Any 530e owners out there?

Budget 2020, from the EV thread:

The range and emissions standards for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will also be changed with the minimum battery range increasing from 20km to 50km and the maximum emissions reducing from 65 to 50 gCO2/km.

These changes will apply to all applications received from Wednesday 23 October. This gives consumers two weeks to apply for purchase grants under the existing rules – provided that the vehicles are licenced and the grant claimed before the end of 2019.

Kramer wrote: »

530e is 49g/km & 58km range so unaffected.

I dont think so. I think its 48km range so just outside the criteria unless there is a newer model?
https://www.seai.ie/grants/electric-vehicle-grants/grant-eligible-cars/car-details/?db=IE&vehicle=13

Where did you get the 58km range figure from?

The BMW website mentioned 61km range but I assume the range is a tested range not the manufacturers figure so unless there is a new 530e I dont think the old ones would qualify.

galwaytt wrote: »

so even if you were trying to do the right thing and bring in a 530e instead if a 520d......they just screwed you.

Not quite.
The changes detailed above are for the PHEV grant which is for new cars bought from an SIMI dealer. It doesnt affect used imports.

If you import a 530e instead of a 520d you will still benefit from the VRT exemption and low NOx tax.

An old(pre Euro 6) 520d is likely to get a hammering on the NOx tax... €1k-€2k extra maybe.

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

You were correct. I ended up getting a sizeable refund. VRT charged ended up being EUR3,000.

Good on you .
Had issues myself & had to appeal too - very sizeable refund eventually arrived.

Enjoy the car & remember: ABC. Always. Be. Charging.

:cool:

KCross wrote: »

I guess the unknown is what figures will revenue/SEAI use.

True. Like OMSPs for VRT purposes :rolleyes:.

Not sure it'll only affect the SEAI grants for new PHEVs though. No reason they can't apply the same criteria to the €2.5k VRT exemption & apply to used imports too. In fact, it would make more sense applying the newer lower emission/longer range to "qualify as a PHEV" criteria to both the SEAI grant & VRT exemption IMO.

Just wondering has anyone had any further "dealings" with our Revenue friends in regards to landing in a 530e since the Budget? Thanks

manaboutdog wrote: »

Cleared a Feb 2019 M-Sport model with 7.5k on the clock for 3190 last week.

Thats great, about 5k less than a 520d. You happy with her?

Calling existing 530e owners, I am currently thinking about changing my 18 month old gas guzzler. I don’t feel a BEV is for me at the moment, certainly not one I can afford as I prefer to keep the car as new as possible and the MX and MS are just too expensive at 12-18 months old. The M3 boot opening rules that out for me too, small kids big buggies etc, the Model Y looks like it might be the solution but I’m itching for a change and given the woes trying to get a M3 for even early res holders, who knows when you might actually see a Model Y here. I have looked at every BEV and PHEV out there and only the 530e appeals to me. I would be trading a drop in performance and boot space for an increase in luxury and passenger space, and hopefully reducing my fuel bill and being a little greener. Home to Office is about 40km return so would hope to hit most of this on electricity, and for days I need to go further I can without worrying about needing to find a charger etc.

So really I’d love to hear how Irish owners are finding the 530e. Is everyone on the 9.6Kw battery or does anyone have the newer 12Kw, what kind of pure electric range are you seeing in the real world. is there an obvious difference between the 2 that you can spot in online pics? as the dealers are still pretty clueless regards ev cars. For iphone users does the car come with an App for preheating etc or is that a pure BEV trick, if so is there anything else nice you can do remotely , and have your cars come with wireless carplay, I think most can be upgraded via the connected store but I am finding it hard to get a definite answer. If I change I would be looking at an irish or already imported M Sport, there is some good value cars out there and I don’t have the time or patience for importing myself and selling my own car privately.

Sorry for the long rambling post been following this thread for a while and think I could be quite happy in a 530e.

I have found the forum quite helpful with the purchase of my 530e so I thought I would share my VRT experience.

I brought back a 530e, first registered in the UK in late February this year (so the 49g/kg version), with just under 6k miles on the clock. I drove the car home two weeks back and settled up with the VRT this week.

The car has an M-sport plus pack, the Comfort pack and the following options; heads up display, fine wood trim ‘Fineline’, enhanced Bluetooth and wireless charging, heated steering wheel, split folding rear seats and a powered bootlid.

I had budgeted 4500euro for VRT. This was based on the estimation of 3099euro from the VRT calculator and 14% of the value of the extras (approx. 10k as per the BMW configurator)

I am thankful to say the VRT total came back at 3952 euro. The total cost of the car was 41,250 euro-not including travel expenses, so flight, hotel and ferry. (I should say that currency fluctuations between paying the deposit and the remaining balance added 1300euro to the price of the car but I suppose that’s the risk you take when buying in the UK!)

I have been very impressed with the car so far, I had a G30 520d SE for the last two years and find the 530e a more comfortable driving experience so far.

Darkin electrical are going to install a Zappi v2 for me next week. That’s come in at 1460euro so still a decent outlay even with the 600 euro back from the grant.
Has anybody used Darkin? The Zappi seems to be the most popular charger from reading the forums but wondering what experiences/prices people have had with other suppliers/ chargers?? I should mention I do not have solar panels. Any info would be appreciated!

Kramer wrote: »

I hypermiled it to over 50km during the summer for craic & it averages 18kWh/100km for me on battery alone usually so the real world range is 35km, give or take.

What do you mean you "hypermiled it"?? I have a 530e and I'm only getting 22-25km from a charge. That's in Dublin traffic so lot of stop/starts. Should I be getting more?

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

What do you mean you "hypermiled it"?? I have a 530e and I'm only getting 22-25km from a charge. That's in Dublin traffic so lot of stop/starts. Should I be getting more?

If that’s the real world range, given it has been a little colder lately then for me the 530e is a ridiculous proposition for me as a solution (still think it’s a beautiful looking car in msport guise), to be of any real use a phev needs to be able to do 50km on the worst day of the year anything less is just pageantry to reduce carbon taxes

kceire wrote: »

If somebody was nerdy enough to trawl through my posts from over the years, this is what I’ve always stated. They are compliance cars, same goes for the 330e, and is the very reason I never bought one.

They do look good though.

It’s a shame as they do look fantastic, if I bought one I’d get from my house to the office or a client on electricity purely, but any further driving during the day would be on petrol, lugging a battery pack around too for the pleasure. I would love a car that would handle a normal weekday on electricity, but also has the range if needed to go anywhere on this fair island at a moments notice without having to plan a route and then pray to the gods both old and new for a working charger. Looks like I may start saving now for the Model Y as nothing else either meets my needs/wants or is attractive enough for me to change.

Been considering taking the plunge to EV or PHEV recently, and enjoyed this thread so far.

I've a 10 reg 520D, and the wife has an 11 reg Lexus CT200h. The Lexus spends most of its time parked up, she gets Dart to work, but we use both at weekends/some evenings.

The Lexus isn't great tbh, its long run average is 6.9l/100KM vs 7.5l/100Km for the 520d.

So, thinking of changing the 520d.

Normal daily commute is home -> work, via school and then some dropoffs/pickups at the weekend. About 50KM a day.

Can I ask anyone who chose a 530e, if they looked at a Tesla S (I know they're more expensive), but have they compared the costs (2nd hand) for both, and were there any other reasons than purchase price as to why they took the 530e?

Tesla 3 looks interesting, a bit smaller than the 5 series, but new is 49K, so no that much more expensive.

Is there anywhere you can maybe hire one for a week and try it out?

Or any other suggestions? (Might consider chaning the Lexus too, an i3 (UK import) is good value)