e39 to e60 upgrade?

My first post here on the forums, but I've been appreciating the knowledge here for a few years now.

I currently own a great 1999 528i with 150k miles. It's been a good car to me, and I've recently done the Vanos seals as well as a cooling overhaul and she still sounds and runs great.

I've recently been looking at a possible "upgrade." I found a 2010 535xi at a good price. My main concern with the car is that it's already at 54k miles (hence the good price). I've received confirmation that the HPFP has been replaced and the scheduled maintenance was performed on time, which makes me feel that the car is in good condition. I would be purchasing an extended warranty for the car as well.

What do you all think? Too many miles, should I hold out for something with less?

Would love to hear from any e60 DIYers as well... I've heard that doing your own work on the e60 is not as cut and dry as it is on the e39, true?

Thanks everyone!

Well, I wouldn't be that concerned about the mileage. As BMW sorts out the issues with HPFP, FUle Injectors and turbos the car should last you as long as your E39 has. Definitely get an aftermarket warranty if at all possible, I am guessing it is not a CPO because of the mileage (they tend not to CPO cars that have exceeded the original warranty - 4yr/50k miles). You can DIY pretty much anything on the E60, yes, it is more complicated, but it is still a machine and machines can be fixed. The only limits are your daring, competence, and tools. There are many, many great DIY's here and on other forums. Good luck.

You ask people on E60 forum and you expect someone will tell you no right ?

I would say check what exact maintenance has been done. If you plan to keep the car for a long time, it's better to know now.

Also, if you can find a manual transmission.

@pjinca -- you're correct, it's not CPO and the warranty would be aftermarket. Great to hear about the potential for DIY on the car, makes me want it that much more. I'll do some searching on DIYs before making my decision.

@champaign777 -- haha, I was mostly hoping for some honest thoughts on the milage... contrary to the average e39 owner, I actually like the look of the e60.

@TMQ -- hard to get the detailed maintenance records before purchase, but you're definitely correct. Oh, and yes, the car is MT... I can't believe how rare they are for BMW... I will only drive MT.

Thanks for your responses guys!

Originally Posted by rundown

Would love to hear from any e60 DIYers as well... I've heard that doing your own work on the e60 is not as cut and dry as it is on the e39, true?

Thanks everyone!

I think there's only about 3 of us on the entire internet, lol. Seriously though, there aren't many E60 owners doing any major work. I can't find a single thread on someone changing the AC compressor on one for example, and I did a DIY on transmission solenoids a while back which seemed to be a first for these cars. Valve cover gaskets are beyond most people on these as well due to valvetronic system (at least on N62 engine). Not sure it actually makes it any more difficult to change them, but it's different so people stay away

Do the 535i's have valvetronic? I was thinking they didn't for some reason. Anyways.

They no doubt are more difficult to work on, and mine is a 545i so I don't have to deal with the HPFP and injector issues.

Hasn't BMW put the warranty out to 100K on those items? If so, I wouldn't worry as much about it

Also--if you don't already know about it, you'll need to do some reading into the whole "coding" thing if you want to be able to do really do anything on your own. Not so much for changing stuff, but for being able to check status on everything you can imagine, codes, errors, etc.

Originally Posted by schpenxel

I think there's only about 3 of us on the entire internet, lol. Seriously though, there aren't many E60 owners doing any major work. I can't find a single thread on someone changing the AC compressor on one for example, and I did a DIY on transmission solenoids a while back which seemed to be a first for these cars. Valve cover gaskets are beyond most people on these as well due to valvetronic system (at least on N62 engine). Not sure it actually makes it any more difficult to change them, but it's different so people stay away

LOL, there's a lot more than just 3. Since I got my 530 I have gotten to know a growing group of DIYers here in SOCal. We get together and help each other out when needed, pay is always beer and pizza. I have gotten more and more comfortable working on our cars in the last 5 years. After doing a few dozen suspensions and brakes, a dozen or so alternator brackets, a few mechatronics sleeves, you kind of get comfortable and learn that these are just cars. Don't let the badge fool you, there's tons of info available online, including step by step instructions. Plus TONS of people who work on their own cars too and will be glad to help with just a PM.
For the E60 the best place to start any DIY is here (nothing BUT E60's are discussed):
http://forums.5series.net/diy-do-yourself-14/

I think im a HARDCORE E60 DIYer. I don't even have any extended warranties. It's definitely not as straight forward as the E39 or E53. Definitely need a computer or whatever those things are called. It's almost as if you can look (assess) at the E39, pull it apart, put it back and you'll be good. Even if you get errors just disconnect the battery for eight minutes. Not so on the E60, do that and the car would probably just spit oil in your face.

I make the switch from a '99 528i, to an E60 too, about 3 years ago. I found a nicely loaded 545i with Sports Package. I would say go 2008 and up. The 6 cylinders are probably more reliable, and easier to work on, however my V8 has gone from around 60K miles when I purchased it, to just 100K a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't had much issue with the engine. A leaking oil switch, vacuum pump, and thermostat are the only things under the hood itself so far.

I say buy one with a Sports package, as it's a very nicely handling ride, and fun to drive. It will probably sit and look a little nicer as well, as they sit a little lower, and come with different wheels usually, than non-Sports package BMW's. I think I will conside a manual Transmission next time around.

As long as the record checks out ok I think it should be fine. But in less seriousness, thats one heck of a milage for a 2010 car..

54k is no mileage on that car. Mine has 84,000 now and runs like new.
If the car was well maintained you shouldn't have any issues.
Later at around 75,000 you might have to replace the water pump, but generally E60 is built to a higher standard than e39. It's better on every level.
Be sure to slap a JB4 or Cobb on it. Makes it feel effortless on the road.

Originally Posted by aiwapro

I say buy one with a Sports package, as it's a very nicely handling ride, and fun to drive. It will probably sit and look a little nicer as well, as they sit a little lower, and come with different wheels usually, than non-Sports package BMW's.

I think this consideration is even more important than you're making it sound. They didn't do any favors for the E60 body design by giving it 17x7" wheels and offsets that tuck the wheels fairly far into the wheelwells. It's too a big car for that wheel approach, and whenever I see a base E60, it looks a little awkward, as if it's walking on its tiptoes.

The sport package helps a lot - as aiwapro says, it sits a little lower, but you get 18x8/18x9 wheels, or even 19x8/19x9 wheels in the later years, and much larger tires. I'm not a mod guy generally, but if you add a 15mm spacer to the back wheels with the stock wheel size, the car looks a lot more like the concept drawings probably did. Much more muscular.

Also, I do recommend a dark color. Harder to keep clean, but the play of the light against the car looks a lot better if you can see the reflections. The sheet metal on the sides and doors has a bit of a slab-sided look when you use one of the flat colors like Space Grey. IMO.

Good points, Will!
Also the seats are much better in the Sport version.
The 2010 Sport has Mtech bumper kit and 18" twin spoke wheels.

The Xdrive sits a lot higher than the RWD, but you can bring it back down with KW V3 coil overs, which I would do in a heartbeat if I owned an Xi. Can't praise that mod enough, turns it into a completely different car!

I would completely agree on the wheel and wheel offsets. I think its awkward that the designers and engineers decided to make it the way it is. But it needs to run on AT LEAST 18" to make it look normal. On that you will also need a thicker tire of 45 size to make the car look chunkier. 19 is a great one but I do not recommend it for daily driving.

I'd rate DIY as follows on the E60:

Anyone who knows which end of a wrench to hold and can read a page of instructions:

--All fluid changes except the ZF transmission and maybe the differential if it didn't come with a drain plug: oil, brake fluid, coolant, PS fluid.
--All filters except for the gas filter.
--mass airflow sensor
--battery replacement

Reasonably competent:

--rotors, pads and sensors
--serpentine
--oil pump seals or replacement
--coil packs
--plugs
--ZF fluid and filter
--alternator
--coolant pump and coolant system

Competent or do very carefully. Have someone experienced around if possible:

--vanos seals
--fuel pump and filter assy
--ZF transmission mechatroncs replacement/repair.

I'm sure everyone has an opinion on skill levels, but all of the above are no great mystery to DIY and have DIY examples on the net somewhere. Remember, several of the 6 cylinder engines are shared with the E46 and E39, so it's easy to move skills from them to the E60.

Being able to do these would same $thousands in costs over the life of the car.

@banglenot, you nailed it. There are many jobs on our cars that are simple to stupid easy to do, and a quick Google can help you sort which ones are right for you to tackle alone or with friends. For the most part I have managed to do everything except remove/replace and engine in an E60 in mine or my friends garages. So there is little to no reason why I would ever use a shop. Even programming can be done by competent IT guys and a trip to bmwcoding.com forums to learn how.

My 2 cents: There are a lot of e39 refugees here, myself included. I'm not much a of a DIYer, mainly becuase of time (oh, and skills, tools, dexterity, etc. etc.) so cannot weigh in on that. Must-haves for me are powerful engine, sports package for the above-mentioned reasons. Don't fear the iDrive (as many of us did at first), you will get used to it. There is an interesting thread here about "things we learned about our e60s that surprised us" or something like that. If you haven't read through that, you should.

oil pump seals or replacement

Saw this one but I'm not sure what you are referring to?