Does anyone here own one? Or driven one? Im currently in the market for one but dont know which to go for...

 

There are far fewer 535d`s about which begs the question - why? Also they are twin turbo charged so can possibly be more expensive if they go wrong...

 

Cheers, Dan

Driven both and they are both flying machines. Try and get a 535d auto if you can

I've driven the 530d which performed very well. Its a great engine thats well suited the the automatic gearbox. The 530d is still turbo charged so I doubt there would be a great difference in repairs. Unless you want the extra performance I'd stick to the 530d - you'll have more choice, performs nearly as well as the 535d, and slightly cheaper to run on both diesel and insurance.

I had an e60 530d - very impressive for a diesel, but make sure it's got a perfect service history... ideally with an additional oil change between services... mine didn't and when the turbo went it went quite spectacularly! They have a habit of dropping all the oil when it happens - hydrolocked my engine, but fortunately I shut it off in time!

 

Auto gearbox can go wrong too - mine was starting to play up in sport mode, but fine in normal. Supposedly sealed for life, but worth changing the fluid anyway. There is a way to reset the learning mode of them too - worth doing as they adapt to driving style and you may find it's jerky if the previous owners driven steady and you floor it, and vice versa.

 

Run flat tyres are a nightmare, get rid of them! Alarms go off all the time (despite checking tyre pressure weekly) and I had a flat once where the tyre wall collapsed (manufacturing fault) but BMW assist wouldn't cover it because it had runflats(!) likewise breakdown wouldn't come out because I didn't have a spare! Much quieter on regular tyres, and you;ll appreciate the savings when it comes to tyre time!!

 

Driven a 335d too, and it's a pretty big jump in performance - worth driving both. Obviously, like a zed, bills (can) go up proportionally if things go wrong, but servicing shouldn't be too bad from an independent.

 

Final thought, why do you want a diesel? All in, mine ended up costing more to run in 2 years with the turbo replacement than a petrol would have - i.e. it wiped out the fuel savings. I also only averaged about 32mpg with 45mpg on a run, if I was easy. The opinion on forums is that you get good and bad ones, with pretty substantial differences - lots of people get up to around 50, but I always felt the need to boot it, which obviously didn't help!!

If money is no object, it has to be the 535d. Best diesel every made! 286 bhp and if you want, remapped to 360ish!

If it were me tho, id go for the 530d.

I used to have one and got 34mpg around town, and it was fast enough really.

 

More choice and cheaper. Depends what you want out of it.

I had a 530d estate and loved it but I would say the 535d would be even better

IMO the the only reason to buy diesel is to save money, so unless you're doing silly miles I would go for 530i its only slightly worse mpg than the 535d but a much more pleasant and refined engine to drive that the diesel. Buying a 53xd won't save money if it goes wrong and the E60 range of cars is quite expensive to maintain as Rich says above any faults with the box or turbos and any savings gained is right out the window.

The turbo's are quite common on BMW's.

Buy one thats had a turbo!

 

My 530i petrol did around 18mpg around town.. 32mpg on the motorway.

My neighbour had the last shape 530d and the turbo need replacing which cost him a fair few quid IIRC.

Never driven the 535d, but on paper it looks fantastic. I'd still go for the 530d though, since economy is a major selling point of a diesel and its plenty fast enough, very impressive engine. Smooth, refined, revvy and bundles or horsepower and torque.

Cheers guys, Yea I do a lot of miles each week and would prefer a diesel now, I have actually found cheaper insurance quotes on the 535 than the 530 for some reason. Yes, I guess I need to drive both really and go from there. Thanks for all your input guys!!