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BMW 525d Touring
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coopersport1Free Member
Apologies for another vehicle related thread! But…..
Sadly having hunted high and low for a nice example of a Golf GTi about 6months ago, I now find myself with an unexpected job move to Germany for a couple years starting June/July. Anyway no way I’m going to run a car that struggles to get above 30mpg there and back. So it has to go 😥
Sense would say get a Passat/Octavia for load lugging duties but….always had 5 Series itch.Budget is circa £6k which is what the Gti should go for.
Looking at 2005/2006 new shape 525d Touring and manual specifically as they are better on fuel apparently. Ideally the newer 520d would be my preference for economy but unless its got 160k+ on it, budget won’t go there. 530D is not much more economical than the GTi! so that’s a no no.
Any real world experience on here? mpg on 600mile trips across europe?! problems etc?
Will be looking for good history and hopefully no more than about 120k on the clock
SOMETHING LIKE THISMaybe sense will come to me and I’ll get a Passat but…..
Economy wise I’ll be happy with anything above 40mpg on a run
loddrikFree MemberI wouldnt buy a manual 525d though.
I can concur on the mpg of a golf GTi. The wife has one and struggles to get more than 22mpg in town!!! (It does have 258bhp/280lbs ft though 😈 )
geordiemick00Free MemberI have a new 525D M sport with 8 speed auto and not got it below 42mpg yet, even around town it’s excellent on fuel. The 525 you’ve shown a link to in your post is excellent VFM. I’d get pay special attention to the clutch, not being an auto (unusual for a 3.0 6cyl lump) it may have towed and a replacement clutch will be £1200 ish.
Economy wise you should get easily 40mpg on a run and it will run forever with that lazy 6 cylinder lump purring away. Don’t believe the hype about passatt’s being reliable, i’ve got three mates with passatt’s and they’ve all had seriously high bills with them and won’t replace them with another.
S_JFree MemberI think you’d be lucky to get 40+ from a 2005 525d tbh. I would suggest 35 is more realistic, assuming you’re careful. I’ve got a 2007 X5 with the 3.0d engine and I can just get 30 if I’m super careful. more often it’s nearer 25/26.
RaymondFull MemberI’ve got a 2009 automatic 525d, great car to drive, big and quick. Handles much better than the Passat and is as comfortable (they are both pretty firmly sprung). There were very few manuals around when I was looking so you might struggle to find one. I can get 42 mpg and 600 miles out of a tank on the motorway. Tyres last about 25k on the rear and 30 on the front. Nothing has gone wrong in the 30k miles I’ve had it.
mashiehoodFree MemberI have a 525d 8 speed manual, 2011. Great car but there is no way I get 40mpg, more like 32-35 at best. Lovely car though, had it two years with no issues (touches wood).
coopersport1Free MemberThink all BMWs went through a significant upgrade in 2009 and are more economical from that yr, sadly budget won’t go that far. Personally I’d quite like an auto but economy seems to drop significantly compared to manual, but you’re all correct manuals are much rarer.
coopersport1Free MemberA small part of me actually prefers the older E39 shape too!
igmFull MemberIf you want economy and a decent drive and you can lower yourself to a 3-series my wife’s 320d averages over 60 (over 62 in the summer with the summer tyres). Not a 5-series of course. But then at least you’ve avoided the dreaded VAG, who are less reliable than Ford and Vauxhall according to the thread the other day.
iaincFull MemberThe mpg figs are massively influenced by where and when you are driving. I had a 2010 318d and now a 2013 520d, both tourers. Average mpg for both, with a lot of city jams, bike racks on all the time, around 40-43 mpg. A weekend away will see high 40’s to low 50’s and a few less with bikes on. Not a heavy right foot by any means. I think without bike racks I’d get an extra 3 or 4 on weekly average and maybe an extra 6-8 on long trips.
coopersport1Free Member3 series just isn’t big enough for bikes kit, camping gubbins etc.
jambalayaFree MemberGet one over there?
What @TheDTs said, why would you buy a right hand drive car if you’re going to be in Germany. They’ll be tons of choice over there and I suspect prices will be lower. I had an A6 2.7 Quattro and it would do high 40’s mpg with a half load at a sensible motorway speed, if you drive with a heavy right foot it will drop to just under 40. It’s been up/down France a good few times and it’s a great long distance motorway car as are most German cars as that’s important for their home market.
coopersport1Free MemberI know the job is only for 2 years and need something to drag my stuff back and forward on probably a once a month/6week basis. To fair i’m military so will probably try to take advantage of a new tax free car before I come back in 2 yrs time
misterduncanFree MemberNice cars, but prepare yourself for a number of fundamental electrical problems.
The worst one is the wiring loom in th tail gate fails every four years or so. They have to remove the headlining to replace it. This is damned expensive.
Also, steer clear of 18 or 19 inch m sport wheels. They crack easily, especially on potholes and if unrepairable, cost more than £400 each.
I traded my 535d touring in for a SAAB 95 of similar age. The BMW was great, but was turning into a money pit.
finishthatFree MemberMuch much more expensive in Germany – why not look at a Mercedes estate?
PePPeRFull MemberI’ve never found LHD cars to be cheaper than a RH drive car, there’s a much bigger market for them over Europe and cars hold their value much better over there.
My friends are always amazed how cheap our cars are compared to theirs and if they didn’t drive like maniacs they’d buy RH drive.
mikewsmithFree Member“Common Sense”
If your going to pile the miles on get something your don’t really care about that hits 50+mpg and bank the savings until you buy something new on the way back?DaffyFull Membercoopersport1 – Member
3 series just isn’t big enough for bikes kit, camping gubbins etc.Funny, mine’s sat on the drive racked and packed for 4 of us to go biking and camping tomorrow. Bikes on the roof, gear in the boot, people in the cab. Plenty of space in my e46.
benp1Full MemberI have the exact car you’re looking at a E61 525d SE pre-LCI manual, mine is an 04 plate
Its a 2.5d, the post LCI 525d’s are detuned 3 litres. I’ve been pleased with mine, its a workhorse for carting the family and stuff around. I stick my bikes on the roof. I’ve had it over 2 years, i’d have gone for a 530d as I don’t think economy is massively different but they cost a fair chunk more at the time and I got mine for a good deal
I purposely wanted a manual, I like manuals and on the right road in the right conditions it’s still good fun when you’re heel-toeing and hustling. Saying that its heavy and so works best on flowing a roads, not little B roads
I get 32-34 mpg on a combined run – mixture of town and dual carriageway. Rarely drops below 30, will do 35 on a run at 80mph on cruise, more if I drive slower. It’s less economical than I thought it would be but I have a fairly heavy foot, I could eke out more if I drive more carefully
Overall very pleased with it for the money, much more space in the back than a 3 series. My next car is going I cost a fair chunk more to get a similar experience plus more, will prob keep this until the kids no longer need a pushchair (currently fits a double buggy and a huge Labrador in the boot)
infidelFree MemberI’ve got an 09 525d touring manual and am very happy with it. About 41mpg mixed school run and longer trips type stuff. My wife really didn’t want an auto so we managed to find a manual. It works through the gears a bit fast at the low end but is otherwise a very fine car. We like it…
timcFree Memberbenp1 – Member
good fun when you’re heel-toeing🙄
This should be fun!
alibongo001Full MemberHi OP
A bit left field, but Mercedes are throwing lots of incentives to fleet companies at the moment
You may well get an E class for the money if you want to keep it 2 years with 20k total miles
Although I suppose you wont have anything to show for it at the end!?
JasonFree MemberSi, sorry to hear you are off to Germany.
If you do start looking at Passat Estates let me know as the lease on mine runs out in July, but I have the option for me (or someone else) to buy it before that. I haven’t looked at the current settlement figure, but should be close to market value now. 2.0 TDi Highline spec, Dec ’09, 93k miles (I have had it since 10k), full VW service history, never given me any trouble at all, in very good condition and I am happy to point out all the bad bits. Let me know if you want anymore details.
chaosFull MemberThe 530d doesn’t have to be that bad economy-wise.
I’ve got the 2004 pre-LCI 530d manual E61 and can get over 40 quite easily on a long run, although it is pretty poor around town. I think it was around 44mpg on the last holiday to France. That said I also had it re-mapped by Ecotune so that ought to have helped by providing a load more torque and smoother acceleration. Definitely drives a lot better now, I was quite disappointed with the lumpiness of the acceleration until I had that done.
Not been that cheap though – the exhaust manifold went on mine and I had to get a set of wheel bearings and some other suspension bit done. When you take one for a test drive, pay close attention to any difference in feel on a right-hand bend compared to left-hand bend, and also for diesel smells when stationary. They are much worse (old-school truck smell) if there’s some escaping before they go through the CAT/DPF. I didn’t…
P.S. Webuyanycar recently offered £3300 for it so i expect that means they could be around 4k to buy? mine’s a fairly low spec though interior-wise.
benp1Full MemberActually that’s a good point, get a good spec one. Mine has everything I would ever need bar leather (was my negotiation point with my wife when we bought it as our only car at the time, she doesn’t like BMWs, nor leather!)
Sat nav is nice, gives you a bigger screen. Get an SE so you get cruise etc. Bluetooth and parking sensors are nice too. Other stuff is just a bonus
If I was buying for myself now (back to two cars) I’d get a 530d and want leather, if I was sticking with the same 5 series). My cars been pretty reliable though so don’t really want to change for now
bikebouyFree MemberI’ve mentioned before on here I’ve had 2 530D touring sports and put massive miles on both 176k & 240k respectively. Both epic solid cars for galloping along with loads of kit stuffed in them/on the roof or towing 30ft sportsboats to La Rochelle/Garda/Lorient and back.
Would I have another, Yup. If doing what I did then, absolutely.
FSH for the win, and black, of course.
coopersport1Free MemberThere are more 530d’s about with good specs, may have a go and see what I think.
Kryton57Full MemberSo just checking that say for example, I’d found a 530d M Sport in black for £5550 (pre negotiation), that as long as its had a FSH there’s no issues with 150k miles?
coopersport1Free MemberIf it’s been well looked after 150k seems to be just run in!
brFree MemberI get 32-34 mpg on a combined run – mixture of town and dual carriageway. Rarely drops below 30, will do 35 on a run at 80mph on cruise, more if I drive slower. It’s less economical than I thought it would be but I have a fairly heavy foot, I could eke out more if I drive more carefully
Just to balance, I had an E39 535i and it wasn’t far behind this on fuel.
If it’s been well looked after 150k seems to be just run in!
Aye, except mine lurched its autobox at 125k. Engine was still perfect though…
benp1Full MemberYeah I’m not convinced that’s a 525i would be that different economy wise. I can get 40mpg with reasonable motorway speeds, but again prob not massively different to the petrol
I have to say that I really do like the lazy torquey nature of a diesel though
innit_garethFree MemberHad a 2007 525d touring. Was great until it started going wrong. To diagnose the fault they just stick in the laptop and after replacing the exhaust / DPF unnecessarily the next thing up the chain was the turbo. At that point I flogged it on ebay at a large loss for 1 years worth of hassle full motoring.
But like I say when it worked it was great.
akeys001Full MemberO5 525d m sport auto here, 35mpg on m’way runs, agree with poster about electrics but otherwise a great car, other advice is get rid of run flats on big alloys for a much better ride
brFree MemberOk, so it’s not a Beemer but I bought a Vectra diesel auto last year.
It’ll happily do 50mpg at 80mph and for your £5k you’ll easily pick up a low mileage 2008. Mine’s a hatch but the estate version is huge – far bigger than a Touring.
Or look at Mondeo’s etc.
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