That Itch to Change...

Paddy@CIRL

Hello.

I've been thinking about what to do this year with regards to either keeping my car and changing a few other things or moving it on and buying something else. These notions to change have been popping up more and more frequently over the last few months, and it's gotten to a stage where I'm on Carzone or AutoTrader UK everyday day trying to find the right car.

Don't get me wrong, I still love my car but I just fancy something a little bit different. I've always wanted an E60, as it's what I set out to buy before I bought my 320D. Whilst it would still be a sport model and fed by the devil's juice, it would be face lifted and have six cylinders. 525D/530D in manual preferred or if the right 535D came about, I would be seriously tempted.

I've also taken a fancy to A5 3.0 TDI quattros over the last while as well. That V6 with a Milltek exhaust system sounds amazing, and not just for a diesel.

Both the E60 and A5 would have a larger boot (much more important to me than than four doors) than my own 3 series. They would have roomier cabins too, along with more toys as standard to keep me entertained the next time I need to drive to Stuttgart.

If I was to keep my own, it would just be a few small visual changes: non-smoked rear lights, and a couple of small stone chips and scratches taken care of. I've been offered a complete air ride system for the car which is hugely tempting as it would make the car far more practical but at the expense of space in the boot (which I need for carting around work equipment).

I thought by writing all of this down, I would in some way make things a little clearer for myself. This has not been the case. What say you, folk of the motors forum?

Supergurrier

Buy a petrol !

Harcrid

The car you have is stunning, but since you are into modding there is not a huge amount left you can do to it without going over the top. All I can say is that once you have that itch to change it is very hard to shake it and its there for a reason.

mloc123

Manual e60? why?

Paddy@CIRL

Supergurrier wrote: »

Buy a petrol !

That's a different plan

Harcrid wrote: »

The car you have is stunning, but since you are into modding there is not a huge amount left you can do to it without going over the top. All I can say is that once you have that itch to change it is very hard to shake it and its there for a reason.

I think the only reason I modified the E90 as such was because I think there's a lot of room for improvement in them. I still love the car and part of me is telling me I would be mad to get rid of it, but as you pointed out in the last sentence, it's a hard feeling to shake.

mloc123 wrote: »

Manual e60? why?

Same as why the E90 is manual, I prefer it over an auto box.

Idbatterim

the 525 and 530 petrol from 08 on i.e both sharing the 3L engine, seem to be reasonably economical, or certainly the figures for that newer engine, seem a hell of a lot better than my manual 2003 325ci...

Cleveland Hot Pocket

535d you say ?

dgt

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

535d you say ?

Can't be an auto I'm afraid

Supergurrier

dgt wrote: »

Can't be an auto I'm afraid

May prove problematic as 535d only come in auto

Cleveland Hot Pocket

dgt wrote: »

Can't be an auto I'm afraid

Find me a factory manual e60 535d and I will give you a million dollars

dgt

Supergurrier wrote: »

May prove problematic as 535d only come in auto

That's what I was hinting at :P

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Harcrid wrote: »

The car you have is stunning, but since you are into modding there is not a huge amount left you can do to it without going over the top. All I can say is that once you have that itch to change it is very hard to shake it and its there for a reason.

The itch to change is often unscratchable without changing
Thats why my e60 is up for sale..

Cleveland Hot Pocket

dgt wrote: »

That's what I was hinting at :P

But sure who'd want a manual in an e60 anyway

dgt

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

But sure who'd want a manual in an e60 anyway

Someone who wants a diffmobile

Cleveland Hot Pocket

dgt wrote: »

Someone who wants a diffmobile

Don't think a 535d will be in diffmobile pricerange for quite some time yet :pac:

Paddy@CIRL

I could live with the auto in a 535D as I said, I'm sure all that torque would keep me more than happy. I actually looked at your's last night CHP and it's a great example but I'm determined to get into an LCI model.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Paddy@CIRL wrote: »

I could live with the auto in a 535D as I said, I'm sure all that torque would keep me more than happy. I actually looked at your's last night CHP and it's a great example but I'm determined to get into an LCI model.

Yeah I have been learning that from a lot of people. She's not an easy beast to sell

Paddy@CIRL

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

Yeah I have been learning that from a lot of people. She's not an easy beast to sell

That's a shame because it's a whole heap of car for not a lot of money. But I do understand why someone would prefer the LCI.

YbFocus

There is nothing wrong with a manual 60 ye feckers

I'm with paddy as I have a total dislike for autos.

Paddy I also love your e90, such a fantastic car with beautiful touches

Mc Love

I will finally own own my car in the next two months and have it since mid 2010 and have started to get the itch. It's hard to shake especially when everyone says there's nothing wrong with my car which there isnt to be honest.

Paddy@CIRL

Time to resurrect this one last time...

Recently, I've been driving a MKVII Golf GTI thanks to the awesome people at Volkswagen who know I'm interested in changing (a rare perk of the job). I always liked the GTI, but was never aware just how good they are in each department. Yes, you could buy a faster car, a more economical car and a more practical car but you would struggle to find one that does everything simultaneously as the GTI. My week in the GTI averaged 35.2MPG and an approximate range of 700KMs to a single tank of petrol. That includes the token blasts that accompany temporary ownership too...

My budget doesn't reach to a MKVII, but I can just about drag myself over the line to a good MKVI. From reading around, I can't really find a whole heap that goes wrong with them. Is this accurate?

FWIW, I've my own car listed for sale as I would rather it goes to an enthusiast than to someone who would wreck it. I'm intending on changing car in the very near future...

Voodoomelon

If it weren't for the diesel...



Prob too old for you too.

Paddy@CIRL

Voodoomelon wrote: »

If it weren't for the diesel...

http://img.pistonheads.com.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Fullsize/bmw/alpina/bmw-alpina-S1448175-1.jpg[

Prob too old for you too.

Not at all, I've never been a reg snob (unless it means severe depreciation in the immediate future). If I could get my hands on a 530D/535D LCI E61, I'd be all over it. I just don't want to go to the UK for a car...

Voodoomelon

No bother, I meant too old in that it's not facelifted. Easily fixed regardless.

ian87

I know you don't want to go to England but how about an alpina d5? Something very different..

JoeA3

Paddy@CIRL wrote: »

Time to resurrect this one last time...

Recently, I've been driving a MKVII Golf GTI thanks to the awesome people at Volkswagen who know I'm interested in changing (a rare perk of the job). I always liked the GTI, but was never aware just how good they are in each department. Yes, you could buy a faster car, a more economical car and a more practical car but you would struggle to find one that does everything simultaneously as the GTI. My week in the GTI averaged 35.2MPG and an approximate range of 700KMs to a single tank of petrol. That includes the token blasts that accompany temporary ownership too...

My budget doesn't reach to a MKVII, but I can just about drag myself over the line to a good MKVI. From reading around, I can't really find a whole heap that goes wrong with them. Is this accurate?

FWIW, I've my own car listed for sale as I would rather it goes to an enthusiast than to someone who would wreck it. I'm intending on changing car in the very near future...

The timing chain tensioner is the one thing to be wary of in the MK6 GTI. There's a big thread on it on one of the UK VW enthusiasts sites, I'll dig it out when I'm at my laptop. If it does go, it goes without much warning and its catastrophic! However I believe it's an easy and relatively cheap thing to prevent from happening in the first place, just needs some modified parts. The large thread I mentioned is mainly posts from lads arguing with VW over who should pay for the preventative fix.

Here's the thread!

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=262793.0

Ferris

Paddy@CIRL wrote: »

Not at all, I've never been a reg snob (unless it means severe depreciation in the immediate future). If I could get my hands on a 530D/535D LCI E61, I'd be all over it. I just don't want to go to the UK for a car...

Just moved to a 530D E61 from an rx8 and it really is an excellent combo of power, space, reasonable tax and economy. However unless you need the space, which I now do, I wouldn't walk past a decent GTi. The BMW is a big, heavy car - especially if you're pushing on on narrow roads. The auto (LCI) is a bit dimwitted in drive but better in DS, still no match for a manual imo and you won't easily find one of those.

Like I said, it is a great car but its nowhere near as chuckable as a Gti. Also the stg exchange rate practically rules out going to the UK.

YbFocus

I have no free money at the minute (building a house) otherwise I'd be all over your car paddy

I've always eyed it as a buy
It's an excellent car for someone out there!

Edit: paddy have you a link to the ad?

Paddy@CIRL

ian87 wrote: »

I know you don't want to go to England but how about an alpina d5? Something very different..

I've never been a fan of the Alpinas

JoeA3 wrote: »

The timing chain tensioner is the one thing to be wary of in the MK6 GTI. There's a big thread on it on one of the UK VW enthusiasts sites, I'll dig it out when I'm at my laptop. If it does go, it goes without much warning and its catastrophic! However I believe it's an easy and relatively cheap thing to prevent from happening in the first place, just needs some modified parts. The large thread I mentioned is mainly posts from lads arguing with VW over who should pay for the preventative fix.

Here's the thread!

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=262793.0

Ace, that's the sort of thing I'm looking for.

Ferris wrote: »

Just moved to a 530D E61 from an rx8 and it really is an excellent combo of power, space, reasonable tax and economy. However unless you need the space, which I now do, I wouldn't walk past a decent GTi. The BMW is a big, heavy car - especially if you're pushing on on narrow roads. The auto (LCI) is a bit dimwitted in drive but better in DS, still no match for a manual imo and you won't easily find one of those.

Like I said, it is a great car but its nowhere near as chuckable as a Gti. Also the stg exchange rate practically rules out going to the UK.

The sterling & approximate VRT of €5.5k are the main reasons I can't look for a GTI over there either. Absolutely crippling, puts 2009 cars at the same price as 2011 cars here.

YbFocus wrote: »

I have no free money at the minute (building a house) otherwise I'd be all over your car paddy

I've always eyed it as a buy
It's an excellent car for someone out there!

Edit: paddy have you a link to the ad?

I do: http://www.bmwhaus.ie/forum/showthread.php?tid=4522&pid=60470#pid60470

HungryJoey

The autobox in 535d's is quite impressive. It gives the sense of endless torque right through the gears as the gear changes are quick and smooth. I really don't think manual suits the e60 at all.

GLWS Paddy. Hope you get what you are after.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

HungryJoey wrote: »

The autobox in 535d's is quite impressive. It gives the sense of endless torque right through the gears as the gear changes are quick and smooth. I really don't think manual suits the e60 at all.

GLWS Paddy. Hope you get what you are after.

+1 as a former e60 owner!

Ferris

The 535's have a paddle shift and - I think - sports transmission, which more lowly e60's dont have (although sports transmittion was an option and can be retrofitted). I'd like to have a go of the paddle shift as it would defo improve things.

I would like to try a manual e60, I agree that the auto is great in normal operation, it just seems to keep too high a gear in low speed situations like tighter corners and roundabouts. Putting it in DS does help though and of course you can manually select gears in this mode.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Ferris wrote: »

The 535's have a paddle shift and - I think - sports transmission, which more lowly e60's dont have (although sports transmittion was an option and can be retrofitted). I'd like to have a go of the paddle shift as it would defo improve things.

I would like to try a manual e60, I agree that the auto is great in normal operation, it just seems to keep too high a gear in low speed situations like tighter corners and roundabouts. Putting it in DS does help though and of course you can manually select gears in this mode.

Nope
They do have sports transmission (and DS mode) but the e60 535d did not come with paddle shift.,
I had an e60 535d m sport and there were no paddle shifts.
335d do.

Paddy@CIRL

The paddles were an option on the 535D? Same as the 335D?

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Paddy@CIRL wrote: »

The paddles were an option on the 535D? Same as the 335D?

After a long search, at both 335d and 535d models from e60 and e90/92 models, I didn't find a single 535 with paddle shift and pretty much all 335d did.

Either it says a lot about the respective purchasers of both models, or it wasn't available on the e60

Foxhole Norman

Paddy@CIRL wrote: »

The paddles were an option on the 535D? Same as the 335D?

Yeah the paddles came with Paddle Shifters if the Sports Automatic box was ticked but it appears not many people ticked them on the 535d, probably more likely to find them on M-Sport versions rather than SE.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

Yeah the paddles came with Paddle Shifters if the Sports Automatic box was ticked but it appears not many people ticked them on the 535d, probably more likely to find them on M-Sport versions rather than SE.

Try none.
I have not seen one e60 535d (pre or post LCI) with paddle shift.
I had a 535d e60 pre LCI with sports auto box and msport spec from the factory.

Foxhole Norman

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

Try none.
I have not seen one e60 535d (pre or post LCI) with paddle shift.
I had a 535d e60 pre LCI with sports auto box and msport spec from the factory.

Apparently the one's I've seen turned out to be retrofitted M5 wheels with the shifters, certainly odd then that the 335d came with them but the 535d didn't

Paddy@CIRL

It seems to be rare in the UK too, most end up retrofitting them as there weren't many sold with them. Strange one that...

Anyways, I viewed a MKVI GTI last week in a dealership. It was an awesome, awesome car. Xenons, navigation, heated leather and very, very low mileage. However, it was priced too strongly IMO. €25,000 for a 2011 car and the price was not negotiable. I liked the car, but I know in my head that in twelve months time that you could easily wipe €5/6k off the value of the car. It was 5 door where I'm looking for a 3 door, and I prefer the tartan over the leather. I'm still torn on it to be honest, even put in a decent offer of €23,000 (my absolute paying over the odds budget) but was practically abused down the phone.

Another has just popped up, again a 2011 car but a three door with tartan in the colour I want. The spec won't be as good, the mileage is higher but I'm still waiting on pictures. Again, it's priced strongly (at €23,795) but I get the impression that there might be room to negotiate in that price. The wheels are currently off the car being refurbished (good or bad thing?) so will have to wait and see...

Trying to buy a car sucks.

MuppetCheck

A lot of things can be retrofitted easily on them remember so don't skimp on the overall quality of the car. I'd buy one with xenons and leather. Anything else is relatively cheap. The latest LED Nav should be about €600 from fleabay, parking sensors from George and it's just little bits after that.

Briskoda and seatcupra.net for anything oily - the for sale sections there tend to be better value than the dedicated vw sites.

JoeA3

Paddy@CIRL wrote: »

It seems to be rare in the UK too, most end up retrofitting them as there weren't many sold with them. Strange one that...

Anyways, I viewed a MKVI GTI last week in a dealership. It was an awesome, awesome car. Xenons, navigation, heated leather and very, very low mileage. However, it was priced too strongly IMO. €25,000 for a 2011 car and the price was not negotiable. I liked the car, but I know in my head that in twelve months time that you could easily wipe €5/6k off the value of the car. It was 5 door where I'm looking for a 3 door, and I prefer the tartan over the leather. I'm still torn on it to be honest, even put in a decent offer of €23,000 (my absolute paying over the odds budget) but was practically abused down the phone.

Another has just popped up, again a 2011 car but a three door with tartan in the colour I want. The spec won't be as good, the mileage is higher but I'm still waiting on pictures. Again, it's priced strongly (at €23,795) but I get the impression that there might be room to negotiate in that price. The wheels are currently off the car being refurbished (good or bad thing?) so will have to wait and see...

Trying to buy a car sucks.

I wouldn't read too much into the wheels being refurbished although they must have been in a shocking state if the dealer is going to the trouble of refurbing them. Assuming they are the 18's, they are notorious for premature corrosion (even the most well minded cars can get it) and they look terrible once that sets in. The problem is that there's very few guys out there who will refurb the finish on them properly, so I'd be examining them very closely after the refurb if I were you. I'd be amazed if the dealer is going to too much trouble/expense to have them sorted.

I'm kinda surprised that they are holding so firm on the prices. €25k does sound very strong for a 2011 GTI, they are obviously confident it'll sell. I got similar money for my 2011 GTD early last year.

Virtually anything can be retrofitted to them too (the NAV is very easy DIY). Xenons and Leather though would be both costly and not DIY-friendly so if you are keen on either of those, hold out for a car with them factory fitted. Xenons transform the looks, lifting it a bit above the ordinary IMO and later cars also get LED DRL's with the xenons.

damo86

Theres a sudden demand for MKVI GTI's at the moment, in the process in ordering a new car and trading a 10' GTI in and was quite surprised on the trade in price I'm getting for it. Only a 8k drop over the last 3 years from when I first bought it a year old.

Paddy@CIRL

MuppetCheck wrote: »

A lot of things can be retrofitted easily on them remember so don't skimp on the overall quality of the car. I'd buy one with xenons and leather. Anything else is relatively cheap. The latest LED Nav should be about €600 from fleabay, parking sensors from George and it's just little bits after that.

Briskoda and seatcupra.net for anything oily - the for sale sections there tend to be better value than the dedicated vw sites.

Nice one, but I have to ask who George is? I'm definitely a tartan over leather kind if guy

JoeA3 wrote: »

I wouldn't read too much into the wheels being refurbished although they must have been in a shocking state if the dealer is going to the trouble of refurbing them. Assuming they are the 18's, they are notorious for premature corrosion (even the most well minded cars can get it) and they look terrible once that sets in. The problem is that there's very few guys out there who will refurb the finish on them properly, so I'd be examining them very closely after the refurb if I were you. I'd be amazed if the dealer is going to too much trouble/expense to have them sorted.

I'm kinda surprised that they are holding so firm on the prices. €25k does sound very strong for a 2011 GTI, they are obviously confident it'll sell. I got similar money for my 2011 GTD early last year.

Virtually anything can be retrofitted to them too (the NAV is very easy DIY). Xenons and Leather though would be both costly and not DIY-friendly so if you are keen on either of those, hold out for a car with them factory fitted. Xenons transform the looks, lifting it a bit above the ordinary IMO and later cars also get LED DRL's with the xenons.

Good advice, I'm not a fan of the standard wheels (this particular car is on 19s) anyways but I'd still rather they were done properly. I know LED tails, navigation are pretty straight forward to add at a later date. I assume the difficulty with xenons is adding the auto levelling, washers etc? I'd love the 25k car, I just can't give 25k for it.

damo86 wrote: »

Theres a sudden demand for MKVI GTI's at the moment, in the process in ordering a new car and trading a 10' GTI in and was quite surprised on the trade in price I'm getting for it. Only a 8k drop over the last 3 years from when I first bought it a year old.

Where are you trading it in again? :P

Yeah, anything good usually only lasts 3-5 days as there weren't a whole heap of them sold between 2009 & 2012.

Tea 1000

How about a nice '08 E91 325i manual? Loads of space and only €8,750!

JoeA3

Paddy@CIRL wrote: »

Good advice, I'm not a fan of the standard wheels (this particular car is on 19s) anyways but I'd still rather they were done properly. I know LED tails, navigation are pretty straight forward to add at a later date. I assume the difficulty with xenons is adding the auto levelling, washers etc? I'd love the 25k car, I just can't give 25k for it.

19's? There was no factory 19" option in the MK6, so I'd be wondering what kind of wheels are they? Non OEM?

Yeah, the levellers, washers, ballasts, etc... it definitely can be done but not cheap and you'd want to be very confident to attempt DIY! A non-xenon equipped MK6 will have the cutouts in the bumper for the washers but they're just blanks.

Yes, LED tails can be retrofitted (not too cheap either though) although any post-2011 car would have them factory fitted.

MuppetCheck

@Paddy, George Dalton on here. He's quoted me happy on a few bits for my FR. Was weighing up the options of trading it and the like but he can do what I want a lot cheaper than anyone else I've approached.

ION08

Where might one see pics of the OP's fabled E90 that is apparently so nice.

YbFocus

ION08 wrote: »

Where might one see pics of the OP's fabled E90 that is apparently so nice.

The link to his ad a few posts back.
I'd reckon it's easily the nicest 3er in the country!

Edit: here you go...

http://www.bmwhaus.ie/forum/showthread.php?tid=4522&pid=60470#pid60470

Paddy@CIRL

JoeA3 wrote: »

19's? There was no factory 19" option in the MK6, so I'd be wondering what kind of wheels are they? Non OEM?

Yeah, the levellers, washers, ballasts, etc... it definitely can be done but not cheap and you'd want to be very confident to attempt DIY! A non-xenon equipped MK6 will have the cutouts in the bumper for the washers but they're just blanks.

Yes, LED tails can be retrofitted (not too cheap either though) although any post-2011 car would have them factory fitted.

Are you sure on the 19s? This'll be the second car with them fitted, think they're called Detroits where the 18s are Monzas?

Xenons are very rare on cars here, only seen one with them so far so won't hold my breath.

JoeA3

Paddy@CIRL wrote: »

Are you sure on the 19s? This'll be the second car with them fitted, think they're called Detroits where the 18s are Monzas?

Xenons are very rare on cars here, only seen one with them so far so won't hold my breath.

Certain. The standard wheels are 17's, silver painted finish. The 18's have the polished / diamond cut finish. There was no factory 19's option on the Mk6.

ION08

YbFocus wrote: »

The link to his ad a few posts back.
I'd reckon it's easily the nicest 3er in the country!

Edit: here you go...

http://www.bmwhaus.ie/forum/showthread.php?tid=4522&pid=60470#pid60470

Looks great , how mch BHP did the remap achieve?