BMW and M Power Owners

The 530d is probably the most reliable F10. 15k would buy a very good SE as an approved used car.

My old 2010 530d SE with Dynamic Pack, Vis Pack and Pro Nav sold as an AUC for about 16k a year ago with about 50k on it. So a year later id guess a similar one would be in budget. Mine was absolutely mint as well.
 
Approved used includes a warranty too which is a bonus. Will do some sums. In summary it appears that it's a 530d or don't bother! The 3 litre cars look much better spec'd too. The N53 petrol engine hasn't got a particularly good reputation, so I wonder if that is out.
 
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 :D

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 :confused:

Now you see why I just went for a year old one :D
 
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Imy said:
Oh for some reason I thought Euro 6 was only from Sep, 2015 reg onwards. Just for future reference, how do you check if a car is or isn't?
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It was mandatory for all new cars registered from September 15 and all new models introduced from September 14. Many manufacturers introduced it earlier though - the facelift F10 is entirely Euro 6 compliant.
 
Had my 325ti up on the ramps today and noticed my radiator is bowed like a banana! :(

It's a Nissens radiator and its only lasted about 2.5 years and 40k miles, I thought these were meant to be decent replacements?

Really not sure which brand to replace it with as everyone seems to suggest Nissens is the highest quality without going to BMW. I hear Modine is the OEM replacement for these but can't seem to find any in the UK.
 
leoncuprar said:
Morning all..

So I'm in the market for changing from my 2012 Mondeo. I do around 17k a year. This is a private purchase and will trade in the Mondeo. With 3 kids I need another large saloon type car so a 5 series is up at the top of my list.. Having never owned a BMW and knowing nothing about them could someone more knowledgeable than I check the spec on this for me
https://www.yourbestcar.co.uk/bmw-5...th-one-owner-in-cranbrook-common-kent-6187960

To me it hits the spot but I could be wrong, it is reasonably priced ?

Maybe I should drive a 520 first ?
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So I was too slow to do anything about the car linked above, was reserved the day after I saw it, but another has come up which seems suitable
https://www.imperialcarsupermarkets.co.uk/used-car/bmw/5-series/u48944/530d-m-sport-4dr-step-auto/#

Was serviced in the last couple of weeks... shame its 120 miles away but I think I need to make enquiries tomorrow and see if I can go view next week.
 
If you want a 530d you are not going to find one at a dealer 2 miles from your house. They are surprisingly rare and you are going to need to travel. Both of mine took months to find and the first one was 500 miles away!

BMW only sold about 1200 F10 530d M Sport's per year over the production life of the car. By contrast they shifted about 7000 520d M Sport per year!
 
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