad car, and it's great if it's the only 5 series you'll have ever owned or driven, but it's interior quality is lesser than the E39 and the F10 beats both hands down (again, subjectively). The level of tech in the E60 is far beyond the E39, even moreso if you can score an 09< reg. However, again, the F10, tech wise, makes the E60 look like a poor relative.

Mine has covered 140k miles and bar a bad dealer service, hasn't skipped a beat. In fact, even the interior, including the drivers seat, has no signs of visible wear. I have a 530d though, admittedly, matched to the great for it's time 6 spd ZF gearbox. I still have my original DPF too, with no signs of it dying anytime soon.

£10k is a hard some of cash to swallow for a BMW that was designed over a decade ago but some 535ds still fetch early teens cash wise even on 57/08 plates, which is madness.

A 530i might be a hard car to find in the right spec / age / mileage too but if you can plumb for an 09 car onwards you'll at least secure one that has almost all the bugs ironed our, firmwares and modules superseded and the CIC iDrive.
 
pepsilol said:
Gah, don't spend £10k on an E60. Hate it with a passion.
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Skidder said:
Not sure it will feel like a particularly special car now to be honest.
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[TW]Fox;28007308 said:
Worst 5 Series released, I think I would be looking at a W 211 E350.
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Django x2 said:
£10k is a hard some of cash to swallow for a BMW that was designed over a decade ago
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haha I am genuinely having second thoughts now. Quite surprised :)

Will need to make a decision soon I need a new car.

nevertheless I do appreciate everyone's candor.
 
Go and have a look at some and see what you think - the main problem I have with them is just how much you have to pay for an lci in good nick with a decent engine (I could never bring myself to pay near £10k for a car with 100k+ miles), they were never my favourite 5 to start with and my experience with reliability of early ones was terrible from an electrical point of view
 
Whilst I agree the e39 is the better car in many ways, the e60 outsold its predecessor by some margin.

I would far rather a late e39 over an early e60, for sure, that said I personally prefer the e60 to equivalent era Mercs, no way I'd want to drop £10k on one though, I would far rather an early LCI and money in the bank for the if / when it breaks fund.

Work mate has an 08 plate e60 530d, 180k miles and to be fair to it, it looks like new and drives beautifully. He paid a lot less than £10k for it well over a year back.
 
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Scania said:
Whilst I agree the e39 is the better car in many ways, the e60 outsold its predecessor by some margin.
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What relevance is that? This happened because the 520d sold into fleets in enormous numbers, not because the E60 was a more appealing car. The E39 was only available with 6 cylinder power and was a far rarer company car choice.

I would far rather a late e39 over an early e60
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I can't think of a single circumstance where I'd pick an E60. I'm sure there is some irrationality in this personally but I just can't get on with them - I even wasted money on an E92 trying to avoid the E60.

For me it's just not what a 5 Series should be - too experimental and wacky with the styling inside and out, too many corners cut with specifications. The LCI fixed this to some degree but frankly for me it's the 5 Series I'd rather forget.

I'm sure it's no co-incidence that it feels like an outlier in the 5 Series range, get into an F10 and it feels like a modern update of the E39 rather than a continuation of the E60. Which I guess is why I disliked the E60 and have turned into an F10 fanboy.
 
[TW]Fox;28016568 said:
What relevance is that? This happened because the 520d sold into fleets in enormous numbers, not because the E60 was a more appealing car. The E39 was only available with 6 cylinder power and was a far rarer company car choice.
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Just saying, despite it being a clear downgrade from the e39, it didn't hurt sales and to be fair, the 520d was relatively late to the e60 party.

Just as the e65 comfortably out sold the e38, a much more "whacky" design too.





I can't think of a single circumstance where I'd pick an E60. I'm sure there is some irrationality in this personally but I just can't get on with them - I even wasted money on an E92 trying to avoid the E60.

For me it's just not what a 5 Series should be - too experimental and wacky with the styling inside and out, too many corners cut with specifications. The LCI fixed this to some degree but frankly for me it's the 5 Series I'd rather forget.

I'm sure it's no co-incidence that it feels like an outlier in the 5 Series range, get into an F10 and it feels like a modern update of the E39 rather than a continuation of the E60. Which I guess is why I disliked the E60 and have turned into an F10 fanboy.
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Having driven a few e60's, I think I could possibly opt for one , I really don't know though, in its own right it's still a good car I think, but vastly overshadowed by its predecessor and to anybody coming from an e39 such as you or I, I think the whacky styling (interior especially) seals it against.

For the same reason, I can't get along with the e65 which looks so daft and class less after the e38 which IMO was the polar opposite (although the e65 drives better much as I feel an e60 is a better car to drive than the e39)
 
Scania said:
Just saying, despite it being a clear downgrade from the e39, it didn't hurt sales and to be fair, the 520d was relatively late to the e60 party.

Just as the e65 comfortably out sold the e38, a much more "whacky" design too.
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That's only because people buy any old **** when it comes down to brand. It's not like they were selling the E39 and E60 alongside each other.
 
[TW]Fox;28016965 said:
Late to the party? The 520d appeared very early on. Just 1 year after the e60 came out.
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Don't you mean 2005 onwards? - a bit late to the party.
 
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