# 535d for a long distance high mileage commuter?



## CreepyOldGuy (Aug 26, 2016)

I'm coming up on 200k miles on my E60 530xi. I love this car, but I'm thinking I want something newer. I commute 1000 miles a week, I have racked up almost a 100k miles on the E60 since I purchased it late in 2016. 

I have been considering a 2014 or 2015 535d x drive, I have had the pleasure of driving a couple, I really like these cars!

My question, if I purchase one with say, 50k miles on it, the economics for me force me to keep my commuter for four years/200k miles. What do you guys think of the reliability of a 535d pushing between 200k and 300k miles? I can afford to properly maintain my E60, but I am concerned the newer diesel car might get a little too spendy to maintain. FWIW, I would tune and delete this car, IMO, the emissions crap is the most troublesome thing on a modern diesel. 

Prior to my E60, I had a TDI VW, so I have some diesel experience. The VW went back with all of the emissions scandal BS. I have considered another TDI VW, the "fixed" cars are now on the market and are fairly inexpensive. I drove 15' Passat TDI today, nice car, but it feels like a cheap tin can compared to my E60 I don't know if I can sit one of these things for four hours a day during my commute.


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## Pierre Louis (Oct 23, 2011)

I have a 2016 535d and use it to drive for work with a lot of miles. I should be able to reach 200,000 miles without much to worry about, especially with proper transmission maintenance (every 60-80,000 miles change the fluid).

I will disagree with your statement about the most troublesome parts of the car. IMO its the transfer case for the AWD models, and the Bosch cp4 high pressure fuel pump which may not go 300,000 miles. 

If you decide to put crap diesel in believing "diesel is diesel" then say goodbye to some of the other parts of the fuel system including carbon buildup and maybe fuel injectors DPF and NOx sensors, but I can't prove it. I have had direct injection diesels last way over 200,000 miles by using branded diesel only, with few problems, which is much more known to have "adequate" additives. I don't think vitamins, male enhancement products, or aftermarket fuel additives do anything except make people feel better.

PL


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## n00bkiller944 (May 21, 2018)

Pierre Louis said:


> I have a 2016 535d and use it to drive for work with a lot of miles. I should be able to reach 200,000 miles without much to worry about, especially with proper transmission maintenance (every 60-80,000 miles change the fluid).
> 
> I will disagree with your statement about the most troublesome parts of the car. IMO its the transfer case for the AWD models, and the Bosch cp4 high pressure fuel pump which may not go 300,000 miles.
> 
> ...


Any specific brands you stick to? I have been going to the mapco truck stop locally since it does a higher volume of diesel sale than any of the "branded" (shell, exxon, etc). What are peoples recommendations on that?

Sorry to derail. To the OP, I think it would be a great car for your purpose and with the amount of miles you put on your cars it should be a good test. As stated the transfer case seems like it might be a problem for you. One of the reasons I went with a 328d rwd v. the x-drive.


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## n1das (Jul 22, 2013)

If you put crap diesel in it and think diesel is diesel, you can expect the HPFP to fail just like in the CR TDIs and require a complete fuel system replacement costing around $15k. The DPF will survive. Driving it like you stole it on long trips will help prevent CBU issues.

I drive around 1k miles per week on the highway. There is absolutely no way I'm going to do that in anything that runs on gasoline. I have never owned a gasoline BMW...and won't. I was driving 1k miles/week VW TDIs before "graduating" to BMW Advanced Diesel. I had already shifted away from VW before the Dieselgate scandal broke.

I split the miles up between my 2014 *535d *and 2012 *X5 35d* and I am the only driver of them. Both cars have been very reliable. My long spirited runs on the highway might have something to do with it.

At only 111k miles on the *535d *and only 198k miles on the *X5 35d*, both cars are long term keepers and won't be for sale anytime soon. The *535d *was bought new in 2013 (ordered and waited for it) and the *X5 35d* was a CPO at 52k miles in 2014. As for their expected longevity, it's still too early to tell.


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## n1das (Jul 22, 2013)

n00bkiller944 said:


> Any specific brands you stick to? *I have been going to the mapco truck stop locally since it does a higher volume of diesel sale than any of the "branded" (shell, exxon, etc).* What are peoples recommendations on that?
> 
> Sorry to derail. To the OP, I think it would be a great car for your purpose and with the amount of miles you put on your cars it should be a good test. As stated the transfer case seems like it might be a problem for you. One of the reasons I went with a 328d rwd v. the x-drive.


You will be OK with the truck stop fuel. I fuel up ONLY at busy stations along major routes with the highest diesel turnover in the area. Gasser business doesn't count. I go where the big rigs go along major routes. My favorite busy truck stop at I-93 Exit 5 in Londonderry NH gets an entire 10,000 gallon tanker of diesel emptied there every day just to keep up with diesel demand from all the heavy truck traffic. I have no worries about getting water contaminated fuel at this station. I also regularly use some PowerService Diesel Fuel Supplement (white bottle) to help increase lubricity and take care of any water I can't avoid getting. It has worked well for me over the past 16 years and over 900k miles of diesel ownership experience.

Absolutely NO MORE GASSERS for me.


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## jck66 (Nov 28, 2017)

David (N1DAS) will be the best one to tell us about longevity. I appreciate that you're active here David and share your experiences!

OP, I replaced a Passat TDI with a 535d for my (at that point) relatively long commute, so I can sympathize with your "tin can" feeling. IMO the Passat is still a pretty nice car if you're not comparing it to a BMW. I don't have the hell commute anymore (CT to NJ) but while I did, I had started to question the wisdom of buying such a nice car to just "use up" with a commute. Have you considered a 328d?

Of course, some will tell you the best alternative is to just keep your E60. You already know the majority of the maintenance history of the car, and if you keep up with the maintenance (see the excellent "So you just bought an E60" document) there's no reason it shouldn't last a good long time. You will have to feed it though...


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## FredoinSF (Nov 29, 2009)

535d seems like a a good choice for the type of driving you do. Nice cars indeed. The best of the F10 US lineup IMHO.


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## Pierre Louis (Oct 23, 2011)

n00bkiller944 said:


> Any specific brands you stick to? I have been going to the mapco truck stop locally since it does a higher volume of diesel sale than any of the "branded" (shell, exxon, etc). What are peoples recommendations on that?
> 
> Sorry to derail. To the OP, I think it would be a great car for your purpose and with the amount of miles you put on your cars it should be a good test. As stated the transfer case seems like it might be a problem for you. One of the reasons I went with a 328d rwd v. the x-drive.


I used to use truck stop diesel when I had a truck. Different clientele and needs.

Since the 21st century came around, regular retailers have been adding diesel pumps.

The likelihood that the fuel is properly cared for and additized from the retailer is much higher from a national brand name like Shell, Chevron, BP, etc. It is also more likely to find "fresh" diesel in busier stations - likely the ones with the best price and location. I mostly use brand name less expensive diesel and have had no fuel-related issues so far. I have not seen any "off brand" diesel properly marketed for quality nor have I heard about their additive package being anything more than rudimentary.

PL


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## Pierre Louis (Oct 23, 2011)

n1das said:


> Driving it like you stole it on long trips will help prevent CBU issues.


This is heresay/legend and probably comes from when people only use their diesel vehicles on short, low speed trips.

I respect my machinery and agree, once in a while accelerate "well" especially when at operating temperature in a safe highway on ramp or something. Its called an "Italian tune-up." I don't "drive it like I stole it" and have had no known CBU issues in over half a million miles.

PL


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## n1das (Jul 22, 2013)

jck66 said:


> David (N1DAS) will be the best one to tell us about longevity. I appreciate that you're active here David and share your experiences!
> 
> OP, I replaced a Passat TDI with a 535d for my (at that point) relatively long commute, so I can sympathize with your "tin can" feeling. IMO the Passat is still a pretty nice car if you're not comparing it to a BMW. I don't have the hell commute anymore (CT to NJ) but while I did, I had started to question the wisdom of buying such a nice car to just "use up" with a commute. Have you considered a 328d?
> 
> Of course, some will tell you the best alternative is to just keep your E60. You already know the majority of the maintenance history of the car, and if you keep up with the maintenance (see the excellent "So you just bought an E60" document) there's no reason it shouldn't last a good long time. You will have to feed it though...


I'm here somewhat regularly given that I don't frequent the TDIclub.com forums much anymore because I'm no longer a TDI owner. When I sold my 2002 Golf TDI in 2010 to a coworker whose son needed a car for college, the car only had 361k miles and was still going strong. The last 210k of those miles was with performance mods and making close to twice the stock HP and TQ. And still getting 40+ MPG on the highway and 700 miles between fillups was a bonus. Maybe I should have kept it longer and I could have kept it longer but I finally had the itch for a new car and replaced it with a 2010 Jetta SportWagen TDI. The 02 Golf TDI is still on the road today in the hands of the second owner with more than 400k miles on it.

My *X5 35* is 2k miles away from 200k miles. I plan to post an ash mass update in the "Post your DPF ash mass and mileage" thread at 200k miles. I keep an eye on it with the Carly app because the car is nagging me about the DPF. Code 452A gets set at a little past 150k miles and is an advisory code saying that the DPF is approaching its calculated end of life. A little past 170k miles, code 4D4A gets set after the calculated life has been exceeded because the continued to be driven after getting the 452A code. 4D4A triggers a warning about the DPF on the iDrive screen and a DPF symbol on the instrument cluster. I clear the iDrive message and drive on. The warnings come only once at 10 minutes after startup. No Check Engine Light or limp mode occurs as these are simply advisory warnings for BMW service techs to tell you to spend big money on a DPF replacement. All regens are occurring normally and power and mileage are where they should be. As long as regens are occurring normally, I don't have to do anything about the DPF yet. I expect to get well past 200k miles before I have to do anything with the DPF.

I just got both cars through NH safety and emissions inspection. The emissions part of the inspection is an OBD-II scan. The Check Engine Light can't be on, it can't have any stored codes, and must pass readiness. The 452A and 4D4A codes warning about the DPF don't count as they are just advisory codes for BMW service to tell the customer they need to spend money on a DPF replacement. All set and street legal for another year.


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## n00bkiller944 (May 21, 2018)

n1das said:


> My *X5 35* is 2k miles away from 200k miles. I plan to post an ash mass update in the "Post your DPF ash mass and mileage" thread at 200k miles. I keep an eye on it with the Carly app because the car is nagging me about the DPF. Code 452A gets set at a little past 150k miles and is an advisory code saying that the DPF is approaching its calculated end of life. A little past 170k miles, code 4D4A gets set after the calculated life has been exceeded because the continued to be driven after getting the 452A code. 4D4A triggers a warning about the DPF on the iDrive screen and a DPF symbol on the instrument cluster. I clear the iDrive message and drive on. The warnings come only once at 10 minutes after startup. No Check Engine Light or limp mode occurs as these are simply advisory warnings for BMW service techs to tell you to spend big money on a DPF replacement. All regens are occurring normally and power and mileage are where they should be. As long as regens are occurring normally, I don't have to do anything about the DPF yet. I expect to get well past 200k miles before I have to do anything with the DPF.
> 
> I just got both cars through NH safety and emissions inspection. The emissions part of the inspection is an OBD-II scan. The Check Engine Light can't be on, it can't have any stored codes, and must pass readiness. The 452A and 4D4A codes warning about the DPF don't count as they are just advisory codes for BMW service to tell the customer they need to spend money on a DPF replacement. All set and street legal for another year.


Really surprised those codes are mileage based. Seems almost unfair to the normal consumer.


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## n1das (Jul 22, 2013)

n00bkiller944 said:


> Really surprised those codes are mileage based. Seems almost unfair to the normal consumer.


The codes are based on the calculated life of the DPF. Most BMW owners never keep their cars long enough to see these codes.

I've actually been driving my X5 35d more than my 535d for the most part. I split the miles up close to evenly during the summer months and tend to drive the X5 35d more during the winter months and exclusively during the worst part of the winter. The X5 35d has been my go anywhere and do it all vehicle. The 535d has been the toy. But with both cars getting older, the 535d is now being used more for my daily commute.

I just received a notice in the mail from BMW about warranty extension on the 535d EGR valve and cooler. The warranty is extended to 10 years / 120k miles. I recall there's a similar warranty extension for the HPFP. I'm out of warranty on both in 9k miles. It doesn't matter to me because the car won't be for sale anytime soon.

Both cars definitely are keepers for driving 1k miles per week. 

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## dzlbimmer (Jul 16, 2017)

CreepyOldGuy said:


> I'm coming up on 200k miles on my E60 530xi. I love this car, but I'm thinking I want something newer. I commute 1000 miles a week, I have racked up almost a 100k miles on the E60 since I purchased it late in 2016.
> 
> I have been considering a 2014 or 2015 535d x drive, I have had the pleasure of driving a couple, I really like these cars!
> 
> ...


There are no emissions delete kits for the N57 that I am aware of, and honestly that is a super grey area for the overall serviceability, resale, etc. If you are an aware owner, have a knowledgeable and honest technician, and put the car through appropriate usage, you'll be fine.
Nice care package on the V6 TDI cars. I prefer the engineering around a straight 6, prefer the road feel and interior ergonomics of the BMW. F10 535, NICE CAR. I'd be looking at minimum for options 456 comfort seats, and 5AS or 5AT Driver assist Plus. Seems like if you live in CO and rely lots of miles, Xdrive is a no brainer unless you have a "chance of bad roads" car (defeats the purpose?)


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## listerone (Jul 21, 2009)

See my post in the recent thread entitled "Is The d A Good Choice For Me?".

(Sorry,don't know how to post links)


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## listerone (Jul 21, 2009)

Pierre Louis said:


> If you decide to put crap diesel in believing "diesel is diesel" then say goodbye to some of the other parts of the fuel system including carbon buildup and maybe fuel injectors DPF and NOx sensors, but I can't prove it.


I've seen it written many times that,possibly unlike gasoline,diesel in a particular part of the country tends to come from the very same source making "brand names" irrelevant.I buy most of my diesel at a Mobil station that's near the office and,coincidentally,it's about the cheapest diesel I see either at home or during my typical commute.But I might be inclined to buy at an off brand station if it was the cheapest I saw.

But I can't prove that what I've read is correct either.


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## Pierre Louis (Oct 23, 2011)

listerone said:


> I've seen it written many times that,possibly unlike gasoline,diesel in a particular part of the country tends to come from the very same source making "brand names" irrelevant.I buy most of my diesel at a Mobil station that's near the office and,coincidentally,it's about the cheapest diesel I see either at home or during my typical commute.But I might be inclined to buy at an off brand station if it was the cheapest I saw.
> 
> But I can't prove that what I've read is correct either.


This legend ignores how diesel is produced: properly with additives.

I've also heard discount brands, including Walmart BTW, bragging how it is less expensive because of fewer additives. Other brands market their "top tier" status, which gives confidence in the quality of their diesel - such as Costco.

The quality of the diesel is definitely affected by the company-specific additive package, except for non-branded retailers who might get some shipments from other brands. This goes for gasoline also, but diesel apparently is also sensitive to how well it is stored, its additives, how it is filtered, etc. Stations need to keep their tanks clean and dry. Buying from a nationally branded oil producing company is arguably a safer bet, especially if the price is low with higher turnover of diesel. Tank maintenance etc. will be monitored more closely to protect the brand.

Yes, I have spoken to oil engineers about the different steps crude oil is refined as well as regional differences. But each brand tailors its additive package to the base diesel at the terminal.

PL


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## CreepyOldGuy (Aug 26, 2016)

Thanks for the feedback. I am still in the thought process on this. Drove a like new loaded Passat TDI, I just can't do it, my well worn E60 blows it away in every aspect, not to mention I should probably stick with an AWD car given my commute/location. Thought about a 3 series diesel, but I prefer the interior of the 5's, maybe worth a look as a 3 would be way better then a VW 

AA Rodriguez offers a Buzzken delete kit for the F10, dpf, scr, egr, the usual. They also offer tunes.


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## Pierre Louis (Oct 23, 2011)

CreepyOldGuy said:


> Thanks for the feedback. I am still in the thought process on this. Drove a like new loaded Passat TDI, I just can't do it, my well worn E60 blows it away in every aspect, not to mention I should probably stick with an AWD car given my commute/location. Thought about a 3 series diesel, but I prefer the interior of the 5's, maybe worth a look as a 3 would be way better then a VW
> 
> AA Rodriguez offers a Buzzken delete kit for the F10, dpf, scr, egr, the usual. They also offer tunes.


Better hurry and scoop up one of the last 2018 540xd's. Cars.com has a few listed still for sale.

PL


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## CreepyOldGuy (Aug 26, 2016)

Pierre Louis said:


> Better hurry and scoop up one of the last 2018 540xd's. Cars.com has a few listed still for sale.
> 
> PL


I would love to have one, but it is out of my $35k max budget.


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## AnilPunjabi (Sep 3, 2017)

CreepyOldGuy said:


> I would love to have one, but it is out of my $35k max budget.


Think about cpo as it has unlimited mileage for the one year - also I have a 535d but have you thought about a cpo Tesla ?

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