BMW 5-Series Sedans

shipo · April 2005

As a former 5-Series driver, it pains me to admit it but I believe that I'm on record somewhere here at Edmunds of saying that the only car that I thought was uglier than the E60 was the Aztek. Well, it seems that Click and Clack don't quite agree, they've put eight other cars in between the two, some of which I agree with (the Subie, the Scion, and the Element), some of which I don't (the PT Cruiser, the 300, and the Magnum), and some that I don't think about at all (the Hummer and the Avalanche).

Here's my hope; by the time I'm done with my E90 330i (in about 2009), I'm praying that the styling of the 5-Series will be changed/upgraded to the point where it will once again be welcome in my garage. :shades:

Best Regards,
Shipo

div2 · April 2005

Talk about inflation- the E90 is about a big as an E28. My wife and I have been happy with her E39, but we both agree that it's a bit of a boat-a quick and nimble boat, but a boat nonetheless. We're almost certainly going to hold out for a 1er, though my wife does kind of like the E90 wagon-with a turbo diesel please. Now, if I can only nab a Henna M1 before she demands a newer car... :P

kyfdx · April 2005

I see the problem... you have to take those sunglasses off!! :surprise:

shipo · April 2005

I had the pleasure of catching an early morning ride to CDG in Paris a year or two back, and when the taxi driver opened it up getting on the Auto Route, I was blown away at that motors' 20-100 performance. Simply astounding, especially for a diesel. I'm thinking that if the 330d has anywhere that kind of midrange peformance that it will become highly coveted on this side of the Atlantic, assuming it can get past the EPA and CARB censors. :P

Errr, if you ever do manage to pick up on a Henna M1, ummm, can I have a ride?

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo · April 2005

Maybe it's my age. I'm gonna be 48 in a few weeks, and I'm not yet wearing glasses. Having said that, it does seem that the length of my arms is shrinking bit by bit. :shades:

To my eyes anyway, I think that the E60 sedan is the most hideous of the current BMW line, followed at some distance by the E65 7-Series. Then there is the E60 wagon, which still has the Dame Edna treatment on the front, but actually has a fairly attractive going away view, as such the two ends sort of cancel each other out, leaving me sort of ambivalent about it. The flip side to all of this is that I really like the new E63/E64 6-Series, and the new E90 3-Series even though they both share styling queues with the two cars that I don't like.

Well, maybe when I hit the big five zero, I'll go and get my eyes checked. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo · April 2005

Duh! It might have been nice if I had said what it was that I had ridden in on the way to CDG. It was an E320 CDI. There, that's better. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

div2 · April 2005

I'm with you 100% on the E60, though I must say I kind of like the facelifted E65. I'm ambivalent about the new 6er; I guess owning an E24(if only for three years

) makes me a bit biased toward the original. As for the M1, well, its still a few years down the road(unless a rich relative expires

). That said, I'll reserve a seat for you...

shipo · April 2005

I hear you on the E24. One of the High School girls that we have sit for our kids occasionally shows up in Daddy's red 635 CSi. Drool slobber. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

designman · April 2005

These guys are friggin' heretics. And that "Ugliest Cars" link I'm beside myself. What should we make of this?

shipo · April 2005

"These guys are friggin' heretics."

Heeeyyyyy! I resemble that remark! :shades:

Best Regards,
Shipo

hihomike · April 2005

The only thing I don't like on the BMW 5 series is the fact that if you want to change the intensity and the vents through which air flows, you must go into I-drive to do it. If I want the air coming through the lower heater vents instead of upper or middle vents, I have to manually do it every time. Most cars have a "mode" button that directs air at the push of a button on the dash to different vent locations. Don't know why BMW hasn't simplified this on their 5 series vehicles. Would make life much easier.

cmybimmergo · April 2005

I don't think it's your eyes. I'm about six months behind you and I don't need glasses yet, either (although as I said to my sister several weeks ago, that depends on your definition of "need"

), but I don't much care for any of the new designs, including the e90. Although I agree with you about the e60 wagon, and the toned-down 7 isn't nearly as bad as the original.

abmwguy · April 2005

I have ordered a 06 530i and I checked the status and it inidcated that it is in an "In Transit" status. Does anyone know the average time a car is "In Transit and how long it stays at the Vehicle Processing Center............and then on to the dealer?

Where are the Vehicle Processing Center's?

I am a first time BMW owner.

Thanks

dl7265 · April 2005

14-18 days on the water depending on if you get a K-line or Wallenius ship. And you can track them daily once they are enroute. And Charleston, SC

DL

jlbl · May 2005

Maybe you could accept the E60 styling (though reluctantly, I know) if you drove a 2005 535d.

Best regards,
José

jlbl · May 2005

Cannot you enter iDrive AC settings to pick out the 'automatic' box and then set to your choice the air coming through the vents for now on?

However, the 'automatic' position should direct, when picked, most of the air through the lower heater vents, less through the middle and only very little through the upper ones. May be it is not selected in your car now.

Best regards,
José

shipo · May 2005

"Maybe you could accept the E60 styling (though reluctantly, I know) if you drove a 2005 535d. ;-) "

Hmmm, enticing but no. A Dame Edna oil burner simply wouldn't be enought to tip the balance. :P

Best Regards,
Shipo

abmwguy · May 2005

How do you track the progress of your car daily..........I went to the BMW Owner's Circle and you just get a generic status is there a way to get more difinitive information.
Thanks

dl7265 · May 2005

Do you know the ship name or carrier ? We can get you the link to their tracking sight. The K line is a new carrier ( from Europe to NA at least). they report daily , and you can see the progress across the ocean.

DL

abmwguy · May 2005

The dealer gave me a confirmation sheet that says that on April 18 the car was " In Transit to Final Vpc.

What does that mean?

The other data I have is:
Port Loc: CHSPOA
Dest Loc: 00086449
Trans Flag: T
Mod. Block: N

Based on April 18 when do you think the car will get to the dealer.

Thanks

srfast · May 2005

The car has left the factory and is on its way to the Vehicle Preparation Center. The car will be prepped there and then transported to your dealer. Where is your dealer located? That will give us an idea of what port it is destined for.

Hope this helps...JL

abmwguy · May 2005

The dealer is located in Oklahoma City.

The port location according to a fact sheet the dealer game me is: CHSPOA and the Trans. Flag is: T

dl7265 · May 2005

http://schedule.2wglobal.com/AppTracking/searchCargo.do?trackType=Auto

enter your vin# where it says cargo ID.

abmwguy · May 2005

TO:dl7265........thanks for the link.'

I tried it but had no success, maybe it is coming by another shipping company.

I entered my 17 digit vin and it said "no tracking data available". I even tried upper and lower case. There is a space after the 10 digit of the vin but it wanted all the 17 numbers together.

Thanks for the try.

dl7265 · May 2005

Well on some occasions it is behind like OC and not recognizing. If you can just ask you SA the ship name. It may be on the K-line like mine was. That may be your answer. How was Cooper to deal with? Im a transplanted Okie.

DL

sueh · May 2005

I've waited a long time to get inside the new 3. I sat in the back seat, and it
feels just as cramped as the other. I generally have three kids in my car, just
not enough room. I just ordered the 2006 525xi in titanium gray.

abmwguy · May 2005

To: dl7265

My buying experience with Jackie Cooper in OKC has not been good. The salesman and sales manager won't return phone calls. Next time I am going to Tulsa, Dallas or Wichita Falls to buy a BMW. I am not recommending Cooper to any of my friends.

dl7265 · May 2005

Im sorry to hear that, When I lived in Tulsa the jeep/bmw dealer did not have the best reputation either. Ive received excellent service here in Dallas. But as for competitive pricing there are better places. I contacted Baron in KC when I was browsing their online inventory on an 2005, and they were very polite and very helpful.

DL

530ir1150r · May 2005

My first impressions on PS 2s are they ride and handle very good (but most new tires do) but they are slightly noisier out of the box than Goodyear F1s with 15,000 miles. I hope they do not get as bad as Primacys.

guy1138 · May 2005

I hope I can get a few opinions here:

I'm in love with the M5, A 2000 M5 is in my budget for around $40K.

Question: From a performance aspect, how do newer 5 Series cars that don't have the M badge compare to the 2000 M5? Are they in the same price range?

Thanks,
Guy

jb_shin · May 2005

I just sold my 2002 530 and bought a 2003 M5. I also test drove (auto) a 545i while looking for the M5. It was very smooth and quiet, but still plenty fast. When BMW puts the updated 4.8 engine in the 5 series, I think it should be right up there with E39 M5, with better gas mileage. I still liked the styling and the M-ness of the M5, though.

shipo · May 2005

You're my hero! I'm still batting around the idea of an E39 M5 instead of the new E90 330i. For me at least, one of the big drawbacks of going the M5 route is that I can't do the whole ED thing on a used M5.

Best Regards,
Shipo

jb_shin · May 2005

I hear you, I really wanted to go back to Germany and drive the BMW "properly". I was torn between the M5 and drive through Alps. I did a quick tour in 10/03 through the Dolomites, and some of the passes in the Alps, which is one of the most memorable drives so far. If 130i (I really like the hatchback style, BTW) makes it to the states, I might just do that.

alextrust13 · May 2005

Hey guys,

I'm from Europe(romania) and i own a 01 BMW 530 D comonrail. The car performs great and at highway at 200km/hours the consume is about 10 liters per 100 km. I put a power cip on it and now it has around 220 hp( i don't know exactly cuz there is no dinan here to test my car. But the point is the consume is low and the power great and i can smoke the 530 i even if it have a 10 horse power advantage andi can do it with less gas. My car have a diesel engine and the the prices on diesel fuel are lower than gas fuel. My point is. Buy a diesel BMW!
I have one question. I bought the car with no manual and i just wondering what is the function of the button with an A on it below the air conditioning button, on the climate control board.

Thank you

dl7265 · May 2005

Not much consolation but you can still get your 1k CCA rebate if you find one thats CPO.

DL

cmybimmergo · May 2005

If the 01 and 02 are the same, the A inside the infinity symbol (figure eight on its side) is the automatic recirculated air control. If the lights on this button are off, air is flowing in from the outside. If the left side light is on, the system monitors the air quality of the outside air and switches back and forth between recirculation and outside air supply as necessary. If the right side light is on, there is NO intake of fresh air; only recirculation of the air already inside.

Can I answer any other questions? It's tough not having a manual.

cdnpinhead · May 2005

Alex,

I'm very interested in seeing what happens when/if the European lux brands bring their diesels to North America. I've driven diesel Audis & VW's in Germany (& adjacent areas) & enjoyed them very much.

So far, it hasn't happened.

By the way, diesel fuel often costs more than gasoline these days, both in America and in England. I made a point of asking for a diesel rental vehicle on a recent business trip to England, and paid several pence more for each litre. Of course, I made up much more than the cost difference in improved fuel mileage.

Bear in mind that the majority of the people who participate here deal with miles per gallon, as opposed to the metric standard of litres/100 km. FWIW, 10 litres/100 km is approximately equivalent to 23.5 mpg. I've gotten upwards of 35 mpg on diesels in Europe at high speed and/or in the Alps, so your "power cip" appears to trade quite a bit of fuel mileage for performance.

It's interesting to hear from people outside the U.S. & Canada on these subjects. I hope you continue to enjoy your car.

alextrust13 · May 2005

hello,

thank you for the answer. Today i played with the button just below the tachometer and with the contact key as well and the kilometers on the board transformed into miles and at the climate control showed the temperature in faranhaid.:), i think it switch to american roads:) After a few minutes i manage to get it back the way it was.Today i upgraded the music in the car. Before buying this car i owned a audi a4 and the stereo system was great. The stereo system in the bmw sucks. I changed all the tweeters and boxes witch were nokia:) with DLS and i put and amplifier with a DLS woofer open air. Now it's sounds great!!

alextrust13 · May 2005

Hello,

Here is Romania one liter of diesel fuel cost around 1 dollar and a liter of gas cost 1,2 dollars, i think is due to the fact that romania is not in the european union(it will be in 2007) till then , i think the prices will be the same. Yes, the power cip consumes but i like the power it brings. Here is full of chevrolet's , but the asians one:) Chevrolet purchased the daewoo factories and now i see a lot of mini cars with the chevrolet sign on them:)

Sorry for my english. I skipped a lot of classes. it school.

pen101 · May 2005

We were in Holland and Germany for 2 weeks. Rented a Passat (with kids and a budget was limited in choices). The 530 would have been a dream to drive in Germany. As you can imagine, we saw a lot of BMW's from 1-series to 5-series touring (wagons) to a few 7-series and even a few new 6-series convertibles. The 530 would have given me more confidence when driving on the Audobon at speeds of 160 kph (100 mph) and above. Of course at those speeds, gas mileage suffers. We were quite surprised at the gas prices. We paid 1.17 Euro per liter for 91 octane in Germany (approximately $5.98/gallon) and 1.33 Euro per gallon for gas in Holland (approximately $6.80/gallon). In Holland, a 15 gallon fill-up is a $100 jolt. The most interesting car we saw was the Smart Car. I think it is smaller than a Mini-Cooper and can park in the smallest places. All-in-all, though, I love my 530.

alextrust13 · May 2005

Hello pen101,

Smart is a great choice for the old crowded towns with small roads.(witch are most towns in Europe) My girlfriend owns a diesel one.There is no luggage compartment and there is a strange claustrophobia feeling when you drive it. Its a fun car. The chassis is made by Swatch(the watches manufacture) and the engines are provided my mercedes.I have funny story to tell.

I was driving my car witch is a BMW 530 D on the freeway at about 80 Km\H(50 miles\h and chatting with a friend who was smoking with the window down. A smart overtake us and after a few minutes my friend realize that a smart passed by, so i increse the speed to about 120 miles\h but , no smart ahed of us. I never cought that smart, i don't know where it was, due to the fact that there were no highway exit arround 30 miles.May be was a tunned smart , cuz with his 40HP engine is hard to think the crusing speed was above 120 miles.

pen101 · May 2005

Any indication yet if there will be a bump in horsepower on the 2006 MY 545 similar to the 7-series with the 4.8?

kyfdx · May 2005

Yes.. in the fall, it will have the new engine, and be the 550i...

pen101 · May 2005

thanks. A friend of mine is close to buying the 2005, but if the 550 is coming this fall, they will wait a few more months and order the 550 instead. What is your source for this information. Is it reliable?

pen101 · May 2005

If the Smart car had a diesel engine top speed is 75mph, but if it is the 61 hp gas engine, then top speed is 84 mph. This info is directly from the smart car web site.

To stay on 5-series topic, just replaced front bumper on my 530 because dog bit it (really) and caused big teeth marks in it and also because the bottom stock air dam tore off due to too many scraps with parking curbs. Cost is $515.

kyfdx · May 2005

Other BMW forums.. I think it is fairly common knowledge... If I had to put a number on it, I would say 98%....

Of course, if they are leasing, they could do ED on a 545i lease now, and drive for 2/3 of the cost of the new 550i in the fall...

regards,
kyfdx

kyfdx · May 2005

Also... you are still my hero for pulling off that MMR deal and getting your car CPOed for almost no cost... Sorry to hear about your bumper...

pen101 · May 2005

thanks.

I have now replaced both the front (dog bite + curb damage) and rear (rear-ended) bumpers on the car. I also replaced the clutch (went out after just 14K miles) and tires (after 36K). The PS2's now on it are great.

cmr530i · May 2005

Your clutch went out at 14K miles? What's the story on that?

pen101 · May 2005

Irritating story regarding the clutch, so I'll be brief. I have owned exclusively stick shift (Japanese) cars since 1980 ranging from an econo-box car all the way up to a turbo Supra. The clutches always lasted at least 80K miles. Clutch on my 530 went out at 14K miles. Regional BMW rep says customer abuse so they would not pay for it. I argued all the way up the chain at BMW, with little success. Finally I had it fixed and was given deep discount from BMW. It would have cost me more in lost time and inconvenience (plus possible lost income) to fight it in court than to have it fixed at the discounted price. So I did. I have now over 26K miles on the new clutch with no problems. I must say though that the BMW clutch is the most difficult to use smoothly than any other car I have owned. Even today, the 1st to 2nd gear shifts can still be jerky if I am not careful. It has been suggested on this board to remove a small device on the clutch that causes this. However I am reluctant to modify the clutch in this way.

BMW 5-Series Sedans

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles