E61 550i Touring

[PaulC 0]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and are seriously considering the 550i below (or a 530i if the budget won't stretch). Last 7 digits of the vin are CZ16052.

I'm having a look at it tomorrow and I was wondering if anyone had any comments on this vehicle or E60 ownership in general vis reliability, things to look out for in or things they wish they knew prior to buying.

Cheers

Paul

https://www.trademe.co.nz/1299075153

Edited June 1, 2017 by PaulC

[BreakMyWindow 1878]

Give Ross lamb a call at BM workshop in Botany. He can give you some insight.

[Driftit 2093]

Every BMW I have driven with that motor has issues with valve stem seals.  But when it is not smoking at the lights it suites the motor well.

[Olaf 3340]

you're in luck.  There are a few of us here running e60, and some amongst with V8 (or even V10).

First port of call is "So you've just bought an e60" http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=731460  download the latest version of the PDF, have a good read.  If you're not put off by that (and you shouldn't be), read on!

I've had an e60 545i for 2.5 months and am loving it.  The 550 and ///Msport wagon combo should be lovely, a bit more horsepower and torque than the 545.  

The e60/61 is a great distance car, a real sleeper.  Very composed.  Great comfort and pretty high-tech (usefully high-tech) compared with earlier cars.

Very, Very important - get the sunroof drains cleared, and the rubber grommets in the rear wheel well behind the inner guards cleared out and drilled out so they don't block in future.  Blocked sunroof drains account for many of these going to the wreckers, the electronics get drowned.

Also ++NB:  Transmission maintenance (new filter pan, mechtronics sealing sleeve, bolts, fluid) is essential; the ZF 6 speed is a lovely trans, though does not respond well to neglect despite BMW's "sealed for life" or "lifetime fluid" strapline.  ZF themselves recommend periodic maintenance.

Wheel Alignment issues account for most active steering issues.

There's a few more bushes in the front suspension compared with the 3 series setups, and the car will tell you if it needs attention through wobbles or vagueness. 

I think the active steering is well-executed on this model.  YMMV.  If you're lucky enough to get Dynamic Drive (active anti-roll bars), you're in for a flat-cornering surprise.  Having driven back-to-back regular and dynamic drive, I'm very happy to have scored the latter.

Consider an MBI policy to cover you for the big-ticket items.  They're a pretty tekkernogikal car, and when "sh*t goes wrong" it can be pricey.

Since acquiring mine (itself well maintained), I've done new shocks and bushes, new tyres, new coils, and am about to do a transmission service.  I enjoy every minute behind the wheel, and have no regrets about the purchase.

Hope that helps.

 

EDIT:  PS, welcome to the forum, Paul!

Edited June 2, 2017 by Olaf
welcome and link

[*Glenn* 855]

1 hour ago, Driftit said:

Every BMW I have driven with that motor has issues with valve stem seals.  But when it is not smoking at the lights it suites the motor well.

If you look at pictures 7 & 8 it looks like evidence it has that problem. Many other issues with these, especially the 4.8 petrol

[BreakMyWindow 1878]

1 hour ago, *Glenn* said:

If you look at pictures 7 & 8 it looks like evidence it has that problem. Many other issues with these, especially the 4.8 petrol

Agree. Great cars to drive (When everything works) but are the epitome of Break My Wallet for those with no mechanical insurance or who are not keen on diy.

[Olaf 3340]

And whatever you do, Get A PPI from a specialist independent BMW workshop, or a BMW dealer.  It's money well spent, can help you avoid a dog and go in with your eyes open.

leave the AA or VTNZ PPIs for run of the mill cars.

[aja540i 1906]

Open all the compartments in the boot and check for signs of water, well known issue in these!  I also went for the V10, it seems to be one of the more reliable engines they fitted to these !

[*Glenn* 855]

40 minutes ago, Olaf said:

And whatever you do, Get A PPI from a specialist independent BMW workshop, or a BMW dealer.  It's money well spent, can help you avoid a dog and go in with your eyes open.

leave the AA or VTNZ PPIs for run of the mill cars.

And to do it properly it needs to go to the Pre Purchase facility over night to carry out hot & cold checks. We will not now carry out any PPI and put our name to it on any late model Euro if we can't have it overnight to check it properly. Especially the cooling system and cold start noises. 

[Olaf 3340]

3 hours ago, *Glenn* said:

And to do it properly it needs to go to the Pre Purchase facility over night to carry out hot & cold checks. We will not now carry out any PPI and put our name to it on any late model Euro if we can't have it overnight to check it properly. Especially the cooling system and cold start noises. 

Wow.  I wasn't aware of that, Glenn.  

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

6 hours ago, *Glenn* said:

If you look at pictures 7 & 8 it looks like evidence it has that problem.

[kiwi535 538]

unless you are strong willed i wouldnt drive it......I am not sure where the "ebox" is for these but make sure someone looks in there for signs of water

[Eagle 1676]

Every new BMW V8 that comes out makes me appreciate the M60 engine even more. 

[Daniel 36]

9 hours ago, *Glenn* said:

And to do it properly it needs to go to the Pre Purchase facility over night to carry out hot & cold checks. We will not now carry out any PPI and put our name to it on any late model Euro if we can't have it overnight to check it properly. Especially the cooling system and cold start noises. 

6 hours ago, Olaf said:

Wow.  I wasn't aware of that, Glenn.  

that's certainly good to know. While that might make a potential buyer a little more hesitant, it would surely give them faith in your verdict  

[PaulC 0]

Hi all,

Thanks for the detailed and candid responses. I am heading out in a few hours to give it a drive and will definitely be paying attention to the points above. That 'So you've just bought an E60' PDF was a sobering read!

This is very much a 'I just want it' purchase because it will drive well and has lots of options. The sensible, practical purchase that I 'should' buy is probably from a Japanese manufacturer...

If the 550i looks like it's been taken care of with a service history I might consider going forward to a PPI. I'll definitely be making sure I get comprehensive MBI!

Thanks again for the tips - we'll see how it goes this avo...

Paul

[PaulC 0]

Another question - would a N52 530i offer less risk than the N62?

[*Glenn* 855]

It would be a lesser risk, however the higher risk is not getting someone who knows what they are doing carrying out the PPI. The second high risk factor is buying something you cannot afford to service & maintain over the period of ownership, and who you choose to maintain it.

[Olaf 3340]

 

4 hours ago, PaulC said:

This is very much a 'I just want it' purchase because it will drive well and has lots of options. The sensible, practical purchase that I 'should' buy is probably from a Japanese manufacturer...

If the 550i looks like it's been taken care of with a service history and I'm pursuing a purchase, I'll definitely be going forward to a PPI. I'll definitely be making sure I get comprehensive MBI!

I've fixed that for ya 

23 hours ago, *Glenn* said:

If you look at pictures 7 & 8 it looks like evidence it has that problem. Many other issues with these, especially the 4.8 petrol

There's your hint, Paul.  those black speckles over the rear hatch area are what an expert provider of independent BMW service (and generous supporter of this forum) has indicated is a likely issue.  There are plenty of these for sale, do take your time.  

Consensus indicates that MBI from Vero's 'Autosure' policy (you want the 'Extreme' policy) is the one to go for.  You'll need to keep servicing up-to-date to retain it's cover.

Let us know how you go, we're keen to read of your impressions.  I'm picking you'll be seduced by the torque and grunt.  Hopefully Auckland's motorways are empty enough that you can floor it in Drive for a long pull from second, and hold third until it changes up to fourth... I love the way you don't *feel* the gearchange, only hear the revs drop.  It's addictive.

[TermiPeteNZ 1319]

Welcome Paul and that E61 looks beaut. One just like that was the first Euro I looked at after deciding to mix it up and switch back from Jap vehicles.
Looks like you've had a full 'dump' of useful advice from the crew  

So here's some more ...

• resist the urge to just get it and do the PPI thing
• Put on the MBI for 3-4 years - they don't cost heaps and cover you for big ticket items. Autosure/Vero is excellent.
• Be aware that you might have to (or want to) deal with a bunch of things and even with MBI accept a risk of several $K for the first year - and hopefully you just don't have to spend it if it has been well serviced, you're buying it from a dealer and it's not 'cheap'. 
• Make sure it's really what you want (I switched from E60 545i to E60 M5) and plan on keeping it for a few years - it's just not a good idea to buy one, fix it up, get annoyed at what you've spent and sell it in frustration so that someone else gets all the benefit of your investment  

For $23K I'd want a well sorted one without obvious niggles/problems - whilst also recognising they're aren't many on the market currently. :| 

If I was buying another single BMW (rather than a M5 & X5) then I'd be looking at something like this.

Enjoy your car shopping (I love it) and good luck with the purchase! Don't let all of us with war stories put you off ...

[Olaf 3340]

4 hours ago, TermiPeteNZ said:

•  Make sure it's really what you want (I switched from E60 545i to E60 M5) and plan on keeping it for a few years - it's just not a good idea to buy one, fix it up, get annoyed at what you've spent and sell it in frustration so that someone else gets all the benefit of your investment  

It worked for me!   However, I thought you'd been more of a happy and willing curator, as I am. 

[PaulC 0]

Evening all,

So yes - as predicted I took it out this afternoon and was very much seduced. Unfortunately, the north shore on a Saturday afternoon isn't exactly conducive to experiencing the ultimate driving machine, so I had to make do with stop starting around Wairau Park. Loved the engine, loved the experience, loved the Logic 7 speaker upgrade but not overly taken by the SAT paddles though. I would have liked a bit more time to play around with the settings and maybe do some open road driving but I had appointments to get to. The vehicle does have a full service history from Jeff Gray with stamps in all of the right places.

Olaf, Glen - yes I finally worked out what you meant with the valve stem issues and the photos on the TradeMe post (I thought it was just photos of a dirty badge originally!). I then googled valve stem replacement and became concerned.

I now need to work out does PPI, MBI, ongoing servicing + purchase price fit within my current budget, whilst simultaneously building a new house. And really, as per the comment below - can I provide the $$$ to run and maintain this vehicle to the level it requires. Unfortunately, the current alternative is a turbo diesel Skoda Superb so i'm hoping I can make something work!

12 hours ago, *Glenn* said:

The second high risk factor is buying something you cannot afford to service & maintain over the period of ownership, and who you choose to maintain it.

1

Thanks for all the advice - I will now have to do some spreadsheeting to work out the $$$, as well as continuing my watch on TradeMe.

 

[scottr 11]

These are great cars to own and drive (had a 09 550i msport sedan with lowish kms, sold at 81km last november).  The active steering/swaybars are amazing and it was fairly reasonable on fuel.  You certainly will enjoy that part of owning it, I certainly did.

Make sure you get Mechanical Insurance, it'll give you Piece of Mind as any issues can be very costly.

It was reliable except for when it didn't start a few times due to a strange relay in a power distribution box that gave out randomly when it was cold (broken solder joint).

The maintenance though is high, much higher than I expected and I'd owned a 3 series for 6 years prior to buying this.  It wasn't so much the cost (and it costs, 8+ litres of oil per change, brake pads in the hundreds, very expensive batteries), but the time taken and frequency given I was doing it all myself.

The engines leak like an old 1700s naval warship and fixing the main offenders (there's a few) nears 4 figures each if you do it yourself, and goes into 4 figures if you don't.

The gearbox does need maintenance earlier than you'd expect. Watch out for a ~1 second delay (or longer) when going into reverse from Park. Usually a sign of seal wear.  I had a noticeable delay in mine.

You'll constantly be looking under your bed at night for valve stem seal issues.  Even with a PPI it's a hard concern to shake

Try and get one with the newer Car Computer (called CIC). CCC is quite dated. CIC is much more usable, contains a HDD, and can be made to work with NZ maps in english with Voice Control and navigation directly on the HUD.  This will be available on late 2009 models (the one you linked  has CCC).

There's parking sensors but no reversing camera., you can get a video interceptor to sort this and they integrate reasonably seamlessly with the car, but they're pricey.

It'll likely have bluetooth but this will only work for phone calls and not for playing music. You can install an adapter to AUX for this (I installed airplay into mine, which hooked into the display as well).  I think i had to do some challenging trickery hackery with the phone module in the car to get my contacts displaying (couldn't program it directly, think i had to change the country region in other authoritative modules and initiate a full reset or flash to the phone one so it reprogrammed itself).

Overall I loved the car., they're great to drive and amazing to own.  Ultimately I spent too long tinkering and maintaining it so it needed to go. 

My recommendation would be to keep looking and try to find as a late model one as you can, with the lowest kms you can.  Took me about 6 months to find one.

Hope that helps.

Scott

[TermiPeteNZ 1319]

1 hour ago, Olaf said:

It worked for me!   However, I thought you'd been more of a happy and willing curator, as I am. 

Yes I was more than happy to keep it - but I could easily see how this scenario might arise for the more fiscally challenged.

[TermiPeteNZ 1319]

21 minutes ago, PaulC said:

Evening all,

So yes - as predicted I took it out this afternoon and was very much seduced. Unfortunately, the north shore on a Saturday afternoon isn't exactly conducive to experiencing the ultimate driving machine, so I had to make do with stop starting around Wairau Park. Loved the engine, loved the experience, loved the Logic 7 speaker upgrade but not overly taken by the SAT paddles though. I would have liked a bit more time to play around with the settings and maybe do some open road driving but I had appointments to get to. The vehicle does have a full service history from Jeff Gray with stamps in all of the right places.

Olaf, Glen - yes I finally worked out what you meant with the valve stem issues and the photos on the TradeMe post (I thought it was just photos of a dirty badge originally!). I then googled valve stem replacement and became concerned.

I now need to work out does PPI, MBI, ongoing servicing + purchase price fit within my current budget, whilst simultaneously building a new house. And really, as per the comment below - can I provide the $$$ to run and maintain this vehicle to the level it requires. Unfortunately, the current alternative is a turbo diesel Skoda Superb so i'm hoping I can make something work!

Thanks for all the advice - I will now have to do some spreadsheeting to work out the $$$, as well as continuing my watch on TradeMe.

 

The Logic 7 is impressive

On my M5 I use the paddles on distance/engaging driving (Gentle Annie!) but tootling around the CBD I'm more likely to use the stick. 

You might want to think about a 530i MSport like this: http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1330974633.htm - $10K less and still 180KW - won't have all the same extras though ....

Or this white one for $15K: http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1285458247.htm

Either will give you more of a buffer for MBI etc. Depends if you want/need a V8!!!

[Olaf 3340]

32 minutes ago, scottr said:

The engines leak like an old 1700s naval warship and fixing the main offenders (there's a few) nears 4 figures each if you do it yourself, and goes into 4 figures if you don't.

  at least you didn't say 1960's BMC product!