awt

The last few months I've been looking for a replacement for my e46 320Ci Coupè since we got a little baby girl, and two doors ain't the most practical in that case.

I've been looking for e60 LCI between 07 and 09, and don't need a car that is fully loaded, but comfort seats in leather, automatic aircondition, navi professional is absolute nessasary. M-tech, HUD, trailer hitch and a few more things is also and the "whish list". I don't want a car that is silver or grey either.

The main problem is that I live in Norway, and compared to other countries, the prices her are horrendous. A 520d with descent equipment starts on 350K NOK, which is around $65000. A 523i is about the same, but they are rare. 525d starts from 430K NOk ($80000).


Anyway, because of this I've started to look for cars in Germany, and have figured out that I can save around 50K NOK (almost $10 K) included all the norwegian taxes if I buy the car there. On a 530d I could save even more, but those are a little bit over my price range.

So to the main problem, what do I choose? I started looking at 520d/523i, but the latest time I've skipped all of those, and mainly looking for 525d/i.

In this environment and north pole melting times, I'm a little bit sceptical to buy a diesel. It seems like the government both in Norway and the EU are starting to talk about forbidding diesel cars in some cities, and I'm afraid that the taxes for driving a diesel will expand. The service costs is also a little bit higher on a diesel, and they ain't that bullet proof.

Then there's the 525i, which I would prefer, but it's a bit more expensive because of the extra power, and there's not that many of them for sale (only 1 in Norway, and a few in Germany), so I'm afraid that I it would take ages to find a descent one.

I also have found a nice 525d in Germany in AE with M-tech, HUD, trailer hitch etc., but it's manual, so I'm not quite shure if I wan't that, but it's the car that have matched my price range and equpiment closest.

What should I do?

(sorry for the bad english)

mercutio

525i auto wins for me

KAF

Difficult to give an informed opinion, so much depends on your local factors.

I'm assuming you get severe winters, in which case and xi might be a good choice.

For towing, the diesel has great pulling power but only you know the local 'political' issues that might affect that.

Hopefully you will get some good replies from others in your part of the world, the rest of us a shooting in the dark a little bit.

Good luck.

awt

Xi could be useful I guess, but I don't want that, unless everything else is "right".

I will not tow that much, so I don't thinks that gonna be a problem either, I just like to have the opportunity.

My main concerns is what would happen to diesel cars over the next years in the invornment issue (which affect my costs and the price if I should decide to sell the car), and if buying a diesel with manual is stupid.

mercutio

fair point kaf.....if going for a 2wd car, then auto, it's easier to get moving in snow than manual. i've owned 525d and 530d diesels and prefer the 'crispness' of a petrol engine plus the vastly improved handling due to a much lighter engine.......hence 525i auto. i reckon a set of winter tyres might be a better trade off than loosing HP and MPG by driving all four wheels.

ali-cap

If you do lots of miles, go for diesel otherwise nothing beats the sweet sount of 6L petrol.
And good luck.

awt

So what did I choose?

I ended up with an 523i touring edition sport in Imola red and with manual gear box.

I've always meant that a 5-series is an automatic kind a car, but after driving it around 400 miles (620km) home I've change my mind, the car works perfect with manual gearbox.

v_therussian

I know this isn't on your list, but I've read some really wonderful things about the 535d - if you can swing for that, that's what I'd recommend

awt

Well, if you read the post above yours, you'll see that we've already bought a car.

An 535d is waaaay to expensive in Norway I'm afraid (around $100K for an LCi), so thats the reason why it's not on my list.

v_therussian

I'm so sorry for being such snob - I missed your comment with the new car. Apologies, mate! She's a real beauty! Congratulations and best of luck with the new ride!