£2k E61 535d - what could go wrong?
Discussion
Hi all,
First time creating a thread and attempting to put words together that anyone would even want to remotely read...
It was early Saturday morning and in between feeding 12 week-old twins, I was aimlessly kicking around eBay, mainly looking at big diesel estates seen as any hope of a 2 seater coupe is out the window with aforementioned twins.
Anyway, this is when I spot a rather vague ad for a 2006 535d Touring with 20 minutes remaining and bidding at £1900. Fast forward 20 minutes and after a quick reg check to confirm no nasties and I'm the somewhat proud owner of said 535d.
It has 119,000 miles on the clock which isn't exactly high for its age & MOT until January '25. Apparently it comes with lots of history & documentation, not sure what exactly. Bad bits: Intermittent parking sensors, passenger seatbelt tensioner failed, air suspension error. The seller states the air springs have been swapped out for a conventional setup so just needs coding out. I may look at re-instating the air, cost depending.
First hurdle, the car's in Bournemouth, I'm in North Wales 250 miles away. Second hurdle, how will the OH take it? This will be our fourth car alongside an A6 C6 Avant 3.0 TDI, A6 C7 Allroad and Discovery 4 - spot the theme?
Anyway, her reaction wasn't so bad, apparently, she trusts my man maths...
I did consider hiring a trailer & taking the Disco down to haul the E61 to its new home because that would be the safe thing to do when buying an 18-year-old car 250 miles from home, right? Well, no, it's Monday morning & I'm currently sat on a train somewhere south of Birmingham on my way to learn my fate. I get discounted train travel through work so the cost of a train (£40) vs a thirsty Disco + trailer hire (£200+) and the fact I can get some work down on the move made it worth the risk of driving the new purchase home & hoping for the best - my breakdown cover may well come in handy...
Will report back in a couple of days with some pictures if & when the E61 is back up North & I've had a good look over it.
First time creating a thread and attempting to put words together that anyone would even want to remotely read...
It was early Saturday morning and in between feeding 12 week-old twins, I was aimlessly kicking around eBay, mainly looking at big diesel estates seen as any hope of a 2 seater coupe is out the window with aforementioned twins.
Anyway, this is when I spot a rather vague ad for a 2006 535d Touring with 20 minutes remaining and bidding at £1900. Fast forward 20 minutes and after a quick reg check to confirm no nasties and I'm the somewhat proud owner of said 535d.
It has 119,000 miles on the clock which isn't exactly high for its age & MOT until January '25. Apparently it comes with lots of history & documentation, not sure what exactly. Bad bits: Intermittent parking sensors, passenger seatbelt tensioner failed, air suspension error. The seller states the air springs have been swapped out for a conventional setup so just needs coding out. I may look at re-instating the air, cost depending.
First hurdle, the car's in Bournemouth, I'm in North Wales 250 miles away. Second hurdle, how will the OH take it? This will be our fourth car alongside an A6 C6 Avant 3.0 TDI, A6 C7 Allroad and Discovery 4 - spot the theme?
Anyway, her reaction wasn't so bad, apparently, she trusts my man maths...I did consider hiring a trailer & taking the Disco down to haul the E61 to its new home because that would be the safe thing to do when buying an 18-year-old car 250 miles from home, right? Well, no, it's Monday morning & I'm currently sat on a train somewhere south of Birmingham on my way to learn my fate. I get discounted train travel through work so the cost of a train (£40) vs a thirsty Disco + trailer hire (£200+) and the fact I can get some work down on the move made it worth the risk of driving the new purchase home & hoping for the best - my breakdown cover may well come in handy...
Will report back in a couple of days with some pictures if & when the E61 is back up North & I've had a good look over it.
Edited by GriffTorque on Monday 15th July 11:34
Edited by GriffTorque on Monday 15th July 12:00
Edited by GriffTorque on Wednesday 17th July 13:48
Good luck!
My £3k E61 has some far cost about £3k to get it running right.
But I spent that cash a bit at a time, so it obviously doesn't count the same way.
I can recommend buying a OBD2 to usb cable and getting familiar with inpa (which can be downloaded for free)
It took me hours of effort to set up, but when it's working it will lift the lid on loads of error and diagnostic information.
Hth
Ian
My £3k E61 has some far cost about £3k to get it running right.
But I spent that cash a bit at a time, so it obviously doesn't count the same way.
I can recommend buying a OBD2 to usb cable and getting familiar with inpa (which can be downloaded for free)
It took me hours of effort to set up, but when it's working it will lift the lid on loads of error and diagnostic information.
Hth
Ian
Sub 2k E61 you say. colour me interested
I've just done the same a few weeks back with a blind E60 ebay purchase.
The thread here if youre bored on the train:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
They seem to be cracking value at these prices.
I've just done the same a few weeks back with a blind E60 ebay purchase.
The thread here if youre bored on the train:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
They seem to be cracking value at these prices.
Shabaza said:
Sub 2k E61 you say. colour me interested
I've just done the same a few weeks back with a blind E60 ebay purchase.
The thread here if youre bored on the train:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
They seem to be cracking value at these prices.
Funny enough, I’d started following your thread last week and you came to mind over the weekend when I was convincing myself that this was a good idea I've just done the same a few weeks back with a blind E60 ebay purchase.
The thread here if youre bored on the train:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
They seem to be cracking value at these prices.
tshow.Discendo Discimus said:
We need pics!
I'm so jealous though, I had an E60 535d with the infamous remap which gave it 370bhp and enough torque to turn the earth underneath it.
The only reason I got rid was due to company cars and having to drive to London fairly regularly. I'd have another in a heart beat.
I'm considering tuning my 535d LCI, and have been told 340 bhp is doable with just a remap, and 370ish with intercooler and downpipe. Did yours have any hardware changes to achieve 370? Also, who did the map? Thanks.I'm so jealous though, I had an E60 535d with the infamous remap which gave it 370bhp and enough torque to turn the earth underneath it.
The only reason I got rid was due to company cars and having to drive to London fairly regularly. I'd have another in a heart beat.
Ian Geary said:
I can recommend buying a OBD2 to usb cable and getting familiar with inpa (which can be downloaded for free)
It took me hours of effort to set up, but when it's working it will lift the lid on loads of error and diagnostic information.
Where did you download INPA from? Definitely something I'd like to get set up sooner rather later, no doubt it'll come in handy. It took me hours of effort to set up, but when it's working it will lift the lid on loads of error and diagnostic information.
GriffTorque said:
Where did you download INPA from? Definitely something I'd like to get set up sooner rather later, no doubt it'll come in handy.
Forget about INPA - you are better off with ISTA-D - INPA is the factory software - it is used by factory staff, and while quite powerful, it's clunky to use. ISTA-D is the dealer software used at your local main dealer. It does fault diagnosis, calculates a test plan to determine the type of fault identified, and would also show step-by-step repair instructions based on what the diagnostic part of the software has found. Yours being an early car should have the cast iron block. New turbos and downpipes, and a decent map - knocking on 400+ with ease...
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