2011 BMW 535 consumer reviews

Beautiful car; powerful, solid, great design and performance. I've owned other German cars and they were great, but this one is the best and I've ordered another for 2020.

As with every BMW I have owned this 535i is a rear drive only with a 6spd manual (yes 3 pedals). I have owned it for the last 7 years and have 240,000km (160,000 miles) on it and drive it all year round (fun in the snow too!). It is fast, comfortable and efficient not to mention really good looking. I have only changed the brakes only once and it is easy on tires unlike my other bimmers. The car had a freak break in the gearbox which was a $9000 repair (I had everything else done since the tranny was out, clutch etc) at 200,000km. Other than an i-drive computer glitch and a high pressure fuel pump the car has been flawless and well worth the money as I paid just over half its original price at 1.5 years old with 35,000 km on it. Highly recommend this car - just like my 2001 530i, I plan to drive it to 500,000km.

Junk junk junk and junk sorry but this the true i could not even sale as junk tooo much money to fix but its all to do with where i did get not the car it self

This is one of my dream cars. This car is almost new. The ride is excellent the interior is excellent the exterior is excellent and the maintenance is excellent. The perfect car for me and my wife.

This Bmer has a smooth ride and handles well. The upgraded larger engine provides excellent power. The black metallic upgraded paint of the Bmer makes it look like a new car.

I've driven this car since buying slightly used 7 years ago. It's been highly reliable, super fun to drive, fast, and full of comfort options. I would highly recommend holding out for the M Sport package if you are looking for a 5 series. Better looking, handling, and lots of performance options that don't cost much more on a used one.

i love this vehicle very reliable vehicle. my family loves it. Cant wait to take over road for family vacation. I was a suv guy. but im a bmw guy now

GREAT CAR ! DRIVE GREAT FOR YEARS AND YEARS. GREAT PERFORMANCE CAR. I DRIVE A 2007 BMW AND IT STILL DRIVES GREAT NO MORE PROBLEMS

First off, I love this car. I own a 535i M-Sport 6-speed manual. I bought it in September 2017 with 46k miles on it. I now have nearly 60k after just under two years of ownership. I've never had a car this nice. It handles wonderfully and is super quiet and composed. While it doesn't have blazing speed off the line, its power is especially evident after 40 mph— you hit the gas, you are pinned to your seat, and suddenly you're doing 90+mph. Ok, now to the warts: expect some things to go wrong. I keep discovering more known BMW issues and I keep my fingers crossed that the next one won't happen soon. Fortunately, there is lots of information online on these known problems, especially in forums. If you're in the market for one of these, ask the seller about these known repair issues and/or check repair records. There is a technical repair manual available online. (I am not sure if they let you post links here, so I won't risk it.) I will go down the list in the order I discovered and had to repair them: 1) Oil change. Pretty easy. Affordable if you do it yourself. BMW will charge you more (Mann filter, about $12 from the online shopping giant) 2) Air filter. Really easy. (Mann filter, about $25) 3) Cabin air filter (Mahle filter, about $50)—see YouTube video for how-to 4) You will notice an oil leak (or BMW will when you take it in). Oil filter housing gasket and oil cooler gasket—not expensive to repair (~$60 in parts via ECS; lots more if BMW does it). If you have worked on cars, this won't be too much of a problem. There is a YouTube video. It will make a fluid mess in your driveway. 5) A/C will stop blowing cold. My brother-in-law (mechanic) diagnosed and did this for me since I had to travel over the summer, so I cannot comment on how difficult it was, but he told me it wasn't too hard. This required replacement of the blower regulator and motor. Just under $300 in parts. 6) Around 60,000 miles, you will notice the exhaust fan blowing at odd times and the car will tell you it's overheating, even though the temperature gauge is within normal parameters. This diagnostic means you need a new water pump, and reportedly happens every 60k miles. I have replaced numerous water pumps and this was the hardest I've done yet. You will have to disconnect the sway bar and move it out of the way for tight access to the pump. If you have ActiveDrive, you will need to disconnect it from the hydraulic system, which makes a nasty fluid mess, so be ready with a reservoir. (While you have the lines disconnected, check the O-rings. If you've had warnings about the Dynamic Drive hydraulic system flash, this is likely the culprit. BMW will not sell you the o-rings alone, but you can buy a collection of similar ones at your neighborhood auto parts store for about $5. I discovered this after putting everything back together, so please learn from me.) Cost of parts: $350 plus a gallon of coolant and 2 liters of CHF-11S hydraulic fluid. Good news: The hydraulic and coolant systems are self-bleeding. 7) Rear windows leak water on to the floor. You have to open the door panels and reattach the butyl tape and/or apply additional sealant. This is still unresolved for me. In the end, if you aren't afraid of working on cars, no problem. If not, be sure to have a fund dedicated to your local BMW mechanic. I take a fair amount of flak from my wife over the constant repairs that are needed, yes, but most of the time, I feel like it is worth it. The BMW inline 6 is a classic, and is probably as reliable as it gets for BMW. These issues are minor compared to the horror stories I read about BMW V-8s when I was in the market. Best of luck!

This BMW is nicely appointed and runs great. Plenty of room for family and dependable transportation. If you find one with a Dinan upgrade, this makes this vehicle the perfect combination (Dinan is only performance upgrade approved by BMW).