John those numbers do look a little on the downside. I mean show me a well cared for 2007 997 with 30k miles for £27k and I'll buy it tomorrow. Or with a bit of spec for £30k and I'll bite your hand off.

The year old 5 series is not a fair comparison, it's been affected by the release of an all new model. Anybody who paid anywhere near full price for a car the year before it's about to be replaced deserves to be raped. In three years time the current 5 series will be only half way through its life.

Food for thought though. I'm going to get the high pressure treatment tomorrow when I go to drop off the car, perhaps I should delay things a little and have a think........

Of course I'm stretching the point, I was a bit surprised by the figures, and it is What Car after all.

Try a used RS6 even if you think it won't float your boat ;) Depreciation wise, a used RS6 is not going to be any worse than a new 535d do you think? Just a bit more on fuel, a man of your means will hardly notice. The press quite liked this one even though it isn't a Porsche or BMW.

very nice., we have most of those extras on the our X6 3.5i. you will love the Head Up display

Ding - That mpg is terrible. I have a 335i and I get between 20mpg - 24mpg. This is going to work each day 10 miles away in stop start traffic.

I apologise if this has been answered earlier in the thread. Ding, don't you fancy a 4 door M3?

Hi,

Tremendous thread. All lovely cars, starting to see more and more 530 535d about, and starting to look common. M5 though, always respect an M5, they look lovely !!!

John Banks, your a wise man, and I totally agree with your thoughts. Give it 6 months, and a new car soon becomes old, and the money you loose !!

Someone suggested a maserati granturismo. A close friend just brought a new one of these, some sort of rare model, only 25 in the country. Cost him over £100K. ITs a few months old and the number of faults is amazing. SatNav is faulty, blue tooth is iffy, vibrations, knocks. Infact we were standy near it one day, chatting, when the wing mirror just fell out !

However, the sound ! Good god, the sound of it makes up for that. Its quick, but not as quick as I thought / hoped though.

Anyway, Ding, best of luck with your choice, upload pics of what you eventually get.

SBK

Hi Jim, I hoping the mileage would be better once the engine is run in. Also to be fair I was doing full throttle launches to see what the engine was like! I also think it needs a different driving style. I had it in sports auto mode which keeps the revs just over 2krpm, since the redline is about 5krpm, thats like me driving the M5 at 4krpm at all times even in slow moving traffic.

I think using the paddles would be better, ie change up quickly when you don't need to be in the best part of the power band. The problem is that torque is just so addictive, I just wanted to keep pressing the gas and feeling that wooosh!:lol1:

Funny you should mention the M3 because there was a lovely one at the dealer when I was there. (2 door). That made me consider perhaps having 2 cars, a second hand coupe M3 for me as it can still fit the kids and shopping. Then perhaps buy a second hand 530d MS for the wife, and for longer journeys.

After thinking about it, running two cars is just too much hassle, too much associated cost.

The 4 door M3 on it's own would be too small for me, I've got used to the 5 series size. I enjoy a bit of space when I'm driving.

To be honest I think I will proceed with the 535d MS, there are so many positives

1) I like the 5 series!

2) I think it looks good in the right colour and with the right wheels.

3) The interior is gorgeous

4) It is subtle and won't attract attention. Unless I drive it into some council estate people won't give me, my wife or kids second glance, I like that.

5) The 530d felt nippy, I reckon the 535d will feel fast. With a remap in the future could be very fast.

6) For a big, very comfortable saloon it actually handles really well. You can hustle it around.

7) The downside of a brand new car is the depreciation. The advantage of course is that I will have three years without any other potential big bills. I only do about 8k miles a year, so I'll probably escape without paying for the big service as well. Any problems in the next three years and I hand the keys over and they fix it.

So yes I'll take a little bath on the depreciation as JB put it, but a 535d is hardly the worst car in the world for losing value is it? It's a well thought of car which will always have a good second hand appeal. I'll also have one of the first run of 535d M Sports so when I come to sell in three years time there will be no new 5 series anywhere on the horizon yet.

I can't believe the money I'll lose on it will be anywhere near what my M5 has cost.

Bought for £52k, px value now £18k (£34k loss over 3.5 years)
(Car has picked up quite a few dents and scratches)

I've had fuel bills in some years of £3200 and don't forget I only do 8k miles a year. Average is £2600. So say £9k in fuel

Insurance approx £1k/year. So £3k

Must have spent about £1.5k on tyres

Servicing + maintenance (including trying to fix that vibration) £3k

So the car has cost me £50k over 3.5 years. Doesn't bother me (;)) as you have to pay to play, the other option is to drive a 5 year old Ford Focus, and I ain't having any of that sh6t!

So the long and short of it is I think I'll go for it. To me it's being sensible for a few years, then I'll be naughty again and buy the M5 or something very exotic:)

I just knew it :D

Enjoy it!

Don't worry I will look after it nicely for you and take the biggest hit on the depreciation ;)

I said very exotic, scaffolding is not exotic;)

You'll have to buy it in the blue colour I linked to then:)

Ok well ordered it today and feel comfortable with the decision.

Final spec

Carbon black. Oyster/black interior

Professional media pack (with Hard drive that you can rip CDs to and 10inch split screen) Also includes blue tooth and voice control

Visibility pack (xenons, high beam assistant, adaptive headlights)

Integrated active steering with 4ws

Heated seats, heated steering wheel.

Comfort seats (fully leccy)

19 inch wheels

Head up display

Folding leccy mirrors

Reversing camera

Surround view (cameras at the front and up top I think!)

Climate comfort windscreen

Sun protection glass

Split folding rear seats

Sport automatic transmission

Loud speaker package professional with 16 speakers 600w amp.

Should be here by early Feb


Thanks to all those who gave advice and help.

Oh, forgot to mention AC Schnitzer lowering springs and 'perhaps' a remap to a claimed 365 BHP

Don't tell me you got an M spec over an SE spec?

That'll mean you're a gayer according to some on here :lol1:


Anyway - well done, at fcukin last!!

Splendid! M Sport pack suits the saloon 5ers better than it does the 3ers. Looks far less gay.

Well done!!! :D

I must be a right bummer then matteeboy ..…............…


But you'd know that already

Jim - its much less gay when the car has a proper engine like yours. 318d/320d M Sport; gayer than Graham Norton in the Blue Oyster.

Thanks guys.

I think I'll be happy with the car. For now I wanted something more comfortable than the M5 and a bit more space. Lots of people are moaning that the new 5 series has become too big, it suits me down to the ground that it's got bigger because otherwise I was considering the 7 series or even a S Class MB. These two would have been too big with the handling too compromised so a slightly bigger 5 series is spot on for me.

Should have enough power most of the time and some new toys to keep me amused. I'll also escape over £5ks worth of remedial work, tyres, brakes and road tax over the next 6 months and my mpg will more than double.

And in this age of austerity it's subtle (or boring in some peoples eye's) enough not to attract attention. I mean, who would feel comfortable driving around in a bright coloured car, covered in decals, with coloured wheels, a huge industrial spoiler and scaffolding in the back at a time like this?;)










Only joking Fishy!:lol1:

I didnt buy the GT2............... Oh sorry i didnt see the Trout reference ;)

Cool, sounds nice,

I love BMW's options naming, all very carefully contrived to get you ticking expensive boxes with the fear that if you dont you will be looked down upon by other woners and never sell it on.

Its not just Black, its Carbon Black....

"Integrated Active Steering", I feel steering that isn't Integrated might be a little difficult to live with !

"Comfort Seats", as opposed to what, Discomfort ones ?

Professional Speakers/Sat Nav, as opposed to the standard, Unprofessional ones ?

Visibility pack, I am hoping that for another two grand you can get an "Invisibility Pack", now that would be a box I would tick !

"Climate Confort Windshield" with "Sun Protection glass", can you still see out with all that going on, do you need to with all those cameras, is it like a UAV, i.e. no windows ?

Only joking, Enjoy !

JACKO - LOL! Very true!

Visibility pack maybe means a clear windscreen?

I have some extended storage pack thingy in mine - it means a storage nets behind the seats and two extra elastic straps. No doubt they charge silly money for it.

How about a "put a bloody spare wheel in there you silly tossers" pack for those that refuse to ruin their BM with run flat tyres?

Will you wait a couple of weeks after this to have it registered with an '11' plate?

Front fog lamps permanently on, or maybe a rood mounted neon sign saying "BMW here, get outa my way"? :wonder:

If I take it before Mar 1st I avoid the 20% VAT rate which should save me about £1200. On top of that the px value of my car drops by another £500 at that time. I'm not sure whether I would see that £1700 back when it comes to resale time. I got the impression that nowadays people judge a car on the month and year it was registered, rather than a plate?

Is there a legal way to invoice and pay for it but register it on Mar 1st? I took a car 5 weeks before a plate change, but for the sake of a few days is it possible to do anything?

Nice little video of the 535d MS. Mine doesn't have the adaptive drive but does have active steering.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/b...0-sec-verdict/

Looks nice in the video Ding. I saw my first new 5 series today and it looked stunning. 530d with the big alloys.

Got stuck on the motorway yesterday down south,a few of us helped getting cars going again in the snow.We pushed 13 cars,everyone of them was a BMW:rolleyes:

bet that was fun was yours one off them:D

I was on a mini bus:thumb: