Imported BMW 520d - play it safe or go with non-BMW dealer?

M50_Sufferer

Looking to buy a 2-3 year old 5-series and having test driven a few at this stage I am conflicted by the pull of the M-Sport but struggling to justify the extra cash.
Most of the "good value" stuff  look like imports - Could go with an M-sport from non-BMW dealer or play it safe with an Irish SE from a main BMW dealer.

e.g.

€29k for an imported 152 M Sport 55k kms from a non-BMW dealer (McCoys)

€30k for an Irish 151 SE 76k kms from a main BMW dealer (Frank Keane Naas Road)

€35k for an imported 151 M Sport 72k kms from the same BMW dealer (Frank Keane Naas Road)


Any massive watch-outs on going the non-BMW dealer route (would obviously invest in a full independent inspection) or play it safe with main dealer??

ongarite

Import it from the UK yourself. Do your homework on HPI, RAC inspection & service history report.
Lots of the UK cars came with Service Pack included & could be usable in Ireland if mileage isn't too high.

M-Sport is a must especially if you are looking to sell on again in a few years.
I imported a 530d this year for similar money this year and it has far far better spec than the majority of F10s on the road here.

The McCoys one looks good value to me. Spec is good for 520d with heated seats, reversing camera & professional NAV
Frank Keane's M-Sport is pricey but has lots of toys, looks like Harmon Kardon sound system, Adaptive lights, comfort access & upgraded leather & VDC

bazz26

Its worth mentioning that the BMW dealer car will come with a 2 year warranty which is why you will always pay dearer for it. In saying that 35k for a nearly 3 year old 520d M Sport is very expensive considering what I was offered as a trade in back in August by a BMW dealer for my 141 M Sport with higher spec.

M50_Sufferer

Thanks all.
I have read through the UK import advice threads and if I can find a couple of days to make it all happen may go that route.
In the meantime I have test drives on some of the cars I had narrowed down to above - will see what wriggle room on pricing etc is but assuming a sensible value for the warranty it looks like low 30s is the right level for a high spec or high 20s for a more base spec. I will see!!
(This is my first proper car so just a bit excited...)

mittimitti

i have a 152 high spec auto 520d that id do you a deal on
pm me if your interested

M50_Sufferer

Thanks mittimitti - replied to your pm.
I may be a bit risk adverse but this car is a very big step up from my last car so looking to buy from a "decent" dealer. May go private the next time (when I actually know what I am doing!)

mittimitti

no worries mine is under main dealer warranty with over a year left and I have a subscription for the car that lets me drop it in for a diagnostic and health check to a main dealer they give back a report on the car

ongarite

https://www.imperialcarsupermarkets.co.uk/used-car/bmw/5-series/u53583/520d-190-m-sport-4dr-step-auto/
https://www.imperialcarsupermarkets.co.uk/used-car/bmw/5-series/u53583/520d-190-m-sport-4dr-step-auto/

VRT of 5200 for 2015, probably cheaper if you leave till Jan?

All in still cheaper than the McCoys 520d, with better spec.

Wailin

Do yourself a favour and make sure whatever u go for it has at least the pro sat nav. Nothing looks worse in the f10 than the narrow infotainment screen. The SE you linked in frank keanes has it and the car looks cheap.

Idbatterim

I'd absolutely go for m sport. The Cars look pretty crap without it in my opinion... farveasier to sell it on if it's m sport

M50_Sufferer

Thanks all.
Pro nav, M Sport and upgraded seats (personally) definitively seem to be big things to look for based the test drives I have done up to now. Not sure I can handle any more free dealer coffee or snacks....
Of the two M Sports I listed originally, one has been sold and the other just didn't seem to sound/feel right to my ear.

commited

They are great cars, just consider the fact that the F10 has just been replaced so values are likely to take a hammering soon (more than they already have). If you want a facelifted F10, then save €10k, go to the UK and bring back a decent 141.

Blazer

also colour.
Grey is by far the best looking colour on the F10 followed by White imo.
I have a black one and its only now I appreciate how shiny the grey actually is

Wailin

Blazer wrote: »

also colour.
Grey is by far the best looking colour on the F10 followed by White imo.
I have a black one and its only now I appreciate how shiny the grey actually is

Carbon black is nice too in m sport. Not mad on space grey but the darker grey looks well i think.

M50_Sufferer

Learning more as I go along....

Other areas that a couple of dealers have highlighted as watch-outs (or selling points) on imports:

- Remaining warranty: non-BMW dealer implied that an imported car would have to go back to the UK to be repaired under manufacturers warranty (i.e. anything beyond the dealers 12 month warranty). BMW dealer said they take this over as part of the 2-year warranty

- Service pack: Only valid if bough from a BMW dealer?

- Connected services: BMW dealer implied only they can transition connected services from a UK car for use in Ireland and you have to wait an unspecified time for this to actually happen

- Sat nav updates: One BMW dealer implied these were updated as part of the regular service for free, another said it can be in the 100's to update the maps

bazz26

Some incorrect information you were given there.

Any UK imported BMW which still has the original 3 year BMW warranty can still have warranty work carried out by a BMW dealer in Ireland irrespective of whether you buy the car from them or not. I've had this done.

The BMW Assured Used Car warranty is something that BMW dealers offer here so yes only the BMW dealer network will honor it if the car is bought from one of the BMW dealers. I've bought my car from a dealer 60 miles from where I live but have had work done my much closer local BMW dealer.

BMW Connected Drive service - not sure about this but some of my "free" services have expired recently and require a new paid subscription to continue. My BMW Connected Drive service is UK based as my car is a UK import bought from an Irish BMW dealer. If I go onto the Irish Connected Drive webpage with the VIN it tells me it's a UK service gives me the option to switch to an Irish service. I declined this and if I go onto the UK Connected Drive webpage it gives the option to upgrade the expired services for a fee (think it was about £60). I didn't bother as I don't use them.

BMW service pack - This is something bought new with the car and is good value. It is only offered by BMW so naturally only BMW dealers will honour it. But if the car originally had a service pack then a BMW dealer should honour it even if the car is not bought from them. They will get reimbursed by BMW for it. The original service pack is only valid on cars upto 3 years old or with less than 100,000km on the clock, whichever comes first. It includes oil. filter services, software updates and brake fluid changes. It does not include things like brake pads, discs or wipers, etc.

BMW Sat Nav - You don't need to pay a BMW dealer to upgrade it. It can be done unofficially for about €40 if you search for it on the net. It's a bit riskier as there is an outside chance of bricking the system and BMW obviously won't stand over it. I've never been offered a free upgrade when my car was at the dealer's for a service even when the maps were 3 years out of date. BMW dealers are not that charitable when they can charge a few hundred euro for it.

MarkN

M50_Sufferer wrote: »

Learning more

- Remaining warranty: non-BMW dealer implied that an imported car would have to go back to the UK to be repaired under manufacturers warranty (i.e. anything beyond the dealers 12 month warranty). BMW dealer said they take this over as part of the 2-year warranty

It’s a European warranty. He’s just trying to close!

M50_Sufferer

bazz26 wrote: »

Some incorrect information you were given there.

Any UK imported BMW which still has the original 3 year BMW warranty can still have warranty work carried out by a BMW dealer in Ireland irrespective of whether you buy the car from them or not.  I've had this done.

The BMW Assured Used Car warranty is something that BMW dealers offer here so yes only the BMW dealer network will honor it if the car is bought from one of the BMW dealers.  I've bought my car from a dealer 60 miles from where I live but have had work done my much closer local BMW dealer.

BMW Connected Drive service - not sure about this but some of my "free" services have expired recently and require a new paid subscription to continue.  My BMW Connected Drive service is UK based as my car is a UK import bought from an Irish BMW dealer.  If I go onto the Irish Connected Drive webpage with the VIN it tells me it's a UK service gives me the option to switch to an Irish service.  I declined this and if I go onto the UK Connected Drive webpage it gives the option to upgrade the expired services for a fee (think it was about £60).  I didn't bother as I don't use them.

BMW service pack - This is something bought new with the car and is good value.  It is only offered by BMW so naturally only BMW dealers will honour it.  But if the car originally had a service pack then a BMW dealer should honour it even if the car is not bought from them.  They will get reimbursed by BMW for it.  The original service pack is only valid on cars upto 3 years old or with less than 100,000km on the clock, whichever comes first.  It includes oil. filter services, software updates and brake fluid changes.  It does not include things like brake pads, discs or wipers, etc.

BMW Sat Nav - You don't need to pay a BMW dealer to upgrade it.  It can be done unofficially for about €40 if you search for it on the net.  It's a bit riskier as there is an outside chance of bricking the system and BMW obviously won't stand over it.  I've never been offered a free upgrade when my car was at the dealer's for a service even when the maps were 3 years out of date.  BMW dealers are not that charitable when they can charge a few hundred euro for it.

Wow! Great info here - thanks!

M50_Sufferer

Just rounding out this thread.
Eventually went with a 151 520D M Sport from a main dealer (Dublin).

It was a decent spec UK import - pro-nav, better seats etc. Got a glance at what they paid for the car, the VRT and have all the costs for the AUC servicing, new tires etc. etc. so reckon they made 2-3k margin at most.

Probably paid a couple of k more that I would have if I had gone with a non BMW dealer but given I plan to keep the car for 3-5 years and will likely do 20-25,000kms a year I figured it was worth it.
Thanks for tips above - particular on the sat nav. I registered the car on the UK Connected Drive site and picked up a couple of years of map updates for a fraction of the quoted dealer price for a single update.

Overall - love the car!

Wailin

Well wear! You made the right choice with m sport, they are so dull in SE spec.

Edit: What colour did you go with in the end?

Theboinkmaster

M50_Sufferer wrote: »

Just rounding out this thread.
Eventually went with a 151 520D M Sport from a main dealer (Dublin).

It was a decent spec UK import - pro-nav, better seats etc. Got a glance at what they paid for the car, the VRT and have all the costs for the AUC servicing, new tires etc. etc. so reckon they made 2-3k margin at most.

Probably paid a couple of k more that I would have if I had gone with a non BMW dealer but given I plan to keep the car for 3-5 years and will likely do 20-25,000kms a year I figured it was worth it.
Thanks for tips above - particular on the sat nav. I registered the car on the UK Connected Drive site and picked up a couple of years of map updates for a fraction of the quoted dealer price for a single update.

Overall - love the car!

Any pics or links?

For €50 I had the sat nav maps updated as well as the DVD in motion disabled on mine :pac: