BMW 528i M Sport.
Discussion
This is a departure for me. Usually I'm in shed territory having previously spent next to nothing on various vauxhalls.
Anyway a few months ago wife suggested that the permanently leaking Astra 1.4GTC wasn't comfortable enough for her passenger needs. And she thought I might like to buy something much more comfortable.
Not really dear. Anyway over the weeks it became clear that she was serious, so I started looking.
Having shown her various "unsuitable" options it was clear that it had to have Big rear seats for tiny grandchildrens massive seats. And isofix. And 4 or 5 doors.
My only requirement was an automatic that wasn't slow.
She also added "low miles" and I added not a diesel.
So eventually we bought this 2 weeks ago.
50k on the clock. 528i
I was surprised to learn (before going to look)that this would be a fragile N50 turbo'd 2.0 4 cylinder, but would also have an 8 speed ZF powerline. Similar to that fitting in Daf XB lorries.
The test drive was just about making sure it was comfortable enough for my wife and not too wallowy that she'd get travel sick.
Before I picked it up I was forced to make my flower beds smaller and move some gravel to make space for it where her mazda 2 has lived in front of the front door.
So far in 2 weeks I've done about 600 miles.
And there is just one problem for the dealer to fix... more on that later.
It's clearly the fastest car I've ever owned, but also at 70 mph on cruise is exceptionally frugal, with the engine barely off idle.
Being secondhand it clearly has brands of tyres that I personally have never heard of. So that might make it "interesting"
Grrrrrrrr
Anyway a few months ago wife suggested that the permanently leaking Astra 1.4GTC wasn't comfortable enough for her passenger needs. And she thought I might like to buy something much more comfortable.
Not really dear. Anyway over the weeks it became clear that she was serious, so I started looking.
Having shown her various "unsuitable" options it was clear that it had to have Big rear seats for tiny grandchildrens massive seats. And isofix. And 4 or 5 doors.
My only requirement was an automatic that wasn't slow.
She also added "low miles" and I added not a diesel.
So eventually we bought this 2 weeks ago.
50k on the clock. 528i
I was surprised to learn (before going to look)that this would be a fragile N50 turbo'd 2.0 4 cylinder, but would also have an 8 speed ZF powerline. Similar to that fitting in Daf XB lorries.
The test drive was just about making sure it was comfortable enough for my wife and not too wallowy that she'd get travel sick.
Before I picked it up I was forced to make my flower beds smaller and move some gravel to make space for it where her mazda 2 has lived in front of the front door.
So far in 2 weeks I've done about 600 miles.
And there is just one problem for the dealer to fix... more on that later.
It's clearly the fastest car I've ever owned, but also at 70 mph on cruise is exceptionally frugal, with the engine barely off idle.
Being secondhand it clearly has brands of tyres that I personally have never heard of. So that might make it "interesting"
Grrrrrrrr
jon-yprpe said:
Infamous fault need a new headlight. Get a pattern one from ebay for a couple of hundred quid.
I'm in talks with the dealer about how he wants to proceed. Given that when I read the service history it was noted as an intermittent fault at the last (independent) service... so it was there before he put it on sale.
Also... my son gets a GSF car parts employee discount and he's asked for a "price" for a Hella made set.
Congrats on the 528i, and 'they all do that sir' with regards to the lights. I managed to hold off replacing the ones on my 2012 535i Touring for over a year by sticking a hairdryer into the access hatch on the top of each light to properly dry them out, then adding a couple of silica gel bags which helped to keep the moisture at bay, but that's just a sticking plaster really.
Headlights are a common fault with the F10/F11 - moisture ingress.
This then collects at the bottom of the headlight, exactly where the control module lives, so it ends up getting damaged.
I would try and see where you get with the seller, however both myself and a good friend of mine own F11s, he had the same fault a few months back and ended up ordering a chinese module from ebay for around £30, I was then able to program/code it with my scan tool.
I can see you probably aren't too far away, so if you need to go down the latter route let me know and ill be happy to program it for you.
This then collects at the bottom of the headlight, exactly where the control module lives, so it ends up getting damaged.
I would try and see where you get with the seller, however both myself and a good friend of mine own F11s, he had the same fault a few months back and ended up ordering a chinese module from ebay for around £30, I was then able to program/code it with my scan tool.
I can see you probably aren't too far away, so if you need to go down the latter route let me know and ill be happy to program it for you.
Wife says man needs new car. Man seems almost resentful and begrudgingly buys new car. New car is much nicer than his old Vauxhall but man is seemingly not happy 😊
I had a 2010 F10 528i for 6 years, bought at six years old. For daily conveyance at a reasonable price point, I couldn't really fault it. Nice engine, handled well, very intuitive controls and a smart enough interior.
There were niggles, tyres (runflats) were expensive, as were parts, but it's a German exec not a Vauxhall! However, it just crushed long journeys in comfort and my wife preferred it to any previous car.
The headlights are a common issue requiring eventual replacement. Hope you enjoy what is a very capable car.
I had a 2010 F10 528i for 6 years, bought at six years old. For daily conveyance at a reasonable price point, I couldn't really fault it. Nice engine, handled well, very intuitive controls and a smart enough interior.
There were niggles, tyres (runflats) were expensive, as were parts, but it's a German exec not a Vauxhall! However, it just crushed long journeys in comfort and my wife preferred it to any previous car.
The headlights are a common issue requiring eventual replacement. Hope you enjoy what is a very capable car.
Man much happier as Dealer has replaced the dodgy headlamp with a new one.
Man not sure about the handling yet.
Man used to have 3.2 MV6 omega so was used to RWD but has more recently done 85K in astra GTC with Rainsport 5s on each corner and that was "Chuckable" even in the rain.
Man is amazed at how quick car is if he presses on the accelerator pedal.
Man has taken to listening to Radio 3 in order to feel less like a gangster.
Man not sure about the handling yet.
Man used to have 3.2 MV6 omega so was used to RWD but has more recently done 85K in astra GTC with Rainsport 5s on each corner and that was "Chuckable" even in the rain.
Man is amazed at how quick car is if he presses on the accelerator pedal.
Man has taken to listening to Radio 3 in order to feel less like a gangster.
drdino said:
Pit Pony said:
That's a 3series 
Is it the F1* platform that's affected by the yellow grommet issue? If so, have a look on the interwebs as it might save you some troubleul in the future.
Pit Pony said:
Man much happier as Dealer has replaced the dodgy headlamp with a new one.
Man not sure about the handling yet.
Man used to have 3.2 MV6 omega so was used to RWD but has more recently done 85K in astra GTC with Rainsport 5s on each corner and that was "Chuckable" even in the rain.
Man is amazed at how quick car is if he presses on the accelerator pedal.
Man has taken to listening to Radio 3 in order to feel less like a gangster.
Good news on the headlight. Man not sure about the handling yet.
Man used to have 3.2 MV6 omega so was used to RWD but has more recently done 85K in astra GTC with Rainsport 5s on each corner and that was "Chuckable" even in the rain.
Man is amazed at how quick car is if he presses on the accelerator pedal.
Man has taken to listening to Radio 3 in order to feel less like a gangster.
Man just needs to get decent tyres fitted (ideally not run-flats) and press on!
AlfaManc said:
Wife says man needs new car. Man seems almost resentful and begrudgingly buys new car. New car is much nicer than his old Vauxhall but man is seemingly not happy ?
Is OP the first man to be told by his wife to spend more on a car? If so, how did you do it? Convincing my wife to agree to me spending 1/20 of my annual salary on a car when the current one died was a struggle.Josemartinez said:
AlfaManc said:
Wife says man needs new car. Man seems almost resentful and begrudgingly buys new car. New car is much nicer than his old Vauxhall but man is seemingly not happy ?
Is OP the first man to be told by his wife to spend more on a car? If so, how did you do it? Convincing my wife to agree to me spending 1/20 of my annual salary on a car when the current one died was a struggle.Things like a dented mk2 cavalier SRi for £40, a Volve
0 S40 1.8 sport for £350. Covered in bird s
t and faded to pink. A high mileage Mv6 omega for £525
This time I very nearly spend 60% less on a 2004 745i but the owner could not confirm that it had isofix in the rear. And I wasn't traveling 180 miles on the off chance.
drdino said:
Here's a linky:
https://www.bmwland.org.uk/index.php?threads/f10-f...
Yeah. This is one of those jobs that's really worth doing pre-emptively. It's a cheap part and takes less than an hour to sort. That said when I did mine, I took a lot longer as I took a load of trim off both sides and made sure all the scuttle drains and sunroof drain were clear. It's worth doing that as the yellow grommet iteself is only likely to leak significantly if water is built up in front of it. Which in turn will only happen if the scuttle drains are blocked. Ignoring corrosion etc, it's worth doing because there are electrics tucked under the carpets. It's not necessarily just a wet carpet to dry out if it all goes a bit leaky. FWIW, my 2011 car's yellow grommet was in a nasty state when I replaced it a couple of years ago. Wasn't actually leaking but it was definitely heading that way quickly. https://www.bmwland.org.uk/index.php?threads/f10-f...
[quote=drdino]Here's a linky:
https://www.bmwland.org.uk/index.php?threads/f10-f...
Thanks for that.
In the 21st century with all the experience and best practice at their disposal you'd think the designer could do something better.
For context on that statement I work in Product development in the truck industry, and facilitate Design FMEAs. Frequently I have to remind people that if we did it right we wouldn't have any FRACAS reports. Or warranty claims.
https://www.bmwland.org.uk/index.php?threads/f10-f...
Thanks for that.
In the 21st century with all the experience and best practice at their disposal you'd think the designer could do something better.
For context on that statement I work in Product development in the truck industry, and facilitate Design FMEAs. Frequently I have to remind people that if we did it right we wouldn't have any FRACAS reports. Or warranty claims.
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