Should I sell the beasht

AhHaor · 10-08-2015 12:33pm

I'm in exact same boat. Looking to change because of new work location, bus makes more sense than drive. Finding hard to justify the 525i for 2 days a week driving. But if I change I'm worried saving will be lost with one problem on new car. (Saab/Accord/S40-60 2003-2005)

from_atozinc · 10-08-2015 12:43pm

AhHaor wrote: »

I'm in exact same boat. Looking to change because of new work location, bus makes more sense than drive. Finding hard to justify the 525i for 2 days a week driving. But if I change I'm worried saving will be lost with one problem on new car. (Saab/Accord/S40-60 2003-2005)

Is your 525i an Auto ?

AhHaor · 10-08-2015 12:47pm

from_atozinc wrote: »

Is your 525i an Auto too ?

tis a balls, but I suppose I am being penny wise, pound foolish.

Yep, I can tolerate the 1080 tax and the rest, I'm just worried that there'll be another 2-3 k of repairs needed. Have it in for early nct to get the free extra year, so we'll see how that goes. 2006 and 162 k km

from_atozinc · 10-08-2015 1:57pm

AhHaor wrote: »

Yep, I can tolerate the 1080 tax and the rest, I'm just worried that there'll be another 2-3 k of repairs needed. Have it in for early nct to get the free extra year, so we'll see how that goes. 2006 and 162 k km

I Hear ya

from_atozinc · 10-08-2015 4:39pm

AhHaor wrote: »

Yep, I can tolerate the 1080 tax and the rest, I'm just worried that there'll be another 2-3 k of repairs needed. Have it in for early nct to get the free extra year, so we'll see how that goes. 2006 and 162 k km

what year is your 525 ?

and what do you think you may have to spend money on ?
sounds like you have already spent money on repairs too - what was that for.

Not being nosey, just seeing what went wrong

AhHaor · 10-08-2015 10:56pm

from_atozinc wrote: »

what year is your 525 ?

and what do you think you may have to spend money on ?
sounds like you have already spent money on repairs too - what was that for.

Not being nosey, just seeing what went wrong

2006, owned over a year. No idea what else is required but there's been a lot of surprises so far and they are
Radiator
Brake line flush
Micro filter
Air filter
Front suspension (nearly everything)
Battery and ICE
Two tyres
Front pads and discs

wersal gummage · 10-08-2015 11:01pm

Tom,

I don't post in motors very often, probably last time I did was in response to you thinking of buying a bmw e60? Did that process go on for months? Just enjoy the car!

To the other lads posting just now, has anyone spent any money on preventative maintenance on the cooling system? Water pump etc?

Finally, I've a 2005 e60 523i, like Tom. How do I know the engine code?

Thanks

AhHaor · 11-08-2015 7:28am

wersal gummage wrote: »

Tom,

I don't post in motors very often, probably last time I did was in response to you thinking of buying a bmw e60? Did that process go on for months? Just enjoy the car!

To the other lads posting just now, has anyone spent any money on preventative maintenance on the cooling system? Water pump etc?

Finally, I've a 2005 e60 523i, like Tom. How do I know the engine code?

Thanks

Engine code is actually on the car just lift bonnet and you should be able to read it.

No PM on my part for cooling system. Radiator went, slow leak, so hand was forced!

YbFocus · 11-08-2015 8:14am

AhHaor wrote: »

2006, owned over a year. No idea what else is required but there's been a lot of surprises so far and they are
Radiator
Brake line flush
Micro filter
Air filter
Front suspension (nearly everything)
Battery and ICE
Two tyres
Front pads and discs

Only half of that should have been surprising tom in fairness, most is servicing and you will get it with any car.

I'd definitely keep it, having met you before i thought it was a lovely car. Remember the silver 530d?

AhHaor · 11-08-2015 9:04am

YbFocus wrote: »

Only half of that should have been surprising tom in fairness, most is servicing and you will get it with any car.

Completely agree, but when Rad goes 10 days into ownership it's a surprise, but tolerable at that mileage. There seems to be a sweetspot in terms of mileage where you get 40 k worth of trouble free motoring when the initial fixes are performed and nothing major has yet gone wrong, circa 80 - 120 k miles.

YbFocus · 11-08-2015 9:15am

In the past 2 months I've thrown 1k in parts at my e36, it helps that i can do it myself but it'll be fine now for a long time

Its worth spending the few bob when needed and then you know you have a good one under you.

There'll always be a surprise or two but that's with any car!

kerten · 11-08-2015 11:39am

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Suppose you are right.
My journey to work (when I do drive, tend to cycle a lot now. ) is a wh0r3 on petrol in the 5 series. It's only a 3 mile journey but with 17 potential traffic lights, speed ramps etc in that journey. I suppose that would kill any cars mpg.

BUT we are moving in 2 months time and my journey to work then will be 10 miles of motorway and then about 10 minutes of traffic. So maybe the 5 series mpg won't be too bad in this scenario.

I have a similar commute. 3 miles one way in dublin city center where I don't exceed 50 km/h

I had a Lexus IS250 auto and I was averaging 13-15lt/100 km depends on the weather.

now changed to a Focus mk2 1.6 auto and averaging exact same fuel consumption in city. On motorway, Focus is consuming 1 lt/100 km less than Lexus under 110km/h. Over that, Lexus was more economical.

Focus is thristy in city but you won't make much better unless you buy a much lighter and less comfortable car like Jazz, Micra etc with automatic gearbox.

So you won't have a similar comfort with less fuel consumption unless you go diesel which doesn't make so much sense with your short commute and higher cost of buying.

Keep the car or change it with a lexus if you are afraid of potential issues are coming your way

tom_tarbucket · 11-08-2015 11:53am

kerten wrote: »

I have a similar commute. 3 miles one way in dublin city center where I don't exceed 50 km/h

I had a Lexus IS250 auto and I was averaging 13-15lt/100 km depends on the weather.

now changed to a Focus mk2 1.6 auto and averaging exact same fuel consumption in city. On motorway, Focus is consuming 1 lt/100 km less than Lexus under 110km/h. Over that, Lexus was more economical.

Focus is thristy in city but you won't make much better unless you buy a much lighter and less comfortable car like Jazz, Micra etc with automatic gearbox.

So you won't have a similar comfort with less fuel consumption unless you go diesel which doesn't make so much sense with your short commute and higher cost of buying.

Keep the car or change it with a lexus if you are afraid of potential issues are coming your way

Kerten, thanks for that detailed reply. excellent.

our commutes must be very similar, rarely do I get above 30 mph
and my mpg is around the same as yours, if not worse sometimes. These short journeys just murder the MPG, mine can sometimes be 15 mpg !! (and this is why I try and cycle as often as I can) And sorry about mpg, I just always think in MPG.

You would think the focus being smaller and lighter and a 1.6 would improve your MPG around the city anyway but obviously not.

Are you thinking about going back to the Lexus yourself ?

Or buying a small car ?

Alanstrainor · 11-08-2015 11:59am

kerten wrote: »

now changed to a Focus mk2 1.6 auto...D

City driving is horrendous on fuel, but that car would be a lot worse than most I'd have thought. That old style auto box kills any economy. It was the same in my 1.4 auto Polo, terrible/shocking fuel consumption for what it was.

kerten · 11-08-2015 12:19pm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

City driving is horrendous on fuel, but that car would be a lot worse than most I'd have thought. That old style auto box kills any economy. It was the same in my 1.4 auto Polo, terrible/shocking fuel consumption for what it was.

Agreed on city driving and how bad it can be. It is actually quite good on steady speeds around 90-100 km/h. I averaged 6.1 lt/100 km from blanchardstwon to dundrum via m50 last night with zero traffic. But Lexus would achieve same fuel consumption.

I don't blame gearbox too much as all 4 speed torque converter ones are old tech and saps power and cause 15-20% more fuel consumption. But when you combine those with relatively small petrol engines, it is the killer. Regularly I find myself revving more than what car should do at that speed with no acceleration at all.

My educated guess is 2.0 focus/mondeo automatics would not consume more fuel than 1.6 focus in same situations.

wrote:

Kerten, thanks for that detailed reply. excellent.

our commutes must be very similar, rarely do I get above 30 mph
and my mpg is around the same as yours, if not worse sometimes. These short journeys just murder the MPG, mine can sometimes be 15 mpg !! (and this is why I try and cycle as often as I can) And sorry about mpg, I just always think in MPG.

You would think the focus being smaller and lighter and a 1.6 would improve your MPG around the city anyway but obviously not.

Are you thinking about going back to the Lexus yourself ?
Or buying a small car ?

I am actually moving to out of city as well and thinking about it. my commute will be 15 miles M/N roads and 3 miles city traffic.

Focus would average 9.5-10 l/100 km for that commute. To achieve less than that with automatic gearbox my options are;
- Diesel automatic models
- automated manual gearbox models
- smaller cars like yaris/jazz/micra etc

So far I decided to keep focus for my commute as savings in fuel won't compensate less comfort of smaller cars or higher cost of buying diesel automatics.

If I don't have a mortgage to pay, I would go back to lexus for refinement and comfort for sure.

_Kaiser_ · 11-08-2015 1:50pm

I'm now doing a motorway commute of just under an hour each way with the M50 thrown in and am getting about 7.8 l/100km out of my aforementioned 3.0 TDI A6 (automatic Quattro).
It's actually a lot more efficient (and better for it) than the mostly suburban driving I was doing beforehand. Although the diesel costs more it's compensated by the reduced rent of not living in Dublin.

Of course, to balance that is increased wear and tear on the suspension bits, tires etc. Fact is running a car will never be cheap, so you might as well have something you enjoy

tom_tarbucket · 11-08-2015 6:27pm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

City driving is horrendous on fuel, but that car would be a lot worse than most I'd have thought. That old style auto box kills any economy. It was the same in my 1.4 auto Polo, terrible/shocking fuel consumption for what it was.

If we ignore the dpf, dmf issues and ignore that city driving is bad for a diesel..............would a diesel car achieve any way decent MPG figures in heavy city traffic. Something like a 1.9 tdi engine for example or would it still be crap MPG due to all the stooping and starting.

tom_tarbucket · 12-08-2015 10:08pm

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

If we ignore the dpf, dmf issues and ignore that city driving is bad for a diesel..............would a diesel car achieve any way decent MPG figures in heavy city traffic. Something like a 1.9 tdi engine for example or would it still be crap MPG due to all the stooping and starting.

Anyone on this ?

kerten · 12-08-2015 10:34pm

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Anyone on this ?

Fuel consumption wise, Diesel car will always be more economical than petrol car if both cars have similar shape/weight/performance/engine size/gearbox.

Only exception I can imagine is very light petrol cars that may have similar consumption to their diesel versions on motorway. I didn't see one yet though.

C.K Dexter Haven · 12-08-2015 10:52pm

6k a year mileage? Even 10k a year I say keep it, as it still makes economic sense.

tom_tarbucket · 12-08-2015 11:11pm

kerten wrote: »

Fuel consumption wise, Diesel car will always be more economical than petrol car if both cars have similar shape/weight/performance/engine size/gearbox.

Only exception I can imagine is very light petrol cars that may have similar consumption to their diesel versions on motorway. I didn't see one yet though.

But my thinking is that a diesel car will have bad fuel economy in a journey of 3 miles with loads of traffic lights and that whether you have a petrol or a diesel your mpg will be crap in a start and stop situation.

Like if I had something like a 2010 1.9 tdi Octavia would that get 40 mpg on my journey to work ?

I'm not even thinking about changing to a diesel, but just wondering really.

tom_tarbucket · 03-05-2018 1:15pm

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Hi

I bought a 2006 523i a year ago......aka the beasht ; )) Automatic SE. 65,000 miles on the clock right now. Seems to be running well. I do about 6,000 miles a year. I fitted NON run flat tyres about 10 months ago too.

Tax is up at end of March and it's 1080 to tax for the year. I'm thinking of selling to buy a smaller car with cheaper tax and better mpg.

Pros

I like the drive of the 523i.
Know it's history.
Like the leather seats, cruise etc
Looks well.

Cons

Very dear to tax.
Mpg not great.
Any future repairs could be expensive.
I don't really NEED this size of a car.

Any comments on helping me out in my predicament

Here I am again over 3 years later wondering if I should sell the "beasht"
79,000 miles on her now.

Work done on car in last year:

> 2 front brake pads and sensor replaced
> electric water pump replaced
> Brake lines replaced
> Battery replaced
> O rings on a gasket replaced

Car is probaly worth about 2 grand now. And spent a few pound on it in last year.
So may as well hold on to it for another few months.
BUt could have more repairs, insurance is expensive now car as 12 years old. And the stupid tax of over 1000 each year and the not so great MPG.
Any comments?

Heres Johnny · 03-05-2018 6:02pm

Tom I've more or less the same car as you except it's an m sport. Very good spec and a little bit unusual colour scheme.
It's my 3rd 5 series m sport in 10 years, all petrol 2.5 to 3.0
I thought about moving to low running cost cars loads of times. When I realised what I'd get for my own I just shuddered as to the cost to change and come up years to an economical car.
Every time I have an itch to change, I just get a newer 5 series for peanuts again.

Recently I got offered a company car and I think I'm going to get an i3 with no BIK.
So it looked like time to move away from the 5 series, which in a way saddened me.
But my lovely fiance came to the rescue, she decided she loved my 5 series and hated her Kia Sportage so she put her Sportsge up for sale and got 22k for it the very next day! Cleared the finance and we now have 1 car between us for a while, which is fine.
But both of us decided that the 1080 tax, sub 30mpg and potential maintenance on a 12 year old 2-3k car was still way cheaper than paying off finance on her 50+mpg 270 euro tax underpowered diesel Korean econobox that we both actually hated driving.
So there should be an e60 and an i3 outside the door pretty soon.

Moral here is same as I say to everybody.
If you want a new car, great, go ahead and get a new car.
If you want to save money, stick with your older car.
If you want to have relatively cheap motoring in a big comfortable cruiser, especially with your low mileage, an e60 is hard to beat.
I've a feeling in a while she will moan about the fuel and tax even though I'll probably still pay most of it then I'd go to an 08/09 520d which could be about 3 to 4k on top of what I can get for 06 523i but she really does like the car.

So find out what you're trying to achieve and do some proper sums on it.

tom_tarbucket · 03-05-2018 6:12pm

Heres Johnny wrote: »

Tom I've more or less the same car as you except it's an m sport. Very good spec and a little bit unusual colour scheme.
It's my 3rd 5 series m sport in 10 years, all petrol 2.5 to 3.0
I thought about moving to low running cost cars loads of times. When I realised what I'd get for my own I just shuddered as to the cost to change and come up years to an economical car.
Every time I have an itch to change, I just get a newer 5 series for peanuts again.

Recently I got offered a company car and I think I'm going to get an i3 with no BIK.
So it looked like time to move away from the 5 series, which in a way saddened me.
But my lovely fiance came to the rescue, she decided she loved my 5 series and hated her Kia Sportage so she put her Sportsge up for sale and got 22k for it the very next day! Cleared the finance and we now have 1 car between us for a while, which is fine.
But both of us decided that the 1080 tax, sub 30mpg and potential maintenance on a 12 year old 2-3k car was still way cheaper than paying off finance on her 50+mpg 270 euro tax underpowered diesel Korean econobox that we both actually hated driving.
So there should be an e60 and an i3 outside the door pretty soon.

Moral here is same as I say to everybody.
If you want a new car, great, go ahead and get a new car.
If you want to save money, stick with your older car.
If you want to have relatively cheap motoring in a big comfortable cruiser, especially with your low mileage, an e60 is hard to beat.
I've a feeling in a while she will moan about the fuel and tax even though I'll probably still pay most of it then I'd go to an 08/09 520d which could be about 3 to 4k on top of what I can get for 06 523i but she really does like the car.

So find out what you're trying to achieve and do some proper sums on it.

Great reply Johnny, thanks for taking the time.
Im like you, have had the urge a few times to sell it, but then sit in to a golf or something that may be 7 years newer and it just feels crap.
Jays, you are fond of the 5 series petrols

When I think my precious vessel is only worth 2000 euro, it does indeed make me shudder.......and then would need to back it with a good few thousand to get anything half decent.
But then again, I cant really hold on it forever, will have to let it go sometime, and it will probbaly go to scrap, which is a truly awful shame.
i3 is nice3 !
your in a lucky situation where you have an other half that appreciates this, my other half wont even drive the beasht !! hates automatic !!
Anyways, will give it yet another ponder
thanks again

Heres Johnny · 03-05-2018 6:41pm

I've been in other things including newer 5 series and they are no real step up worthy of the cost to change. As for mass selling cars, forget about it. Like the Sportage for example.
When the f10 comes down in value towards 5 grand I'll be buying one probably, I usually keep them for 3 years from about 9 year old cars to 12 year old.

At the moment the e60 costs 5000 a year to run
1000 tax
2500 fuel
500 insurance
1000 budgeted for service and repairs

That's 400 a month or thereabouts

Happy with that. Repayments on a 20k new car are around 400 a month alone, no matter what way the dealerships dress up the pcp numbers.

You have to fuel, tax and insure new cars too you know.

Heres Johnny · 03-05-2018 6:47pm

Just dawned on me there I've spent 50 grand on running a 2001 e39 530i sport, 2004 e39 525i sport and now 2006 e60 523i msport over last 10 years.

Lost about 10k in depreciation on them too.
So 60k to buy, sell, own and run old cars for 10 years! But I loved every one of them, especially the 2 e39s. The e60 isn't as good but still excellent in my opinion.

I reckon that's the same price as buying a single 20k car brand new and driving it for 10 years in my man maths opinion.

tom_tarbucket · 03-05-2018 9:10pm

Heres Johnny wrote: »

Just dawned on me there I've spent 50 grand on running a 2001 e39 530i sport, 2004 e39 525i sport and now 2006 e60 523i msport over last 10 years.

Lost about 10k in depreciation on them too.
So 60k to buy, sell, own and run old cars for 10 years! But I loved every one of them, especially the 2 e39s. The e60 isn't as good but still excellent in my opinion.

I reckon that's the same price as buying a single 20k car brand new and driving it for 10 years in my man maths opinion.

Feck. Whatever way you look at cars, they are expensive.

So I take it your vote is to keep the beasht ?

Heres Johnny · 03-05-2018 9:49pm

You have it a few years now so you might fancy a change. Up to you really. The problem with thirsty cars is you notice handing over money at the pumps, economical new cars you don't as much. But they cost in depreciation more. When you drive it, and when you don't. Even when you're asleep!
You won't save much money if anything at all but if you want a change go for it.
But get something nice that you like.

tom_tarbucket · 04-05-2018 9:44am

any other comments?

Agricola · 04-05-2018 11:47am

I'd keep it. A nice, low miler like that, you dont do big mileage, you know the history, looks well, you're happier driving it.

Cars are expensive to run in Ireland one way or the other. You can either have a nice older car and pay running costs or a crap modern and pay the monthly repayments on something that's depreciating like a brick. The cheapest of cheap options is probably to buy something cheap, crap, fuel efficient with a low tax bracket, but if you were interested in doing that, you wouldn't be on this forum, just like the rest of us!

Should I sell the beasht

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