BMW Approved Used cars - £25k budget.

[Andehh]

For the last 3 years I have been saving up for a 2-3 year old F10 BMW 530D M sport, with a few required options. The 'perfect' car comes up a few a month and having been patient for this long. I refuse to compromise on the options I want - Pro Nav, heated seats, folding mirrors, Xenon lights, Black/White/Dark Grey, piano black trim, and hopefully Visibility Pack/Reverse camera.

Before I go and spend the most amount of money I will probably ever put down again I want to know what I can expect. Being mid-20s I doubt they will give me the time of day as a walk in so me & fiancée will make an appointment with a recommended sales guy and go in and explain my requirements. Hopefully being taken seriously.


1) Can anyone comment on the BMW approved used car policy? The 1 year warranty, potential discounts/haggle room?
2) What's BMW finance like? Whilst I am a cash buyer I am keen to know what discount I might get by taking it out. Can I just pay off the finance a week/month later?
3) What are BMW like with moving cars across the country within their dealer network? Happy to put a deposit down prior to inspecting in person.
4) Finally, anyone owned one? Anyone able to comment on the options above, or what else might be classed as essential options?

As for servicing; I'm budget £300 a service & service intervals of 15-20k miles, £800-900 for 4 tyres, low 40mpg average, few £100 for pads, and same again for discs etc. Ill do around 20k miles a year maximum, down from the 30k> miles I did in my current Octavia vRS.

Thanks

[daemon]

Andehh said:

Being mid-20s I doubt they will give me the time of day as a walk in so me & fiancée will make an appointment with a recommended sales guy and go in and explain my requirements. Hopefully being taken seriously.

No reason why you wouldnt be. Defo doing the right thing RE: making an appointment - let them know what car specifically you are interested in so its ready for you to inspect and test drive.

Andehh said:

1) Can anyone comment on the BMW approved used car policy? The 1 year warranty, potential discounts/haggle room?

It will depend on the car and the dealer. I'd rather have £1 off a car at £25,000 than £1,000 off the same car from another dealer at £26,000.

Push them on price though and see what happens.

Andehh said:

2) What's BMW finance like? Whilst I am a cash buyer I am keen to know what discount I might get by taking it out. Can I just pay off the finance a week/month later?

Usually that works when there is a "manufacturer contribution" to a new car deal. Say an extra £3000 if you buy a new 5 on BMW finance. Cant see it making much difference on a used car.

Andehh said:

3) What are BMW like with moving cars across the country within their dealer network? Happy to put a deposit down prior to inspecting in person.

Cant personally comment.

Andehh said:

4) Finally, anyone owned one? Anyone able to comment on the options above, or what else might be classed as essential options?

No, but get the options you want, not the options you're told the next customer might want.

Andehh said:

As for servicing; I'm budget £300 a service & service intervals of 15-20k miles, £800-900 for 4 tyres, low 40mpg average, few £100 for pads, and same again for discs etc. Ill do around 20k miles a year maximum, down from the 30k> miles I did in my current Octavia vRS.

Thanks

Sounds about right.

[Boydie88]

Mid 20s and you're chucking out £25k on a dull diesel?

Save that until later in life when you need the extra seats and space in the back and buy yourself something that won't depreciate so much.

[Andehh]

[quote88]Mid 20s and you're chucking out £25k on a dull diesel?

Save that until later in life when you need the extra seats and space in the back and buy yourself something that won't wdepreciate so much.
[/quote]

Mortgage is well under control, we both have solid jobs and she loves BMWs and defends it when we visit the in & outlaws. Ultimately it is big enough for the family on the horizon, fast enough to keep me happy yet not so fast I kill myself and frugal enough to keep my 20k miles a year affordable.

Very grateful for the comments daemon!

[Escort3500]

We gave the model/spec we wanted to our main dealer and they sourced one from within their group. We went to test drive it at the other dealer's, but our dealer was very keen to make sure that they got the sale so asked us not to buy it from the other dealer and they'd then get it delivered to us. Gave us some negotiating leverage too

[eztiger]

Andehh said:

1) Can anyone comment on the BMW approved used car policy? The 1 year warranty, potential discounts/haggle room?
2) What's BMW finance like? Whilst I am a cash buyer I am keen to know what discount I might get by taking it out. Can I just pay off the finance a week/month later?
3) What are BMW like with moving cars across the country within their dealer network? Happy to put a deposit down prior to inspecting in person.
4) Finally, anyone owned one? Anyone able to comment on the options above, or what else might be classed as

My experiences are a couple of years old, but for what it's worth...

1) Warranty is great. Discounts and haggle room will probably depend on many factors. Always worth a shot.

2) Yes you can (or could) just pay it off. Also standard cooling off period etc.

3) They did this for me a couple of years ago. I wouldn't do it again - relying on the AUC prep is not a good idea and once they move it the deal is usually 'locked in' so difficult to wiggle once it turns up on the forecourt - potentially not in the condition you'd expect. Deposit should be legally refundable but I imagine it wouldn't be a fun experience. However a colleague tried to do the same last year (from the same dealer) and they refused to bring a car from another dealer without full purchase price being paid blind. They offered to send through comprehensive video footage etc before hand of the car if necessary. But they would not take a small deposit and move it as they did for me. I don't know if that's just that dealers policy now, group wide or something not done as it's bitten them too many times. Personally if you've spent so long looking, don't skimp on this bit and expect to travel to see it in the flesh before you put any money in. Don't rely on the AUC prep or sales telling you how perfect it is.

4) Drove an auto 520d which I found disappointing. But I'm a harsh critic. And a 3 litre likely totally different and probably better suited to the car. Options wise - whatever floats your boat, it's your car!

[Harji]

Andehh said:

For the last 3 years I have been saving up for a 2-3 year old F10 BMW 530D M sport

Really? Why?

[MissChief]

Surely this is crying out for a Z4M until family needs require a bigger car, at which point you buy her a Qashqai or something equally dull and keep the Z4?

[Gruber]

From time to time they do a "special offer" of 2 years' warranty instead of the standard 12 months. So it might be worth finding out when they're next running that offer (or just try negotiating it into the deal anyway).

[Andehh]

Harji said:

Andehh said:

For the last 3 years I have been saving up for a 2-3 year old F10 BMW 530D M sport

Really? Why?

I have a daughter which requires 4 hour round trip, cross country, at the weekends, as well as a job which requires me to do some longer commutes more & more often, hence needing a car that can suck up some necessarily evil trips without adding to the stress. Has to be relatively economical due to the 20k yearly mileage. She also wants to start breeding in the next 1-2 years, so eventually will have 2 booster seats & third kid to cart around. 5 series is the closest thing I want to a 'family friendly' vehicle.

I don't like the styling of current Mercs/Audis, cant afford the new 3 series or the new Octavia vRS(with the spec I want), and don't like the styling of the mondeos/accords/insignias out there. The new Mazda 6 is also too slow.


Thanks for the comments guys, will consider the second year warranty aspect of it. Would rather have that then £500 off, providing the T&Cs are acceptable.

[ORD]

I am not raining on any parades, but why buy a massive car to fit a family that isnt even happening for a couple of years?

It will be average to drive and huge for both of those two years and will depreciate over that period, too.

Why not buy a more fun car to run for those 2 years and buy the 530D once it has done more depreciation and when you actually need it?

You could easily get a faster and more enjoyable car with roughly the same MPG as a 530d and that will depreciate a lot less over those 2 years in which you dont need it.

[torres del paine]

Why not buy an E92 M3?

[va1o]

Sounds like a nice car for your requirements, the 530d is a really talented all rounder excelling in many areas. Not really sure why other people are criticising the decision.

As you are a cash buyer I wouldn't dismiss buying a car outside of the BMW network. Its quite a safe buy as if you find a 2 year old for sale it would still have a year left of warranty to run with BMW. Warranty can easily be extended through Mondial www.bmw-warranty.co.uk who would charge between £600 - £1.6k (ish) per year depending on excess and level of coverage.

Also I'd suggest been less fussy on specs as it would be a shame to dismiss a clean and well priced car on something trivial like folding mirrors. Pro Nav and Xenons are the only critically essential items and most should have these

[evo5star]

I have done this. If like me you have done your research as no doubt you have done, you will know what each car is worth with options, year etc. the price can vary. F10 m sports with no pro media or visibility packs or any options can be 3k over and cars with pro media, visibility, professional hi-fi, ambient lighting, 19's, fine line wood, soft closing doors, reversing camera, sun protection glass , m rear spoiler priced as you would pay, haggle on the overpriced ones and pay the reasonable ones.

Act fast one the ones you want, be on BMW approved site hourly , although you can visit dealers in my experience they will not source car for you, as the high end spec'ers sell themselves. You will know more that the dealers about the specs. I still get poor service from some dealerships so expect some of that things but will improve once you own the car.

No discount on finance other than if you money was just sitting in the bank but with stocks and shares ISA's the percentage can be off set.

My 2cents on the options

Must have

Pro media multime -
Black panel display full
Visibility pack -
BMW apps interface
Sun protection glass
Sport automatic transmission
19" m double spoke style 351m rims

Like to have

Split folding rear seats
Ambient lighting
Better climate
Rear camera
Head up display
Professional loudspeaker system
Electric front seats
Sunroof
Fineline wood
Folding mirrors

[crosseyedlion]

Finance it with the smallest deposit possible, put the rest down on a 100k Buy to let and get a decent agent to do as much of the management as possible. Should turn a profit.

You then have your car paid for + a bit more. Save up again for 3 years rinse and repeat.

I know it wasn't the question, but its what I would do.

[Andehh]

Appreciate all the views, I don't have the driving abilities/desire to need a sportier car, i will bottle it long before the cars performance & handling run out! Just want the raw acceleration to keep me smiling during overtakes and pulling away - before I settle into mpg motoring.

As for saving the money, or investing it, we are utterly spoilt in our financial situation both with our jobs and the start our families have been able to give us with wedding and honeymoon paid for. The money not spent on the car will get sucked up by her for new bathrooms /kitchens/furniture - I won't have this opportunity again!

[Welshbeef]

crosseyedlion said:

Finance it with the smallest deposit possible, put the rest down on a 100k Buy to let and get a decent agent to do as much of the management as possible. Should turn a profit.

You then have your car paid for + a bit more. Save up again for 3 years rinse and repeat.

I know it wasn't the question, but its what I would do.

Please show where these £10k buy to let's are in Berkshire and I will take some.

[crosseyedlion]

Welshbeef said:

Please show where these £10k buy to let's are in Berkshire and I will take some.

You'll need to look a fair bit further north than the south east bubble... But thats where a good management company comes in. But thats a whole other topic.

[Welshbeef]

crosseyedlion said:

Welshbeef said:

Please show where these £10k buy to let's are in Berkshire and I will take some.

You'll need to look a fair bit further north than the south east bubble... But thats where a good management company comes in. But thats a whole other topic.

Spend £250k get a 1/2 bed flat if your lucky for buy to let

[crosseyedlion]

Welshbeef said:

Spend £250k get a 1/2 bed flat if your lucky for buy to let

In berkshire, yes. In lincolnshire no.

Please don't derail the thread, I was merely trying to present an idea.