Used 2008 BMW 5 Series 535i 4dr Sedan (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 6M) Consumer Reviews
Used 5 Series for sale
1...
See Edmunds pricing data
Has Your Car's Value Changed?
Used car values are constantly changing. Edmunds lets you track your vehicle's value over time so you can decide when to sell or trade in.
The Dream Wedding of Vehicles...
Blondeinabmw, Marietta, GA, 05/27/2016
BMW 5 Series 535i 4dr Sedan (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 6M)
104 of 107 people found this review helpful
Every time you take this car in for service, it costs $1,000...except for when it costs far more than $1,000. Bought my gorgeous 535i (with the sport package and premium sound) as a special order, and it arrived with 3 miles on the odometer. Since I bought it, I have been plagued with problems. Admittedly, the first 4+ years were pretty much covered under free maintenance with the warranty, but since it went off the maintenance agreement, it has more than made up for the savings. My car is 8 years old and has 107K miles. During the time I've owned it, it has required: - Three complete sets of tires plus two sets of rear tires (roughly every 20-30K miles) - A valve replaced in the engine (towed) - All six fuel injectors (limped in to the shop) - Walnut blasting of the intakes - A water pump (towed) - Computer software reinstalled (twice, took more than a week each time at the dealership for the reinstall to "stick") (towed) - Three fuel pumps (towed) - And now, the CCC is bad. This is a fancy acronym for the iDrive computer system that includes navigation, radio, bluetooth and all the car's controls. It also needs the hydraulics in the hood replaced, the xenon headlight has a malfunction (which requires the entire headlight assembly to be removed from the body of the car to change a LIGHTBULB, and if god forbid the ballast is bad, the bumper must be removed as well). For a change, it is actually driving fairly well, but this repair is gonna cost more than all the others yet! I've not added it up, but I think this car has cost me at least $1,800 a year in maintenance costs since it went off warranty in 2012, sometimes more. I will say that the cupholders in this car are the stupidest thing ever designed. It also does not hold car seats very well - infant carriers have to go in the middle back seat or the passenger seat will have to be on the dash, and convertible front-facing seats don't leave a ton of room either. It drives beautifully. Handles like a dream. Is so comfortable. Feels like a beast when you want it to. Rides gracefully. Looks pretty. Has an amazing sound system. Gets pretty good gas mileage all things considered. SUCKS THE LIFE OUT OF ME.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Fun to drive, poor reliability & expensive to fix
mqc99, Berkeley, CA, 02/09/2014
BMW 5 Series 535i 4dr Sedan (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 6M)
68 of 71 people found this review helpful
This was my 1st and last BMW. Bought the car new, in the 6 years and 34K miles I've owned the car, I had a faulty battery, bad fuel pump, dead oxygen sensor, and a failed water pump. I was stranded 3 times (car completely died) and almost stranded twice. So, multiple trips to the shops and over 2 grand of repair bills later, I have finally gave up on this "ultimate driving machine". It was a fun car to drive while it worked. But, for a $60K car, I'd expect BMW to deliver something better. The worst part is that I totally lost my confidence in it and can no longer feel comfortable taking this car on any extended trips. This will be the LAST BMW I ever spend my money on.
Should not have bought first model year
DHecker, Boston, MA, 02/03/2016
updated 08/10/2022
BMW 5 Series 535i 4dr Sedan (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 6M)
43 of 48 people found this review helpful
(Updated August 10, 2022.) It died around Christmas. Shop wasn't sure what it was ut figured it would not be cheap to fix. Would have done it anyway, I think, but it still leaked when it rained hard. Donated it to a local radio station. (Updated February 6, 2020.). Still running at about 120,000 miles. Starter just died and I have had cooling hoses break on the highway twice since my last review. But I keep getting it fixed and it runs well when not in the shop. [Updated 8/08/19.] About a year ago the car needed maybe $1500 or so of work. I was getting ready to just throw in the towel but asked my independent repair shop what they thought. The owner said that most owners of 535s throw in the towel around 150,000 miles because at that point the car needs lots of expensive work. He said the good news for me is I already had just about all of that done. So I decided to put the money into the car rather than buy a new one and continue to drive it. I think that has been the right decision. I really do like the car when it is driving well. It is smooth, powerful, quiet and remarkably at 11 or 12 years old still looking quite nice. My bottom line is to be careful buying the first model year of any complicated highly engineered car like this one. My guess is a year or two later BMW had figured out some of the common problems and those cars would have better repair records. [Original review.] The most telling example of the problems I've had with this car is the following. The BMW has warning signals for many different things, including that the outside temperature is now 37°. However, it does not have a warning signal to say that for whatever reason a seal in the transmission has blown and all of the fluid is leaking out. Leading to the need for a new transmission. I have had innumerable problems with the engine, electronics, lights, you name it. I also have had to replace one of the turbos at only 80,000 miles and of course replaced the other one at the same time. $3,200 later it is running fine. But there is still that $1,400 oil pan that will need to be fixed soon enough. Which I decided just to fix rather than continually worry it would implode on me 100 miles from a reliable repair shop. I bought the car in 2011 with only 25,000 miles on it. If I have not spent $20,000 in repairs since then, I would be surprised. Don't waste your money. On the positive side, when it is working and especially on the highway it is a lot of fun to drive. It gets mediocre mileage around town (it is quite heavy). But it gets somewhere around 33 miles per gallon on the highway.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
One fine auto.
jpcoregon, Eagle Point, OR, 02/24/2011
BMW 5 Series 535i 4dr Sedan (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 6M)
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
I bought the 2008 535i certified, including the maint. program to 100K miles 10/08. Outside of the horrendous experience with the lack of honesty and integrity of the BMW dealer, the car is superb. Too bad the certified program still makes one visit a BMW dealership. The car's comfort, ability to handle as well as it's outright performance is just plain fun. I quickly dumped the run-flats on this Sport model and bought high end Michelin UHP tires. The difference is a better ride and performance all the way around. Huge lack of space for change, eyeglasses and little things. Cupholders are poor, but one forgets as this thing gets up and runs.
poor reliability & expensive to fix
Mike, Woodstock, GA, 07/29/2015
BMW 5 Series 535i 4dr Sedan (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 6M)
20 of 22 people found this review helpful
Great car when it is work. 77 kmiles, second owner bought at 50 k. so far I replaced, water pump, turbo,shift assembly,, battery , one bearing , low pressure fuel pump. If you have the money for this buy it if not...no. The only way I will buy an other BMW will be only if has CPO warranty ...
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
1...