2004 BMW 5 Series 520i 2.2
Summary:
Expensive nightmare
Faults:
"General electronics" failure popped up frequently.
Always throwing up some sort of a fault code. In the end it was quite depressing to turn the key - you never knew which fault was going to pop up.
- Seat sensor passenger side, $1400 fix to get the airbag working at 120,000KM.
- Some sort of bushings in the rear, making a really annoying sound at 100,000KM.
- Light module went out, throwing fault codes that had to be replaced. Bushings and wishbones in front, suspension leaking at 122,000KM. All this cost me $4000 for parts and labour.
- "Transmission failure" fault code popping up sometimes, however I never noticed any fault in the transmission, it worked fine.
- Frequent need of wheel alignment.
- Kept blowing an ABS fuse.
- Front headlamp leaking, mist inside. Looks fugly and is an expensive fix.
General Comments:
Such a disappointment and expensive experience. This car has been a pain, I got rid of it after 1 year of ownership and sold it to a local. I talked to him some time ago and he's already spent $5000 on electrical gremlins and other fixes underneath the car. The car always started and drove, but there were so many absurd things that went wrong.
Economy was also very poor, power to economy rating, 1.2L/10km average mixed driving.
This car had been so much looked after, the service book was brimming with services from when the car was new to when I bought it and sold it, but still so many things went wrong in a short period. I guess some of the reasons things went wrong was that the 2004 model is the first one. I think that in the newer models, many electrical glitches have been sorted out.
All in all, this was not worth it at all, the car was not really THAT good to drive, but the comfort was good. Still, it doesn't justify the running costs at all. Got quickly bored of the car; I guess it's because of all the problems and expenses.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 11th May, 2013
13th Sep 2016, 21:56
One simply cannot afford to bring a German or Swedish (Volvo) used car to the main dealership for repairs. These dealers don't look at three digit numbers, only 4 digits and up prices when it comes to repairing a higher miles car.
5th Dec 2016, 19:40
I'm shocked by the number of electrical problems you have had. The only problem I have had was alternator failure, solved by a cheap brush set bought from EBay. I did wake up one day after a very heavy night of showers to find the boot had opened itself, nightmare. I was very lucky that I didn't start the car, and after a day in the airing cupboard the modules at the bottom of the spare wheel well worked without a problem. I of course have since replaced them higher up. Stupid location.
Matthew Dawood Khaghani
13th May 2013, 07:09
"Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know"
Now that's what I call a really forgiving nature. My response would have been, "No f***ing way."