520d (F10) buying advice

[Fox-]

Andehh said:

Also worth mentioning that pre September 2010 cars have no 'Com Box' which basically means no full Bluetooth setup, they also had issues where you could not adjust the volume of the Sat Nav unless the Sat Nav was talking...but you had to do that on every journey. Whether this is a real issue or not I don't know, but I know it has been discussed.

The Combox added the ability to have multiple simultaneous devices connected and bluetooth audio streaming. The bluetooth on the pre combox fitted cars is still fully functional with contacts etc.

I have no issue with the sat nav volume either? Never heard of that one.

[rajsol3000]

hey guys, ive just been reading through this pos, i am in the same position as the the original poster, vladman. i amin the market to buy a 520d touring, id like to know if you guys could tell me of any common issues to look out for when viewing a car, and which specs etc i should look out for.

thanks

[helix402]

Well worth going for a 530d rather than a 520. It will be a much more pleasant driving experience and may not use any more fuel.

[The Li-ion King]

helix402 said:

Well worth going for a 530d rather than a 520. It will be a much more pleasant driving experience and may not use any more fuel.

+1

The 6 cylinder engine is so much better! Avoid the 525d as it's just a tweaked 4 cylinder, not like the de-rated 6 pot engines of old. Anything above 14 plate keeps you free from ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) charges in London. I had a 525d, a rare manual gearbox one, gearbox failed, aggro looking for a new one as so rare. It was a 62 reg at the time. The majority were auto, the only manual ones generally are the 520d. M Sport if you can, it's a nice place to be. And as mentioned, the small iDrive screen just looks awful with acres of plastic (I had this in the 525d).

If outside London and the car is pre 2013, look out for two switches next the the main headlight switch. Two switches means halogen lights, one switch is to adjust the dip. Pre LCI Xenon ones have LED indicators in a kind of homeycomb pattern, halogen ones have single orange bulbs for the indicators.

Early 4 cylinder engines did have issues with timing chains, were a pig to fix as the chain is stuck at the back of the engine, meaning the whole engine has to come out to fix it if it goes. Service Recall out for EGR (Emission system / exhaust ) meaning potential fire risk due to glycol leak getting onto exhaust soot. BMW are recalling most 4 and 5 cylinder engines pre September 2016. I think there were some part delays at some dealers for this EGR kit, not sure if still an issue.

Enjoy your 5 series once you get it!