530d GT - Should I?

[Django x2]

There are lots of bits like that. Reach into the door pockets and it's carpeted and perfectly lined - even right up into the areas of the door pocket you can barely reach. The E60 has a only one side halfheartedly trimmed in something that feels far less plush.

My parents E60 is on 70k miles now. It has a rattle from inside the dash. It has a rattle from the back seats. It has about 3 rattles from the parcel shelf. It was the same story with my E92.

It's just doesnt have the same teutonic feel.

The E60 looks and feels more modern. That is about the only plus point (Oh, and reliability aside the economy from the N53 engine is excellent).

All my door pockets are timmed in full carpet, so I don't understand this. Living with the E60, day to day, 4 hours a day, I find it fine. Ok, it should be an improvement, and it's probably more of a side step, but get a late one (08 onwards) and you'll get the CIC iDrive and get some proper tyres on the 172 alloys and all is fine in the world.

 

[Skidder]

You really need to speak to your accountant, but generally speaking for a vehicle on contract hire with an element of personal use you can reclaim half of the VAT on the lease payments and all of the VAT on any running costs (or maintenance element of a contract hire or lease).

For income tax purposes, you would need to agree a business/personal use split with HMRC specific to your circumstances - something around 70-30 will be easy, you can get a better split but you'll need to provide evidence.

Say your CH costs are 10k per year, and 5k per year fuel and other costs, you can claim 70% as a business expense (£10500) and the 30% personal use is not tax deductible.

You will also have to reduce the contract hire amount claimed as business expense by 15% if the CO2 output is greater than 160g/KM. This would reduce your business expense claim to £9000 in the above example.

thanks, I get it now! I need to have a compare with my last car calculation and factor in the depreciation and see how it looks

 

[OllyM]

All my door pockets are timmed in full carpet, so I don't understand this. Living with the E60, day to day, 4 hours a day, I find it fine. Ok, it should be an improvement, and it's probably more of a side step, but get a late one (08 onwards) and you'll get the CIC iDrive and get some proper tyres on the 172 alloys and all is fine in the world.

Proper tyres? Oh and I don't think the E60 got CIC until 2009

 

[Django x2]

Yeah, as in - non runflats. The iDrive controller was updated on the E60 in 08 as a precursor to the CIC iDrive which, as you say was 2009 (albeit, January).

 

[[TW]Fox]

I suggest you go and check the door bins if you believe them to be fully carpeted as they are not.

I don't dispute the fact you find it fine. It probably is fine. But fine isn't good enough.

If the e60 was a genuinely brilliant 5 Series I would have bought one instead of trying to do something different with an e92.

 

[OllyM]

Yeah, as in - non runflats. The iDrive controller was updated on the E60 in 08 as a precursor to the CIC iDrive which, as you say was 2009 (albeit, January).

Style 172's only ever came with non-runflats from the factory and they never fitted the iDrive controller with shortcut buttons to CCC cars!

 

[Django x2]

I suggest you go and check the door bins if you believe them to be fully carpeted as they are not.

I don't dispute the fact you find it fine. It probably is fine. But fine isn't good enough.

If the e60 was a genuinely brilliant 5 Series I would have bought one instead of trying to do something different with an e92.

I can promise you, they are. You mentioned this before, I checked, they are. Although, I have the extended leather option, which I believe this covers, oddly

Style 172's only ever came with non-runflats from the factory

It was in response to Foxs comment about having only driven an E60 with runflats. I said, get some non runflats on 172 alloys (or, to be read as, try 172 alloys).

and they never fitted the iDrive controller with shortcut buttons to CCC cars!

Oh, and:

CCC - update 2.
This is a minor update debuted in September 2008 to iDrive Professional equipped cars that did not get the new CIC based system. These cars get the new iDrive controller that is also used on cars with CIC. The actual iDrive computer (CCC) remains the same. This update is available on the following cars;

5-Series E60/E61 manufactured from September 2008
6-Series E63/E64 manufactured from September 2008

wrong much?

 

[PMKeates]

It was in response to Foxs comment about having only driven an E60 with runflats. I said, get some non runflats on 172 alloys (or, to be read as, try 172 alloys).

I have 172s without runflats and I can assure you any stock E39 rides better. I sold mine to my best friend so have been able to do many 'back to back' comparisons, and getting in the E39 from the E60 is quite noticeable. The E39 is on 18s.

 

[[TW]Fox]

What does your extended leather option add, Lucero?

 

[OllyM]

Fair enough - I've never actually seen an E60 with CCC and the new iDrive controller though

 

[Django x2]

What does your extended leather option add, Lucero?

No idea, I haven't got a brochure to hand to check. IIRC though, the door card "bins" was on the list.

 

[[TW]Fox]

No idea, I haven't got a brochure to hand to check. IIRC though, the door card "bins" was on the list.

Why do you need a brochure, the car is parked outside? Which bits are leather trimmed?

 

[Django x2]

The car isn't parked outside. I'm in London, the car is at home.

I'll check when I get home

 

[Westyfield2]

Fair enough - I've never actually seen an E60 with CCC and the new iDrive controller though

I can confirm Lucero is correct, Dad's 58 plate E61 has the new iDrive controller but the old CCC DVD-based system .

 

[Django x2]

It's a nice mini upgrade, in fact, the CIC upgrade can be retrofitted for less than £1500, and you'll get some money back selling the old stuff, etc.

However, the CIC controller requires a different centre console trim, which is silly money!

 

[OllyM]

I can confirm Lucero is correct, Dad's 58 plate E61 has the new iDrive controller but the old CCC DVD-based system .

Fair enough! I've never seen an E60 like that so they must be fairly rare - all the ones I've seen have either been CCC with the old controller or CIC with the new controller, not some weird hybrid of the two

 

[Django x2]

Admittedly, it is strange. Although the CIC controller will plugnplay with the previous CCC controller (no programming required). That update in itself would be fine, as I say, without the additional cost of the new trim.

I remember sitting in an E60 M sport shortly after I got mine (mine was in for a service) and it had the new CIC controller. I was like "dammit"

 

[Westyfield2]

Fair enough! I've never seen an E60 like that so they must be fairly rare - all the ones I've seen have either been CCC with the old controller or CIC with the new controller, not some weird hybrid of the two

I reckon the hyrbid is the best of both worlds, despite the DVD system being slow. New controller, but by being DVD based you can still add Speed Cameras as POI to the maps and get the latest map DVDs from BitTorrent rather than BMW. I don't have a clue how you'd add Speed Camera POI to the new HDD based system .

 

[OllyM]

The answer is I don't think you can. I'd still rather have the HDD based nav as it's about 10 million times better in every other way!

 

[Django x2]

agreed, The CIC layout alone is worth the upgrade