New car time! (530d? Mondeo? Help!!)

Is a sub-60k 530d really likely to see the return from £2700 worth of warranty over three years? I'd steer clear on that basis alone if so. There only so much free coffee you can drink or 116i's that you can drive before it all gets too silly.

You need to price the peace of mind too - most people buying used cars don't have a pile of cash sitting in the bank ready for when the dealer says 'That'll be £1500 please sir'. The not having to worry about when the next bill is going to arrive and whether it'll leave you skint for 4 months is worth a lot. Rightly or wrongly the majority of buyers pick a budget and then stretch to the max to buy something within that budget. Many pay monthly for the car - they don't drive a £15k car because they have £15k they drive a £15k car because they have £250 a month. If this is how you run cars, the warranty peace of mind is a massive, massive plus point.

You can reduce the cost by increasing the excess if its a problem for you. And remember it won't be a sub 60k 530d for ever - you can buy a 59k one and get the lower rate for ever if you pay monthly ;)

However, the 5 Series warranty *is* expensive. It is not the bargain the 3 Series one (Yes, a 335d M Sport costs less to warranty than a 520d SE bizarrely). The 3 Series one is about 40 quid a month.
 
Last edited:
Putting the peace of mind aside and assuming that these people who spend £15k on a car can't figure out credit cards for emergency peace of mind. Who in their right mind would buy a 15k car that needs to visit the dealership so often that a £900 a year seems like good value? Surely the first time it meant that you had to do a long journey in a 116i or you had to leave work early to get back to the dealership again before they close would realise that it's a stupid idea and swap it for something that works?
 
Who said anything about often? My parents E60 had no warranty (Well it did but but with BMW, long story), visited the dealership only once and came out with a £1600 bill... :p
 
[TW]Fox;22419960 said:
More like 1500 a year for the warranty on that given the mileage.

Petrol ones are much better value, my parents 80k mile LCI went for 8k, though the lci petrol ones are perhaps even less reliable than the diesels.
After reading this and thinking that's not a bad price for a 2007+ 5 series, I went onto Autotrader and had a gander. Up to 5 years old nets you 1557 Diesel 5 Series... or 83 Petrol. Not that I'm surprised because of the type of driving you expect from a 5 series... but damn that's a vast difference.
 
[TW]Fox;22423017 said:
You need to price the peace of mind too - most people buying used cars don't have a pile of cash sitting in the bank ready for when the dealer says 'That'll be £1500 please sir'. The not having to worry about when the next bill is going to arrive and whether it'll leave you skint for 4 months is worth a lot. Rightly or wrongly the majority of buyers pick a budget and then stretch to the max to buy something within that budget. Many pay monthly for the car - they don't drive a £15k car because they have £15k they drive a £15k car because they have £250 a month. If this is how you run cars, the warranty peace of mind is a massive, massive plus point.

See that I can agree with.
but this:
[TW]Fox;22418247 said:
A 9k 535d will be a pile of **** and not even particularly economical.

When said about a 1 owner FBMWSH 5 series is a bit far fetched, especially when the OP states that there isn't £9k only.

If all you have is 9k and you don't know the end of a spanner and always go to BMW for everything then run like hell indeed.
But when you keep that £1.5k (1 year warranty for 100k+ miler) in an emergency fund, do your research, change stuff like the odd bush or brake pads/discs yourself (going to the dealer for Oil/INSP for s/h) and have access to cheap labor rates fur stuff like turbo/clutch replacement then it's a different story isn't it?
 
a lot depends on how long the car will be owned too. FBMWSH and all bmw work carried out can make a big difference to the part ex / private sale price of a relatively new car - and generally speaking makes the car more saleable later in life. Though I personally wouldn't look for it on, say an e39 many people who just "want a bmw" would.

I know I can competently complete generally servicing tasks on almost any car - the guy buying it after me doesn't know what the hell i've done with it - whilst that matters not a lot with older motors (where the buyer is just happy the thing has been serviced) it could make something like a 535d practically unsellable in 2 years time if repair work has been carried out by a random garage or the owner.
 
Hey. I'm in London visiting friends so couldn't check back here till just now. I think the anti e60 arguments have persuaded me against it but just to clarify... the BMW warranty, if you buy a sub 60k BMW and purchase a yearly warranty, do you continue to pay the purchase price if the warranty even if you go above 60k. And like fox pointed out, for me (and I'm guessing quite lot of other people), its the peace of mind were paying for.

Having looked at a few newer mondeos on the road and at a showroom but I really can't get behind the shape, and the titanium sports are the same kinda cost as a 5 series. I was set on taking 2k and sorting my car out myself, suspension brakes machine polish and then all the highly things.

However... my housemates bought up the (surprsing) fact that a Jaguar XF is the same kind of money! Now those are sexy sexy cars. Anyone have an opinion on their reliability though? I'll probably consider an external warranty or something.
 
No, the annual warranty changes each year based on current mileage. You need to pay monthly if you want to keep the sub 60k rate.
 
[TW]Fox;22433516 said:
No, the annual warranty changes each year based on current mileage. You need to pay monthly if you want to keep the sub 60k rate.

Thanks, potentially a game changer for me. I assume the warranty expires at a certain age or mileage?
 
Back
Top Bottom