BMW and M Power Owners

mr tommo · 15 Jan 2017 at 21:27

NooBish AbbZ said:
The 5 series looks really nice I really like them but I don't know if I'm too young to drive a 5 series (24yo) I generally prefer the black leather but that interior shot looks lovely

I was looking for a black/black or silver/black combo but saw the oyster on that one and just had to have it! Not too young at all, this will be the nicest car I've owned to date and there's just something special when you're inside. Felt much more premium than the current 3 series IMO.

F355 said:
Very nice, congratulations. I like the colour combo.

Thanks, looking forward to giving it a good polish when it comes to see the colour pop.

Robbo said:
Very nice and great spec, nothing wrong with a 520d, it's a solid engine and about as good as a 4 cylinder diesel gets. It sounds pretty good (all things considered) when warmed up too.

Well it will only be used on long runs to work and the only thing I have to compare it to is my diesel Focus ST and it obviously feels more refined than that. Quite looking forward to wafting around at grandad speeds anyway.

Anyone used the BMW concierge thing? Sounds ridiculous!

mr tommo · 15 Jan 2017 at 21:36

Forgot to add, they have thrown in an Interior/Exterior 'guard' as part of the deal. What is this exactly?

Havana_UK · 15 Jan 2017 at 22:04

mr tommo said:
Forgot to add, they have thrown in an Interior/Exterior 'guard' as part of the deal. What is this exactly?

It's a sealant that costs them approx. £35 in materials and will be applied by some clueless trainee. It's not worth anything and would be a complete waste of money if you paid the full price for it!

mr tommo · 15 Jan 2017 at 22:09

Havana_UK said:
It's a sealant that costs them approx. £35 in materials and will be applied by some clueless trainee. It's not worth anything and would be a complete waste of money if you paid the full price for it!

Thought as much, will suggest that they only do the interior as I've got all my polish and waxes ready to go.

Havana_UK · 16 Jan 2017 at 09:17

mr tommo said:
Thought as much, will suggest that they only do the interior as I've got all my polish and waxes ready to go.

Yes. A friend fairly recently got a brand new RS3 and the Audi dealer "threw in" the paint protection to sweeten the deal. When the car was delivered (metallic black) it was a horrible mass of swirl marks. TOTALLY ruined paint, of course with the sealant on top. I encouraged him to take it back and request they put the damage right, to which they eventually agreed. I don't know what it cost them but they had to get a pro detailer in their firstly correct all the swirls and then properly seal the paint. I expect that's a ~£500 job to properly clean and paint correct a whole car.

Products like this CAN able good, but they require that the car and paintwork is properly prepared beforehand by someone with a degree of skill and experience.

Deep · 16 Jan 2017 at 09:20

[TW]Fox;30376113 said:
I went through a phase of trying to buy a petrol 5 Series and on paper the 528i was absolutely ideal – almost the performance of the 530d but with the silky smooth silence of petrol power.

However I took one for a test drive and was quite disappointed. It wasn’t smooth and quiet at idle, it was quite clattery, and didn’t exactly sound brilliant under acceleration either. On the road it drove quite nicely but seemed to lack the outright punch of the 530d. I decided that 4 cylinder petrol engines simply do not suit the 5 Series and removed it from my shortlist.

Just out of interest why did you discount the 6 cylinder petrol engines?

Havana_UK · 16 Jan 2017 at 09:22

Deep said:
Just out of interest why did you discount the 6 cylinder petrol engines?

He didn't. He searched for months for a decent 530i/535i but without success.

They are rare as hen's teeth because everyone buys diesels so there's almost no used petrol 6cyl 5ers around.

Jez · 16 Jan 2017 at 10:51

Ignoring availability there is also a very strong argument for modern large diesel engines. The fuel economy: performance ratio as fairly astonishing.

Ive got a 290hp/650nm 3.0 V6 Diesel in one of my cars and i am honestly not sure if i would agree to swap it for a petrol even if you offered me a £0 identical car swap.

Dis86 · 16 Jan 2017 at 10:57

Deep said:
Just out of interest why did you discount the 6 cylinder petrol engines?

I looked for 6 months and only one showed up. It was gold and very weird spec. Obviously an old person mobile. They really are rare.

acemastr · 16 Jan 2017 at 15:46

It seems the 3 series will soon be made in Mexico (maybe just for the US, who knows)

Scania · 16 Jan 2017 at 19:14

mr tommo said:
I know there won't be much love for a 520d on here but just put a deposit on this approved used ..

Dec 2013 520d M Sport
Metallic Azurite Black with Oyster and Piano black interior
Auto with paddles (Not sport automatic)
Pro nav
Loudspeaker hifi (Harmon Kardon)
Reversing Camera
Xenons
Plus a few other bits...

Not the best engine I'll admit but for my boring daily commute up the M6 it will be a lovely place to be. Would have preferred a 6 cylinder obviously but couldn't justify the extra.

Really like the colour too, seen it a few times now, sometimes it's black and others its a really dark blue.

How much out of interest and how many miles?

Not too much love for the 520d here I guess but the fact you rarely see anything other than 520d F10's out and about speak volumes about them, I've tried a few and really like the drive, the 8sp auto suits the engine beautifully imo, keeps it on song nicely.

[TW]Fox · 16 Jan 2017 at 19:19

mr tommo said:
Dec 2013 520d M Sport
Metallic Azurite Black with Oyster and Piano black interior
Auto with paddles (Not sport automatic)
Pro nav
Loudspeaker hifi (Harmon Kardon)
Reversing Camera
Xenons
Plus a few other bits...

Not the best engine I'll admit but for my boring daily commute up the M6 it will be a lovely place to be. Would have preferred a 6 cylinder obviously but couldn't justify the extra.

Really like the colour too, seen it a few times now, sometimes it's black and others its a really dark blue.

Really nice that - good to see Azurite Black which is a very rare colour, most of them are awful Carbon Black. The interior colour combination is absolute perfection too.

Lovely spec too - note that no 520d LCI has Sport Auto as it isn't available.

NooBish AbbZ said:
The 5 series looks really nice I really like them but I don't know if I'm too young to drive a 5 series (24yo) I generally prefer the black leather but that interior shot looks lovely

I was 21 when I decided the 5 Series was the way forward, never really understood all this rubbish about being 'too young'.

Deep said:
Just out of interest why did you discount the 6 cylinder petrol engines?

I didn't, I considered both the 535i and the ActiveHybrid5..

AH5: Nobody could give me any certainty at all regarding powertrain warranty. The BMW extended warranty specifically excludes 'batteries' but was clearly written with regular cars in mind. User experience was almost impossible to find and the used market seemed to despise them - they just got cheaper and cheaper every time I discounted them, but of course if you can't ever get rid of it then how much use is a bargain? Plus you lose half the boot with batteries.

535i: This was ideally what I wanted and I spent a LOT of time trying to find one. They are exceptionally rare. And in reality it offers the performance of a 530d with the fuel consumption of something far quicker.

I'm genuinelly surprised how happy I've become with the whole 530d thing. It's incredibly refined, almost silent in traffic, brilliantly quick and surprisingly frugal. No wonder I put loads of miles on it driving to random national parks and the Far North of Scotland in the first few months!

Robbo · 16 Jan 2017 at 19:27

Carbon black is the best colour.

Most of the ones around here are grey or white.

Azurite looks great.

Dis86 · 16 Jan 2017 at 20:01

[TW]Fox;30409369 said:
I'm genuinelly surprised how happy I've become with the whole 530d thing. It's incredibly refined, almost silent in traffic, brilliantly quick and surprisingly frugal. No wonder I put loads of miles on it driving to random national parks and the Far North of Scotland in the first few months!

I can't wait for the weather to brighten up a bit - really want to get in mine and push it a bit in something other than the damp and dark! It is strange how quiet it can be when running - between about 1300 and 2500 rpm there's just a quiet murmur.

What kind of consumption are you getting out of yours atm?

[TW]Fox · 16 Jan 2017 at 20:02

It has averaged pretty much exactly 38mpg since I got it.

Usage ranges between crawling to work at 19mpg through to travelling to Scotland at 51mpg.

Minstadave · 16 Jan 2017 at 20:04

Think my 5 series had just broken a rear coil spring. That should be covered by the aftermarket warranty shouldn't it?

I've seen that BMW have added the clause:

"Any item that has worn out which has covered more than 100,000 miles"

I'm not quite over 100k but near it - doesn't that make the warranty totally pointless after 100k?

Dis86 · 16 Jan 2017 at 20:06

Not bad. I'm getting 34 in the 640 which is mostly commuting along the coast (single lane road filled with old people and cyclists) with the odd weekend jaunt just to open it up a little.

Minsta - I believe you may be a little unlucky, they can be classed as wear items.

mr tommo · 16 Jan 2017 at 20:36

Scania said:
How much out of interest and how many miles?

Not too much love for the 520d here I guess but the fact you rarely see anything other than 520d F10's out and about speak volumes about them, I've tried a few and really like the drive, the 8sp auto suits the engine beautifully imo, keeps it on song nicely.

£17,990 and 65k miles - Quite high mileage but spec was more important to me.

http://usedcars.knightsnorthstaffsb...11963-606085312-3497071.aspx?srcmdc=se_ce_re_

[TW]Fox;30409357 said:
Really nice that - good to see Azurite Black which is a very rare colour, most of them are awful Carbon Black. The interior colour combination is absolute perfection too.

Lovely spec too - note that no 520d LCI has Sport Auto as it isn't available.

I was 21 when I decided the 5 Series was the way forward, never really understood all this rubbish about being 'too young'.

Thanks, I didn't even know it existed to be honest and the Salesman told me it was carbon black - I knew he was wrong from the advert.

Whats the best way to spot the different between the pre and LCI?

[TW]Fox · 16 Jan 2017 at 20:53

Minstadave said:
Think my 5 series had just broken a rear coil spring. That should be covered by the aftermarket warranty shouldn't it?

I've seen that BMW have added the clause:

"Any item that has worn out which has covered more than 100,000 miles"

I'm not quite over 100k but near it - doesn't that make the warranty totally pointless after 100k?

This clause is an enhancement to the product, it used to exclude wear and tear as does every other warranty. Now it's included to 100k.

Robbo · 16 Jan 2017 at 21:10

mr tommo said:
Whats the best way to spot the different between the pre and LCI?

Fox will probably know more, but:

LCI has less grille slats, different 18" M Sport wheels (19s are the same, which you have), the rear lights are slightly different (thinner and the top of the 3 lights is angled upwards too) and the running lights have an LED eyebrow rather than white plastic or whatever it was. LCI also has the indicator on the mirror instead of the front wing. Xenons on the pre-LCI have a better LED front indicator, LCI xenons have a halogen indicator, and full LED lights as an option.