Faults:

Before buying the dealer had to fixed a couple of things:

1. Broken right cup holder. Cost about NZD300.

2. Auxiliary water pump (for heater) had a slow leak. I have read (on http://www.5series.net/) that if it wasn't fixed, then the heater will take a while to heat up.

Some of my settings in the car got set to the default setting one day. The car wasn't used for three days, and on day 4 the settings changed???

General Comments:

I wanted this car because of all the technologies that been put in it. And since the technologies have been on the 7 Series since 2001-2002, it'll be safe enough to assume that we've worked the problems out.

It's much better to drive than my 528 E39, due to the Dynamic Drive and Active Steering. I have Xenon, Adaptive Headlight as well, so driving at night is a joy. It has more room than the E39.

IDrive is quite annoying until you get the hang of it.

The run flats are very hard, and I'm not quite sure whether I have to keep the tyre pressure as recommended by the manual. It requires 35 and 36 psi for the front and rear respectively.

The boot opens with such enthusiasm; you might want to get your jaw out of the way though. One thing that the boot needs is a button to close it. It's very hard to do it with your hands.

Fuel consumption is good if you drive sensibly, but with a sweet sounding 3 liter under the bonnet, who will? I got 9l/100km on motorway and 13l/100km in town (with hilly sections).

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

I am properly pleased with this car. It is my third BMW in recent times and my second 5 series. The three litre turbo diesel engine is just incredible - you really wouldn't know it is a diesel. The car is very fast with stunning mid-range acceleration.

The overall build quality is second to none. Much better than a Merc or an Audi. I have quite a few toys - though bluetooth phone kit is the best closely followed by the automatic wipers which actually work as advertised.

The sport package has some nice detail touches. My car has the optional 18inch wheels on top of that with 40-series profile tyres. This makes the ride a bit solid over the potholes - it's probably a bit too stiff and does tramline a bit on very bad roads. It's great on Motorways though.

The fuel consumptions has been 37mpg so far, which is very respectable. Almost exactly the same as my old 525td 5-series (E34 shape) and actually little worse than the 118d I used to have.

Faults:

So far, nothing.

General Comments:

-Just picked up an alpine white 525i with the premium, sport, and cold weather packages. The exterior design is attractive, and the gray leather interior is classic BMW style, designed with the driver in mind. Perhaps the only reservation I have with this car is the engine performance. When I originally test-drove the 525i, I thought the engine felt lively enough. In fact, I decided that there was no point in looking at the 530i with its bigger 6 cylinder engine because the output from the 525's 2.5l was good enough. Now, however, I realize that I was wrong; the engine feels short of torque during town and city driving and gets rpm-winded on the highway. Getting the sport package speeds things up a bit, but if you've got the cash you should go with the 530i. Before deciding on the 525i, I looked at cars such as the Audi A6 3.0 and the Volvo S80 2.9. I didn't feel at ease behind the wheel of the Audi, and according to Consumer Reports S80's were unreliable.

In conclusion, if you decide that a 5 series is right for you, but don't think you have the money to get the best model, try to fish out the extra dollars to get the 530i. If you can't, you'll still get an attractive, reliable, and fun to drive sedan.

I also currently own a 1999 Acura Tl and a 2003 Ford Ranger. Both are highly recommended by me.