Pros and cons of buying a e60 520d

[dergside]

OP - I'm not so sure I'd agree with the posts that reckon that you'll be disappointed in moving from an e39 to an e60 (or that they are a money pit). I have both at the moment. I love e39's but the e60 is a fine car. It does pretty much everything that the e39 does. It probably does lack the last n-th degree of driver involvement that the e39 has but you could say the same about the difference between any two generations of BMW over the past 25 years. e30 more involving than e36, e36 more involving than e46, and so on along the line. While I wouldn't necessarily have the same degree of love for the e60 as the e39, I wouldn't say its disappointing in any way. Its a car of its time - and as capable as any 5 series.

If you aim for the earlier (pre N47 engine) you MIGHT just feel a little bit underwhelmed with the grunt compared to the 530d, and it won't be a straight 6, but in the real world it mightn't matter too much. Obviously, its the price to pay to avoid the potential for a timing chain issue on an N47.

[dergside]

Spend ten and get an lci 530d on the new tax rate.

CO2 based road tax for an e60 530d is the same as a petrol 272bhp e60 530i. The only 6 pot that drops down to the €570 category is a manual 3.0 525d, iirc.

[Smokey Bear]

CO2 based road tax for an e60 530d is the same as a petrol 272bhp e60 530i. The only 6 pot that drops down to the €570 category is a manual 3.0 525d, iirc.

Its still only about 700 odd in comparison to the 1400 odd of the e39 530d.

Is the petrol actually a runner for anyone? You would be married to it afterwards, not saying they are bad car but not many go looking for a big petrol beemer unless it has an m badge. Your dealing with reselling to a nation of people who buy warranties and don't care about the car that comes with it.

Slightly off topic there was an e60 523i in the garage for a while and it sounded fantastic, was bought for penny's and was a bit of a rare beast. I haven't seen too many around. Completely underrated but a complete alcoholic.

[dergside]

Is the petrol actually a runner for anyone?

......Slightly off topic there was an e60 523i in the garage for a while and it sounded fantastic, was bought for penny's and was a bit of a rare beast. I haven't seen too many around. Completely underrated but a complete alcoholic.

Yep, me. Case in point is the e60 530i. I deliberately went to the UK for a petrol and a particular spec that would have been hard to find here, and probably paid over the odds for the privilege. Sure, it might be a "keeper" (or make the return journey to the UK when the time comes - pre-Brexit), but the bigger engine diesels don't have queues forming around the block when for sale because of the perception of cost with it too.

I don't have experience of the 523i, but the 530i with auto is returning a real world 33-34mpg for me (over the past 25k miles). A diesel might get me a few more MPG but since the F10 520d auto I had before it struggled to get past 43-44 in the same usage I'd only expect to see mid/high 30's from an e60 530d. While HPFP's and injectors are a concern on the petrol, it doesn't have a turbo, DPF, etc. to hand me a big bill, and one of those will soon see the economy saving eaten up. Biggest plus of the petrol? Its a 6 and it'll rev past 4k...... I'll pay the extra cent or two a mile in TCO for that. Even on the 20-25k miles I do a year the difference is a few euro a week.

[318 iS Cosmos]

Tbh, they can be hard to justify the 1494 road tax for the 530d but I will say this. They are some cruiser and I have had no issues with mine bar new egr and main stats. I've covered 21k km since Sept and have averaged 46 mpg. I got used to that return so it was a shock to the system when I got the M3 back on the road last month I think they are a lovely looking car too. The other half now drives the 530d but if I was in the market for a nice executive saloon I would be looking for an E39. Best all rounder IMO and I tried to find a nice lowish mileage example last year but ended up in an E60 instead


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[owly]

OP - I'm not so sure I'd agree with the posts that reckon that you'll be disappointed in moving from an e39 to an e60 (or that they are a money pit). I have both at the moment. I love e39's but the e60 is a fine car. It does pretty much everything that the e39 does. It probably does lack the last n-th degree of driver involvement that the e39 has but you could say the same about the difference between any two generations of BMW over the past 25 years. e30 more involving than e36, e36 more involving than e46, and so on along the line. While I wouldn't necessarily have the same degree of love for the e60 as the e39, I wouldn't say its disappointing in any way. Its a car of its time - and as capable as any 5 series.

If you aim for the earlier (pre N47 engine) you MIGHT just feel a little bit underwhelmed with the grunt compared to the 530d, and it won't be a straight 6, but in the real world it mightn't matter too much. Obviously, its the price to pay to avoid the potential for a timing chain issue on an N47.

Thank you for the good input. I know the 520d is the poor mans 5 series but with the way insurance has sky rocketed the last few month its just hard to commit to a 530 yet maby next year.

Yes im very worried about timing chain issues that would be my worse nightmare blowing 10k and the have a timing chain issue a few month later.

Id stretch to a 525 if one come up that was clean. I will either buy a e60 with the engine that hasnt timing chain issues or buy one with a n47 engine with a chain problem get get it fully done and have piece of mind. Iv heard most got recalled but sure didnt they just fit a longer chain guide or something to solve the problem until warranty was out might be wrong on this?

[owly]

Cheers for the help lads any members selling anything that may suit me?

[Don B]

The recall ended about a year and a half ago as my memory goes. My one had a new chain fitted at 87k miles by a main dealer, so it doesn't have to be a high miler to need to be done. Last I saw, there were a couple on donedeal that had the chain done..asking approx €11k, which would have been ambitious with the miles they had on them

[Smokey Bear]

Dergside - You're not exactly the run of the mill BMW owner looking for a cheap way to tick the box of owning a BMW with a nice get out clause at then end when they decide they want a change. I'm talking about the average Joe who wants a car that goes A to B but when buying got it into their heads that they wanted a BMW.

I think you need to look at the chain as a serviceable item on them anyway. Theres not actually been a confirmed fix on them. I would think more regular oil changes would help though. The service interval on them is far too long.

[dergside]

Dergside - You're not exactly the run of the mill BMW owner looking for a cheap way to tick the box of owning a BMW with a nice get out clause at then end when they decide they want a change.

I think I'm flattered

I'm probably more of a skin flint than you think. Perhaps the difference is that I try to look at the total cost of ownership, rather than getting caught up on the individual costs and look for a risk management strategy. I'm willing to pay a bit more in road tax, etc. to offset depreciation, VRT or another of the big ticket costs over the life of the car with me. I'll also pay a little over the odds for some cars to get the condition, provenance and service history that improve my chances of avoiding having to spend big on things going wrong through neglect or abuse. Where I focus is, with some exceptions through the years, on low mile, historied 6-10 year old cars that have done the greatest part of their depreciation but have the capability to provide a few years of service for the 20-25k miles I do a year while still leaving a bit of life at the end of my tenure for the next guy. The 630 is an example, 90% depreciated from original price when I bought it, but about 30-40% used up. After the €100k the first guy dropped in depreciation the price of 6 months tax a year when its on the road pales in to insignificance.