Interesting review and I can add my experiences of the same car with a 6-speed manual rather than Auto box. It is a 520D 2008 from April. Purchased from new at a good discount after finding a dealer who would match the cheapest internet broker price I could find, with a very good trade in for my previous car. I am up to nearly 16k miles in 6 months so far. It is the 177hp version of the 2.0 D engine.
A confusing car to get used to, especially the offset pedals for a few miles. Once I had 5k on the clock though everything became instinctive, including the 'I- Drive' which is not anywhere as fiddly as people will have you believe. My wife is daunted by the whole thing.
Fuel consumption can be as high as just over 50mpg on a run (400 miles from North Wales to the South East, mixed roads, mixed traffic). If I ignore consideration for a gentle right foot then average comes in at over 45mpg, which for a big car (with the Aircon permanently on) is not bad at all. Service indicator suggests 1st service due at 20,000 miles.
In addition to the comments from the original poster, which I agree with (ride, etc) the car is incredibly quiet to travel in, with whispered conversation possible at autobahn speeds (on the autobahn I must add!). Ride is compliant and only harsh on slow rutted roads. Once the speed goes up it is very smooth. Compared to my previous Volvo S60 this is a revelation!Tyre wear is almost zero which also shows a huge benefit over the S60.
Company car tax is incredibly low and anyone looking at a 3 series should take into account that you might be able to get a big 5 for the same budget after discount and still get good MPG and tax rates. Comfy seats for big miles (1,500 miles in two days across to Germany and back with two people in great comfort no problem). Sat Nav (part of a discount package and refered to in an earlier post I placed before I bought the car) is very good and a boon to have ready at your fingertips if there is an accident or similar slowing traffic ahead.
My regret at choosing 'boring' light silver paint is softened by the fact I only need to clean the car once a month rather than the weekly shines a dark colour (I was tempted by black) would have nesecitated. I would agree with the OP comments though. The standard fabric black interior shows every mark on either the cloth or the plastics and I seem to be permanently hoovering / wiping a damp cloth over it.
Any negatives other than that? No, not really. A great handling, large and very practical estate car. I love the fact you can open the tailgate window rather than having to open the (heavy) boot when you just want to drop something in.
The engine is well up to the task of hauling the car about although the very high gearing means that downchanges are needed even on the motorway, to make quick progress. My D5 (163hp) S60 seemed much torquier, but had lower gearing.
Great cars, and very good value second hand
Edited by Pugugly on 16/05/2009 at 22:14
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Thanks for an interesting overview. Are you able to tell me where you sourced the car?
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Hi,
Yes, from Coopers Tunbridge Wells. Graham Hall was the Sales guy who was very helpful, professional and personable. I have seen him again when the car went in for it's service and he remembered me (a good thing?) and even remembered the business I am in etc. A good 'old school' sales professional.
I had tried to buy the same car from another dealer in Hailsham, which is virtually on my front door, and the service I received was abysmal. A total lack of interest. That was until I told the sales guy from Hailsham I had just placed an order in Tunbridge Wells when suddenly he seemed interested. Too late sunshine!
I researched what I wanted, discussed it with Graham, gave him the task to meet the (reasonable) trade in value I had in mind for my car, and the discount I had discovered via a broker and then asked him if he could match it, which within 2 hours he had done (something the other guy had been unable to do after near 2 weeks of 'thinking about it'.
The market has of course changed in the past 12 months, but my view was that as I was to own the car for a few years, I would rather start a relationship with a local dealer rather than just chasing every penny off via a broker. Dealing with a nice group of people also helped.
Worked well for me. Also when I had a small issue where I needed to replace a damaged windscreen wiper the Hailsham dealer remained very disappointing with myself left outside waiting for ages and getting into a discussion with two other people who had also been having terrible service problems here.
As a small update I have had no issues with the car other than a bit of leather coming of the gear lever, that was promptly replaced.
The car remains quiet, confortable and gets used as a real estate (evrything chucked into the back from Horse Manure to garden rubbish, car boot stuff, big furniture, etc) and it has withstood 12 months of pretty serious abuse as if I had barely been trying.
On long journeys 50mpg is still possible, on shorter commutes and some business mileage I get between 46.3 and 47.9mpg.
It really is a great car. The black cloth upholstery does show every mark / dust / hair, but hoovers up well. In retrospect I should have chosen a beige interior with a dark blue exterior, but that woudl probably have mean't more hours spent car washing, so I can't complain too much.
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Thanks for interesting report. Mine's an approved used 08 MY, which I got this Feb, albeit a 525d (silky smooth 6-cyl) touring. Got grey leather seats which endure family punishment well, and not too difficult to keep clean.
Had doubts about M-sport suspension ride, runflat tyres and iDrive when considering the purchase, but after 5000 miles I have no probs living with either. In fact road noise and ride are better than my old-shape 01 Y plater 525d. The steering response/ gearing is excellent with overtaking manners even better than old model.
I drive a fair mix of journey types and tend to average 42-45mpg (tank refills show the trip computer is pretty accurate). Not bad for a near-200HP engine.
Only regret is that it is auto box not manual like my old one. I was strongly advised against getting a manual (in fact there were only 4 on sale in the whole UK at the time!) on the grounds that I would have trouble selling it. Punters looking for anything other than the smallest-engined 5s simply don't wanna change gear any more!
Oh and of course i can't clutch-start the engine any more (my drive slopes a bit). The old car's battery lasted all the 8 years I had it - bet this one doesn't.
With runflats costing half as much again as conventional tyres, it will be interesting to see whether mileage is any better. I get mixed stories (in HJ and elsewhere) about pros and cons, but we shall see....
My (sort of) local is Dick Lovett; a very good dealer which has rewarded my loyalty with occasional goodwill for fixing niggling problems (out of warranty) on my old car. One such was consistently poor injector perfomance, the final fix involved them meeting nearly £2000 worth after which it drove better than when new. I am assured the current 5s have a completely different injector set-up.
Anyway, best of luck Mercian - you seem to enjoy the 5 as much as i do. Even my wife likes driving it now.
Edited by BeRudeNotTo on 19/05/2009 at 00:21
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Yes very intresting - I have an 06 520d SE Touring (so slightly less powerful then Mercian's) which has now done 93,000 miles only problems have been a faulty catch on the opening window on the boot and the self leveling supension pump failed - both replaced under warrenty. I have to agree BMW dealers aren't keen on changing the oil! -I insist they do it even if they say it's not needed.
The rear runflats lasted 42,000, and the front 70,000 miles! (Goodyear), however if you do get a puncture, which I have, I only managed around 20 miles before the tyre started to breakup.
The other thing you need to watch out for with the runflats is the fibreglass sidewalls wear 2 groves into the tread of the tyre which will eventually cause a pucture (when the tyre still legal). I had a blow out on the M25 and limped to a dealer in High Wycombe who took explained this and showed me with the car on the ramp. Its common on the rear of the Tourers as they are heavier.
Overall it has been a great car, handles superbly and amazing rapid for a large car with smallish engine.
Funnily enough my wife hates driving it!
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After 15 months of use, it's going back to my company with 37.000 miles on the clock.
The rear tyres were finally changed at 25.000 miles and I am still on the original fronts (Goodyear Eagles). My partner hated it at first and then quickly grew to love it.
The only major issue since 12.000m was a turbo failure at 25k that resulted in intermittent power loss (just like my previous E270CDi) and needed a "turbo repair kit" but it never stopped me driving it. Other than that, no further problems except that the originally "sticking" rear centre 'belt inertia reel has failed and now needs replacing - we don't use it but it was a surprising and disappointing failure. Has used very little oil and is still on original pads, discs etc.
I like:
- the handling, performance, braking, quiet, comfort, driver ergonomics and practicality
- USB option combined with I-drive means my entire music collection can be accessed in the car
- constant 40mpg no matter how hard it's driven
- front and rear parking sensors.
If buying next time I would:
- specify lumber support, as it's an option
- go for leather as the fabric is less practical
- go for a light interior colour: I couldn't live with a black interior again
I didn't like:
- the ride at times which can be very fidgety on poor roads and, combined with the high rear window waistline, induces car sickness in the children, excerbated by the dark interior
- the turbo lag at times.
- the european wiper pattern
- winter driving on summer tyres
- the confusing radio tuning system.
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I've just ordered a manual 520d business edition with xenon lights and aluminium silver paint from Drivethedeal for £28150. They estimate delivery at 10 to 12 weeks so by September I should be able to report more. Thanks for all the impressions/experiences which have been very useful in helping me decide.
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Very interesting, Mercian - what are you getting as a replacement?
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I have bought a '56 plate approved Subaru Legacy Outback 3.0R, which is very different but very nice: silver with beige leather interior, huge sunroof & low window wasteline so plenty of light and the children are happy. Only 26ish mpg but they paid the first year full tax (£405) and what I paid for it compensates for that given the lower miles I will do. And while I was there, I bought an '05 plate Forester for my partner who liked the look of that too.
Reasonable deal on the two of them and thoroughly enjoyed my car buying experience from Subaru, which was quite unlike buying a car before from anywhere else. Very nice people and highly recommended.
Edited by Mercian on 12/06/2009 at 09:09
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