Random musings on F01 730d

Del Lardo · 22 Jun 2015 at 12:47

Fancy a change and like my barges as mostly motorway miles and 100 mile journeys. 15k miles/year, I'd prefer petrol but given my budget and the majority of 7-series being dugdugs I'd live with a diesel. Budget of up to £20k (max, prefer lower) and can't be a day over 5 years old.

S-Class interior makes me ill (yeah, I know

coming from a Lexus owner)
A8 makes me want to fall asleep at the wheel
XJ is an option but struggling to find one I like the look of in budget

Looking at something like,
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201505273819730
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201504272961583

Any particular options to look out for?
Is BT audio streaming from phone standard or an option?

Talk me into/out of it...........................

[TW]Fox · 22 Jun 2015 at 12:49

BT Streaming from the phone is standard on all post September 2010 cars with Pro Navigation and not available before then.

What put me off the 730d - which was a fantastic car, was a combination of two things:

a) They totally rip you off with the warranty. It's almost twice as expensive as a 530d even though it is technically identical (Infact actually less advanced, see next point). There is zero good reason why a 7 should cost more to warrant than a 5 other than the expectation that people with a 7 can afford it. It's something ridiculous like £1500+ a year?!

b) They have the old 6 speed box not the excellent 8 speed box found on the 5GT and 5.

For this reason you might want to consider a 5GT which combines with the 7 Series interior with the 5 Series gearbox and ownership costs.

Banny · 22 Jun 2015 at 13:25

But unfortunately it's ugly as hell, where the 5 and 7 are both pretty cars

GinG · 22 Jun 2015 at 13:49

Banny said:
But unfortunately it's ugly as hell, where the 5 and 7 are both pretty cars

I think with the right alloys the car doesnt look too bad:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...=used,nearlynew,new&make=bmw&page=3&logcode=p

Howard · 22 Jun 2015 at 13:54

It looks fine, it's not exactly a Ssangyong Rodius. You don't see the back end when you're driving it anyway.

George Hincapie · 22 Jun 2015 at 13:58

There was a lovely looking 760 on Autotrader a few days ago. I think it was outside your budget though.

GinG · 22 Jun 2015 at 14:19

Howard said:
It looks fine, it's not exactly a Ssangyong Rodius. You don't see the back end when you're driving it anyway.

These have never ever been a car I would have considered (5GT), however just noticed a visiter to the neighbours have one and in the flesh they really don't look bad at all.

They do seem a very good buy if you can get over the looks.

Del Lardo · 22 Jun 2015 at 16:05

[TW]Fox;28210155 said:
BT Streaming from the phone is standard on all post September 2010 cars with Pro Navigation and not available before then.

What put me off the 730d - which was a fantastic car, was a combination of two things:

a) They totally rip you off with the warranty. It's almost twice as expensive as a 530d even though it is technically identical (Infact actually less advanced, see next point). There is zero good reason why a 7 should cost more to warrant than a 5 other than the expectation that people with a 7 can afford it. It's something ridiculous like £1500+ a year?!

b) They have the old 6 speed box not the excellent 8 speed box found on the 5GT and 5.

For this reason you might want to consider a 5GT which combines with the 7 Series interior with the 5 Series gearbox and ownership costs.

Not a bad suggestion, they do look nice (on the inside at least). Is the 6 speed box actually that bad?

George Hincapie said:
There was a lovely looking 760 on Autotrader a few days ago. I think it was outside your budget though.

740/750 maybe, 760, well a 6L V12 is probably a bit too much

GinG said:
These have never ever been a car I would have considered (5GT), however just noticed a visiter to the neighbours have one and in the flesh they really don't look bad at all.

They do seem a very good buy if you can get over the looks.

I've never been one for conventional looks but even I'm struggling with 5GT

pepsilol · 22 Jun 2015 at 18:52

That 7 series is as dull as a dishwasher. No class, no charisma, no looks and no sophistication IMO.

[TW]Fox · 22 Jun 2015 at 18:56

Del Lardo said:
Not a bad suggestion, they do look nice (on the inside at least). Is the 6 speed box actually that bad?

It's not that the 6 speed box is bad - it was the mainstay of most of this sort of car for almost a decade - it's that the 8 speed box is so good.

I've never been one for conventional looks but even I'm struggling with 5GT

If you can get over the looks they are a total bargain because most other people cannot get over the looks. You will be able to get a mega spec with any engine you want for £20k.

Alibaba99 · 22 Jun 2015 at 18:57

Del Lardo said:
Not a bad suggestion, they do look nice (on the inside at least). Is the 6 speed box actually that bad?

There was nothing really wrong with the 6 speeder when it was new and the best that ZF offered, but the 8 speeder really is very, very good.

rodenal · 22 Jun 2015 at 18:57

It's all one saying the 5GT is ok if you can get over the looks - but I certainly wouldn't be spending near £20k on a car that I didn't even like the look of! They're really rather rotten looking. Not convinced they're all that much of a bargain either, at least not for one without near 100k miles

[TW]Fox · 22 Jun 2015 at 18:58

rodenal said:
It's all one saying the 5GT is ok if you can get over the looks - but I certainly wouldn't be spending near £20k on a car that I didn't even like the look of!

I know, I'm a total hypocrite because I couldn't do it. But he will be rewardd if he can!

Beta · 22 Jun 2015 at 19:42

I'm biased but the 5GT is a great car. With the right wheels it really helps with the appearance. The msport kit helps a little too, and if you really can't stand the rear, the facelift helped with this too.

We bought a well spec'd 2012 530d GT msport last year when it was a little over 2 years old from BMW AUC for £23k. The equivalent regular 5 was significantly more.

mjt · 24 Jun 2015 at 16:01

Go and look at some 5 GTs. Take one for a drive and maybe you'll change your mind.

If you can find a 550i, they tend to be well specified.

FWIW, on either a GT or a 7, I'd want at the very least comfort seats and Adaptive Drive.
Adaptive Cruise would be great too, but I guess in the UK anything more than that would be a bonus, considering how miserably-specified most cars seem to be.

George Hincapie · 24 Jun 2015 at 16:34

The 5GT looks hideous IMHO. A family a few doors away have one - me no like

The 5 and 7 series are both very nice to look at though; I am considering the 5 series estate as a possible replacement for our XC90 at the moment. Ultimately it's for the OP to balance the economics of the purchase against his heart - not an easy decision.

[TW]Fox · 24 Jun 2015 at 16:54

mjt said:
FWIW, on either a GT or a 7, I'd want at the very least comfort seats

Yea, because the standard seats are basically wooden pews. Definitely would insist on nothing less than comfort seats.

mjt · 24 Jun 2015 at 17:41

[TW]Fox;28222724 said:
Yea, because the standard seats are basically wooden pews. Definitely would insist on nothing less than comfort seats.

Have you ever used comfort seats?
Once you've had them, you'd never want anything less.

Like I said, YMMV when it comes to UK-spec, but comfort seats are not particularly rare over here when it comes to used BMWs.

Also, you need to get off your high horse. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. OP asks what other options to look out for, I gave a suggestion.
After all, he's not after a 316d, so some extra luxury in his 7 or 5 wouldn't exactly go amiss.

Why don't you have standard seats in your 530d?

[TW]Fox · 24 Jun 2015 at 18:01

mjt said:
Have you ever used comfort seats?

Yes, they are very nice.

Once you've had them, you'd never want anything less.

How are the comfort seats working for you in your S3?

Oh. So it seems you don't 'never want anything less' after all.

Also, you need to get off your high horse. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. OP asks what other options to look out for, I gave a suggestion.
After all, he's not after a 316d, so some extra luxury in his 7 or 5 wouldn't exactly go amiss.

It's the same on any interent forum. somebody posts 'what are the essential options' and you get half a dozen people posting 'OMG NIGHT VISION, RADAR CRUZE, COMFORT SEATS AND SURROUND VIEW OR I'D RATHER WALK'

In reality the list of must-have options on what are usually quite rare cars in the first place isn't as long as you'd think - and the shorter the list the better chance you have of not spending your life looking for a needle in a haystack and then overpaying for it when you do.

Why don't you have standard seats in your 530d?

Because I'd literally die I had to put up with regular ones

mjt · 24 Jun 2015 at 18:08

[TW]Fox;28223130 said:
How are the comfort seats working for you in your S3?

They have optional electric lumbar support. They are Audi's version of comfort seats

[TW]Fox;28223130 said:
Because I'd literally die I had to put up with regular ones

So I was right?

But seriously, you don't half come across as a proper **** at times. Your choice of words can be unnecessarily aggressive at times.