535d Sport Buying Guide

[silver16v]

I've got HUD on mine and I find it great, I never look at the speedo now. However, I dont think you'd miss it if you find a car without it, I think the most important options to look for are the media and visibility packs.

ETA, can you really find them for as low as mid 15's now? I would guess for that price it would be a high mileage SE rather than a sport

Edited by silver16v on Tuesday 7th October 17:28

[Welshbeef]

silver16v said:

I've got HUD on mine and I find it great, I never look at the speedo now. However, I dont think you'd miss it if you find a car without it, I think the most important options to look for are the media and visibility packs.

ETA, can you really find them for as low as mid 15's now? I would guess for that price it would be a high mileage SE rather than a sport

Edited by silver16v on Tuesday 7th October 17:28

Does HUD show rev counter (just colour not numbered) speed as a digital number and if you have Pro/Business Nav it will give you an arrow & distance?

[matt uk]

Welshbeef said:

She hasn't never driven an Auto and is worried about it - anyone here had similar issues?

My missus had similar concerns when I purchased our 530i Auto. It's our first auto and she had never even tried one before I got ours.

All I can say is she went out for a meeting this afternoon and the last thing I heard was: "I'll take you car if that's alright".
I think she likes the fact that hill-starts are now a doddle. I think for some its an alien concept at first (amusing how often her left foot went for the clutch everytime she was about to stop) but now she's got used to it the only issue I have is that she wants her car replaced with an auto...

Edited by matt uk on Tuesday 7th October 21:01

[Welshbeef]

MattUk - spoke with her last night and she has never actually driven an Auto so the fear is based upon the unknown.

I counted the number of gear changes I made this morning on the 40mile commute.... the journey took 1hr 30mins, total gear changes.... wait for it.... 5,246¬!!!! Admitedly traffic was heavy today but still thats crazy.
This morning I would have loved an Auto & frankly in the future I think every car I go for (daily hack) will be a slush box. So much more relaxing - so much safer as 2 hands on the steering wheel more of the time.

Downside is clearly economy isnt as strong as in the Manual as I like to get into top gear asap.

I love the idea of the switchable auto for those moments - but I guess 99.9% of the time it would just be in D.

[phelix]

5246 gear changes in 90 minutes. That's 58 gear changes per minute. You're either bad at maths or bad at typing.

[Welshbeef]

phelix said:

5246 gear changes in 90 minutes. That's 58 gear changes per minute. You're either bad at maths or bad at typing.

Maybe my counting slipped a bit but its ball park.

[silver16v]

Back to your question re: HUD - you dont see a rev display, just the speed.
If you have the nav guidance on, it will indicate direction changes and distance

[Tower View]

phelix said:

5246 gear changes in 90 minutes. That's 58 gear changes per minute. You're either bad at maths or bad at typing.

I am struggling to understand the amount of gearchanges! It's a gearchange almost every second! Ballpark or not the gearbox is getting well used.

[Welshbeef]

Well i attached a pedometer to my wrist to do the counting so maybe there is some margin of error in that. Either way its a huge amount.

[sniff diesel]

Welshbeef said:

Well i attached a pedometer to my wrist to do the counting so maybe there is some margin of error in that. Either way its a huge amount.

That could be misinterpreted so badly...

[pgilc1]

Just for info, the 272BHP one is the one you're looking at, the later LCI model is a 286BHP version

Minimum spec requirements seems to be Media Pack (Pro Nav, changer, bluetooth) and leather, anything above that will be down to personal preference.

I bought mine based on service history, condition, and those minimum spec requirements. Anything over and above that was a bonus.

I dont think visibility pack / xenons are an essential as TBH i had them on my X5 and whilst they are good, i certainly wouldnt pay extra for them. Also i personally wouldnt feel an urge to retrofit them.

Edited by pgilc1 on Wednesday 8th October 13:54

[Welshbeef]

pgilc1 said:

Just for info, the 272BHP one is the one you're looking at, the later LCI model is a 286BHP version

Minimum spec requirements seems to be Media Pack (Pro Nav, changer, bluetooth) and leather, anything above that will be down to personal preference.

I bought mine based on service history, condition, and those minimum spec requirements. Anything over and above that was a bonus.

I dont think visibility pack / xenons are an essential as TBH i had them on my X5 and whilst they are good, i certainly wouldnt pay extra for them. Also i personally wouldnt feel an urge to retrofit them.

Edited by pgilc1 on Wednesday 8th October 13:54

Did the 286bhp LCI model come with that subtle boot spoiler? Can that be retro fitted? Im guessing thats a very low cost job?

So Media Pack = Pro Nav, Blue tooth & 6 cd multichanger? Or can it be business nav in its place?

I'd agree frankly leather & the media pack seem fine.

I have a look at an old 5 series brochure and could barely find any info on the comfort seats bar the fact it has cushioned headrests - seems like a huge price £960+ for just that?
Or is it similar to those mattress with the "pillow" on top of them? Does it lose its comfort/cushion over time?

[pgilc1]

Welshbeef said:

pgilc1 said:

Just for info, the 272BHP one is the one you're looking at, the later LCI model is a 286BHP version

Minimum spec requirements seems to be Media Pack (Pro Nav, changer, bluetooth) and leather, anything above that will be down to personal preference.

I bought mine based on service history, condition, and those minimum spec requirements. Anything over and above that was a bonus.

I dont think visibility pack / xenons are an essential as TBH i had them on my X5 and whilst they are good, i certainly wouldnt pay extra for them. Also i personally wouldnt feel an urge to retrofit them.

Edited by pgilc1 on Wednesday 8th October 13:54

Did the 286bhp LCI model come with that subtle boot spoiler? Can that be retro fitted? Im guessing thats a very low cost job?

So Media Pack = Pro Nav, Blue tooth & 6 cd multichanger? Or can it be business nav in its place?

I'd agree frankly leather & the media pack seem fine.

I have a look at an old 5 series brochure and could barely find any info on the comfort seats bar the fact it has cushioned headrests - seems like a huge price £960+ for just that?
Or is it similar to those mattress with the "pillow" on top of them? Does it lose its comfort/cushion over time?

No the bootspoiler was always an option, and yes it can be fitted easily as a retro fit. Cant see it costing a fortune.

If its business nav then it will have a smaller (five inch?) screen and only directions rather than a perspective (i think). Its inferior to the Pro Nav, so i would seek out a car with it moreso that business nav.

Not sure on the detail of the comfort seats - i do know they are better and fully electric (as opposed to part electric). Again, i personally wouldnt go looking for a car with it.

Edited by pgilc1 on Wednesday 8th October 14:11

[Welshbeef]

Am i correct in saying that the 535d sports seats are part electric - which moves it forward & back?

Would certainly want the Pro Nav over the business - frankly anyone who bought these new would have been silly to go for Business over pro as its such a small difference £400.... Resale impacted and inferior.

[pgilc1]

Welshbeef said:

Am i correct in saying that the 535d sports seats are part electric - which moves it forward & back?

Would certainly want the Pro Nav over the business - frankly anyone who bought these new would have been silly to go for Business over pro as its such a small difference £400.... Resale impacted and inferior.

They are part electric - the only manual bit is the forward and back!

Yes, there will only be a few cars with business nav on a 535d.

Having said that, the latest business nav is avail as a £350 option on some new fives. That would be worth doing over either no nav or pro nav

[phelix]

sniff diesel said:

Welshbeef said:

Well i attached a pedometer to my wrist to do the counting so maybe there is some margin of error in that. Either way its a huge amount.

That could be misinterpreted so badly...

[Welshbeef]

pgilc1 said:

Welshbeef said:

Am i correct in saying that the 535d sports seats are part electric - which moves it forward & back?

Would certainly want the Pro Nav over the business - frankly anyone who bought these new would have been silly to go for Business over pro as its such a small difference £400.... Resale impacted and inferior.

They are part electric - the only manual bit is the forward and back!

Yes, there will only be a few cars with business nav on a 535d.

Having said that, the latest business nav is avail as a £350 option on some new fives. That would be worth doing over either no nav or pro nav

Ok so spec would be boot spoiler, Media Pack, Leather. Job done.

Wheels would be great to have 19inch - but the cost to buy new rims & rubber... gets silly when you have 4 perfectly good 18inch rims with rubber on the car. Plus much more chance of the Mrs kerbing those new 19inch and I'd be livid & livid with myself if I did it.

Colour - love the Gray also carbon black the Mystic blue and silver - but silver isnt my first choice.
Leather - would want it black (easier to hide any marks - especially with nippers & they look good.

[pgilc1]

Welshbeef said:

pgilc1 said:

Welshbeef said:

Am i correct in saying that the 535d sports seats are part electric - which moves it forward & back?

Would certainly want the Pro Nav over the business - frankly anyone who bought these new would have been silly to go for Business over pro as its such a small difference £400.... Resale impacted and inferior.

They are part electric - the only manual bit is the forward and back!

Yes, there will only be a few cars with business nav on a 535d.

Having said that, the latest business nav is avail as a £350 option on some new fives. That would be worth doing over either no nav or pro nav

Ok so spec would be boot spoiler, Media Pack, Leather. Job done.

Wheels would be great to have 19inch - but the cost to buy new rims & rubber... gets silly when you have 4 perfectly good 18inch rims with rubber on the car. Plus much more chance of the Mrs kerbing those new 19inch and I'd be livid & livid with myself if I did it.

Colour - love the Gray also carbon black the Mystic blue and silver - but silver isnt my first choice.
Leather - would want it black (easier to hide any marks - especially with nippers & they look good.

Thats the exact spec i got and i'm well chuffed. The car is well spec'd anyway so those few touches just complete the picture.

I got a deal on a brand new set of 172 19's and brand new tyres taken off a brand new five series from my dealer. I think if you were to order the rims in and pay for the tyres through the dealer it comes to something mad like £2900, and i got the set for £1000 which i thought was good. You can buy replicas and a set of budget tyres for that, but to have the genuine kit for that seemed too good to miss.

Mine is Silver grey, which is similar to the new Space Grey, and my previous one was silver. I had a loan of a carbon black 530d for four days and ended up washing it every day to keep it looking its best but it does look great when clean.

[Welshbeef]

[/quote]
Thats the exact spec i got and i'm well chuffed. The car is well spec'd anyway so those few touches just complete the picture.

I got a deal on a brand new set of 172 19's and brand new tyres taken off a brand new five series from my dealer. I think if you were to order the rims in and pay for the tyres through the dealer it comes to something mad like £2900, and i got the set for £1000 which i thought was good. You can buy replicas and a set of budget tyres for that, but to have the genuine kit for that seemed too good to miss.

Mine is Silver grey, which is similar to the new Space Grey, and my previous one was silver. I had a loan of a carbon black 530d for four days and ended up washing it every day to keep it looking its best but it does look great when clean.


[/quote]

Well thats the spec sorted then.
One thing - Im guessing the std new rubber for those 18inch rims cannot be far off £200 per corner? If so the rubber on the car you had would have been not new so you possibly have had those 19inch for effectively a few £'00!

Ive had a black car before and yes clean they do look stunning but I had to clean it once or twice a week which while nice to do when young & when its a new car to you is very annoying when your in working life and dont really have that much free time.


Does yours have the rear Spoiler? I think that makes the car look so good

[pgilc1]

Yes, effectively the rims were close to 'free' as it were.

And yes has the boot spoiler.

I had a sapphire black 3 series with black leather a while ago and loved it to bits, but like yourself i just wouldnt have the time to keep another black car to the standard it needs :-(