2014 520d. Is it worth bringing it from NI?

cubatahavana

I've seen a good few 520d from BMW dealers in the north. Most in the £18-21k range. When adding VRT They come close enough to the BMW dealers around here. Bothkind of dealers offer the standard 2 year warranty. Would it not be easier to buy in the south in case of a problem? I am assuming that buying from a straight BMW dealer is more expensive but gives me more peace of mind.

Thoughts?

MarkN

cubatahavana wrote: »

I've seen a good few 520d from BMW dealers in the north. Most in the £18-21k range. When adding VRT They come close enough to the BMW dealers around here. Bothkind of dealers offer the standard 2 year warranty. Would it not be easier to buy in the south in case of a problem? I am assuming that buying from a straight BMW dealer is more expensive but gives me more peace of mind.

Thoughts?

The premium selection warranty is European so even if you bought in Bavarian, Joe Duffy, Frank Keane etc etc would have to stand over it.

cubatahavana

Ok, good to know this! Planning on trading in an 06 Passat highline with low miles (60k). I've been told that I'll get way less in the north. This would be something to consider, shouldn't it?

bazz26

A BMW dealer whether down here or up North is only going to give you trade value for your 11 year old Passat. It's too old for them to resell on their forecourt so will sell it on to smaller dealers in the motor trade. NI is a different market to here so you will get the NI trade value of it. Financially you will be better off trying to sell the Passat privately.

The next question is, do you actually need a diesel car given the low usage/mileage you have done on the Passat?

cubatahavana

Thanks, that makes sense. Any idea to know the trade value of a car?

Does this seem too good?
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/bmw/5-series/used-2013-131-bmw-5-series-520d-auto-dublin-fpa-8687293030242222548

bmwguy

cubatahavana wrote: »

Thanks, that makes sense. Any idea to know the trade value of a car?

Does this seem too good?
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/bmw/5-series/used-2013-131-bmw-5-series-520d-auto-dublin-fpa-8687293030242222548

An 06 Passat against a 141 520d will be worth about 2-3k. Higher figure for a diesel, lower for petrol
Take your pick of currencies. Could easily negotiate at least 1k off most 520s for straight sale no trade in.

bazz26

cubatahavana wrote: »

Thanks, that makes sense. Any idea to know the trade value of a car?

Does this seem too good?
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/bmw/5-series/used-2013-131-bmw-5-series-520d-auto-dublin-fpa-8687293030242222548

That car is a pre facelift model. If you're going 2013 then try and get a facelift model as they have better standard equipment than the pre facelift model. Xenon headlights, sat nav, etc are all standard on the facelift model.

cubatahavana

Thanks for that! When did the facelift come?

cubatahavana

as well, how to spot it?

bazz26

It came around mid 2013 and the easiest way to spot it is that the side indicators are now located in the door mirrors.

cubatahavana

GReat, thanks. Going to Joe Duffy tomorrow. I think as well the reverse lisht has been moved more centrally on the taillights. Am I right?

bazz26

The rear lights didn't change all that much.

MarkN

Also, there's a little M badge on the front wings on the facelift F10. On an M-Sport anyway!

jsd1004

cubatahavana wrote: »

Ok, good to know this! Planning on trading in an 06 Passat highline with low miles (60k). I've been told that I'll get way less in the north. This would be something to consider, shouldn't it?

Do you need a diesel if you have only 60k miles done on your Passat? Lots of potentially big bills and also tax increases on diesel due soon. If you ever drive abroad be aware that several European cities are proposing bans on diesel cars, London Paris Madrid

cubatahavana

that is something to think about, definitely.

Quick question, what do you guys prefer:

a car with low mileage but one year older or a car with a higher mileage, but a year older

2013 with 40k km
2014 with 80k km

cubatahavana

I thought diesel nowadays were ok to drive 10-15k per year

Theboinkmaster

One thing to consider is the new steering wheel on the facelift model - a lot of people (myself included) prefer the older model.

The newer one is narrower with more metal trim on it and looks terrible IMO.

I have an f10 already and on the look out for a second one for my wife, looking at 2012-131 pre facelift with a few extras like pro nav etc.

Theboinkmaster

cubatahavana wrote: »

I thought diesel nowadays were ok to drive 10-15k per year

Not just mileage comes down to type of driving - city driving in low gears not suited to diesel, rather than motorway driving in high gear.

bmwguy

cubatahavana wrote: »

that is something to think about, definitely.

Quick question, what do you guys prefer:

a car with low mileage but one year older or a car with a higher mileage, but a year older

2013 with 40k km
2014 with 80k km

Personally the 2013 car but I wouldn't pay more for it than the 14 car because you won't get it back. Depreciation year on year is about 20% so i would want the 13 car for 10% less than the 14 on a like for like basis.

I would make my choice on something else though. Condition, spec etc...

MarkN

Don't forget the 520d will easily be in high gears, possibly 8th gear tipping along at 50-60km/hr.

cubatahavana

Thanks all. This is really helping. Would you go for a non BMW dealer with 6 month warranty only? Prices are quite lower, but I'm a bit afraid. Cars have full BMW service, though. We are talking about <60-70k km

Stallingrad

There is great comfort in the BMW 2 year warranty, the cars rate below average in reliability so would be worth paying a bit extra for the peace of mind.

CeilingFly

Your 2006 passat is worthless to the bmw dealer. He'll flog it within the trade and take a cut for himself.

Haggle a good cash price and put the passat through a car auction. Between the cash discount and auction price, you'll get far more than any trade-in value.

cubatahavana

An auction? how to go about that?

bazz26

You could always take out an additional extended BMW warranty here - www.bmw-warranty.ie

Expensive things can go wrong with them and while a 2 or 3 year old example can be bought for a fraction of the new price, they are still a 40k to 50k car when it comes to fixing them.

bazz26

cubatahavana wrote: »

An auction? how to go about that?

Honestly, if you have to ask that then an auction is probably not the place to be buying a car like that.

cubatahavana

Bazz, I wouldn't like the hassle of it.

Have to say that I never considered manual for this car, but just saw two very good priced in the north (?2k less than auto), making them very attractive. Thoughts?

bmwguy

cubatahavana wrote: »

Bazz, I wouldn't like the hassle of it.

Have to say that I never considered manual for this car, but just saw two very good priced in the north (?2k less than auto), making them very attractive. Thoughts?

Cheaper to buy but harder to shift when you try to move it on. So will cost the same. Remember the actual cost is the difference netween what you pay and what you get back, not just what you pay initially. Thats more of a cash flow thing than cost, but I accept thats an important consideration too.
Besides, they are suited to auto. I wouldn't buy a manual 5 series.

cubatahavana

Actually, I am buying it for a long term relationship, not thinking of resale value, but I agree, I think auto suits better

Wailin

cubatahavana wrote: »

Actually, I am buying it for a long term relationship, not thinking of resale value, but I agree, I think auto suits better

Definitely go for auto. Had an E61 manual, now F11 auto and no comparison. If buying from non BMW a good and frequent service history is essential. Personally, on a 2013 bmw i would not accept less than 12months warranty. Do a motorcheck/cartell report to show up any discrepancies such as periods of no tax which may indicate car was not road worthy for whatever reason etc. Costs only €20/30 but could save thousands.

Have you decided on model, SE, M Sport etc?

CeilingFly

bazz26 wrote: »

Honestly, if you have to ask that then an auction is probably not the place to be buying a car like that.

The suggestion is to sell the 2006 passat at auction.

CeilingFly

cubatahavana wrote: »

An auction? how to go about that?

Simply bring your car to Wilsons on Naas road or Merlin in Naas (I'm sure there are others). They'll appraise it, suggest a reserve price and they'll sell it.

They charge a listing fee of €50-€100 + 5% of sales price.

http://www.merlin.ie/sell-your-car

cubatahavana

Wailin wrote: »

Definitely go for auto. Had an E61 manual, now F11 auto and no comparison. If buying from non BMW a good and frequent service history is essential. Personally, on a 2013 bmw i would not accept less than 12months warranty. Do a motorcheck/cartell report to show up any discrepancies such as periods of no tax which may indicate car was not road worthy for whatever reason etc. Costs only €20/30 but could save thousands.

Have you decided on model, SE, M Sport etc?

Not set on version, the SE already looks very good to me, so no need for M, but if I find a good price I may change my mind. I do want professional navigation system, though

cubatahavana

CeilingFly wrote: »

Simply bring your car to Wilsons on Naas road or Merlin in Naas (I'm sure there are others). They'll appraise it, suggest a reserve price and they'll sell it.

They charge a listing fee of €50-€100 + 5% of sales price.

http://www.merlin.ie/sell-your-car

So, I think this may work better than private (less headaches), what do you guys think?

bazz26

CeilingFly wrote: »

The suggestion is to sell the 2006 passat at auction.

Sorry I read it as the OP buying a 5 Series at auction.

bazz26

It's rare enough to find a SE with the Pro Nav widescreen. On the facelifted model there was a Luxury model which was higher spec than the SE, the Luxury model had the widescreen Pro Nav as standard. You have more chance of finding the Pro Nav on a UK spec model too.

As for going manual, there is a good reason they are cheaper to buy, because they not very popular and you will feel it when you go to sell it on.

cubatahavana

got a lovely 2014 520d SE professional navigation + rear camera + night pedestrian detection for ?19k with 27k miles on the clock. thanks for all the advice!

cubatahavana

anyone want my passat?

bmwguy

cubatahavana wrote: »

got a lovely 2014 520d SE professional navigation + rear camera + night pedestrian detection for ?19k with 27k miles on the clock. thanks for all the advice!

That's very good value well done. Wait, did you get a UK one? Is there VRT on top of that?

Sounds like a nice car either way

Stallingrad

Nice one OP, pretty certain that is does not include VRT though.

cubatahavana

Yes, no vrt on it. Got it from a certified BMW dealer. Still happy with the price, though

Stallingrad

cubatahavana wrote: »

Yes, no vrt on it. Got it from a certified BMW dealer. Still happy with the price, though

Around €5k VRT so still a good €2-4K cheaper than a low mileage 2014 with some nice options bought here.

blingrhino

cubatahavana wrote: »

got a lovely 2014 520d SE professional navigation + rear camera + night pedestrian detection for ?19k with 27k miles on the clock. thanks for all the advice!

Auto ?

cubatahavana

blingrhino wrote: »

Auto ?

yes

MarkN

Nice one, best of luck with it.