Where would you go next...

vintagevrs

I was never sure how legit gap insurance is. It's effectively over insuring the car, and benefits the user in the event of a total loss. Someone could go from a 2.5 year old M5 to a brand new M5. That difference alone is probably worth about 60k.

mickdw

Some of the gap policies I've seen have had a limit of 25 or 30k. I agree though. They would seem to put you in a better position than before accident which seems to go against the very idea of insurance.
I see a need for gap insurance for early days of ownership of a new car where the car might have dropped 5 to 10k by just registering it so I agree with the policies that offer new for old within first year providing you bought new. Giving out a new car after 3 years is a bit odd and only promotes fraud in creating a write off to get a new car.

bazz26

Nice spec 330i here, adaptive chassis control, M Sport Plus pack, etc:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imorktq0VZY

Mad money no doubt.

vintagevrs

That's an "e"

bazz26

Ah ****e, I totally missed that for some odd reason. lol.

Wailin

Sat in the new 3 series while in Keanes last week. Almost as big as my f10 inside, boot a bit smaller alright. The interior quality is very good, I felt it was nicer than the G30. Salesman came over trying to convince me the 330e was for me and to take one for a test drive. Didn't bother.

JoeA3

mickdw wrote: »

Some of the gap policies I've seen have had a limit of 25 or 30k. I agree though. They would seem to put you in a better position than before accident which seems to go against the very idea of insurance.
I see a need for gap insurance for early days of ownership of a new car where the car might have dropped 5 to 10k by just registering it so I agree with the policies that offer new for old within first year providing you bought new. Giving out a new car after 3 years is a bit odd and only promotes fraud in creating a write off to get a new car.

This has occurred to me too but I'd be curious to know how common this is - i.e. how often do GAP policies pay out on a near 3 year old car. I would imagine the "terms and conditions" would be flexed and unless the claim is 110% legit, no payout will happen.

mickdw

Well they generally cover up to 3 years old and there are many cars written off daily within the 2.5 to 3 year old range. Id have to assume any of those with gap policy get the payout. Even in legit cases, its an odd situation to be gaining a new car for an old one.

It is still a money spinner for insurers no doubt as the numbers of claims would be low versus premium charged and they only pay the difference between new car price and payout obtained from standard policy. Its more of a lotto than an insurance product though.

carsfan2

48k for that 330e you linked bazz. I assume that’s after grants etc. so no bargain. Are you thinking of changing your 530d?
I would find it hard to go back to a 3 series again after a 5. I’ve made that mistake before albeit for f series model and the g30 does seem to be a big step up in quality from the f30.but still.

Wailin

I'd say going from the G30 to G20 would be a noticeable drop in class and comfort not so sure though about going from the F10 to G20.

bazz26

carsfan2 wrote: »

48k for that 330e you linked bazz. I assume that’s after grants etc. so no bargain. Are you thinking of changing your 530d?
I would find it hard to go back to a 3 series again after a 5. I’ve made that mistake before albeit for f series model and the g30 does seem to be a big step up in quality from the f30.but still.

I'm enjoying the 530d but maybe sometime in 2021 as I fancy something a bit more agile and less bulky than a 5 Series next time. I sat in a G20 myself recently and while it's still not as well "finished" as my F10, the gap is not as big as it used to be and I could certainly get used to it. Either way I have accepted that there will be some trade off in moving down a segment next time.

I'd love a M340i but they are going to be rare as hen's teeth here, any available will still be mad money even at 2 or 3 years old I reckon and the running costs would concern me. A G20 330i probably looks the obvious choice and offers a good blend of performance even if it's down 2 cylinders. I change my mind regularly though and there are days there that a G30 530d in the right colour combo and spec seems very appealing.

blingrhino

Do you think bazz that 30km a year would be too much in a 330i ?

i fancy one myself but fuel costs im thinking would be somewhere between The golf R and my current e class diesel.?

Golf i got about 27mpg, merc about 45 mpg,i could live with mid 30`s.

MarkN

The 330i I had for a week was 10-11L/100

blingrhino

MarkN wrote: »

The 330i I had for a week was 10-11L/100

That seems very poor.

carsfan2

blingrhino wrote: »

Do you think bazz that 30km a year would be too much in a 330i ?

i fancy one myself but fuel costs im thinking would be somewhere between The golf R and my current e class diesel.?

Golf i got about 27mpg, merc about 45 mpg,i could live with mid 30`s.

I have read that typical fuel economy is 35+mpg in the 330i. You must have been enjoying yourself Mark.
Would you go 330e? Could be a lot more economical if you have plug in facility and do some urban driving. 50mpg plus was easily achieved by me compared to high forties in 520d currently and the 330e is now 292hp with “xtra boost” in g20 .

Wailin

bazz26 wrote: »

A G30 530d in the right colour combo and spec seems very appealing.

The thing for me with the G30 is exactly that. It has to be a certain colour combo and spec, otherwise they look very very bland. M sport plus and visibility pack are essential. The LED lights on the viz pack transform the look of the car. Dark colours seem to suit it better too. Carbon black, sophisto grey etc with the m performance kit and it really is a good looking car imo.

Heres Johnny

Wailin wrote: »

The thing for me with the G30 is exactly that. It has to be a certain colour combo and spec, otherwise they look very very bland. M sport plus and visibility pack are essential. The LED lights on the viz pack transform the look of the car. Dark colours seem to suit it better too. Carbon black, sophisto grey etc with the m performance kit and it really is a good looking car imo.

That's a lovely looking car. We bought herself/myself a nice golf automatic from Northern Ireland today, going up to get it tomorrow. Have the A6 now which I'll probably use the most but I have a serious hankering for a phev and with the Audi a6 phev only recently being announced I don't think I'll be able to wait for it and will find myself in a 530e sometime next year. Almost did it with a 330e but when you're in a6 and 5 series the 3 series just feels like a let down, although the new one is meant to be a step up.
Just have to see when it's going to fall to a price I can stomach. That price is probably 30k and I just don't think they're there yet but will be next year. Looking at 181/182 plates, is that the earliest 5 series phev? Or is there 172s?

Wailin

The 530e came out in 171, there's a few on carzone around the €30-35k mark.

Heres Johnny

Wailin wrote: »

The 530e came out in 171, there's a few on carzone around the €30-35k mark.

I'll have a look, thanks wailin. Although with the pace of electric change isn't there already an upgraded range version? I'd defo want an m sport if not an msport plus so might have to bide my time.
I've a 6.6km drive to work so 13kms a day and no problem charging there. Can charge at home too. Go to work, maybe another 20kms most evenings if I go out. So that's about 35-40 kms a day on my day to day normal stuff. So that's about maybe 13000kms a year but when you add in my long spins I've done 20000kms this year. Most of that could pretty easily be done on electric, I don't mind paying some money for petrol. Would be summer by time I'm thinking of changing but kinda itching to go electric/hybrid.

bazz26

Exactly Wailin, the adaptive headlights in the G30 makes a big difference to the appearance as does the wheels and M Performance body kit. However I fancy a white car next (never owned a white car before) and the BMW Alpine White looks very well with the M Sport and M Sport Plus options. However I wouldn't fancy the black M Performance kit with white unless they made it match the car's colour.

For what it's worth I'm was doing close to 30k km a year but these days with working from home one or two days a week that is reduced to nearer 20k km, so going back to petrol is a very viable option for me plus there are some very good petrol options in these range of cars that simply were not there a few years ago. Yeah 6 cylinder options are small and expensive but unfortunately big engines are going the way of the dodo unfortunately which is why I'm in no hurry to part with what I have. That plus I spent nearly €600 on a full service earlier this week and another €550 today on 2 new rear tyres.

I looked into getting a 330e before but I'd be reliant on either public or work charging as getting a home charger installed would mean I'd have to dig up half the side of my house. Plus most of my commute while not huge distances would be at motorway speeds so a 330e/530e wouldn't be the most efficient for that, I'd be just lugging around heavy batteries mostly for the sake of it. The only real benefit would be the low VRT on one from the UK over a similar 330i/530i. Regarding fuel economy from the G20 330i,

Wailin

Heres Johnny wrote: »

I'll have a look, thanks wailin. Although with the pace of electric change isn't there already an upgraded range version? I'd defo want an m sport if not an msport plus so might have to bide my time.
I've a 6.6km drive to work so 13kms a day and no problem charging there. Can charge at home too. Go to work, maybe another 20kms most evenings if I go out. So that's about 35-40 kms a day on my day to day normal stuff. So that's about maybe 13000kms a year but when you add in my long spins I've done 20000kms this year. Most of that could pretty easily be done on electric, I don't mind paying some money for petrol. Would be summer by time I'm thinking of changing but kinda itching to go electric/hybrid.

The 530e would make perfect sense for you then HJ with that commute. A no brainer really. The 100 litre loss of boot space would not suit me with a family and is the only downside I see. I'm not sure when, or even if, the 530e had an upgrade since it's intro tbh. The 330e has with the new G20. Increased range and power, up to 292 hp.

Heres Johnny

Wailin wrote: »

The 530e would make perfect sense for you then HJ with that commute. A no brainer really. The 100 litre loss of boot space would not suit me with a family and is the only downside I see. I'm not sure when, or even if, the 530e had an upgrade since it's intro tbh. The 330e has with the new G20. Increased range and power, up to 292 hp.

I'd be grand with the boot so that's not a concern. I've just moved on an f10 530d and I never filled the boot I don't think. Just lose a bit of height don't you?

Is the 530e using same 292bhp engine/battery combo as the new 330e?

Wailin

Exactly, the boot starts off at normal depth but then rises a few inches from a third of the way in up to the back seats.

I really don't know if the 530e had the upgrade the 330e had, if it did it would be late, or else it might not be until the LCI model comes out next year.

carsfan2

I think they increased the battery capacity on the 530e recently but it doesn't have the increased power the g20 330e has yet. Probably waiting for the lci.

Heres Johnny

carsfan2 wrote: »

I think they increased the battery capacity on the 530e recently but it doesn't have the increased power the g20 330e has yet. Probably waiting for the lci.

Not a deal breaker on power, but range will be important. Want to cover all short journeys on it if I was to buy one, long journeys are either covered by work expenses or its a trip away and I'm not too bothered by using some petrol, I've had 3 x 6 cylinder 5 series in the past so I'm not immune to filling up every now and again.

un5byh7sqpd2x0

carsfan2 wrote: »

48k for that 330e you linked bazz. I assume that’s after grants etc. so no bargain. Are you thinking of changing your 530d?
I would find it hard to go back to a 3 series again after a 5. I’ve made that mistake before albeit for f series model and the g30 does seem to be a big step up in quality from the f30.but still.

It's 55k here... It's also pre-reg as a 192 so no grants on that. Must have some amount of extras because a 330e M Sport starts at 43k or so nett of grants... https://www.joeduffy.ie/bmw/used-cars/10822905-bmw-3-series-330e-m-sport-saloon/

carsfan2

That’s the same car as was priced 47995 when I looked last week. I’d say they’ve repriced it and maybe previously had it after grants. There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors involved in getting the real price on these sometimes, between discounting and grants.
If they go the same way as the previous plug in hybrids from BMW they will drop like a stone in value due to a load being available from the U.K. in a short time and tiny if any vrt due on import.
If brexit hits that might change of course.

mickdw

carsfan2 wrote: »

That’s the same car as was priced 47995 when I looked last week. I’d say they’ve repriced it and maybe previously had it after grants. There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors involved in getting the real price on these sometimes, between discounting and grants.
If they go the same way as the previous plug in hybrids from BMW they will drop like a stone in value due to a load being available from the U.K. in a short time and tiny if any vrt due on import.
If brexit hits that might change of course.

Ya colm Quinn had a 330e old model when they came out used with 11k off advertised.
It was actually dearer than when same car was new.
When I pointed this out to them,...... I will get the finance person to explain the figures he said.
Finance lady attempted to explain that they didn't get the grants etc when registering it and they are taking a big hit to sell it at this (dearer than new) price and did I want her to do the finance application.
Nuts.

Leonard Hofstadter

blingrhino wrote: »

That seems very poor.

Google tells me this is between 25.6 and 28.2 mpg, so that means it uses more fuel than my 16 year old 325Ci does (I do between 29 and 32 mpg on a tank), which has the straight six, so it just goes to show what a load of baloney engine downsizing is, looks great on paper and delivers useful tax and VRT savings, but in the real world the smaller engines are actually worse than the old school engines they replaced for fuel economy, and that was supposed to the one benefit of losing natural aspiration, a pair of cylinders and port injection.

MarkN

Leonard Hofstadter wrote: »

Google tells me this is between 25.6 and 28.2 mpg, so that means it uses more fuel than my 16 year old 325Ci does (I do between 29 and 32 mpg on a tank), which has the straight six, so it just goes to show what a load of baloney engine downsizing is, looks great on paper and delivers useful tax and VRT savings, but in the real world the smaller engines are actually worse than the old school engines they replaced for fuel economy, and that was supposed to the one benefit of losing natural aspiration, a pair of cylinders and port injection.

To be fair it wasn’t my petrol but still, I was hammering it 24/7. Your 325 seems very easy on fuel because I run a 2007 325i from time to time and I can’t keep petrol in it.