Bmw E60 5-series

[xXx]

boys, during my quest for a W211 it was simply a matter of time till I venture into the rival territory. I’ll be much obliged if you can shed some light on BMW E60.

1) any known issues?

2) any recurring costs/problems?

3) what will be easy to get rid of Merc or a BMW? (bit of a stupid question but i just have to ask lol)

4) how much will a petrol registered brand-new import cost?

Thank you in advance

[JadeyBlitzen]

BMWs are harder to ged rid of than mercs in sl. they seem to carry lower 2nd hand values too. importing one would cost the same as a similarly specced merc. but i think what you should be doing is getting a used 5 series in sl. cos it'll be much cheaper than getting a merc. and its a much better car to drive too. and beemers are better built than mercs. the only real pain in the e60 is the steer by wire system.

[MSP0RT5]

Definately better value for money at purchase time - 2nd hand - but selling is the problem, compared to a Merc. Agents also seem expensive, not sure how it compares to Merc, but just going of my experience with my 2003 E39. Of course, there's always Mil**y... might be worth having a chat with him about them regarding reliability etc?

As Jadey mentioned, the steer by wire system feels a bit vague, especially in the non-sport models. I test drove a 523i in Melbourne, the executive spec which was just 16" wheels and standard suspension etc - it wasn't my cup of tea. Not sure what spec's were brought to SL.

[JadeyBlitzen]

the expensive agents could be a worry. but i guess you wont be visiting them that often. over here the bmw outsells mercs everywhere except in the case of 7 series. mostly thanks to their better reliability and good dynamics. people actually trust their beemers to work as good as jap jobs. not sure about sl though. cos if the cars arent tropicalised they could go wrong with our harsh conditions. remember the defence ministry still opts for tdi defenders over the so called "bmw" td5 units. its better if some bmw owners in sl could qoute here. cos nobody here seems have had a bad beemer recently.

[maliths]

boys, during my quest for a W211 it was simply a matter of time till I venture into the rival territory. I’ll be much obliged if you can shed some light on BMW E60.

1) any known issues?

2) any recurring costs/problems?

3) what will be easy to get rid of Merc or a BMW? (bit of a stupid question but i just have to ask lol)

4) how much will a petrol registered brand-new import cost?

Thank you in advance

4) I remember seeing a unreg (i think) 5 series on AL for sale it was there for a long time advertised at 15.5 Mil cant remember which model exactly.

[milindu]

boys, during my quest for a W211 it was simply a matter of time till I venture into the rival territory. I’ll be much obliged if you can shed some light on BMW E60.

1) any known issues?

2) any recurring costs/problems?

3) what will be easy to get rid of Merc or a BMW? (bit of a stupid question but i just have to ask lol)

4) how much will a petrol registered brand-new import cost?

Thank you in advance

1) Doubt any of the cars have run enough to give big issues. The runflats and the lowprofiles make the ride harsh and steering rack/suspension (which is again stiff) can make noises as the vehicle passes 50k.

2) The car is lighter than the E39 and most come with lower profile tyres so a bit bumpier on our roads. Run flats are like rocks to ride on.

3) While Mercs are generally easier to get rid of, there aren't that many 5 Series in circulation. So not as easy to find.

4) A friend sold his E60 JZ-Regd with low miles for around 12mil. a few months back. Its a matter of being at the right place at the right time with the cash though. Specially with big companies disposing of their assets due to various issues. You missed a K regd E240 for 10 mil last week btw.

Overall its a nicer and more agile machine to drive than the E-Class while the Merc is more comfortable (Comparing the 525i with the E240 and the 200 Komp)

[xXx]

boys thank you very much for your views and thoughts

BMWs are harder to ged rid of than mercs in sl. they seem to carry lower 2nd hand values too. importing one would cost the same as a similarly specced merc. but i think what you should be doing is getting a used 5 series in sl. cos it'll be much cheaper than getting a merc. and its a much better car to drive too. and beemers are better built than mercs. the only real pain in the e60 is the steer by wire system.

i am on the hunt for a used/registered one but a one that was originally imported brand new rather than a recon one from europe. agent is quoting 27mil for a brand new one and they got one in stock at the moment

4) I remember seeing a unreg (i think) 5 series on AL for sale it was there for a long time advertised at 15.5 Mil cant remember which model exactly.

that sounds like a bargain for a unreg. if its the same one i remember it was a diesel too (I think). there's a recently registered E90 at the agents and they are quoting (drum roll please) 15mil. i remember fuzzo mentioning how a friend of his got a diesel E60 through a MP permit for 8 mil many moons ago. how things have changed huh. back in the days when someone quote '15' as a price tag that normally means 15 lacks but now it means million

4) A friend sold his E60 JZ-Regd with low miles for around 12mil. a few months back. Its a matter of being at the right place at the right time with the cash though. Specially with big companies disposing of their assets due to various issues. You missed a K regd E240 for 10 mil last week btw.

i came across a similar spec E60 for much cheaper. that was one of the reasons why i even decided to venture in to the BMW territory. by the time i got back to the owner with an offer it was already sold. mind you i rang him within few hours after inspecting the vehicle. i had a similar experience with a merc too.

i myself had a look at couple of K reg E240 in that price bracket. will drop you a line to find out which one exactly. they all were late registrations though not necessarily newer YOM. i'm rather inquisitive to find out weather it was the owner who didn’t register it till late or if it was sitting in the showroom waiting to be sold all that time

[xXx]

4) I remember seeing a unreg (i think) 5 series on AL for sale it was there for a long time advertised at 15.5 Mil cant remember which model exactly.

you were spot on mate.

http://www.autolanka.com/ad.asp?ID=2229

any ideas when this ad was put up?

[maliths]

you were spot on mate.

http://www.autolanka.com/ad.asp?ID=2229

any ideas when this ad was put up?

Hmm the one I remember was also black or dark blue but the add only had one photo of the car from the front but this could be the same car and they have put more photos. I think I remember seeing that add since around last year. End of 2007 or begining of 2008.

[Elvis_Pil]

An extended family member of mine has one of these.. he was raving the other day on how low cost it is to maintain-as other than the usual running expenses on the car- nothing major has ever gone wrong. IMO the car is a bit if not a lot underpowered- which explains the high fuel consumption as well.

[xXx]

An extended family member of mine has one of these.. he was raving the other day on how low cost it is to maintain-as other than the usual running expenses on the car- nothing major has ever gone wrong. IMO the car is a bit if not a lot underpowered- which explains the high fuel consumption as well.

machang is it a 520i? care to share the consumption figures?

[Elvis_Pil]

Yep. 5-6 in the city closer to 8 outstation.

[MSP0RT5]

the e60 520i is a 4cyl.. and even in the 3 series it's barely exciting!! It'd really struggle with the 5 series body. How much more is the 523 xXx?

[JadeyBlitzen]

isnt it an i6? i'm not quite sure cos manufacturers offer different badges for the same engines on different countries, or vice-versa. the i6 equipped 520 does 0-60 in 9 secs which is more than enough to keep up with normal traffic. but given the size of the car a bigger engine would provide some assuarance when overtaking. and it'll probably be more economical too. however looking at the prices here i cant help but wonder, how cheap these cars would be if we dont have to pay such extravegent taxes. the target price for a base 523i is £26000 thats a little over Rs. 4 mil. and right now nearly all the cars sold in uk are cheaper than what they would cost in the country they are actually built in. so if you are looking to import a brand new non sri lankan spec car. uk is the place. wonder how much that 4 mil 5 series would cost with all the taxes added.