New car for PMKeates time

[PMKeates]

So, it has been a while since the baby vomit 330i departed the vehicle parc (November 2009!) In that time I have driven a Ford Fiesta 1.25 (horrid), Mondeo 2.0 Ghia (pretty good) and currently I am driving the infamous silver E39 530i that featured in several OcUK members' signatures. However, I have finally decided to get another car, and this week I signed on the dotted line.

I had a number of requirements - I wanted something that handled reasonably well, was comfortable, modern, powerful, good looking and, importantly, economical. There are very few cars that fit the bill, but there are some. However, I feel there is one car in particular that really does excel in all of these areas, and it is the model of car that I have gone for.

I have purchased...

a 2007 E60 LCI BMW 535d M Sport.

It is Deep Sea Blue with beige 'Dakota' leather, media pack (which includes professional navigation, voice control, bluetooth and CD changer), visibility pack (adaptive xenon headlights), sports automatic transmission, sun protection glass (darker rear glass), 19" style 172M wheels, electric sunroof, M rear spoiler, dark 'Poplar' wood trim and heated front seats.

This amazing side photo is courtesy of Fox using his HTC Desire running firmware version 2.2.

This interior photo is courtesy of the sales dude.

Pick it up early April.

 

[PMKeates]

I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank Fox. He drove all the way from his house to the dealer to view the car with me. A true friend.

 

[PMKeates]

I need wood.

You'll have it at the Westfield meet.

How far away was the dealer?

Aaaages away.

 

[PMKeates]

What are the 70-140-70 times like on this?

Whatever they are, it's faster than a 911 Turbo.

 

[PMKeates]

Faster than god himself I heard.

We only know what the speed of light is because we can be sure it's slightly slower than a 535d.

Must be all those torks.

58000000 Nm

 

[PMKeates]

Remap-yo?

Hardly worth it.

Only goes to 350 HP / 700 NM...

 

[PMKeates]

Nice, very nice. How much?

By the time I drive it away about £19k.

 

[PMKeates]

mileage?

I'll reserve my judgement and your impending costs till I hear that

Car is on 72k, hence the price. Under the very good BMW AUC warranty for year 1 and will be under comprehensive level BMW insured warranty thereafter. All I really have to worry about is worn suspension. Even then it should be in good condition. These cars run a CBS (Condition Based Servicing) system, and from the oil change intervals in the book I can tell it has been driven very economically and therefore probably quite lightly. Everything else should hold up pretty well or be warrantied!

Why so long to pick it up?

A few reasons. The dealer wanted some time (the car had only just arrived so needs to be prepped, MOT'd etc), I am going to Switzerland towards the end of the month and so can't pick it up the week of the 28th, and I have a significant amount of business expenses from a trip to India outstanding that I would like to use to help pay for the car (and these will be paid to me March 30th).

Ideally both the engine and tranmission will completely fail after 1 month of ownership, be replaced under warranty, and I have a brand new drivetrain for free

 

[PMKeates]

I suppose it depends on your daily mileage but a guy here had one (m5 now) and he chewed through tyres every 10k, on 19" rims with run flats that became a £1400 every two months habit (with bmw KDS II).

lovely car though (apart from the wood interior), given my exposure to e60's I would be more than happy to recommend them to anybody as they have an engine for every eventuality, power, economy or a happy mixture

they do however come with high running costs, especially if you have a heavy right foot.

Fortunately I am used to dealing with relatively heavy maintenance costs from having a 330i since 19. I was getting through rear tyres at 7/8k intervals back then, but granted they were cheaper. A boon is that my 535d does not have run flats fitted - they are normal tyres, 275 30 19 at the rear. These are currently c. £500 a pair and I've costed replacing them every ~12,500 miles. My driving is almost exclusively motorway and, despite the reputation my driving might have on here, for the vast majority of the time I am reasonably light footed when accelerating - I just cruise at high speed.

I am not usually a wood interior fan, but i think with the cream beige interior it 'works'. The alternatives are not much better, with the silver trim looking especially out of place. The car has quite a luxurious feel to it when you are inside and I think the wood contributes to that.

 

[PMKeates]

if you get through tyres on a 330 every 7/8k the 535 will get through them every 3/4k

its the torqueszzz

having said that, I just got through a set and they lasted 9k and thats on a wimpy 4 pot, same as you thats motorway munching

It was 7/8k on the 330i when I was 19 and hooning around town in it. Not sure what I'd get from it nowadays. What tyres and car was 9k on the motorway from?

I'm confused as to how everyone's BMWs are getting through rear tyres so fast. My E90 330i had a set of new 18" bridgestone runflats on the rear which have lasted 8k so far (in varied driving conditions) and barely look worn.

I actually want them to run out so I can replace them with non-RFTs.

Depends on the tyre. I tend to run max performance tyres (excluding semi-slick types) and these generally wear out very quickly. What model are your Bridgestones?

 

[PMKeates]

520d, tyres were just bmw service replacements so goodyear nct5 run flats

That's bizarre! Is it a manual transmission? The Interwebz reports of tyre wear don't seem to be that extreme for a 535d let a lone a 520d. I can only deduce that you drive wrong

Very nice. not my choice of interior colour but who cares.

Me. I hate you.

 

[PMKeates]

I thought I recalled Fox saying something about the BMW warranty being very restrictive on what is covered above 60k miles?

Or is it different if it's taken out straight after the AUC warranty?

The mileage threshold for BMW Insured Warranty comprehensive cover is now 100,000 miles and the coverage offered is the same whether the car is on 10,000 miles or 90,000 miles (presuming it isn't also under the BMW new car or AUC warranty). I believe whether you take out a BMW Insured Warranty directly after the AUC warranty expires or not has no impact

warranty after AUC has run out is subject to a lot "that's due to wear and tear" (for a 60k+ car) two guys in the office are currently dealing with precisely that.

I think if you argue enough they usually give in though

I am expecting pretty much that in the event of anything going wrong that isn't a clear cut exploding cog. I have virtually unlimited patience for things like this so am ready for the challenge

Looks really nice,a proper engine to!

Not quite, I have to put diesel in it

 

[PMKeates]

P.S Sam good car I guess, gonna race an M5 up a hill anytime soon to see difference in torkz?

Sure, but I'd be worried about the consequences. Last time I floored it the torque caused some earthquake in Japan you may have heard about.

 

[PMKeates]

can i hire you? i cant stand arguing the toss over anything, i just fold and pay

Sure - I actually quite enjoy it

My experience is that escalation is King. Eventually you'll find someone to bug who's senior enough and whose time is so valuable they will just authorise a payout to get you to go away

Can't say I have, do you have any links to this so called earthquake? I'm afraid I haven't seen the news since last Thursday evening before I went to bed?

Just Google "earthquake" and look for the glowing green link.

 

[PMKeates]

Bloody BMW and their stupid naming conventions. Always thought it was a 3.5l twin turbo.

In that case I wonder how much difference the second turbo actually makes...

The x35d has a sequential turbo configuration, meaning that the first smaller turbo spools up at a very low RPM and the second larger turbo spools late but runs on 'till the end. With the automatic transmission it doesn't have the typical diesel surge and drop of power - it's continuous and virtually surge-free from the moment you begin accelerating to the 5000 RPM redline.

Setting it up like this effectively allows you to take advantage of smaller turbo = quicker spool but lower power AND larger turbo = slower spool but higher power

 

[PMKeates]

Yup, the near-continuous power delivery is the biggest benefit IMHO. The sequential setup also allows you to go for a larger 'main' turbo than you normally could without having to sacrifice driveability.

You can see the turbos of the 535d here:

 

[PMKeates]

So can you get a manual 535d or does the manual not benefit as much from the sequential setup as the auto?

There's no manual 535d variant because apparently BMW did not have a manual driveline that could reliably cope with the torque. Therefore, it's automatic only. However, a manual would benefit from the setup as much as the automatic. The automatic makes it even smoother, as automatics do any surgey engines, by allowing the torque converter to slip and thus the engine RPM to raise to a more optimum point and then gradually deliver that to the wheels.

 

[PMKeates]

Hope you enjoy it, the power delivery of the engine is one of the nicest things about the x35d and they match very well with autobox. I had Michelin PS2 ZPs on the 335d I just sold and having done just under 18K since I bought it they had about 5mm tread on all tyres with consistent wear. They cost a bit more than the other brands but well worth it.

Does it have any of the speaker upgrade packs in it? I fitted the OEM Alpine upgrade to the 335d as the standard setup was dire.

Interesting note about the PS2s. They are probably my favourite tyre of the ones I have used - excellent grip, good feedback and long life. I may give them another go, but they are a bit outdated now. The Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 tyres are supposed to have all the class-leading benefits of the previous generation Asymmetric but with improved fuel economy and I suspect increased tyre life, so I am *more* tempted to give those a go! Either way the car has four nearly new Continental Sport Contact 2s, so I suspect it's going to be a while before I need to change tyres.

With regards to the audio, the salesman tried to say it had hi-fi, but Fox and I both believe it does not. However, I am moving to the 535d from an E39 530i with standard audio (mostly - I fitted a Sony SOT). The E39 has probably the worst audio of any car since the 80s. My first car, a 1994 Ford Escort 1.6 LX, had a better audio system in the Ford 2006 radio, and I am totally not joking. I briefly tested the 535d's system and it sounded a million times better and bassier than the 530i, so I will be happy!

 

[PMKeates]

The PS2 were the ZP which are the runflat version so still a pretty modern tyre in that respect and reportedly the best of the run flats out there. I didn't try any others as I never needed to change them but would have stuck with them or the latest version of them.

The e90 had ok base but nothing in the mid or high range out the box, it was almost as bad as the e46 system, but not quite...the alpine upgrade added tweeters in the door frame upgraded speakers in the front doors and amp'd the front channel including the underseat subs, which made a noticeable difference.

One thing with the auto which i did notice a fair bit was that it tended to stay 1 gear to high at roundabouts in D, usually flicked it to S as I approached as that knocked it down that one gear and then didn't need to then be messing with getting it out of manual mode as I came off the roundabout.

Ahh I see on the PS2s.

I had an E46 too but it did have the Harman/Kardon system. I LOVED that stereo and it's basically about as good as I'll ever need in a car. I don't expect it to be anywhere near as good as that, just simple 'good enough' and that I think it is - at least for now. A more pressing entertainment upgrade for me would be the DAB retrofit, so I can listen to gaydar for every waking hour of the day. Although, there's another even MORE important upgrade coming before that

By one gear too high do you mean 2nd gear? If so, that's ideal! I'd much prefer it to be using 2nd gear 99% of the time. I find 1st too short and powerful for a relaxing drive in the 530i, so the 535d being shorter and more powerful is worse. Flicking to DS is what I do now if it's very busy and I need a sudden burst.

How much do these go for?

For an LCI 535d M Sport? Not much less than £18k unless it's done lots of miles (or you buy outside the AUC network).

 

[PMKeates]

Settle down everyone!

My threads are exclusively lovefests.

It just tends to be lots of torque converter slipping when you want the car to actually slot into the gap in the traffic, which is where flicking it into DS fixes the problem. For normal day to day driving D is fine its just when you want the punch DS does it very well.

Lots of torque converter slipping is great - what I like best about autos! I love that continuous RPM with seamless gear changes as you approach your desired speed. I know the 535d won't be as 'good' as the 530i at slipping because the ZF 6HP28 avoids it to boost fuel economy. I personally find you can position the car pretty well with the converter slipping because there's enough low-down power to get away with it. It's only really when it's super busy that you need a solid shove, and in those instances it's where I'd knock it in to DS.