Welcome to my 2009 BMW 535 sale page. I want to say up front, I AM NOT DESPERATE TO SELL THIS CAR. I am perfectly happy continuing to use this car as my daily driver for the next several years. That said, if someone were willing to pay what I'm asking, I'd reluctantly let it go.
So why am I listing it for sale in the first place? Good question. I thought that building this page would be a fun exercise and maybe, just maybe, someone will see this car the same way I do and be willing to pay my asking price. That, and two other reasons: 1) I'm ready for a new BMW and 2) it's certainly possible something expensive is going to break soon.
Expensive you say? Yep. BMWs are not cheap to maintain. Don't buy this car because you think you're getting a deal. Only consider it if you know BMWs and think this is one you want. I have all receipts since I bought this from CARMAX in October 2012. Not too long ago (December 2017) I spent nearly $7,000 trying to fix a small oil leak. If I knew how much it was going to cost before embarking on the project I would have skipped it completely. The "leak" was maybe one drop per day. If you get to the bottom of this page and want to know more about the leak - with pictures - let me know and I'll be happy to share them with you.
So what, exactly, am I selling? As mentioned above, it's a 2009 E60 535 with the N54 engine and 110,000+ miles (as of December 2020). The options list includes:
1) Premium Package
2) Rear sunshades (manual on the sides, power in the rear)
3) Bamboo anthracite wood trim
4) Xenon headlights
5) Navigation system*
6) Real time traffic
7) Sport package (later model BMWs called this the "M sport package" but BMW hadn't adopted that marketing tactic in 2009)
8) Sport automatic transmission
9) Comfort access keyless entry
10) Heated front seats
11) Ventilated front seats
12) Logic7 sound
13) Tires are 245/40 ZR18 in the front and 275/35 ZR18 in the back. I currently have Michelin Pilot Sport 4s tires mounted (August 2018). Yes, these are the best tires you can buy for a sports car. That also means, depending on when you read this, that they might need to be replaced soon. A full set of tires is $923 from Tirerack.com - to which you need to add tax, installation, and disposal fees.
What's to like about this car?
First, this is an awesome car. Like all BMWs it has a split personality. If you drive it gently it will act like a comfortable cruiser. If you push it hard, it will tighten up and react like a true sports car. My previous car was a 1999 540i with a 4.4 liter V-8. That was a great car and I loved it. Unfortunately it ate its transmission and the fix would have been $8,000 or more - which was a lot more than the car was worth. In comparison, this 535 with a twin turbo 3.0 liter straight six has a lot more power and is more efficient on the freeway. I can get as much as 34mpg in pure highway driving at 70mph. In town 18 - 19mpg is more normal. If your right foot weighs more than mine, your mileage, as they say, may vary. ;-)
Second, although this car has plenty of miles on it, I have taken careful care of it. Most of the maintenance has been performed by the dealer and it is always garaged except, of course, when I'm at work or out and about.
Third, I've done some important upgrades. Chief among those is (*5 above) replacing the DVD-based navigation system (BMW calls this the "CCC") with a hard drive-based nav system ("CIC"). You can do a web search on the difference between these but the CIC is miles ahead of the CCC. This was a $3000 evolution. In addition to better maps, faster processor, and more features, the hard drive allows you to store music directly in the car. This also has two USB ports so you can attach a flash drive with music, audio books, etc.
Another upgrade was LED angel eyes. This was a cheap and easy do-it-yourself upgrade which, I think, makes the car look much better and more modern. I cringe whenever I see a similar car on the road with the original angel eyes.
Last is a Dinan Stage One recode. Okay, honestly I would not do this again. I don't drive this car hard so it's impossible to tell the difference pre- and post-upgrade. If you buy a different BMW and don't plan on tracking your car, then I recommend skipping the Dinan mod. I don't mean to slam the nice folks at Dinan. As far as I can tell, they have a great reputation but my upgrade did nothing for me. I reached out to them for help afterward and did not receive a response to my email.
Recent maintenance included replacing the fuel pressure sensor, fuel feed line, low pressure fuel pump, and EKPS module ($3200). It also has the high pressure fuel pump replaced. This was the subject of a major lawsuit which caused BMW to extend the warranty of that particular system for 10 years. I had it done just after the 10 year cut off. Fortunately my dealer was very generous and we worked out a deal so I didn't eat the entire cost.
Stuff that probably needs to be done: 1) battery replacement ($600), 2) front contol arm bushings ($1200). I may replace the battery soon - especially if the car doesn't sell soon. The control arm bushings are not likely to be something that I do until I have to. No play is discernible (to me) so I don't see this as urgent or even necessary. 3) There appears to be a leak either from the moon roof or the rear window. I've noticed staining on the driver's side C pillar. I have not yet pulled off the trim to see if I can figure out the source myself. Sometimes the drain around the moonroof becomes clogged. Let's hope that's all this is.
Known dents, dings, etc.: 1) There is a dent in the right rear quarter panel that, depending on the light and viewing angle, is either invisible or annoying (to an owner). The picture I took doesn't really show it in it's "best" light. As with anything on this page, if you're serious and curious, I'm happy to take and send additional pictures. P.S. The first picture below shows the dent better than the dedicated pic. 2) There is a gouge in the paint in the left front quarter panel. This happened when a metal door was opened into it from below. That happened several years ago and it hasn't gotten any worse so I haven't done anything about it. 3) The hood has various chips in it, primarily from rocks and the like. Remember, this car has 110,000+ miles on it so some of that type of damage is going to be normal. 4) In fact the hood in general has some areas where the paint isn't quite right. From 5 feet away you wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary but when washing or waxing it with your face inches away, you will notice these imperfections.
Normal wear items: 1) Windshield has 105,000 miles worth of sand, rocks, etc. that has made tiny chips as they are wont to do. 2) The weatherstripping around the windshield is a little cracked. 3) Oh, most importantly in this category are the wheels. They all have many tiny pits in the clearcoat which have been filled with brake dust and such over the years. This is impossible to clean completely. I spent 15 minutes or so trying various chemicals and tools to clean just one section of one wheel and made it a little better but not significantly so. The best you can do is wash them periodically and they'll look fine from 6 feet away. If I was going to keep this car for another 10 years, I'd probably retrofit a set of 19" BBS CH-R wheels but I can't justify the $4320 that would cost (with tires). By the way, if you buy a BMW be prepared to wash your wheels often or live with dingy ones. These cars produce prodiguous amounts of brake dust! I wish I could tell you that I wash my car every week but it's more like 2.5 weeks on average between washings.
What does Kelley Blue Book say? Average private party value is $6700. Trade in value is $4200. Yeah, well I'm not going to let this car go for that. I'm asking $10,000 and I'm locked on that price. Don't offer me $7500. Don't offer me $9900. If this car isn't worth $10,000 then I'm happy to keep it.
I have a CarFax report for this car and it says the car was in a sideswipe accident in 2010. I've owned this car for 8 years and have washed it dozens of times and waxed it a couple and I've never been able to tell that any repair work was done. The paint matches perfectly. Contact me and I'll send you the Carfax report images.
Here are some pictures. These are just thumbnails. Click on the thumbnail to open a full size picture. Then use your browser's back button to return to this page. If you want a picture of something else or a different pic of something here, let me know.
Well, that's it. If you read this whole page and are still interested, please contact me at matt@velocolutions.com. Thanks for reading.