3 series v 5 series insurance

[BDZ]

Am looking at getting a half-decent E39 to last me 12 months or so and when I've got insurance quotes I was pleasantly surprised to find that a nice E39 523 was only £70 more than my ancient Mondeo but that 323/325 E36s were a lot more despite being in a lower insurance group than the E39. Anyone else found that? Wafting might be cheaper than I'd thought it was going to be.

[Targarama]

I found the same thing a few years back when trying to decide between an Audi A4 and A6 - the A6 was cheaper to insure and often no more to buy on the secondhand market for the flavour I wanted.

[bga]

My experiences are the same. A 330i Touring (IG17) comes in at 20% more expensive compared to my 540i Touring (IG18).

There is a similar difference between Audi A4's & A6's for me too.

[Deano_BMW]

interestingly enough, my 530D was more to insure then my 330Ci was. Only to the tune of around 40 quid though. I think that was more to do with the policy/company than the car though.

[Fox-]

When I got my 530i I was 22 - it was £1000 to insure versus £1300 for a 330Ci.

330i Saloons were no more expensive to insure.

[Matt UK]

It's not just about insurance groups though.

The e36 prices now put them within easy reach of the chavs / yoofs and so each year I dare say quite a few are crashed.
The e39 5 series tends to be purchased by a slightly more mature demographic I would have thought who tend to crash them less often.

[scz4]

Matt UK said:

The e36 prices now put them within easy reach of the chavs / yoofs and so each year I dare say quite a few are crashed.
The e39 5 series tends to be purchased by a slightly more mature demographic I would have thought who tend to crash them less often.

I have both so which category am I? E36 M3 & E39 540i

With regards to insurance, the E39 540i insurance premium is very expensive for what it is, around £680 a year, I'm 30. My track prepared M3 with 20+ modifications listed it cheaper to insure as was my supercharged Z4. It seems the 540i attract high premiums for some reason!

[sparks_E39]

BDZ said:

Am looking at getting a half-decent E39 to last me 12 months or so and when I've got insurance quotes I was pleasantly surprised to find that a nice E39 523 was only £70 more than my ancient Mondeo but that 323/325 E36s were a lot more despite being in a lower insurance group than the E39. Anyone else found that? Wafting might be cheaper than I'd thought it was going to be.

Get a 528, it will cost hardly any more to insure and has the same running costs as any other 6 Cylinder E39, including MPG.

[texasjohn]

Matt UK said:

It's not just about insurance groups though.

The e36 prices now put them within easy reach of the chavs / yoofs and so each year I dare say quite a few are crashed.
The e39 5 series tends to be purchased by a slightly more mature demographic I would have thought who tend to crash them less often.

Similarly Z3 3.0 and (Z3) M Roadsters are very cheap to insure.