2004 E60 520i, good or not?

[dy5000]

Dear BMWCM friends,Can advise what important things to look out for when looking at an E60 520i (2004 model). I think it is a local model. Is the power ok? What are the things to change / replace for a few years old E60? Thanks.

 

[Mouse]

Dear BMWCM friends,

Can advise what important things to look out for when looking at an E60 520i (2004 model). I think it is a local model. Is the power ok? What are the things to change / replace for a few years old E60? Thanks.

i heard alot of ppl saying 520i is really underpower, i think that is the reason they cease 520i and change to 523i in less than a year

 

[Jerman]

Dear BMWCM friends,

Can advise what important things to look out for when looking at an E60 520i (2004 model). I think it is a local model. Is the power ok? What are the things to change / replace for a few years old E60? Thanks.

bro,
Power is a relative "thing". A lot depends on which car you are comparing it with? If you are currently the owner of a Honda Accord or Camry 2.0 litre, then you may find this 520i (2.2 litre, M54 engine) power delivery adequate. I suggest you test drive one yourself to "feel" if this is the car for you.

p/s: the are a couple members in the Club (thsaw) who drive this model. Perhaps they could share some personal experience

 

[t2ribena]

i heard alot of ppl saying 520i is really underpower, i think that is the reason they cease 520i and change to 523i in less than a year

the new LCI e60 still got 520i ler...i saw a few liau in singapore...only in malaysia dun have...

 

[ALBundy]

If budget permits, get the 523i The extra torque will make it great
to drive on the expressway.

Cheers

 

[IsaacVky]

the only thing I don't like on E60 520i is the puny 16" rims .. Other than that, it is a good car. 170hp is adequate!

 

[turbology]

feel underpower ?
removed the rear seats, ripped off the carpet, dumped the spare tires, get smaller battery, only fill half tank, discard your radio & speakers, and etc. This can improved your 0-100km/h alot.
okay... maybe not to this extreme but you get the idea.

Comfort, Fast, and Cheap. pick 2.

Oh... to answer your question: Yes, E60 is a good car. Make sure the car did the 36months service interval.

 

[Crymson]

the only thing I don't like on E60 520i is the puny 16" rims .. Other than that, it is a good car. 170hp is adequate!

520i gives out 170hp? Thats ok what. Saw in latest Motor Trader, the 520i year 2004 is only from RM18xk. If the authorised dealers have these as pre-owned, good to consider, especially if it comes with warranty. If don't have warranty, buy laa the warranty ... worth it.

 

[Lancelot Adolph]

Power is really subjective...

if you are driving accord/ camry 2.0 you'll find 520 is powerful; if you drive accord/ camry 2.4; you'll find 520 underpower.

My advice is go for 525, so far no regret on power; but fuel consumption really kills me... just pumped my petrol at RM 100.00 mileage clocked at 300 km only, wtf...

 

[thsaw99]

my 520 is on 19" M5 rims...occasionally when driving in the city and i need to overtake, i switch to manual and for me its quite sufficient unless of course you try to overtake a porsche..on the hiway i could push it to 225kmh..but then again with our typical malaysian drivers out there, how many minutes do you think you could maintain that speed..?

i agree with jerman and lancelot that power is relative..but my 2.2 can take on any camry and accord 2.4 easily..

then again..there's no such thing is too much power isn't it?

 

[Jerman]

my 520 is on 19" M5 rims...occasionally when driving in the city and i need to overtake, i switch to manual and for me its quite sufficient unless of course you try to overtake a porsche..on the hiway i could push it to 225kmh..but then again with our typical malaysian drivers out there, how many minutes do you think you could maintain that speed..?

i agree with jerman and lancelot that power is relative..but my 2.2 can take on any camry and accord 2.4 easily..

then again..there's no such thing is too much power isn't it?

thsaw,
Good summary. Bro, how's the maintenance cost todate?

Lancelot, your consumption appeared to be on the high side ie works out to be 6.9km per litre (RM 2.30 per litre)

I was told by a motoring journalist friend that the overall driving dynamics even for a 4 year-old E60 520i (2.2 litre) are better than the new Accord or Camry.

p/s: but when it come to $$$, it would be a difficult decision as you need to cough-out at least RM 180k for a 4 year-old vs RM 170 for a brand new Accord/Camry 2.4

 

[thule]

Power is really subjective...

if you are driving accord/ camry 2.0 you'll find 520 is powerful; if you drive accord/ camry 2.4; you'll find 520 underpower.

My advice is go for 525, so far no regret on power; but fuel consumption really kills me... just pumped my petrol at RM 100.00 mileage clocked at 300 km only, wtf...

that's because you step on the accelerator everytime you drive??? hmm... perhaps FLOOR the accelerator is best to describe you... lol!

 

[thule]

forgot to mention... with RM100... my combined FC is about 450km with that amount!

 

[t2ribena]

IMHO if u buy a bmw which is considered to be some sort of a performance machine and drive slowly to get FC like camry or accord 2.4 is a total waste of money...pay 2 to 3 times the amount to buy a car might as well enjoy it...like someone say 'buy liau must use ma' hahaha

for rm100 and getting 300km, i bet lancelot is enjoying his UDM...hehe

 

[IsaacVky]

Camry 2.4L is not good in saving fuel too.
5~7 km / L in full city drive.

 

[thule]

Camry 2.4L is not good in saving fuel too.
5~7 km / L in full city drive.

aiya... for KL's traffic condition which is so freaking frustrating... this kind of FC is biasa-lah tu...
tekan minyak, brek... tekan minyak, brek lagi... any car's FC will also feel like drinking water.

Solution? Hybrid car... see how our govt propose with the excise duty & tax lo...

 

[Lancelot Adolph]

Any idea what I should do about it? According to mechanic, my software is the latest ones.

forgot to mention... with RM100... my combined FC is about 450km with that amount!

 

[dy5000]

Thanks buddies for the comments. Will test drive the car and compare the power performance, and also will get it checked first.

Is it a good idea to tweak the ECU thing, the BMW accessories-shop people claimed better performance. Exoticmods.com in Damansara has the service.

 

[thule]

Any idea what I should do about it? According to mechanic, my software is the latest ones.

dunno la bro... I just for my car about a month... I pumped RM100 in.. and then drove to KL, around the city and back to Pahang & that's the mileage I got... I don't even know whether my car has the latest software or not.

By the way... one question... do all service centres (not limited to AB, Sapura and Ingress) have the diagnotic machine to upgrade software as well??? I don't have much knowledge in this matter... some other questions:

1) Is the software upgrading include for your CCC as well? Or just the ECU?
2) How much it normally cost to upgrade software?

 

[Lancelot Adolph]

1) The software may upgrades for the entire ECU of our beemer, most specialist for beemer service center has it.
2) i've got quoted today approximately 1k for the 2008 software, and takes about 4 hours +/- some ppl got it cheaper for around 500+ don't know what's the market rate...

dunno la bro... I just for my car about a month... I pumped RM100 in.. and then drove to KL, around the city and back to Pahang & that's the mileage I got... I don't even know whether my car has the latest software or not.

By the way... one question... do all service centres (not limited to AB, Sapura and Ingress) have the diagnotic machine to upgrade software as well??? I don't have much knowledge in this matter... some other questions:

1) Is the software upgrading include for your CCC as well? Or just the ECU?
2) How much it normally cost to upgrade software?