fuel consumption e60 545i

Discuss Non-E30 BMW's in here - No selling!

Moderator: martauto

User avatar
driftmaster808
E30 Zone Regular
E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 341
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:00 pm

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 2:07 pm

hi all,

thinking of buying a 545i 2003

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/clas ... del/852089

i reckon I can get about the same MPG as my 325i sport, maybe close to 22mpg, but on the motorway I will still get more MPG in the 5 series


also road tax is 270 a year I'm paying 215 so not much difference there either, I suppose my insurance may be higher. I

i like the fact its a non sport with no model inscription either, and still has the sports seats. in fact liking this a lot what a beauty to own for a few years as long as you factor in potention costs, engine is bullet proof mind you
Morat
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 8943
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 11:00 pm
Location: The Peoples Republic of Yorkshire

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 3:27 pm

Did these ever come with a manual box?
E30 Touring 0.35 cD - more slippery than prison soap :)

Image
Praise the Lard... and pass the dripping!
pacerpete
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 18168
Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Iver heath. South bucks.

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 3:50 pm

Morat wrote:Did these ever come with a manual box?

Yes but very rare, IE, nobody wanted one.

RE OP , fuel consumption will be the least of your issues running a ten year old E60 :(
Andyboy
Alpina Colada
Posts: 12578
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:00 pm

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 3:59 pm

driftmaster808 wrote: engine is bullet proof mind you
Only if you don't start it up and use it. They're ticking bombs - oil leaks, valvetronic problems, bore wear and the dreaded £1000 coolant leak from the cross tube. No ta.
User avatar
pnd
E30 Zone Squatter
E30 Zone Squatter
Posts: 1801
Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 11:00 pm

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:01 pm

don't think its 270 p/a either these are over £400 a year in rent iirc. Feeling lucky?
Razorsharp
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2010 11:00 pm
Location: Waterlooville Hampshire

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:21 pm

Andyboy wrote:
driftmaster808 wrote: engine is bullet proof mind you
Only if you don't start it up and use it. They're ticking bombs - oil leaks, valvetronic problems, bore wear and the dreaded £1000 coolant leak from the cross tube. No ta.
Exactly what Andy said. A few years ago I had an E63 645i on an 04 plate. After 2 years of ownership and exactly these problems, I threw the towel in.

The ridiculous plastic coolant cross tube giving up was the final straw for me. Personally I'd leave it well alone.

Oh and don't start me on the gearbox leak...........
kam-325i
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 4851
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: TELFORD !!!! (Shropshire) Stevetigger Land !!!

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:24 pm

pnd wrote:don't think its 270 p/a either these are over £400 a year in rent iirc. Feeling lucky?
Nope, that 2003 545i is only £270 per year....
Pete don't care about colour, He would shag a rainbow if he could find the end of it....
Image
User avatar
pnd
E30 Zone Squatter
E30 Zone Squatter
Posts: 1801
Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 11:00 pm

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:47 pm

kam-325i wrote:
pnd wrote:don't think its 270 p/a either these are over £400 a year in rent iirc. Feeling lucky?
Nope, that 2003 545i is only £270 per year....
i was going on memory but autotrader says its band m wghich is 455 p/a
kam-325i
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 4851
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: TELFORD !!!! (Shropshire) Stevetigger Land !!!

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 5:26 pm

pnd wrote:
kam-325i wrote:
pnd wrote:don't think its 270 p/a either these are over £400 a year in rent iirc. Feeling lucky?
Nope, that 2003 545i is only £270 per year....
i was going on memory but autotrader says its band m wghich is 455 p/a
Its band K

Quote DVLA
"Band K includes cars that have a CO2 figure over 225g/km but were registered before 23 March 2006."
Pete don't care about colour, He would shag a rainbow if he could find the end of it....
Image
User avatar
pnd
E30 Zone Squatter
E30 Zone Squatter
Posts: 1801
Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 11:00 pm

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 5:34 pm

you may well be right and autotrader wrong not much point arguing over it either way.
e301988325i
E30 Zone Addict
E30 Zone Addict
Posts: 3701
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2008 11:00 pm
Location: Taunton, Somerset

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 5:34 pm

Beemers are sh1t now aren't they. Really really simple stuff that was sorted 30 years ago is now going wrong on the modern variants. I'm keeping the E30 and buying skoda's for day to day use from now on.
I said:

Can anyone suggest how to test if the boot lights are staying on with the boot shut?

e30topless said:

lock the wife in there
kam-325i
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 4851
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: TELFORD !!!! (Shropshire) Stevetigger Land !!!

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 5:40 pm

pnd wrote:you may well be right and autotrader wrong not much point arguing over it either way.
?????????

what argument ?????
Pete don't care about colour, He would shag a rainbow if he could find the end of it....
Image
User avatar
driftmaster808
E30 Zone Regular
E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 341
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:00 pm

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 6:31 pm

beemers are crap now but I still rate them above other brands,

thanks for the warning regarding the engine, gosh that scares the f@@k out of me surely these are issues that should have been sorted along the way

still getting bore wear after the m60 bore wear and m52 bore wear issues.

Also thanks for reminding me its the same engine as the 645i which I have been told to stay away from.

okay looks like a 630i then :D

just gonna take a little longer to save up
User avatar
driftmaster808
E30 Zone Regular
E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 341
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:00 pm

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 6:33 pm

thanks again everyone for advice and input
bss325i
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 24536
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:00 pm
Location: London/Surrey

Post Wed Jan 16, 2013 7:02 pm

They don't suffer from bore wear like the nikasil blocks of old.

Cam cover gaskets and vacuum pumps do leak oil though.

The coolant cross pipe is a serious job if done the official BMW way but you can buy a telescopic pipe from the states which means the heads don't have to come off to change it making the repair much much cheaper and easier.

I have a complete Alpina B5 exhaust system for sale which will bolt straight up a 540i and 545i.

£250 takes it which is a bargain considering they are over £2k new!
http://www.bmrperformance.co.uk

BMW and MINI specialist - Gatwick
Andyboy
Alpina Colada
Posts: 12578
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:00 pm

Post Thu Jan 17, 2013 2:17 pm

bss325i wrote:They don't suffer from bore wear like the nikasil blocks of old.
They do suffer from bore wear and so do some N52's. Seen some at Stratstone in bits getting rebuilt - they just use a new block and pistons and reuse the rest of it.
It's not the same scenario as Nikasil, just serious bore glazing and a wear lip. N42 Shitetronics do it as well - there are a few about that smoke like a bastard.
The last really good BMW engine was probably the M50!