High mileage in an Alpina vs 530i
Discussion
I am in the market for a 530i circa 2002 for around 8k. want a really high spec and plan to LPG it to keep fuel costs down as I plan to do 20k pa.
Now I know I would be best buying a Pug 405 diesel but I want to do 20k pa in something I really enjoy. Used to do it in the mini but bought an old BMW which is great but miss having a really nice everyday car.
Been looking at Alpina's and considering a 2001 3.3 jobby with 66k on the clock for 9k. Apart from fuel, (which is fine as I plan LPG) are Alpinas much more to run on a day to day basis and would I be mad to do that mileage in such a car?. Or are they just slightly better 5-Series?
I know evo mag are doing something similar so will read with interest.
Thanks folks
Matt
Now I know I would be best buying a Pug 405 diesel but I want to do 20k pa in something I really enjoy. Used to do it in the mini but bought an old BMW which is great but miss having a really nice everyday car.
Been looking at Alpina's and considering a 2001 3.3 jobby with 66k on the clock for 9k. Apart from fuel, (which is fine as I plan LPG) are Alpinas much more to run on a day to day basis and would I be mad to do that mileage in such a car?. Or are they just slightly better 5-Series?
I know evo mag are doing something similar so will read with interest.
Thanks folks
Matt
The Alpina 3.3 engine is more efficient than the BMW 3.0 engine. (it's not an overbore of the 3.0, it's a bespoke engine based on the US S50 block with a single VANOS M52 head. Good ones put out at least 280bhp.
The crux of the B10 will be insurance - all Alpinas are loaded, mainly it seems due to the wheels. A new set from BMW are £4500 + Tyres, which means some bugger nicking them could write the car off.
There is a saving in VED, as all Alpinas are PLG due to low production numbers, so road tax is £185.
Personally I'd not LPG the thing - From a practical perspective, the 3.3 engine is a bit of a tetchy bugger and must run on 97 RON to get the best from it - it's about 3mpg more economical on SUL. With bespoke Mahle internals, and Alpina flowed and ported head, any rebuilds due to premature wear will be ferociously expensive. From an economic perspective, any deviation from factory/OEM spec will make it unsellable - they're so specialised, with such a narrow buyer base that 99% of buyers will skip it purely because it's been modified. In any event, you should see an average mpg of high 20s and top mid 30s on a steady motorway run.
As a daily grinder, the B10 will do it comfortably, and all the consumables are 530i parts.
From a driving perspective, the 530i is very good - arguably the best all rounder BMW have ever made, all things considered. The Alpina B10 is something else though, and will really show you how good an E39 can be if the manufacturer isn't trying to pander to every possible buyer... It's a drivers car built by people who understand what driving is all about, but aimed purely at people who 'get' the Alpina thing. The B10 3.3 is impossibly good - it's about the only thing I can think of to replace my B3 3.3
That said, however, all Alpinas are very much marmite cars - especially when they're switchtronic cars - and people either love them, or simply fail to see what the fuss is about. The trick seems to be don't view it as an M-Car alternative, but as a refined, distilled, and purified version of it's base car.
The only other advice - don't get hung up on Sat-Nav on them, they're more than a bit rubbish.
The crux of the B10 will be insurance - all Alpinas are loaded, mainly it seems due to the wheels. A new set from BMW are £4500 + Tyres, which means some bugger nicking them could write the car off.
There is a saving in VED, as all Alpinas are PLG due to low production numbers, so road tax is £185.
Personally I'd not LPG the thing - From a practical perspective, the 3.3 engine is a bit of a tetchy bugger and must run on 97 RON to get the best from it - it's about 3mpg more economical on SUL. With bespoke Mahle internals, and Alpina flowed and ported head, any rebuilds due to premature wear will be ferociously expensive. From an economic perspective, any deviation from factory/OEM spec will make it unsellable - they're so specialised, with such a narrow buyer base that 99% of buyers will skip it purely because it's been modified. In any event, you should see an average mpg of high 20s and top mid 30s on a steady motorway run.
As a daily grinder, the B10 will do it comfortably, and all the consumables are 530i parts.
From a driving perspective, the 530i is very good - arguably the best all rounder BMW have ever made, all things considered. The Alpina B10 is something else though, and will really show you how good an E39 can be if the manufacturer isn't trying to pander to every possible buyer... It's a drivers car built by people who understand what driving is all about, but aimed purely at people who 'get' the Alpina thing. The B10 3.3 is impossibly good - it's about the only thing I can think of to replace my B3 3.3
That said, however, all Alpinas are very much marmite cars - especially when they're switchtronic cars - and people either love them, or simply fail to see what the fuss is about. The trick seems to be don't view it as an M-Car alternative, but as a refined, distilled, and purified version of it's base car.
The only other advice - don't get hung up on Sat-Nav on them, they're more than a bit rubbish.
Edited by Dunk76 on Sunday 19th October 14:56
I really wanted an Alpina B10 3.3 when I bought my 530i Sport, but the following prevented it:
a) Insurance was ridiculous, as in, £2000+
b) They were significantly more expensive than the equivilent 530i Sport (I didnt want a prefacelift)
c) I actually prefered the looks of the Sport to the SE-based Alpina (Though to be honest if a and b had not been an issue I'd have overlooked this).
They are simply stunning cars.
a) Insurance was ridiculous, as in, £2000+
b) They were significantly more expensive than the equivilent 530i Sport (I didnt want a prefacelift)
c) I actually prefered the looks of the Sport to the SE-based Alpina (Though to be honest if a and b had not been an issue I'd have overlooked this).
They are simply stunning cars.
matt21 said:
thanks for the good reply.
fair point regarding the LPG but as its a techy engine as you put it is it less reliable that the normal 530i. I appreciate it might cost a tad more to maintain but want to be fairly confident it would do 20k pa with consumate ease.
It's tetchy regards fuel.fair point regarding the LPG but as its a techy engine as you put it is it less reliable that the normal 530i. I appreciate it might cost a tad more to maintain but want to be fairly confident it would do 20k pa with consumate ease.
Less reliable? Well no - but when you get one, check it's got the M54 aux belt tensioner, and not the M52 tensioner... The M52 unit fails, and can do up to £500 damage in parts alone (find out like I did).
There was a batch of 3.3 engines during mid 2000 which suffered premature bore wear/failure - dodgy S50 blocks from BMW. Most have been sorted by Alpina by now, but there's some still out there. Always get a compression check done on an Alpina engine - if the bores are shot then it's not a simple 'ring the breakers' swap-out.
As for mileage, well I've done 60K in two years in my B3 3.3, and in that time it's had no failures except the tensioner problem mentioned above. (to be fair, the tensioner problem exists on all 2.8 engines, and it should have been recommended for change by the main dealer). EDIT - actually it's broken all sorts of random stuff, but then I've got a very early E46. The Alpina bits are absolutely bomb-proof.
Therein lies the real crux of Alpina ownership - dealers tend to treat them as their base car (528/530 in the case of the B10 3.3) which can lead to servicing issues, or they treat them like Alpinas and you get to miss all the little technical bulletins like I did in the case of the tensioner.
That said, the Factory support is brilliant - I'm in direct contact with customer services and technical support at the Alpina factory at least twice year, and they're always extremely helpful and responsive, despite the fact I'm the sixth owner of the car!! Last time was getting the exact geometry settings for B3 3.3 saloon build number 077
The Alpina Ruegister is very good too.
Last hint - make sure that ALL Alpina bits are present and correct. Replacements are very expensive.
Edited by Dunk76 on Sunday 19th October 19:44
I can't see you being too upset by the 530i. I bought a 530 sport for well within your budget with 77,000 on the clock then drove it through europe. (Zeebrugge-Milan in a day) Very comfy, refined and powerful. I got 32.9 mpg average out of it, but then I wasn't really hanging about and I had to deal with traffic in Strasbourg.
matt21 said:
looked on the Alpina register and has production numbers. The 1999 B10 Touring 3.3 I was looking at was just 1 of 11 bought to UK!
anyway doesnt look like im getting one...insurance over 2k
Thats crazy money, I'm 27 and Admiral want less than £600 on my B10 V8 Touring. Surely you can improve on the 2k figure? I only incurred a £150 premium over the 540.anyway doesnt look like im getting one...insurance over 2k
Crombers said:
matt21 said:
looked on the Alpina register and has production numbers. The 1999 B10 Touring 3.3 I was looking at was just 1 of 11 bought to UK!
anyway doesnt look like im getting one...insurance over 2k
Thats crazy money, I'm 27 and Admiral want less than £600 on my B10 V8 Touring. Surely you can improve on the 2k figure? I only incurred a £150 premium over the 540.anyway doesnt look like im getting one...insurance over 2k
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