Faults:

Not very much while I have had it, but it has only been two years with me. Previous owner admittedly had some expensive bills according to the car's history, but nothing really serious. Keep up the service schedule on these cars and they are generally reliable, just be aware no BMW is cheap to fix if things go wrong however.

General Comments:

The 5 Series in my opinion has always been a fine all round car, I had one back in the 1990's (E34), but this one is very modern despite being 12 years old now.

520d SE is a great model, great engine and very comfortable spec. Mine has a black exterior and beige leather interior, and all the electrics you could have in a 2011 car.

Very nice to drive, moves quick when needed, and still manages close to 50 mpg on average.

Love it, the "F10" 5 series is a good looking fun to drive car, but there are lots on the used market; choose carefully and buy a looked after car and you have one of the best exec saloons going.

Faults:

A couple of minor electronic items.

General Comments:

Really like the 5 series; was contemplating buying a 3 series, but decided to go for something a bit bigger and roomier. Very good car and excellent drive. Handles well and the comfort is first class. Have had a Mercedes CLK in the past, but prefer the BMW.

These cars do have their bad points, and do require high maintenance and regular servicing with quality parts and oils etc. The only thing I would change, and have done, is removing the run flat tyres and replacing them with standard tyres, which give you a far better ride and also they are a lot cheaper. Remember to carry tyre inflater/puncture kit as there is no spare.

I find the car good on fuel and it has the bonus of cheap road tax, which is not bad for this car. The only other modification done to this car is an EGR delete and remap to 220bhp from the standard 184bhp; this was my choice and not really necessary, but does improve performance and fuel economy. Removal of the EGR improves the pick up and rev range on this car, but technically it's not legal to use the car on the road in the UK with it removed, but to be honest I don't know of anyone that's had any problems with either the transport people or going through an MOT.

The other point is, this car has the n47 engine, which can have timing chain issues as this was a design fault by BMW, but good maintenance and regular oil changes can prevent problems. If the timing chain did need replacing, it's an engine out job as the chain is at the rear of the engine, not the front like most cars, so expect around a £1000 bill for doing this! If purchasing one of these cars, always check service history and for any noises like chain rattle on this engine. Cars that have covered around 120k miles could have timing chain issues if poorly maintained, or might have had it already replaced.

The EGR can be troublesome, especially on a car that does short regular journeys (another reason why I had mine removed). It always helps to give the car a good long run regularly to help this.

Other things to check for, are minor water leaks from door seals and the notorious yellow bung leak from the bulkhead. This is where the hole is for left hand drive cars' steering that is blocked with this bung that can fail, causing a leak into the footwell of the passenger compartment. Pedestrian protection system sensors can be a problem too with the thin wiring failing that's behind the bumper, which can cause an error message on the iDrive on board computer, but it can be an easy fix and not too expensive. Or you can get the fault coded out by using suitable computer software like ISTA.

Other than that, I do love this car, and look forward to a few years of ownership.

Faults:

Nothing yet, only had it 4 weeks. Cup holder cover is broken already though :/

General Comments:

Very good car. Very popular in Ireland, so they're obviously a good car if a lot of people have one.

Cheap to buy compared to a Mercedes E-Class, Volkswagen Passat CC and Citroen DS5, which are the 5 Series contenders.