BMW 5 series Touring advice please.

S60D5-185 · Mar 9th, 2013, 20:17

Hi,
it may well be the case that i need a cheap (ish ) second car that will pull my caravan as well as carrying a German Shepherd.

I have been looking at the BMW 5 Series PETROL estates between 2000 and 2004 .

Has anyone had any experience of these cars and have they found them reliable and reasonable to run. Any Pitfalls to be aware of as well as recommendations ? Performance is secondary to economy but i do not want it to be underpowered. I was thinking of a 523i or 525i as a decent balance.

Before anyone say's it i do not fancy a V70 of similar vintage as i will be keeping my S60 D5 185 MANUAL.

Cheers Darryl

Paddler Ed · Mar 9th, 2013, 22:21

I'd get a pre-2001 one to get low road tax in all honesty, otherwise have a look at the diesel. We're running an E46 320d which we're really happy with.

Some of them are starting to go rusty in the arches, and around the tailgate, so have a careful look and don't rush to buy anything.

Our mechanic runs:
-Winter Beater/Everyday BMW E39 Touring with the 523i
-BMW E39 M5
-BMW E9 3.0CSL
-BMW Z3
so we were quite happy to get our E46 from him...

The only way I'd get post 2001 is to get a diesel; our E46 is still £250pa VED though... so look around a bit at how much that will cost.

LJD · Mar 9th, 2013, 23:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paddler Ed

I'd get a pre-2001 one to get low road tax in all honesty, otherwise have a look at the diesel. We're running an E46 320d which we're really happy with.

Some of them are starting to go rusty in the arches, and around the tailgate, so have a careful look and don't rush to buy anything.

Our mechanic runs:
-Winter Beater/Everyday BMW E39 Touring with the 523i
-BMW E39 M5
-BMW E9 3.0CSL
-BMW Z3
so we were quite happy to get our E46 from him...

The only way I'd get post 2001 is to get a diesel; our E46 is still £250pa VED though... so look around a bit at how much that will cost.

Do E39's cover these years ?

ian7675 · Mar 10th, 2013, 08:12

I had an E46 323i and it was ok, felt solid enough but it was starting to develop rust on the front arches which is most common on the silver BMW's of that era. It was also developing Vanos issues which is a known problem but you can refurb the Vanos unit with a kit from the US or replace it which can be expensive. I would avoid the Diesel engines from then too as they are extremely unreliable before 2004 models. Do a lot of research and you will find they suffer from repeated turbo failures, injector failures, manifold swirl flap ingestion and so on.

Apart from that Vanos issue I think the straight 6 engines are pretty much bullet proof so you should be all right, just avoid titanium silver if you can.

Paddler Ed · Mar 10th, 2013, 10:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by LJD

Do E39's cover these years ?

E39's were '95 - '03

S60D5-185 · Mar 10th, 2013, 10:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paddler Ed

E39's were '95 - '03

So apart from the road tax is the E60 ( like them ) a better car than the older one or is there just more to go wrong.

Again i will say that i do not want a diesel. My s60 is a D5 and i love it. The BMW has to be petrol as the annual mileage will be very low.

Darryl

LJD · Mar 10th, 2013, 16:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paddler Ed

E39's were '95 - '03

Ok

still the best BMW range ever . I was sooooooo close to buying a very mint example manual diesel from the tip of scotland

Mar 9th, 2013, 20:17	#1
S60D5-185 Me ? Surely Not! Last Online: Apr 25th, 2024 19:48 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: 2007 Volvo XC90 D5 Geartronic. South of Hadrians Wall.	BMW 5 series Touring advice please. Hi, it may well be the case that i need a cheap (ish ) second car that will pull my caravan as well as carrying a German Shepherd. I have been looking at the BMW 5 Series PETROL estates between 2000 and 2004 . Has anyone had any experience of these cars and have they found them reliable and reasonable to run. Any Pitfalls to be aware of as well as recommendations ? Performance is secondary to economy but i do not want it to be underpowered. I was thinking of a 523i or 525i as a decent balance. Before anyone say's it i do not fancy a V70 of similar vintage as i will be keeping my S60 D5 185 MANUAL. Cheers Darryl __________________ “Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” – Mark Twain 😊 2007 Volvo XC90 D5 SE Geartronic Last edited by S60D5-185; Mar 9th, 2013 at 20:19.

Mar 9th, 2013, 22:21	#2
Paddler Ed Volvo Driver Born 'n bred Last Online: Dec 10th, 2015 09:59 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Armidale, NSW, Australia... home of rust free 240's!	I'd get a pre-2001 one to get low road tax in all honesty, otherwise have a look at the diesel. We're running an E46 320d which we're really happy with. Some of them are starting to go rusty in the arches, and around the tailgate, so have a careful look and don't rush to buy anything. Our mechanic runs: -Winter Beater/Everyday BMW E39 Touring with the 523i -BMW E39 M5 -BMW E9 3.0CSL -BMW Z3 so we were quite happy to get our E46 from him... The only way I'd get post 2001 is to get a diesel; our E46 is still £250pa VED though... so look around a bit at how much that will cost. __________________ '00 V70 Classic, 2.4 (170) 225,000 miles, none since March 2010 but it still runs! <S>'94 854 SE (Australian Spec) 190,000km</S> Sold <S>'86 Toyota Landcruiser FJ73, 138,000km </S> Sold after 15,000km of memories '05 BMW 320d E46 Touring.GF's car

Mar 10th, 2013, 08:12	#4
ian7675 Senior Member Last Online: Aug 25th, 2013 21:53 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Gloucester	I had an E46 323i and it was ok, felt solid enough but it was starting to develop rust on the front arches which is most common on the silver BMW's of that era. It was also developing Vanos issues which is a known problem but you can refurb the Vanos unit with a kit from the US or replace it which can be expensive. I would avoid the Diesel engines from then too as they are extremely unreliable before 2004 models. Do a lot of research and you will find they suffer from repeated turbo failures, injector failures, manifold swirl flap ingestion and so on. Apart from that Vanos issue I think the straight 6 engines are pretty much bullet proof so you should be all right, just avoid titanium silver if you can. Last edited by ian7675; Mar 10th, 2013 at 08:26.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)