I have twice tried to buy a petrol F10 now.
The first time I gave up after simply not being able to find a 535i or a 528i and in the end settled for a 530d. This seemed like quite a big deal at the time as I was very anti-diesel and I took quite a lot of flack for it on here. However I was pleasantly surprised by the 530d – it sounded good, it was very refined, reasonably efficient and the least tedious diesel I’d ever driven. The performance was also excellent.
After a while I decided I wanted to change to an M Sport and figured it’d be the right time to go back to a petrol one, too, especially as I had more time to wait for the right example. I test drove a 528i (2 litre turbo from 2011 onwards) and a 530i (The N53 with about 12bhp more than the early 528i) and was left disappointed with both after the 530d. The 530i particularly felt flat and noticeably less swift than the 530d despite it’s 272bhp. The problem with it is that all the power is right at the top of the rev range, exactly where you don’t spend much time in an automatic 5 Series. The 2 litre turbo 528i was much better in this regard – much less powerful than the 530i yet it felt quicker and more responsive (and has superior performance stats) but it lacked 6 cylinder refinement. It’s also pretty much non-existent too.
So in the end it was a 535i or a 530d and I ended up with another 530d after 9 months of not finding a 535i, this time a facelift model with the revised 258bhp engine. It’s fantastic and I’m amazed how much of a fan I am of the engine now. Honestly I’m at the point where in the type of car it is I fail to see what the 535i does other than offer similar performance with a slightly better noise and a much bigger fuel bill. I’d have a 535i without question if I lived somewhere that didn’t rip us off for fuel, but I don’t. These are cars deisnged to cover large distances and the excellent tank range of the 530d makes that a breeze – I’ve driven them over to Germany, up to the tip of Scotland, etc and they are wonderful for this sort of thing. Touring Ireland with 70p a litre diesel was good, too
I got so sick of how long it takes to find the right spec F10 that isn’t Carbon Black or Alpine White that I eventually said stuff it and just bought a nearly new one with the intention of keeping it years. It constantly amazed me just how comparatively expensive the older cars were and how little value they appeared to offer alongside newer ones.
The benefit of the 528i is that it’s unloved on the used market and they tend to be cheap which is important with a lower budget as it gives you more choice of nicer cars.
So here are some cars from the AUC site..
Cheapest on the site is this 2010 model that is identical to my last one but with a few more miles. In isolation, a nice car:
http://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/5-Series/...11962-606374024-3497031.aspx?srcmdc=se_na_re_
And now I've given up as everything else is either rubbish or comedy money. There isnt much under £20k at all, there are even 2010 cars for £17k
Now you see why I just went for a year old one
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
