E39 525i - what would you do?
Discussion
So.. Last year I bought my facelift E39 525i auto - it's a genuine sport model with pretty good spec in good condition for its age.
Have only got round to doing a couple of slight modifications so far (LED angel eye bulbs, LED number plate lights, 6000k HID kit - which is legal as it has auto levelling and headlight washers)
I originally bought the car because it's reliable, well built, comfy (we have family all over the country so we regularly drive long distances)
However the problem is I'm currently doing 220miles a week (B roads mainly) just to work and back which is costing me around £50 a week in fuel (approx 27mpg average while driving averagely) this can be squeezed up to 32mpg driving very sensibly.. But usually it's closer to 27.
I'm now stuck as to whether I should 1. sell it and get something that's better on fuel
2. man up and take the consequences of owning a big petrol car or
3. Save for an LPG kit.
1. I imagine ill struggle to get £2k for it in the current market, as it's not as desirable as the 530i, so this wouldn't leave me with a lot of money to replace it with something decent/reliable. As I drive down tight roads I would want something relatively safe and with enough poke to nip past the common slow lorries and tractors in short straights.
2. Pretty self explanatory
3. Miles per money wise this should reduce my fuel costs to around £20-30 a week which is a more manageable amount. I haven't looked seriously but it seems a reasonable quality kit can be had for around £800 - which with the fuel saving including weekend driving and a few trips thrown in should see it pay it self off within 6-8 months.
So I put it to the great people of PH... What would you do?
Have only got round to doing a couple of slight modifications so far (LED angel eye bulbs, LED number plate lights, 6000k HID kit - which is legal as it has auto levelling and headlight washers)
I originally bought the car because it's reliable, well built, comfy (we have family all over the country so we regularly drive long distances)
However the problem is I'm currently doing 220miles a week (B roads mainly) just to work and back which is costing me around £50 a week in fuel (approx 27mpg average while driving averagely) this can be squeezed up to 32mpg driving very sensibly.. But usually it's closer to 27.
I'm now stuck as to whether I should 1. sell it and get something that's better on fuel
2. man up and take the consequences of owning a big petrol car or
3. Save for an LPG kit.
1. I imagine ill struggle to get £2k for it in the current market, as it's not as desirable as the 530i, so this wouldn't leave me with a lot of money to replace it with something decent/reliable. As I drive down tight roads I would want something relatively safe and with enough poke to nip past the common slow lorries and tractors in short straights.
2. Pretty self explanatory
3. Miles per money wise this should reduce my fuel costs to around £20-30 a week which is a more manageable amount. I haven't looked seriously but it seems a reasonable quality kit can be had for around £800 - which with the fuel saving including weekend driving and a few trips thrown in should see it pay it self off within 6-8 months.
So I put it to the great people of PH... What would you do?
If you did the LPG kit I would have thought you'd have to commit to keep the car for the foreseeable given the £1,000 - £2,000 cost of installation. If you're thinking of changing it anyway some time soon, I wouldn't gas it. Lpg kits make the car very sellable (particularly on ebay, and particularly with Range Rovers) but you'll never recoup the cost now that the car will owe you that little bit more. Is the lengthy works commute here to stay? If not, grin and bare it for now.
You could look at changing like for like but a manual to improve your mpgs. You could look at a 530d, but you can guarantee the diesel car will be somewhat ropier than the car you have now with a lot more miles on it and a lot more stone chips!
If you're particularly attached to your 525i (it looks a lovely car btw) I'd do what I was doing not so long ago, which was running a CLK430 for infrequent pleasure, and an old PD engined A4 tdi Avant for the daily grind, which will return 50+ mpg on a run. A VW Bora with the same engine is a good shout.
You could look at changing like for like but a manual to improve your mpgs. You could look at a 530d, but you can guarantee the diesel car will be somewhat ropier than the car you have now with a lot more miles on it and a lot more stone chips!
If you're particularly attached to your 525i (it looks a lovely car btw) I'd do what I was doing not so long ago, which was running a CLK430 for infrequent pleasure, and an old PD engined A4 tdi Avant for the daily grind, which will return 50+ mpg on a run. A VW Bora with the same engine is a good shout.
Matt - if you are happy to pay the extra in fuel then you won't be disappointed, they are every bit as good as they are made out to be.
Initialdave- I don't get the quote? But yes I really like it, and I've done over 20k in it since early December with nothing more than a puncture to worry about - this was one of the main reasons I chose one of these cars is because they are pretty reliable (although I wish I could have stretched to a manual, but the good condition of this car was too hard to ignore)
AJB- The commute is here to stay and if I were to LPG it, I would keep it for the long haul for sure.
I did consider a second car, but the associated running costs of a second car purely for increased economy would outweigh the fuel savings I imagine.
Initialdave- I don't get the quote? But yes I really like it, and I've done over 20k in it since early December with nothing more than a puncture to worry about - this was one of the main reasons I chose one of these cars is because they are pretty reliable (although I wish I could have stretched to a manual, but the good condition of this car was too hard to ignore)
AJB- The commute is here to stay and if I were to LPG it, I would keep it for the long haul for sure.
I did consider a second car, but the associated running costs of a second car purely for increased economy would outweigh the fuel savings I imagine.
220 miles a week and you're thinking of LPG'ing it?
Have you actually done the sums??
220 miles a week commute, another 40 at the weekend?
Let's say you do the same on your weeks off as well to keep it simple.
13500 miles a year.
At 27mpg that is, as you say £55 a week.
(make sure you use super on the 525i, 3% more for around 10% better mpg by the way).
If you used LPG you would be paying around £34 a week if you got it for 69p litre.
A conversion would be £1500-2000, let's say £1500.
That would take you 71 weeks to pay the conversion back, then you would need to run it for another 71 weeks to see the same in savings.
Is that worth it? Genuine question.
A 525d or 530d will only return about 5-6mpg more than that imho, I had a 530d and a 530i, my 530i returned 27mpg on regular and 30mpg on super, where as my diesel averaged 33mpg, round town in winter on my short 5 mile trek it was worse than the diesel.
A manual diesel might be a better option?
But if the diesel got 34mpg it would still cost you £45 a week, is a saving of £10 worth it for the worry of running an older diesel and loosing that refinement?
Have you actually done the sums??
220 miles a week commute, another 40 at the weekend?
Let's say you do the same on your weeks off as well to keep it simple.
13500 miles a year.
At 27mpg that is, as you say £55 a week.
(make sure you use super on the 525i, 3% more for around 10% better mpg by the way).
If you used LPG you would be paying around £34 a week if you got it for 69p litre.
A conversion would be £1500-2000, let's say £1500.
That would take you 71 weeks to pay the conversion back, then you would need to run it for another 71 weeks to see the same in savings.
Is that worth it? Genuine question.
A 525d or 530d will only return about 5-6mpg more than that imho, I had a 530d and a 530i, my 530i returned 27mpg on regular and 30mpg on super, where as my diesel averaged 33mpg, round town in winter on my short 5 mile trek it was worse than the diesel.
A manual diesel might be a better option?
But if the diesel got 34mpg it would still cost you £45 a week, is a saving of £10 worth it for the worry of running an older diesel and loosing that refinement?
Keep it, accept it and don't get LPG.
You have a glorious straight 6 under the bonnet, without a turbo (a good thing). This is a dying area so enjoy it while you can.
You have no depreciation to worry about, so providing you don't have a catastrophic failure of some kind, your overall costs are probably lower than most business commuters on the roads anyway.
You have a glorious straight 6 under the bonnet, without a turbo (a good thing). This is a dying area so enjoy it while you can.
You have no depreciation to worry about, so providing you don't have a catastrophic failure of some kind, your overall costs are probably lower than most business commuters on the roads anyway.
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