Faults:

Battery failed at 30,000mls.

General Comments:

This care is the best thing since sliced bread. It has been well cared for since new and is my pride and joy.It`s smooth and silky engine is quiet and swift and despite its age (coming up for 7yrs) still has modern styling. Only wish I`d bought the 525 petrol which I believe has same engine with more power. But this car is still nippy!

Faults:

Suspension link broken on last service at 65000 miles. Apart from that everything is immaculate condition.

General Comments:

Can't fault the car one abit so far (touchwood) By far the best car around no wonder it has been voted the best luxury car for god-knows how many years. Back seat quite cramp for the size of car is the only snag I can think of.

Faults:

Front suspension joints at 28000.

ABS brake sensor at 30000 miles.

Both repaired under warranty.

General Comments:

This is without doubt the best car I have owned. I have been driving for 25 years and this is the only car that can still put a smile on your face when you drive it! Looks the absolute business! Full leather, climate control and 6 stack CD player add to the pleasure.

Faults:

The collision avoidance lite in the rear window needed repair.

The front driver side shock developed a rattle from a stone lodged in the spring assembly.

General Comments:

This truly is the ultimate driving machine.

The interior is well laid out with an infinite amount of comfortable driving positions.

The transmission has a sports mode that gets the most out of the 2.8ltr straight 6.

Faults:

Fuel pump fuse broke at 15000km's (3 months)

Common rail replaced at 90000km's.

Turbo replaced at 110000km's.

Water pump replaced at 115000km's.

Aluminium rods replaced front and rear at 140000km's.

Door rubbers replaced 4 times.

Drivers seat piping replaced.

Interior lighting unit replaced within the first year.

Central information display replaced within the first year.

General Comments:

This car is a great grand tourer.

It has performance to dream of (you can't get as good in gear acceleration unless you buy a 540i) and handles like a dream.

However, it still rides superb, even with the optional M sports suspension.

Economy is good (I got a 7.5 litres to 100km), but running costs suffer from high maintenance costs due to poor reliability.

Add considerable asking price and a ludicrous optional extras price and you've got a wonderful, but expensive (mine was 40000 pounds with sports suspension and 16 inch wheels) car.

Faults:

Catalytic converter fell off, at 2,000 miles.

Front discs collected stones from road.

Various rattles at rear.

Drivers seat rebuilt 4 times.

Instruments failed twice, due to faulty rear sensors.

Rear washer flooded boot area.

Ignition lock jammed, car could not be started.

Front washers have failed.

Various other minor problems.

General Comments:

The above list of failures clearly indicates poor quality control.

BMW 'sells' quality, here they failed.

Obviously it is not possible to drive any distance with confidence, or in comfort due to poor seating.

The dealership has been the only ray of hope in this sorry saga.

General Comments:

I acquired this car new in April 1999 and have run it every day since. It now has 62,000 miles on the clock and has never missed a beat.

I have deliberately never reset the average fuel consumption function on the computer and, to date, the car has averaged 32.7 mpg - which for a 2.5 (170 bhp), driven reasonably hard in all manner of urban and motorway conditions in the UK and in Europe, I consider excellent.

This is a quick and refined executive car that is every bit as good as the motor writers say it is. The handling and ride quality are, in my experience, way beyond anything else on the market (and I've driven most other execs on the European market).

Faults? Nothing too serious to write home about. There was a mysterious water leak into the passenger compartment 20,000 miles ago which was attributed by the dealer to dodgy door seals, but no other problems after they were replaced under warranty.

The cloth interior is a bit Spartan, but three years on the anthracite colour scheme still looks pretty new - even though it needs hoovering out at least once a fortnight as it shows every speck of dirt.

I recently borrowed a 530i Sport for a trip to France and enjoyed it very much, so that may be the next car for me. But climbing back into the 523 wasn't so different. It's a pleasure to own.