Which BMW diesel?

[b17]

I'm looking for a good second hand BMW 5 series diesel (or 3 series). Which model year is worth a look? I know very little about anything except e30's. My budget would be anything up to 6 or 7k - but will happily spend £500 on a 15 yr old 5 series if it's worth it.

Mileage per year - around 20k so needs to be reliable

Ta

[bilun777]

Your budget should cover a nice e39 530d.Mechanical condition i.e turbo and injectors-service history,are much more important than mileage.5 speed manuals are quicker and much more economical than auto's.

[Blitz]

You can just about get the cheapest E60 diesel in that price, but I recommend a late E39 530d sport.

http://pistonheads.com/sales/1719823.htm

[b17]

thanks for the ideas - is the 530d the best engine to go for? I'm looking for reliability and economy

[god-father88]

e46 330d!! mine was pushing 44mpg on my daily run to and from work and thats town driving!! and the power was amazing!

[b17]

Thanks for the suggestion but a little worried about this:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/bm ... ection=bad

[stonesie]

The main engine issue is the dreaded swirl flaps, but these can simply be hurled into the bin and replaced with some blanking plugs from here.

http://www.pmwltd.co.uk/

[gatesy23]

E39 530d sport. You can pick up a circa 100k miler for around your budget, the e39 is renound as one of the best cars ever built. As long as it's de-swirl flapped and you change the crank case breather filter to the 'vortex' type it will go on forever.

The 192bhp lump is sufficient as it is but remapped will reliably see 230+ bhp and a shed load of torque making it faster than the petrol equivalent.

Having owned both e46 and e39 i'd choose the latter hands down. They just seem noticeably more solid.

I've always fancied an e65 730d but you'd be paying nearer 10k for a decent one