DaveH

I'd second that. Go for the 520 or 530 (or 535, of course). Just don't expect to get the claimed mpg on either of them, if my experience on extensive test drives is anything to go by.

'Diesel Car' Jan 06 said of the 520d "Completely insulated engine, surprising performance and unarguable manual economy. The 5's driving dynamics are intact and combined with a generally supple ride" but added "Lacks traditional BMW straight-6 whir. Heavy clutch - requires time to learn how to drive smoothly [I didn't find that]. Minor surface irregularities are unfailingly picked up by the run flats, giving a false impression of a busy ride.". I can send the whole thing, if you like.

There's also a short review at http://www.testdriven.co.uk/news.cfm/the_new_bmw_520d

colejl

and when you chip the 520d you get 203bhp and 410nm
[/quote]
But it will still be 4 cylinders...

if he has 14 months to wait that is
[/quote]
It'll be that long coming??

DaveH

?3500, after discount. The 520 is another ?2700 cheaper, after discount. I just think you either want the performance of the 530 or the economy of the 520. The 525 doesn't offer a lot more performance than the 520, and yet has the same mpg figure as the 530 - in fact, the 525 auto has worse mpg than the 530 auto!

colejl

?3500, after discount. The 520 is another ?2700 cheaper, after discount. I just think you either want the performance of the 530 or the economy of the 520. The 525 doesn't offer a lot more performance than the 520, and yet has the same mpg figure as the 530 - in fact, the 525 auto has worse mpg than the 530 auto!
[/quote]
Indeed and the depreciation favours the 530d vs 525d. Over 3/4 years the difference is about ?500/?300. So you may pay ?4000 more at the start but it's worth ?3,500/?3,700 more...

The 520d isn't much better either. Ok, ?7k cheaper but over 3/4 years the difference is ~?1.5k/?2k.

Ok, this doesn't include insurance and other running costs but you get the idea... In the UK don't buy a new 550i - you lose 32% first year (?14k!) alone!

Time to buy as at 1 year, but we all know that... (The initial year 1 20%-30% loss makes a big difference!)

tonye60

so you loose more on a 530d then

doctorwolf

I'd second that. Go for the 520 or 530 (or 535, of course). Just don't expect to get the claimed mpg on either of them, if my experience on extensive test drives is anything to go by.

'Diesel Car' Jan 06 said of the 520d "Completely insulated engine, surprising performance and unarguable manual economy. The 5's driving dynamics are intact and combined with a generally supple ride" but added "Lacks traditional BMW straight-6 whir. Heavy clutch - requires time to learn how to drive smoothly [I didn't find that]. Minor surface irregularities are unfailingly picked up by the run flats, giving a false impression of a busy ride.". I can send the whole thing, if you like.

There's also a short review at http://www.testdriven.co.uk/news.cfm/the_new_bmw_520d
[/quote]

Thanks
So it's either the 520d loaded with options or the 530d with fewer options. Mmmmmm ?

On economy, I managed to take a 520d Manual Sport on a return test drive (!) from Cambridge to Durham & got 45mpg (according to the OBC) on a car that had only done 600 miles when I started. Tried the 525dA Sport & got 35mpg on a mixture of M & A roads. So I concluded that the BMW figures must be pretty close. I've managed to get 43mpg from my E39 525d manual over 3.5 years since new.

So if I go for the 530d manual maybe I can assume that I will get the BMW combined figure ? Will have to go for fewer options though. How about this in order of preference: rear airbags, 6-CD changer (don't trust the IPod). Hi-Fi speakers (like my jazz), & Visibility Pack ? Wood trim ? Not fussed about leather

Would be please to see the Diesel Car review if you can send

RichardM

I'm very happy with my 520d, its done 3000 miles and has really start to loosen up. I am only getting about 35mpg average though but I drive it pretty hard. Even driving it carefully it only seems to do about 37mpg but I've yet to take it on a long run.

I'd say go for the 520d over the 525d, but then if you can stretch to the 530d go for that!

DaveH

Where did you get those figures? I've checked at least six sources and the 520d, 525d and 530d are all predicted to retain about the same % value as each other after 3 or 4 years, although they disagree on what that value might be. The fact that the 530d has metallic as standard works in its favour. Taking that into account, loss on the 530d over 3 years will be about ?1500 more than 525d, ?2800 more than 520d. Of course, as you move up through the range, you also pay more for fuel, insurance, RFL, cost of money, etc.

On the other hand, if you buy a 520d and spend ?6K more on options than you would on a 530d (I'm assuming you'll order metallic and leather, whichever you buy), then you'll lose most of that ?6K. Cost of money will be the same for both so, financially, the 530d will make much more sense. It just depends how badly you want those options.

DaveH

Options are so personal.

• It's rare to see an E60 without leather. It'll be much harder to sell without, and leather is one of the few options that retains any value. If you have kids, leather is much easier to clean - especially if they (how shall I put this) don't travel well. On the other hand, if you go for leather, you'll probably want to pay for heated seats too.
• Rear airbags are a must if you often carry passengers in the back.
• If there are two drivers, memory-seats are great.
• Advanced a/c is very good (go for the Luxury Pack to get mem seats and advanced a/c, especially if you want wood trim, but only if you want leather)
• Sat nav will retain about a third of its cost but will still be a lot more expensive than and in many ways inferior to an after-market system. It also slows down the iDrive system, apparently.
• The Visibility Pack is good value, if you do much driving at night off main roads.
• Consider ordering the space-saver spare. That will give you the option of switching to non-runflats in the future. It's at least twice the price to buy later; if you don't use it, you'll be able to sell it at a profit! You won't get the dividers for the wheel well though.

Tricky.

doctorwolf

Options are so personal.

• It's rare to see an E60 without leather. It'll be much harder to sell without, and leather is one of the few options that retains any value. If you have kids, leather is much easier to clean - especially if they (how shall I put this) don't travel well. On the other hand, if you go for leather, you'll probably want to pay for heated seats too.
• Rear airbags are a must if you often carry passengers in the back.
• If there are two drivers, memory-seats are great.
• Advanced a/c is very good (go for the Luxury Pack to get mem seats and advanced a/c, especially if you want wood trim, but only if you want leather)
• Sat nav will retain about a third of its cost but will still be a lot more expensive than and in many ways inferior to an after-market system. It also slows down the iDrive system, apparently.
• The Visibility Pack is good value, if you do much driving at night off main roads.
• Consider ordering the space-saver spare. That will give you the option of switching to non-runflats in the future. It's at least twice the price to buy later; if you don't use it, you'll be able to sell it at a profit! You won't get the dividers for the wheel well though.

Tricky.
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Thanks. I don't need to worry about retained value from options. The company scheme I'm in means I can just hand it back. I meant to include th advance a/c I have that on my current E39 & it works well