Buying a Used BMW 5 Series G30 or F10: Engines, Faults and Prices

The 5 Series is the big rear-wheel-drive BMW that many buyers move up to once a 3 Series feels small, and the used market offers two very different generations. The G30 built from 2017 is the sounder buy, with modular B-series engines and better breakdown figures; the cheaper F10 from 2010 is a good car only if you avoid its early timing-chain engines.

Which 5 Series generations and versions exist

The F10 saloon went into series production on 7 January 2010, joined by the F11 Touring estate, and the last car was built in February 2017. Its facelift (BMW calls it the LCI) started in July 2013 with revised engines and standard xenon headlights. The F07 Gran Turismo shares the platform but is a different body and is not covered in detail here.

The G30 saloon was announced in October 2016 and went on sale in February 2017, with the G31 Touring following the same month. ADAC lists the pre-facelift cars up to May 2020; the LCI, revealed in May 2020, added a larger kidney grille, new lights, 48-volt mild hybrid technology on many engines and a 290 kW (394 PS) 545e plug-in hybrid. Production ended in 2023 when the G60 arrived. Euro NCAP gave the G30 five stars in 2017.

According to AUTO BILD, more than half of the G30 cars offered used are Tourings, so the saloon is the rarer and dearer body. The specifications of every version are on the BMW 5 Series G30 model page, and the 5 Series history across eight generations puts both cars in context.

Engines to choose and engines to avoid

The engine code matters more than the trim. Both generations use timing chains throughout, and the chain trouble is concentrated in the F10's N47 diesels and N20 petrols.

Outputs come from the ADAC catalogue and Wikipedia; verdicts follow Gebrauchtwagenberater.de, which rates the N47 and N20 as "avoid" and the B47 and B48 as "buy". The switch from N47 to B47 in the F10 520d and 518d came in July 2014, when output rose from 184 to 190 PS. Cars registered around that date can have either engine, so check the engine code in the documents.

The N47 drives its chain from the gearbox end, which makes the repair labour-heavy. A German BMW specialist, Kfz-Meisterbetrieb Dietrich, quotes about €1,850-2,400 for an N47 chain in 2026 and €2,100-2,700 for an N20, and recommends a check from 120,000 km on the diesel and 80,000 km on the petrol. auto motor und sport puts the failure risk of early N47 chains at up to 20 percent and of B47 chains from model year 2017 at under 1 percent.

The six-cylinder N57 diesel in the 530d and 535d is durable when its oil was changed on time, but Gebrauchtwagenberater.de reports connecting-rod bearing damage on older engines with stretched service intervals. The F10 550i's original N63 V8 is the riskiest engine of all: it burns oil through its valve stem seals, and a stretched chain can break its guide rail. The revised N63TU from July 2013 is clearly better but still complex.

In the G30, Gebrauchtwagenberater.de reports no pattern faults for the B47, B48, B58 or B57, and ADAC's 2025 statistics name no fault cluster for the 5 Series. auto motor und sport says injector and EGR valve wear on the B47 usually starts only above 150,000 km.

Gearbox, xDrive, Touring suspension and the 530e

Almost every used 5 Series has the ZF eight-speed automatic. It is reliable, but ZF's "lifetime" fill is a myth for high-mileage cars: Gebrauchtwagenberater.de suggests a fluid change every 60,000-80,000 km. The G30 520d was also sold with a six-speed manual until 2018, according to Wikipedia.

xDrive suits drivers who tow or live with snow, but its transfer case dislikes mismatched tyres and different tread depths. The F11 Touring has air suspension on the rear axle as standard, and leaking air springs or a tired compressor are common at this age.

The first 530e combined the four-cylinder petrol with an 83 kW (113 PS) motor and a 9.2 kWh gross battery for 50 km on the NEDC cycle, ADAC says, but its tank shrinks to 46 litres and its saloon boot to 410 litres. Wikipedia reports a 12.0 kWh battery from the 2020 model year. Before buying a plug-in, read the guide to plug-in hybrids, full hybrids and mild hybrids, and ask a BMW dealer for a battery health readout.

What ADAC and TUV data show

ADAC's 2025 breakdown statistics put the 5 Series in the best rating band for almost every year: 10.3 breakdowns per 1,000 cars for 2015 registrations and 8.7 for 2016, both F10 years, then 6.6 for 2017, 6.8 for 2018 and 4.1 for 2019 for the G30.

The TUV Report 2026, as published by AUTO BILD for the 5 Series and 6 Series together, is much harsher. At 4-5 years old, 21.5 percent of cars had significant defects against an average of 10.0 percent; at 6-7 years the figure was 22.3 against 13.6 percent, and at 8-9 years, which are mostly F10s, 29.9 against 18.3 percent. The cars also ran far higher mileages: about 92,000 km at 4-5 years against an average of 65,000 km. Inspectors find axle springs, dampers and drive shafts, an active bonnet fault on mid-age cars and more emissions-test failures. Brakes score better than average and rust is not an issue.

Running costs

ADAC lists the G30 520d at 4.1 l/100 km on the NEDC cycle with a 66-litre tank and a 530-litre saloon boot; German insurance classes are 21/27/27 (third party, comprehensive, partial). The F10 520d with the B47 shows the same 4.1 l/100 km, a 70-litre tank and 520 litres. Expect real consumption well above these figures. A diesel used mainly for short trips will clog its particulate filter and EGR valve, so read the blocked DPF guide if your driving is mostly urban.

Prices today and what you get

ADAC's cheapest German list price was €41,100 for the F10 in 2010 and €46,100 for the G30 in 2017. AutoScout24 asking prices across eight European markets in November 2026 put the F10 at a median of about €9,900, with most cars between €7,000 and €14,500 among 5,314 offers. The G30 has a median of about €21,400 in November 2026, with most cars between €16,300 and €30,000 among 7,830 offers. For comparison, the older E60 sits near €8,000 and the new G60 near €34,900 in November 2026.

These are figures for whole generations, so year, mileage, engine and condition decide the real price. The cheap end of the F10 range is mostly early N47 diesels with very high mileage; for a little more you reach the B47 cars from mid-2014. The extra money for a G30 buys newer engines, much better assistance systems and the stronger ADAC record. If a 5 Series is more car than you need, the used BMW 3 Series guide covers the smaller saloon.

How to find a good one

Decide on the engine code first, then look for the service history. The TUV mileage figures show that many of these cars were company cars covering long distances, so compare service records, inspection reports and the BMW digital service history against the odometer. Check by VIN with BMW, ADAC or the KBA that the recalls were done: on the F10 the EGR module fire risk on four-cylinder diesels built March 2011 to November 2016 and the N20 vacuum pump built June 2012 to August 2013; on the G30 the OBD software of four-cylinder diesels built August 2016 to February 2022 and the high-voltage battery of plug-in hybrids built January to September 2020. The F10 and G30-specific checks are in the list on this page.