Trading in and looking for car ideas please

mouseybrown

Ok so I have a 05 bmw 523i looking to trade in for something bit more economical, but would still like something nice to drive.

The problem is I've realistically only got about 2k to change.
I've looked at everything from Audis to Honda's to 3 series bmws. I'm looking at around 06 in year maybe 07 if i was lucky.

In an ideal world I'd love a 520 d but they just seem a tiny bit out of our reach and the ones I could afford have mental mileage.. basically just looking for advice on what car to go for and what I should be looking for in an 11 year old car. Im completely thick all things car ( apart from what I read here )

Thanks for reading

bazz26

Why are you looking to change? Realistically with only 2k to throw in with the 523i your not going to move up much, plus you know your existing car and it's history whereas you could be buying someone else's trouble. Unless the car is giving you trouble I'd tend to hold onto it.

mouseybrown

The main reason really would be for more mpg, the car I have is so thirsty!! You are so right though I have the car last 8 years and its been regularly serviced ext.. I'm so wary of buying such an old car and then having to pay a fortune if something goes wrong. Wish I could afford something newer but it's not gonna happen.
Someone mentioned getting our car chipped or remapped is it? To get better mpg or does that only work with diesels?

bazz26

Your not going to see any benefits from chipping a non turbo engine. And even that aside, fuel savings from chipping are not going to be near what's claimed.

mouseybrown

All that aside what's people's opinions on bmw 320 d 2006/2007 model..I've heard more negative that good so far but that seems to be the case with anything I look at !! just curious what you knowledgeable people think

bmwguy

Mousey do your sums.....I'm going to play devils advocate here as I do every time I read someone wanting to buy a newer car to save money. I have a 523i too and my average mpg is in around 30mpg combined, mix of motorway and urban.

If you throw 2k at a newer car such as a 320d you will increase like for like mpg by about 30% which is good news.

However, a 320d will also be 370 less to tax a year saving you 1110 euro if you keep it for 3 years. Now you have to find 1000 in fuel savings to recoup you 2k and be at a breakeven point. At 30% increased efficiency, you will have to spend over 3.5k on fuel to be at breakeven.

How long will that take you? What is your mileage?

Just saying I have very rarely seen someone change cars, even to a more fuel efficient one with low tax and save money overall. Perhaps someone with mega mileage could if they keep the car for 10 years. But are you going to keep an 06 for 10 years? Unlikely.

Your only option really to save money is move into a low tax and fuel efficient car which, on your budget of about 4-5k means a very small car like a micra/yaris/clio type car which you will hate after being in a 5 series for 8 years.

Dont be fooled into thinking the likes of a 1.4 or 1.6 golf/focus will save you much either, they won't i found the likes of them quite thirsty too, not as thirsty as a 2.5 petrol but not hugely different.

Its possible that in 2 or 3 years you could save a little bit, but not much to be honest.

Changing cars does not make financial sense very often, if you want a change go for it but I dont think it will have the desired financial payoff you think it might. Plus you might get a lemon, you know your won car well at this stage I imagine.

mouseybrown

Thanks bmwguy when its put like that it does make more sense to hang on to 523 its like an old friend at this stage!! And I reckon I only do about 6-7 k miles a year..

Also just to mention I've been a good few garages these last few weeks and they really don't seem to have any interest in me or my trade in atall.

Only interested in big money salesI I guess!!

bazz26

You have to look at this from a dealer's perspective, they are in business to make money from buying and selling cars. A 12 year old 6 cylinder BMW is worthless to them and probably impossible for them to sell on at a profit. Also the money you want to spend along with your old car doesn't make any deal appealing to them, again they have to shift your car and give some sort of short warranty to a potential buyer, they also have to give you some sort of warranty with the car you buy from them so there is no profit in it for them.

Being honest with doing only 6k or 7k miles per year fuel economy should not really be a major factor in your decision to change cars. That 2k you want to spend trading up will buy you a decent bit of fuel for your current car.

bmwguy

7000 miles is 11,000km. Sorry my mind works in kms these days.
My car is at about 9 litres per 100km so you would be looking at similar (let's use 10l/100km which is 28.2 mpg - a decent estimate)

This is 1100 litres of fuel per year @ 1.40 per litre which is 1540 a year or approx 30 Euro a week

On a 320d or any diesel really lets say it uses 7l per 100km so you are now using 770 litres @ 1.40 which is 1078 Euro a year or approx 20 Euro a week

So it's a tenner a week at your mileage on fuel. Even if the mpg is further apart and it ends up being 15 Euro a week cheaper your payback period is still pushing 2 years to breakeven point.

At 6-7k miles a year I'm guessing you do a lot of town driving, in this case the consumption might be higher than 10l/100kms for the petrol and 7l/100kms for the diesel but the gap of 30 odd percent should be still relevant.

Best of luck in your decision, I'd keep it unless your mileage increases a lot.

mouseybrown

Bazz your right when you put it like that I completely understand..

Bmwguy fair play with the sums there its a good way of comparing. Only thing I'd say is I'm putting in at least 50 a week on fuel. And that's really just doing town driving as u say.

Anyway thanks for your time and input. Still undecided on what to do :0

Nuw

If you do city driving mostly, the best way for you make savings on running cost would be to switch to an electric car, or hop on a bike (I know...). I would tend to agree with most posts here, no point in forking out 2k of your hard earned cash onto something you don't know the history of to -maybe- save a few bobs here and there, especially to switch to a diesel which is not at all designed to be used in town which in turn might bring up unwanted maintenance bills. Any combustion engine (be it diesel or petrol) will drink the juice in city driving, no matter how careful you are with the throttle.

bmwguy

mouseybrown wrote: »

Bazz your right when you put it like that I completely understand..

Bmwguy fair play with the sums there its a good way of comparing. Only thing I'd say is I'm putting in at least 50 a week on fuel. And that's really just doing town driving as u say.

Anyway thanks for your time and input. Still undecided on what to do :0

Ok yeah makes sense it would cost 50 a week driving in towns mainly they do drop to low 20mpg in traffic stop start. Diesels not much better in traffic so your savings still stand more or less from my previous post.

I just want people to be informed when changing, it's not just the fuel it's the depreciation on whatever they buy too (although yours will be minimal enough buying at 4k Euro.

Have a think anyway and weigh it up. I did it once sold a 530i for what I thought was a more economical 1.6 car (costing me 3k to change) but my fuel bills only dropped a little. Regretted it straight away and went out and bought a 525i within a few months.

mouseybrown

Thanks again guys deffo food for thought!! ONE more question for you knowledgeable people.

What's opinions on Honda crvs they slightly over budget at the min but just came across one or two that look nice I really am very indecisive!!! What's the deal with them 2.2d say vs the 1.9 petrol there probably as expensive to run as the bmw 😠 .

Thanks again for time and input its appreciated

bmwguy

2.2d will be lighter on fuel than a 1.9 petrol no question about it. Nice machine as well.

bazz26

Any diesel you buy won't give you much benefit driving it mostly around town. Diesel engines take longer to warm up, constant stop/start city driving will not return better fuel economy. That is before you get into the problems that can arise from driving a diesel around town all the time, they are not designed for that.

jharr100

Would an lpg conversion be an option ?

mouseybrown

jharr100 wrote: »

Would an lpg conversion be an option ?

Is this the gas conversion?
Does anyone actually do this or would it be worth it? Or would you be opening up yourself for lots of problems down the road??

mouseybrown

Thanks everyone for your imput. I've just realised that I started 2 similar threads over the last 6 Years ( honestly forgot) Same thing about trading in Car because of fuel and tax... I have a feeling I'm going to be driving this car until forever!!

mouseybrown

Just having one more quick look and noticed this. Same car different milage and price. What's going on here?it's a Honda crv 07 its advertised twice on done deal different garages different price and different mileage. Same reg though. Can't post screenshot I took sorry