Just ordered my first brand new car!! :)

[anonymous-user]

gizlaroc said:

REALIST123 said:

???? but on Thursday you said:

“ ...did however decide that I couldn't live with the smaller 3 series for doing 25k a year, too harsh and too noisy. So I went out a couple of weeks ago and bought a 2015 520d Touring with the new B47 engine.
I have to say the engine itself is quite shocking, but shocking in a good way, I am amazed at just how refined it is in day to day use, and also amazed at how well it drives for 190hp”

Make your mind up Giz!

I know, but since then I have been driving around in an E92 320i, and so much prefer petrol. Don't get me wrong, the current 4cyl diesel is still amazing me in regards to refinement and power, but that is in context, and the MPG from it is, quite frankly st!
The 520d on the 6 mile school run is worse MPG wise than my 3.5 litre, 306hp E350 estate MPG wise.
Plus jumping from the 320i to the 520d you really notice how nice petrol is.

I think I have made a mistake with the 520d, I knew I was not going to love it engine wise of course, but I thought I would enjoy the 45mpg+, reality is more like 35mpg calculated, that is only 2mpg better than the 530d
and 4mpg better than the E350 petrol. Which is pissing me off already.

It is impressive in many ways, but let's be honest, the only reason to buy diesel, especially these days, is to dave money, this is not doing that.

I think I will wait for the G21 3 series to come out and then decide, if I swapped now I might regret that in a couple of weeks, the 5 series is nice when coming out of London after a long day and knowing you still have an hour and a half before you get home, and I would miss that.

I don’t disagree with you, except that I’ve not been overly impressed by the 520d engine.

I remember 5 years ago I wasn’t impressed by it and so bought my 530d which I enjoyed.

15 months ago I chopped the 530 and bought a 25T XF petrol. I occasionally miss the torque of the 530d but generally the XF is much smoother and better to drive.

I quite regularly drive a G30 520d and after the XF, the engine noise, and vibration through the steering wheel is quite noticeable.

As you’ve always said though, the fuel cost isn’t much of a factor unless you’re doing stellar mileages. I would say the XF is maybe 10% worse than the 530D, a cost to me of about £175 a year on 11000.

[Dinoboy]

gizlaroc said:

I know, but since then I have been driving around in an E92 320i, and so much prefer petrol. Don't get me wrong, the current 4cyl diesel is still amazing me in regards to refinement and power, but that is in context, and the MPG from it is, quite frankly st!
The 520d on the 6 mile school run is worse MPG wise than my 3.5 litre, 306hp E350 estate MPG wise.
Plus jumping from the 320i to the 520d you really notice how nice petrol is.

I think I have made a mistake with the 520d, I knew I was not going to love it engine wise of course, but I thought I would enjoy the 45mpg+, reality is more like 35mpg calculated, that is only 2mpg better than the 530d
and 4mpg better than the E350 petrol. Which is pissing me off already.

It is impressive in many ways, but let's be honest, the only reason to buy diesel, especially these days, is to dave money, this is not doing that.

I think I will wait for the G21 3 series to come out and then decide, if I swapped now I might regret that in a couple of weeks, the 5 series is nice when coming out of London after a long day and knowing you still have an hour and a half before you get home, and I would miss that.

35mpg? The only time I ever saw under 40 mpg in either of the 520d's that I had was a 2am arrival into Manchester airport run back to Glasgow about 10 years ago. If I'd have been spotted that night I'd probably still be slopping out today! In normal driving I never saw under 50mpg in either of them.

[julian64]

Hmmmm ............Inner London with comfort access. I wouldn't get too attached to the car if I were you.

[smashy]

julian64 said:

Hmmmm ............Inner London with comfort access. I wouldn't get too attached to the car if I were you.

Good point...........op can I suggest a Disklok(brand name) about £120 and put it on wherever you go , my 3 series gets opened every few months and I havent got comfort access and my keys are in a Faraday wallet so how are they doing it,its a good visible deterant and they may leave your car alone and move on.

[Eddieslofart]

bmwmike said:

Eddieslofart said:

Is the 330 a 4 cylinder like the 530 ?

Yep

Oh dear, thats a shame.

[AndrewO]

Giz.....6 cylinder the way to go, have a look at the 330d

[gizlaroc]

I just sold my 530d.

The 330i is actually the car that appeals most in the range for me.

I really like it when a car is light up front, even better if the engine doesn't go passed the front axle, it makes driving it just a joy.
You can feel with the E92 320i that the weight distribution is perfect, something my 335 and 335i suffered with in comparison.

However.....

I found a split on one of my hoses coming off the turbo in the 520d today while looking for reasons the 520d was so piss poor on fuel.
I was actually 'trying'* to get the EGR off to check it and wanted to see the state of the MAF sensor. It was while 'trying' to get the EGR off I noticed a slight split in the plastic hose.
Not enough to throw an error, not enough to show any abnormal data readings, but I knew this would not be helping.
Popped to BMW, bought a new hose, £8, and bugger me, the journey home without trying the car returned 48mpg.

So for now I will stick with the 20d.

I said I would run it for at least a year to give it a real go, I am not a massive diesel fan, well I say that, I'm not against diesel, I just don't think they are ever better than the petrol offering, and don't think they offer any financial saving when choosing like for like. But I was ready to prove myself wrong and want to give this a proper go.

I think with it doing 30mpg round town and struggling to get over 40mpg on a run, I was just really, really jarred off that I had bought it, I know a 340i would do as well, and a 330d would be seeing 5-10mpg better. Just felt gutted.

Anyway, I will get something fun for the weekend car.




*I said trying to get the EGR off as BMW have put one of the 2 screws in such a place that you can't get it off without taking half the car apart, so annoying and nothing like the B47 on the F30 from the videos I have watched, I presumed the layout would be the same.

[Dinoboy]

That makes sense, the only way you should be getting mpg in the 30's in one of these is towing something big or 130mph into a strong headwind.

[cc3]

If you want to reduce the risk of it being stolen take off comfort access.

Having purchased over 50 BMW’s I know it is tempting to tick the option boxes but you are funding a massive amount of depreciation

[aeropilot]

cc3 said:

If you want to reduce the risk of it being stolen take off comfort access.

[330iSHADOW]

yes, Surround View is the Birds eye view of the car, but I believe it also includes the cameras in the front wheel arches to give you a 'fish eye view' when you're at junctions with limited visibility.

[330iSHADOW]

if they can steal the car easily without comfort access, why remove it from the options?

I'll take a look at the disklock, but there are plenty seriously more appealing cars on my road I think they'd prefer to nick instead of a 3 series.

[330iSHADOW]

F1Sunny said:

Well done and congrats on the new car!
I'm going from a 320i to a M140i and the bump up in power is brilliant!
Enjoy the new car

I've heard a couple of people talk about making that transition, do you not miss the space? Although, I'm sure the entertainment factor makes up for any practicality issues!

[aeropilot]

330iSHADOW said:

if they can steal the car easily without comfort access, why remove it from the options?

No, its the comfort access option which makes them much easier to steal.

[cc3]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4456992/S...

[griffdude]

AndrewO said:

Giz.....6 cylinder the way to go, have a look at the 330d

+1

[Greendubber]

As well as a disklok get a tracker and an immobilizer such as Autowatch Ghost.



Maybe a ceramic coating to make sure it stays looking fresh?

[ladderino]

330iSHADOW said:

I've heard a couple of people talk about making that transition, do you not miss the space? Although, I'm sure the entertainment factor makes up for any practicality issues!

Having just gone from an E91 335i to an M140i in the last couple of weeks, yes, you do miss the space, and it's not really perfect as a small family car - e.g. shallower seat means kids can no longer do their own seat belts up.

Fun though.

[330iSHADOW]

Greendubber said:

As well as a disklok get a tracker and an immobilizer such as Autowatch Ghost.



Maybe a ceramic coating to make sure it stays looking fresh?

Is ceramic coating something people recommend, if so any particular products or companies you'd recommend? I have a quick search and it sounds like a great product, but does it actually work and if so for how long?

[Greendubber]

330iSHADOW said:

Greendubber said:

As well as a disklok get a tracker and an immobilizer such as Autowatch Ghost.



Maybe a ceramic coating to make sure it stays looking fresh?

Is ceramic coating something people recommend, if so any particular products or companies you'd recommend? I have a quick search and it sounds like a great product, but does it actually work and if so for how long?

I think it's worth it. I think longevity of it depends on the products used but if you look for detailers local to you they should be able to do it for you.

I had my car done last year, it's easier to wash, stays cleaner for longer, bird st etc doesn't etch the paint etc. Had the wheels done too and the brake dust just flies off with a jet wash. Its a 1 series Shadow Edition with diamond cut wheels so want them to stay mint for as long as possible.