Car Model Guide/ BMW/ 5 Series/ E61/ Compare

E61, compare every engine

All 8 variants in this chassis on one screen. Identical body, identical electronics, identical suspension. Everything below is a consequence of which engine is in the bay.

Full comparison

VariantYearsPowerTorqueFuelTransmissionsEconomyRiskIssuesWorst single repairBandGood buyVerdict
520d M472005–2007163 PS340 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)5.5–7R219€2,500€3,400–€8,100€4,250Buy
520d N472007–2010177 PS350 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)5–6.5R421€2,500€5,200–€11,550€6,550Caution
523i N532007–2010190 PS270 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)8.5–10.5R322€2,500€4,150–€9,800€5,250Buy with conditions
525i M542004–2005192 PS245 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11R219€2,500€2,950–€6,550€3,700Buy with conditions
525d M572004–2010197 PS400 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)6–7.5R221€2,500€4,250–€11,000€5,400Strong buy
530d M572004–2010235 PS500 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)6–8R221€2,500€5,300–€14,450€6,800Strong buy
530i N522005–2010258 PS300 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11R221€2,500€4,450–€11,550€5,700Buy
535i N542007–2010306 PS400 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9.5–12R423€3,500€5,800–€13,850€7,250Caution

Issue overlap by engine. The row that decides it

IssueCostM47N47N53M54M57N52N54
Turbocharger wastegate rattle and turbo failure€1,200–€3,500······●
Fuel injector failure€1,800–€3,000······●
Rear timing chain failurewalk away€1,500–€2,500·●·····
DPF clogging and forced regeneration€250–€1,800●●··●··
Injector seal leak (soot around injectors)€400–€1,400····●··
Variable-vane turbo actuator sticking€400–€1,200●●··●··
Cooling system failure (pump, thermostat, expansion tank)€600–€1,100···●···
High-pressure fuel pump failure€700–€1,100······●
EGR cooler leak€400–€1,000·●·····
High-pressure fuel pump failure€600–€950··●····
Swirl flap wear and ingestion€400–€900●●··●··
Cold-start lifter tick and VANOS rattle€150–€900·····●·
Electric water pump and thermostat failure€500–€800··●··●●
Carbon buildup on intake valves€400–€700··●···●
Oil filter housing gasket leak€300–€600··●●●●●
NOx sensor failure€300–€600··●····
Piezo injector failure (lean-burn petrol)€350–€500··●····
Valve cover gasket leak€250–€500·····●·
Eccentric shaft sensor leak€250–€450·····●·
DISA intake flap failure€150–€400···●···
Charge pipe cracking€150–€400······●

Only engine-differentiating issues are listed. 16 further issues apply to every engine in this chassis. Cooling, electrics, suspension and the gearbox, and are on the chassis page.

Cross-chassis comparison

To compare against a different chassis: an E92 335i against an E90 330d, say, use the general comparison tool, which takes up to four variants from anywhere in the database and encodes them in the URL so the comparison can be shared.