Where would you go next...

bazz26 wrote: »

@Carsfan2 - you know the drill, once your trading in a non Audi brand then they will just give you the trade value of your G31 as they won't retail it. Probably not as bad as BMW dealers for low ball trade in offers but won't be too far away from them either would be my guess.

On a similar note I'm hoping to get to Dublin this week to have a look at two cars, a 430d GC and a 530e. I'm in two minds though, on one hand the 430d is a bit dated now but it's still a good looking car, more nimble than a 5 Series and this one is very well speced plus has a good colour combination, I also quite like the torque and smoothness from the 6 cylinder engine (even a diesel). The 530e is a year younger and has the upgraded Comfort Napa seats, the 252bhp is attractive but I don't really need/want a car that big anymore and don't have any charging point at home for the foreseeable future so lugging around heavy batteries seems a bit pointless unless you can recharge them. A 430i/530i would be more favorable but they are rarer than hen's teeth.

I seem to remember Misterdrak was in this thread a few weeks back looking to get rid of his 530i. Not sure if he traded it or is willing to sell.

I never installed a charge point when I had 330e, just used the three pin plug charger supplied as it only took three hours anyway and the charger only knocked an hour off.
You will find the g30 5 series is a nice bit more nimble that the f10 and lot more refined than a 4 series.

Anyone any rough idea of the cost to change figure going from my 151 530d M Sport with 78500 miles to a 2017 430d M Sport Gran Coupe with 40k miles. Car is being sold by a small independent dealer but has a full BMW main dealer service history and is a one owner car. 430d has the M Sport Plus pack, HUD, H/K sound system, etc.

I also test drove a 182 530e M Sport today but wasn't too gone on it. Interior is a nice place to be alright and if your into your tech but other than the upgraded Nappa leather and M Sport Plus pack it was pretty basic. I was actually shocked at how much of the boot was taken up by the batteries. Nice quiet to drive and good bit of power burst when you put your foot to the floor but over all it left a meh feeling with me. Yes the 430d interior is dated but I actually liked the old retro style analog dials, the way the dashboard was shaped towards the driver and the driver felt molded into the seat which sits lower down than in the 5 Series. Even the old style hand brake reminded me of BMWs of old.

The 430d is certainly winning me over.

That's the car alright. I'm still talking figures but it's lower than that.

To go up 3 years to the 182 530e was costing me €17,750 but I'm not interested in another 5 Series now to be honest.

I’d say 12/13K cost to change for the 430d.
Did they import it themselves?
Does it have a service pack on it Bazz?

I think it’s five years Or 100k km in Ireland for service pack.
Lovely looking car Bazz. Carbon spoiler is nice touch.

Yeah, I've had a few 5 Series and they are great big comfy cruisers but I just fancy something a little different this time. I had an E90 years ago and remember how great it handled, the 4 Series reminds me of that plus the sleek coupe like styling is appealing. Being honest my current car is worth what it's worth. I could try and sell it privately but your relying on a specific buyer who may or may not come along so you could be sitting on it for months to no avail even after reducing the price and still just end up trading it.

It's no M4 but we will see how things go anyway.

Wailin wrote: »

They are a lovely car bazz,, best looking of the bmw range at the moment. I agree with the analogue dials and old school feel of the car. I've seen lots of comments on here about how dated and poor the interior of the 4 is. In the right spec and colour combo it's as good as any car in that class. I have a small pang of regret on missing out on that 440i, even though I got the 540i for 6k cheaper. It's just a bit more special, sportier and more of a head turner. If the deal feels right for you, just go with it, I don't think you'll look back.

Cheers Wailin. Yeah, I didn't find much of a come down on the interior quality other than it obviously being more cozy in the F36. As you say, in the right colour combo it fits the part especially with the LCI model.

That 440i was a bit special alright looking back at it but I'd say maybe the better refinement and soundproofing of the 5 Series just takes a little shine off the same engine for you. Maybe an exhaust upgrade is the way to go with the G30 but as you said it's pretty expensive. Not the most important thing I know but how are you finding the fuel economy on the 540i compared to the 535d?

Joe, I did a rough calculation on an average similar example from autotrader below:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009053346863?year-from=2017&advertising-location=at_cars&year-to=2017&radius=1500&exclude-writeoff-categories=on&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&make=BMW&aggregatedTrim=430d&sort=price-asc&model=4%20SERIES%20GRAN%20COUPE&postcode=ls11az&page=1

That's about 25k at today's exchange rate according to xe.com, add another 5.5k on top of that for VRT/Nox so your still looking at 30k to land one by my calculations. Now maybe some Irish dealers are getting bulk buy discounts but looking on the likes of carzone there are very few 2017 430ds for sale compared to the mass number of cheaper lower spec 420ds for sale here. Yes you will obviously buy cheaper in the UK but unless you have a buyer lined up for your existing car then buying in the UK isn't an option.

Augeo wrote: »

Presumably they are buying at auction or from lease houses etc ............. anything on an Irish dealers forecourt at €31,900 didn't cost them €30k before they washed it etc
Dealers can of course pick stuff up for less then what UK dealers retail the stuff for.

Seems most 3/4/5 series 30d/ 35d/ 40i/ 40d’s tend to be ‘Irish’ cars rather than imports - these generally hold value v well in UK and VRT is high.

Hertz UK often trade 540i ex rentals direct off their website. Probably a bit rough but 10%+ cheaper than the main dealer

What type of warranty is offered with the car Bazz?
It looks in great nick from the photos.
Sounds like your mind is almost made up?

I think it's worth advertising your own Bazz while you're thinking about it. You'd be surprised the people that come out of the woodwork on a car like that.

JoeA3 wrote: »

I sold my 4 series yesterday to Zucar.ie. I'd really recommend these guys if any of you are in the same boat and need to offload something that's relatively high value and don't want the aggravation of trying to sell it on your own. Completely simple and painless experience. They settled the outstanding finance and paid me the balance direct to my account.

For anyone who's on the lookout for a nice 4 series, they have it advertised already and its well priced, you can be sure the BMW main dealers would have it up around 33-34k - obviously a BMW dealer would be putting a full warranty on it but 3-4k is a lot to pay for a Bmw warranty.

https://www.zucar.ie/used-cars/11853717-bmw-4-series-420-d-f36-m-sport-gran-coupe-4/

Friend bought an Audi A6 from zucar and their warranty was top notch so far. No questions asked when replacing the clutch and flywheel due to an issue

Casati wrote: »

Are they a main Seat dealer? Looked on their website and they have like 30 202 reg Leon’s - all same spec 1.6 TDI and all asking optimistic prices for old model cars. V odd!

They're part of the Joe Duffy group. A kind of car-supermarket operation, not a "main dealer" of any one brand afaik. I didn't pay much attention to the stock I saw yesterday in Limerick but it seemed to be a mix of everything.

I bet the Leon's are ex fleet / ex hire.

carsfan2 wrote: »

I am amazed they didn't send your car to Joe Duffy BMW to retail it as approved used stock to be honest.
A nice spec and low mileage it would have made sense.
Did you get any prices from other we buy your car types?

I had a couple of prices from other traders and I’d a fair indication too via the VW dealers when I was pricing the ID3. The VW salesman was pricing it around through his own contacts and was very straight up about what he was being offered for it.

Also tried where I bought it. Colm Quinn. I don’t know why that man has anyone working for him because none of them can make a call on their own steam. Everything has to be “run by Colm”. Needless to say I didn’t hear back.

Yeah when I dropped the car off the fella I was dealing with said he hoped to keep the car for his own stock rather than let BMW have it. So it seems that even though they’re all the one company, there’s a bit of inter competition between them.