Why shouldn't I buy an F10 535d?
Discussion
Jobbo said:
Bincenzo said:
Please excuse my ignorance, from what year did the model become F11?
F11 is Touring, F10 is saloon. First Tourings were registered in 2010. Think there are some late 2009 saloons. ETA: now I've checked, there weren't any saloons registered here in 2009 but there are some 2010/59 plates. The Touring was introduced later in 2010 so while I've seen 10 plate F11s in press shots, you probably won't find any earlier than 60 plate in practice.
Edited by Jobbo on Saturday 30th May 08:01
Right the other side of Warks from you, on the Worcestershire border. I went to Belfast to get my F11 though; petrol-engined ones are pretty rare. And thousands less than the diesels to buy. £30k should get you a very nice 535d mind you. Make sure you haggle two years' AUC warranty into the deal.
You might want to hold out for a 2012 model, by the way (from late 2011) - they have the Eco Pro/stop start gubbins which makes them a little more economical, but most usefully to me they have RTTI; real-time traffic info, which shows traffic flows like Google Maps on the nav. I wasn't expecting to get a 2012 car but I'm pleased I found one.
You might want to hold out for a 2012 model, by the way (from late 2011) - they have the Eco Pro/stop start gubbins which makes them a little more economical, but most usefully to me they have RTTI; real-time traffic info, which shows traffic flows like Google Maps on the nav. I wasn't expecting to get a 2012 car but I'm pleased I found one.
Jobbo said:
Right the other side of Warks from you, on the Worcestershire border. I went to Belfast to get my F11 though; petrol-engined ones are pretty rare. And thousands less than the diesels to buy. £30k should get you a very nice 535d mind you. Make sure you haggle two years' AUC warranty into the deal.
You might want to hold out for a 2012 model, by the way (from late 2011) - they have the Eco Pro/stop start gubbins which makes them a little more economical, but most usefully to me they have RTTI; real-time traffic info, which shows traffic flows like Google Maps on the nav. I wasn't expecting to get a 2012 car but I'm pleased I found one.
Great tip on the 2012, I'll see what's about. You might want to hold out for a 2012 model, by the way (from late 2011) - they have the Eco Pro/stop start gubbins which makes them a little more economical, but most usefully to me they have RTTI; real-time traffic info, which shows traffic flows like Google Maps on the nav. I wasn't expecting to get a 2012 car but I'm pleased I found one.
Just had a look at the BMW Approved Used search myself; you can see whether a car has stop-start (and therefore whether it's 2012 model year) by looking at the start/stop button on the dash; that has a protuberance at the bottom which is the control for turning auto stop/start on and off.
There's a reasonably well-specced one at Cotswold Hereford but the mileage looks high for the price and it's still not fully loaded; it just has black panel display, HUD and sunroof as unusual options. The one at Specialist Cars in Stevenage is also a 2012 model, btw.
There's a reasonably well-specced one at Cotswold Hereford but the mileage looks high for the price and it's still not fully loaded; it just has black panel display, HUD and sunroof as unusual options. The one at Specialist Cars in Stevenage is also a 2012 model, btw.
Edited by Jobbo on Saturday 30th May 08:51
Bincenzo said:
Ahh, in which case my topic title was incorrect. It is the F11 I'm looking for, I'd agree that the the touring version looks significantly better than the saloon, IMO.
I agree, especially with a few subtle changes, but I may be bias 
(Genuine 19" M5 Alloys 408M, Eibach springs & BMW M Performance Rear Diffuser)I previously had a E39 540i, E61 530d and a E61 550i, now this 4 cyl 525d. F11 is by far the best variant I've had, a massive jump from the E61. 530d was the most disappointing car I owned, fuel economy was only 3-4mpg better than the 550i I replaced it with, also the turbo lag was horrible.
Edited by scz4 on Saturday 30th May 09:00
Edited by scz4 on Saturday 30th May 09:34
Just to add a further twist, in 2013 there was another upgrade which is easily spotted on the outside by integral indicators on the wing mirrors. The main change internally was a development of the 'i' thingy and presumably associated computer gubbins. Not sure if that is worth targetting from a future proofing/ future resale values perspective. Conversely I really miss my 2010 model which did not have auto stop/ start - I find it a complete pain in the posterior and potentially dangerous at very busy roundabouts and junctions where you have to be quick, only to find the engine cuts out just as you must get moving! You can manually override it, but more often than not I forget about it until it cuts out just when I don't want it too!
Peter
Peter
The 2013 update was the full LCI - presumably that coincided with the update of the iDrive as a whole, not just the introduction of the new touch controller? Oddly there don't ever seem to be any 2013 cars for sale on the AUC; but the price jump to 2014 cars makes the 2014 ones look good value. Plus the LCI gained xenons as standard, though I've yet to see a pre-facelift 535 without adaptive xenons (I'm sure there were a few private purchases without them).
I was contemplating spending £36k to get what I wanted, before my 535i came up for £21k. The value spectrum is quite wide!
scz4, I love those alloys on your car. I'd like a set of 20" 312Ms in ferric grey for my car, but I'm not willing to stump up the cost, put up with the ride or pay for the tyres so I won't be getting any!
I was contemplating spending £36k to get what I wanted, before my 535i came up for £21k. The value spectrum is quite wide!
scz4, I love those alloys on your car. I'd like a set of 20" 312Ms in ferric grey for my car, but I'm not willing to stump up the cost, put up with the ride or pay for the tyres so I won't be getting any!
Edited by Jobbo on Saturday 30th May 09:59
Jobbo said:
Plus the LCI gained xenons as standard, though I've yet to see a pre-facelift 535 without adaptive xenons
Which is a problem - most of the good cars were previously specified with the Visibility Pack which gave you Adaptive Xenons, LED indicators, High Beam Assistance and Cornering Lights.Now the Xenons are standard almost nobody specifies the Visibility Pack which now gives you LED lights. As a consequence there are now many high spec cars out there LCI wise which have the stock headlights with crappy halogen indicator bulbs, no Adaptive, etc.
Quite aside from the functional differences the front end of an LCI with Xenons looks noticeably poorer than the front end of a pre LCI with Xenons.
Infact frankly the LCI was a disappointment all round, it seemed to be mostly meddling for the sake of it, the other changes were moving the side repeaters to the mirror housing - fine, but they didn't bother to change the front wing so you've still got the chrome strip that used to hold the side repeaters. Why? It just looks daft now. Really the only change that isn't a backwards step as the minor tweak to the rear lights but really that just looks different rather than better.
Bincenzo said:
Thanks Simon, budget around £30k so expecting 2010/2011. I see you're in Warks, whereabouts? I'm in Rugby.
This for me is the problem with the 535d. They are awesome but seem to cost a huge amount of money. £30k for a 4-5 year old 5 Series just seems like madness. I'm not sure it's worth the enormous price premium over a 530d.Fox- said:
This for me is the problem with the 535d. They are awesome but seem to cost a huge amount of money. £30k for a 4-5 year old 5 Series just seems like madness. I'm not sure it's worth the enormous price premium over a 530d.
Though they are relatively rare and all previous models command strong money - the 535ds I checked were really specified well and they didn't seem to hand about for long at all. No question it's a lot of £ for an older car to the point with huge discounts it might be worth stumping up maybe £15k more than the OPs budget to get a brand new one and then 3-4 years motoring you'd only lose £15k which is very good going.
Welshbeef said:
Though they are relatively rare and all previous models command strong money - the 535ds I checked were really specified well and they didn't seem to hand about for long at all.
No question it's a lot of £ for an older car to the point with huge discounts it might be worth stumping up maybe £15k more than the OPs budget to get a brand new one and then 3-4 years motoring you'd only lose £15k which is very good going.
Certainly thought about it - although I have been looking at the 330d Touring. £30k gets me a virtually brand new one, but pathologically, I simply refuse to buy a new car!! No question it's a lot of £ for an older car to the point with huge discounts it might be worth stumping up maybe £15k more than the OPs budget to get a brand new one and then 3-4 years motoring you'd only lose £15k which is very good going.
£30k is a lot of money for a relatively old car, (the 535d) but I sense it's a reasonable investment. More importantly, it's a place I'd look forward to being in rather than dreading, as I do my current DD.
Question, road noise with Pano roof, a factor or not? I quite like the light, but don't fancy increased noise. Also, is some method of listening to iPhone music available (Bluetooth or aux cable) on all models? Ta, Bins.
I can't comment on the pano roof on the F11 but it doesn't look any different to the one on my old E61 545i Touring. That suffered from boom at 30-40 mph when open, wind noise when closed and made the car hot in summer and cold in winter; all mostly alleviated by keeping the blind closed, but then you may as well have no sunroof. Merc's panoramic roof design is much better than BMW's, IMO.
Bincenzo said:
£30k is a lot of money for a relatively old car, (the 535d) but I sense it's a reasonable investment. More importantly, it's a place I'd look forward to being in rather than dreading, as I do my current DD.
Is it a reasonable investment? They can't be worth near £30k for ever. Plus it is a 530d with an extra turbo. This is without question better but is it thousands of pounds better, the rest of the car is exactly the same...
Fox- said:
Plus it is a 530d with an extra turbo. This is without question better but is it thousands of pounds better, the rest of the car is exactly the same...
I can answer this for you.Yes.
For me the difference is the 30d is pretty good, but a bit annoying sometimes. The 35d is a keeper. The overall cost of ownership of a keeper vs an OK-ish car is many thousands, after you have once again traded early for the next "potential keeper". Admittedly this is a problem only encountered by extremely fussy petrolhead types, but where are we again?
Jobbo said:
I can't comment on the pano roof on the F11 but it doesn't look any different to the one on my old E61 545i Touring. That suffered from boom at 30-40 mph when open, wind noise when closed and made the car hot in summer and cold in winter; all mostly alleviated by keeping the blind closed, but then you may as well have no sunroof. Merc's panoramic roof design is much better than BMW's, IMO.
I got a 2011 F11 535d in January this year. It has the Pano roof, it wasn't on my list of option wants but as has been said the cars with Adaptive Drive are relatively rare. As for living with the roof, you can't hear any wind noise from it (up to about 90ish anyway, I've not been any faster) even with the blind retracted. There is a bit of boom with the roof open at 30-40 mph but opening a rear window 1-2cm drastically reduces this, as does closing the roof by about 2-3cm. In fact when I open the roof it retracts so far and then on the second prod of the switch it retracts those extra 2-3cm. Not sure if that is a factory default or something the previous owner configured.I was originally looking for a 530d with AD, but there were no AUC within 400miles (not sure there were any actually). Within 150 miles there were only 2 535d's with Dynamic Suspension; one was an M Sport with VDC and the other an SE with AD (the car i bought).
Overall it is a fantastic car, fuel consumption could be better considering I generally drive quite carefully but I have decided that is down to all the hill's where I live (Wiltshire) and the school run twice a week. My previous E39 530i only averaged 20mpg!
We took the car to the lake district last week and fully laden with kids, tent and huge roofbox got just over 600miles from a tank (normally get about 500). The ride really is fantastic on the motorway, in 'normal' suspension mode the kids were happily colouring in err.. colouring books on the journey and keeping in the lines.
The car is so good it's easier to list what I'm not so keen on; the engine noise and power delivery. Now while I appreciate the power delivery is fantastic for a diesel, and it's just how everyone describes it, but compared with my old 530i (and 330i before it) it does lack drama. At no point through the rev range do you get the real serge of power (and excitement), it just pulls effortlessly through the range, changes up and does the same again. This is probably helped by the refinement of the car and the AD. I think another reason for this feeling of lack of drama is that the HUD updates quite slowly, which means you loose another indicator for how quick the car is. if I make a conscious effort to look at the speedo, you can appreciate how quick it accelerates.
Overall they are just fantastic cars.
apotts said:
extremely fussy petrolhead types
These people will never be satisfied with any diesel and should pick that 535i or 550i they'd be better off with 
I've no doubt I'd be happier with a 535d than my 530d, for sure. But happier enough to justify near 30 grand on a 4-5 year old 5 Series? It just seems like so much money for such a thing. I remember paying under £10k for my 4 year old E39 years back..
You can factory order a new 535i with Xenons, Nav, etc for £36k through Broadspeed.... surely that makes any 4-5 year old that doesn't say M5 on the back a poor buy at 30 grand. I was irritated enough
I do love the F10/11 but the one thing I don't love is just how much money we seem to need to spend to buy used ones at a time when adjusted for inflation brand new ones have never been cheaper. It's an odd market that seems to make little sense.
Edited by Fox- on Sunday 31st May 23:21
Fox- said:
These people will never be satisfied with any diesel and should pick that 535i or 550i they'd be better off with
I've no doubt I'd be happier with a 535d than my 530d, for sure. But happier enough to justify near 30 grand on a 4-5 year old 5 Series? It just seems like so much money for such a thing. I remember paying under £10k for my 4 year old E39 years back..
You can factory order a new 535i with Xenons, Nav, etc for £36k through Broadspeed.... surely that makes any 4-5 year old that doesn't say M5 on the back a poor buy at 30 grand. I was irritated enough
I do love the F10/11 but the one thing I don't love is just how much money we seem to need to spend to buy used ones at a time when adjusted for inflation brand new ones have never been cheaper. It's an odd market that seems to make little sense.
Fox we don't agree often but right with you on the above it is silly money. I've no doubt I'd be happier with a 535d than my 530d, for sure. But happier enough to justify near 30 grand on a 4-5 year old 5 Series? It just seems like so much money for such a thing. I remember paying under £10k for my 4 year old E39 years back..
You can factory order a new 535i with Xenons, Nav, etc for £36k through Broadspeed.... surely that makes any 4-5 year old that doesn't say M5 on the back a poor buy at 30 grand. I was irritated enough
I do love the F10/11 but the one thing I don't love is just how much money we seem to need to spend to buy used ones at a time when adjusted for inflation brand new ones have never been cheaper. It's an odd market that seems to make little sense.
Edited by Fox- on Sunday 31st May 23:21
I guess only base spec 520d F11's are really on any co car list so these are mainly bought brand new by private buyers and they do spec them up highly and then tend to hold onto them as such supply is not high. Then you have the fact that used many people aspire to them but cannot afford new / don't know about mega discounts on brand new cars so there is high upward demand.
And Yes I'd love the F10 M5 over my F10 535d - however only the other week averaged 49.x mpg on a very long drive London to Manchester and back and carried on to only fill up at 660ish miles (could have gone further but needed an early start and a 150+ mile haunt).
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