535d Sport Buying Guide
Discussion
Ok been looking at A Trader - cannot view PHead ads here.
Seems to be that 54/05/55 reg saloons can be bought from £15.5k - every one I have seen has leather all have cruise, all have media pack (what is that?), but then not all have Pro Nav some have HUD (head up display) but no nav, some have electric seats, some have comfort seats (whats the difference to the std seat?)
Ive kind of accepted that for my budget the 272bhp model is sadly out of my budget (currently).
When looking at these cars what should I be looking out for? How long do the discs & pads last? Never really done any test drive of an Auto before & never reversed in one! So what to look for - clearly at these prices it will be non BMW AUC Im guessing.
As for duration - it will be a keeper i.e. min 5 years use, currently Im doing give or take 20k a year. I like the idea of Pro Nav (none seem to have business nav) but am not sure if a Tom Tom would be better?
Do they all have Aux in for ipod? Is the Harmon Karden the upgrade to Logic7 & is it really worth it (well I guess 2nd hand you get what you get).
Can Xenons be retro fitted (if so what sort of £) and is it worth it over std lights?
How much do tyres cost & roughly what are their life - my usage is generally M way.
Now for the Mrs questions - she doesnt like big cars .... but likes the space. She hasnt ever driven an Auto and is worried about it - anyone here had similar issues? Are parking sensors front & rear? What about kids seats/baby seats - none yet but you know what ladies are like..
Also are all rear windows tinted with UV protection?
Airbags in the rear are they curtain bags?
With the Auto gear box - Im guessing you have D, 1,2,3,4,5,6, R, P & then if you push it left you can switch up or down the box. Im also guessing that after a little play with the switchtronic everybody just leaves it in D!
The Climate screen - is that std? Can you have climate screen on and climate on at the same time but not have the air con on.
Finally looking at VED it appears that from next Apr its £165p.a. and ins quote for me with 25k business miles a year comes out to be £550p.a. Do these numbers sound ok?
Last bit - independant servicing how much cheaper will it be than main dealer & are they competant with the x35d engine?
Seems to be that 54/05/55 reg saloons can be bought from £15.5k - every one I have seen has leather all have cruise, all have media pack (what is that?), but then not all have Pro Nav some have HUD (head up display) but no nav, some have electric seats, some have comfort seats (whats the difference to the std seat?)
Ive kind of accepted that for my budget the 272bhp model is sadly out of my budget (currently).
When looking at these cars what should I be looking out for? How long do the discs & pads last? Never really done any test drive of an Auto before & never reversed in one! So what to look for - clearly at these prices it will be non BMW AUC Im guessing.
As for duration - it will be a keeper i.e. min 5 years use, currently Im doing give or take 20k a year. I like the idea of Pro Nav (none seem to have business nav) but am not sure if a Tom Tom would be better?
Do they all have Aux in for ipod? Is the Harmon Karden the upgrade to Logic7 & is it really worth it (well I guess 2nd hand you get what you get).
Can Xenons be retro fitted (if so what sort of £) and is it worth it over std lights?
How much do tyres cost & roughly what are their life - my usage is generally M way.
Now for the Mrs questions - she doesnt like big cars .... but likes the space. She hasnt ever driven an Auto and is worried about it - anyone here had similar issues? Are parking sensors front & rear? What about kids seats/baby seats - none yet but you know what ladies are like..
Also are all rear windows tinted with UV protection?
Airbags in the rear are they curtain bags?
With the Auto gear box - Im guessing you have D, 1,2,3,4,5,6, R, P & then if you push it left you can switch up or down the box. Im also guessing that after a little play with the switchtronic everybody just leaves it in D!
The Climate screen - is that std? Can you have climate screen on and climate on at the same time but not have the air con on.
Finally looking at VED it appears that from next Apr its £165p.a. and ins quote for me with 25k business miles a year comes out to be £550p.a. Do these numbers sound ok?
Last bit - independant servicing how much cheaper will it be than main dealer & are they competant with the x35d engine?
For most of your answers, 10 minutes searching on E60.net will do you the world of good.
Not all come with iPod aux and if you have the CD changer in the glovebox (like mine) I'm led to believe you can only have the aux put into the boot.
If you are using runflats check the pressures as often as you would on normal tyres. I had premature tyre wear (cracking) on mine as the chap who owned it before assumed the pressures never needed to be checked.
For your wife, it is a big car and though I don't have trouble parking it in 99% of places it can sometimes be a struggle getting it parallel parked as some spaces are too tight. I'm 5ft 5, 38 wks pregnant and it is still easier to park (lighter steering) than my Punto or Exige.
2 Isofix mounts standard in the rear - you cannot turn the pax airbag off so never put kids in the front unless the ability to turn this off was specified at build with a front isofix mount. I believe tinted windows in rear is standard.
I thought the M Sport seats were Sport (Comfort) seats as standard?
Not all come with iPod aux and if you have the CD changer in the glovebox (like mine) I'm led to believe you can only have the aux put into the boot.
If you are using runflats check the pressures as often as you would on normal tyres. I had premature tyre wear (cracking) on mine as the chap who owned it before assumed the pressures never needed to be checked.
For your wife, it is a big car and though I don't have trouble parking it in 99% of places it can sometimes be a struggle getting it parallel parked as some spaces are too tight. I'm 5ft 5, 38 wks pregnant and it is still easier to park (lighter steering) than my Punto or Exige.
2 Isofix mounts standard in the rear - you cannot turn the pax airbag off so never put kids in the front unless the ability to turn this off was specified at build with a front isofix mount. I believe tinted windows in rear is standard.
I thought the M Sport seats were Sport (Comfort) seats as standard?
Edited by Junior Mint on Tuesday 7th October 12:54
Hope this helps:
Great car all round. Media Package encompasses Nav, Phone & Telematics. Have Nokia charger in armrest. Use mine for work also & whilst the Sat Nav itself in regard to 7 digit postcode isnt as accurate in rural locations as my Tom Tom but I have yet to need to resort to the Tom Tom. Takes a little longer to set destination against postcode entry.
However TMC directing you round traffic jams great & no wires, leads, phone chargers & bluetooth displays bolted to the dash do make it a nicer environment to sit. More exec than rep. In years gone by my cars resembled the inside of Dixons.
Cruise & PDC (Parking Distance Control) front & rear. Both standard on sport model.
Auto Box left in D 99% of the time. Do find occasionally useful to flick across to DS for holding revs longer using lower gear for the odd overtake.
Earlier model is 272bhp by the way later LCI model is 286bhp. Aux for I-pod standard on later car, not available for the earlier model. Can get Aux input fitted in place of 6 CD Changer in glove compartment however BMW want around £450 which I cant justify.
May be interested in letting mine go. Has major benefit of full BMW warranty until August 09. Need the cash for the other things. Mines on a 54 plate, silver with 68k. Full BMWSH. Hasnt been mapped. Also has heated leather seats. PM me for more info.
Great car all round. Media Package encompasses Nav, Phone & Telematics. Have Nokia charger in armrest. Use mine for work also & whilst the Sat Nav itself in regard to 7 digit postcode isnt as accurate in rural locations as my Tom Tom but I have yet to need to resort to the Tom Tom. Takes a little longer to set destination against postcode entry.
However TMC directing you round traffic jams great & no wires, leads, phone chargers & bluetooth displays bolted to the dash do make it a nicer environment to sit. More exec than rep. In years gone by my cars resembled the inside of Dixons.
Cruise & PDC (Parking Distance Control) front & rear. Both standard on sport model.
Auto Box left in D 99% of the time. Do find occasionally useful to flick across to DS for holding revs longer using lower gear for the odd overtake.
Earlier model is 272bhp by the way later LCI model is 286bhp. Aux for I-pod standard on later car, not available for the earlier model. Can get Aux input fitted in place of 6 CD Changer in glove compartment however BMW want around £450 which I cant justify.
May be interested in letting mine go. Has major benefit of full BMW warranty until August 09. Need the cash for the other things. Mines on a 54 plate, silver with 68k. Full BMWSH. Hasnt been mapped. Also has heated leather seats. PM me for more info.
Edited by Jimmer on Tuesday 7th October 14:54
Jimmer YHM.
£450 for the ipod is daylight robbery IMHO but if thats what they charge then so be it. However I would rather buy one of those FM transmitters for £30.
With the servicing am I ball park with the following?
Oil change = £180
Inspection 1 = £250
Inspection 2 = £350
Jimmer - could you PM me some pics - also have the brakes/discs been changed
£450 for the ipod is daylight robbery IMHO but if thats what they charge then so be it. However I would rather buy one of those FM transmitters for £30.
With the servicing am I ball park with the following?
Oil change = £180
Inspection 1 = £250
Inspection 2 = £350
Jimmer - could you PM me some pics - also have the brakes/discs been changed
Edited by Welshbeef on Tuesday 7th October 15:07
Edited by Welshbeef on Tuesday 7th October 15:16
Jimmer said:
Aux for I-pod standard on later car, not available for the earlier model. Can get Aux input fitted in place of 6 CD Changer in glove compartment however BMW want around £450 which I cant justify.
My Oct 04 build car has the aux-in, presumably retrofitted by the PO. And the changer has just been swapped for an OEM ipod interface box - a plug and play swap on my media pack car with no recoding required.Welshbeef said:
With the servicing am I ball park with the following?
Oil change = £180
Inspection 1 = £250
Inspection 2 = £350
They use condition based servicing so Inspection I+II no longer apply. From memory the events are:Oil change = £180
Inspection 1 = £250
Inspection 2 = £350
oil change
pollen filter change
brake fluid change
air filter and fuel filter change (not listed within iDrive)
front brake pads/discs
rear brakes pads/discs
vehicle inspection
exhaust particulate filter change
statutory vehicle and exhaust inspection (aka MOT)
thekirbyfake said:
If £220pa is an "exceptionally high cost" then perhaps the 535d isn't the car for you?
Thats relative - its a 40% hike in cost over the std premium which I consider to be far too much.I have seen one for £16k so in 5 years time that will be worth - guess £4k so a loss of £2.4k p.a. depn.
I know it's very exciting buying these cars, but do you think that there's a little too much information overload going on here. If you pick up a brochure, you'll be able to decide upon your ideal options.
I've found that if you decide on specs too heavily for 2nd hand cars, it can hamper buying something which would have been a good buy. Having said that I've got everything but HUD and Comfort seats, so I'll never know if i'll miss them
I've found that if you decide on specs too heavily for 2nd hand cars, it can hamper buying something which would have been a good buy. Having said that I've got everything but HUD and Comfort seats, so I'll never know if i'll miss them
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