Whats likely to go wrong at that mileage on the diesel version? What kind of MPG will they get on a run?
I have a 525d Touring manual (MSport model with harsher suspension…)- with 204k on the clock – bought it at 113k. As said above – there’s a lot can go wrong on these – quite complex cars but some of the main things are:
Suspension – lots and lots of links/bushes which all wear out so the suspension clonks and handling degrades slightly plus you can get front wheel braking shimmy. Quite expensive to get fixed as it’s difficult to find what to replace and not do it all.
Rear self levelling suspension air bags. Usually go somewhere around 150k. About £200+ fitted per side.
They eat injectors – £170 each, exchange.
Electrical gremlins can set in due to ‘hedgehog’ (some sort of ECU/rectifier device), ignition key barrel etc.
If autobox then you have swirl flaps to worry about – they can drop off into the engine.
Plastic water pump can break up.
I had to replace the mechanical fuel pump on mine – £350 exchange for the part, and the previous owner had the other two(!) fuel pumps replaced. Makes me wonder if someone ran some petrol through it by accident.
Air con has packed up.
The strutless tailgate ‘struts’ which sit inside the roof lose their charge so the tailgate won’t stay up. I have one leg from a camera tripod in the back of the car…
And finally corrosion. The E39 diesel touring is a minimum of 11 years old now and they rust, especially front arches and tailgate.
All that said, I can still get 45mpg at 70 on the motorway and it is fantastic for cruising at that and significantly higher speeds. I can chuck a 26″ 160mm full suss bike in the back without taking anything off it and it’s possible to get three people and three bikes in it without too much dismantling.
Fairly high risk though as bangernomics cars go.