I would like some OCUK BMW opinions. I'm at the point where I thought I knew what I wanted but I'm now at a loss. I have a F10 LCI 530D I've had it for around 6 years. It will be 9 years old in September.
I am a motorway warrior. The F10 has been fantastic. It has hit 130k and I've had to start spending on it. Brakes all round, New shocks and springs all round, front suspension/tension arms, rear diff mounts, flex disks etc. I'm a bit nervous of how long it might last and problems with something like the timing chain or gearbox.
I thought it didn't feel as smooth as it used to. I fixed that with wheel alignment and replacing the god awful Bridgestone run flats with Michelins.
So I have been looking at 8 series. I get almost 50mpg in my F10 (eco mode, cruise @ 70) so I looked at a 8 series 840d coupe. The back seats may as well not exist. I will never need to put an adult in there but it took me 5 mins just to try and get my 7 year olds child seat in the back. I need to use this car to do school drop off and it is the only time the rear will be used. I decided i wanted the tech pro pack for the autonomous driving features (because motorway lazy) but it felt no different to drive than my 5 series. I do not know what i was expecting but I feel like I was expecting something. First thing I noticed was blind spot visibility is dire cannot see over your shoulder. Seats were not as plush as I was expecting and the ride was much firmer than i was expecting for this sort of vehicle, not as smooth and comfortable as I was expecting. But the decider was the rear space.
So I drove a 840i Gran Coupe yesterday. This one was 18 months old fully loaded. £108k new but now £50k on the approved used forecourt. Every option even matt paint. Rear space problem is fixed. It has 2 sunroofs for some reason, blind spot visibility is still non existent the B pillar is massive. The bowers and wilkins sound system is amazing. I'm not sure I would pay for it over the HK but I found it the standout feature of this car. The petrol engine was again not what I was expecting. I think I was expecting more response and revs as I'm used to the diesel. I tried it in sports mode but I felt it would be hard to tell the difference if it didn't have the badge on the back and you couldn't hear the engine noise. But its much thirstier. Again the ride wasn't as plush as I was expecting. I got to try this one on the motorway and i did like the lane assist and adaptive cruise.
The dealer then tried to lowball me on part ex value of my F10 in an attempt to make the price of the 8 series seem lower as it was obvious I wasn't going to buy.
So what do I look at next? The 8 series has depreciated heavily, which I like. On paper it feels like you get a lot of car for your money. If I look at something like an X5 then they seem to have held value better. But those who buy them new obviously have different requirements than me from the specifications you see. So many with random options but not even HK audio. The dealer did ask me about a 7 series but I associate that with grandads. 99% of the time I am the solo occupant. So such a large car seems a bit of a waste. What I want is a chariot to waft me up and down the motorway in comfort. My F10 doesn't have split folding rear seats which has caused me problems on a few occasions so would like to have that in the future. Need to be able to put a child seat in the back. Would be nice to be able to fit my mountain bike in the car or fit a tow hitch for a rear bike carrier (my bike is too heavy for a roof rack). At present I can get this across the F10's rear bench by taking the wheels off and laying passenger seat flat.
On paper I was so sure the 8 series would be perfect but then driving it has shattered those dreams.
What would the OCUK BMW crew recommend? Is the X5 as bad as I've read? I like the idea of air suspension but I am looking at BMW mainly due the success my F10 has been when it comes to reliability. Another 5 series? maybe a tourer? Or how about the newer 3 series? I did like the look of a M340D touring on the forecourt. But what are they like for comfort?
See I am quite anal about indicating so I do it all the time, even when no one is in front or behind. So perhaps why I haven't noticed it so much.
