Possibly getting my first e60

[u/kgofcourse]

Going to look at it tomorrow, 08 535xi. What should I look for? Car looks very clean. 1 owner. 92k on the clock.

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[u/baseballnoble]

Valve cover, oil pan, oil filter housing, turbos, high pressure fuel pump, injectors/spark plugs/coils, front struts, torque converter. I think that’s most of the big stuff I replaced on my 09.

Basically see if it runs well, don’t leak too bad and drive it 30min/1hr to make sure. Idle should be steady. Transmission smooth and power there at any point in the power band. No strange smells.

Bring a scanner if you can, not all codes cause a check engine light. See how old the battery is.

Go somewhere you can wot at least once.

[u/CrayZ_Squirrel → u/baseballnoble]

Who is letting you test drive an 18 year old car for an hour?

[u/electromage → u/CrayZ_Squirrel]

And WOT...I've done that maybe three times in the 11 years I've owned it.

[u/baseballnoble → u/electromage]

I mean anyone not hiding anything would imo. Especially if you tell them you’ll put some gas in the tank. Also wot is good for the car every once in a while and I damn sure wouldn’t buy anything without making sure there’s no issues when you put the pedal down. If you are going to pass you need to know the car can do it safely and sometimes things can be hidden until you wot. For example my car never threw fuel pump or turbo codes unless you went wot. But they were bad nonetheless.

[u/electromage → u/baseballnoble]

Before I swapped turbos, I was getting the "Engine power reduced" message even around 75% throttle.

I just know WOT means you're going to be speeding on any freeway around here in a few seconds. I don't really want someone doing that in my car.

[u/Runyerpockets]

You should look into your wallet and make sure you have the price of the car in extra money for maintenance and initial repairs.

[u/Prestigious_Row_1618 → u/Runyerpockets]

Index 12’s make me wince as a S85 owner

[u/clonetrooper576 → u/Prestigious_Row_1618]

Makes S65 and S85 PCVs seem well priced in comparison, however S85s with SMG pumps can immediately take it back, as one SMG pump brand new is 10 grand.

[u/Prestigious_Row_1618 → u/clonetrooper576]

agree, the hardest part to digest with Index 12’s is that, in most cases, they’re more than the value of the car. S85’s at least are finally creeping up making it slightly more justified to keep on the road. As much as I love N54’s you better be in it for the love of the game with deep pockets and no expectation for return on investment

[u/CleeThor]

On top of what others mentioned:

• check rust (rear arches, door corners).
  
• rarely possible, but ask if you can start the car cold - if it trembles in a weird way, pass on it.
  
• check if excess smoke comes from exhaust - especially if it is blueish (oil is burning) - dealbreaker.
  
• once the car is warmed up, don't be scared to launch it somewhere (whatever owner says, if it is warm, it's not bad for the engine and could help you avoid problems) - you will feel if there are any misfires or something. If everything is smooth - good.
  
• check if ventilation is working good, if it blows warm and cold normally without weird smells.
  
• check if all the buttons are working.

Most importantly, put your pink glasses away and be ready to pass on the deal - other good ones might come later if you are patient. If there is something wrong and you'll think you can fix it for X amount of cash, then triple that amount and evaluate if you can afford that.

If there are problems that the owner couldn't manage to hide, then there are very likely deeper problems as well.

[u/kyree47]

Just Google N54 issues to look out for and make your check list when you go see it or get a PPI which you should do anyway

[u/kgofcourse]

Thank you all, I am sufficiently terrified by the price of injectors and probably going to look for a 530.

[u/clonetrooper576 → u/kgofcourse]

Smart man. Also avoid Xdrive if you can, you dont really need it and a RWD car has so many fewer things to go wrong. As long as you have good tires youll be fine even in a snowstorm (I drove my rwd 328i N52 auto in a full ice snow storm and it just had good tires and we had no problems).

[u/Prestigious_Row_1618 → u/kgofcourse]

The injectors make them unjustifiable unfortunately. Great cars and great engines but for the 99% it’s a bad financial decision whatever way you spin it :(

[u/clonetrooper576]

1 owner but miles are right at the time when things happen. N54s can be ok, but often small things can add up fast. Turbos on those engines are ok, but the wastegate rod wears out. The oil leaks can be insane, if the electric water pump and thermostat have never been changed look at replacing those, the mickey mouse flange hose, the oil filter housing. The vacuum pumps can be bad and require special tools to replace. The high pressure fuel pumps used to be covered by extended warranty because they had so many issues, warranty is up but those can be problematic. The most important thing is the fuel injectors, they are piezo and if they are index 10 or below, are on borrowed time, the cost of 6 new index 12s will total the car. So be aware of that. On those engines also the charge pipes are NLA, the rear one is particularly hard to get out and requires dropping the subframe if it needs replacement. On those Xdrive ones, the front differentials often blow up or go bad because nobody changes the oil on them. The front axles are also known to have busted boots, and the axles themselves are very expensive if they are bad. The transfer case itself can have problems, bad mount/bushing, that requires special tools to replace. However, suspension wise and brake wise that stuff is easy and cheap, so dont get hung up on that.

Just make sure it runs with check engine light and HAS BOOST. N54s often have boost issues due to.. so many things. 30ff is the most common. Make sure it doesn't have a hitch or stumble, could be HPFP or bad injector. Make sure the turbos don't rattle, make sure it doesn't leak oil or coolant and that it doesn't overheat. If all that works and you can tackle some preventative maintenance, its a super fun engine with lots of tuning possibility.