Hello I'm thinking about getting my first ever bmw. And not sold on the 3 series but love the look of the 5. Now for my dilemma. I want to keep the running cost as low as possible so opted for the 520d. (Speed not important). But my local mechanic tells me to avoid at all costs as they are rubbish! His words not mine. My head says stay away but I really want one so I'm here asking your advice. I would buy a 2008/09/10 520d 177bhp I have approx £6-£7 k to spend as its a second car. I wouldn't get one with over 100k miles or without full service history Any information would be great thanks

Hi Neil....welcome to the Forum

The 2.0 TDi engine is a great engine except it does suffer from a couple of maladies, of which are easily rectifiable at little cost.

The only downside for the 2.0 litre in the 5 series is it could be slightly underpowered and therefore could end up being more juicy than a slightly larger capacity engine....worth looking through figures to see what gives the better mpg.

Let us know how you get on with your decision

Cheers,   Trevor

On 16/02/2017 at 11:40 AM, Jambo1874 said:

Hello I'm thinking about getting my first ever bmw. And not sold on the 3 series but love the look of the 5. Now for my dilemma. I want to keep the running cost as low as possible so opted for the 520d. (Speed not important). But my local mechanic tells me to avoid at all costs as they are rubbish! His words not mine. My head says stay away but I really want one so I'm here asking your advice. I would buy a 2008/09/10 520d 177bhp I have approx £6-£7 k to spend as its a second car. I wouldn't get one with over 100k miles or without full service history Any information would be great thanks

 

Hey good decision on choosing a BMW. And the e60 BMW is a beauty, look out for the lci model with the 19 inch spider alloys. Thee best rims for the e60. I highly recommend the 530d due to the fact that my friend has just bought a 2006 530d coming from a 2.0 litre diesel Mondeo and he's gets 100 miles from 20£ and the 530d is the one when it comes to power and economy. Also my brothers owns a 2009 e60 530d and he says he's 530d gives him more miles to the gallon than he's e60 525d. Treat yourself to a 530d and personal opinion, space grey looks amazing!! all the best.

2009520d

The radio wont store presets  / stations    Any ideas?

Regards   Martin.

Morning Martin

Welcome to the Forum

Try Disconnecting the Battery for at least 30 mins (a Dealer trick to clear faults) Neg first 

Dave