BMW: 2008 520d or 2005 535d?

Padraig Mor

As per the title folks.....will (hopefully!) be making this choice soon. Spanking new 520d auto nicely kitted out or 3 year old 535d with *most* of the kit I want. 535 should come in about 8 -10 grand or so less than the 520, which is of course welcome! 535 will be a *lot* easier to organise (looking at importing 520 and if not ordered in next couple of weeks, it may run to Sept - may as well wait till 2009 in that case). It's a bit tatty but I'm sure most of that will be taken care of prior to purchase. Are the running costs of the 535 likely to be hideous? How's its reliability? 272 horses though.....:cool:

colm_mcm

I'd go with the new one

joseywales

I'd go for the 520D, but watch out for VAT which must be paid on imports if less than 6mths old, you'd effectively end up paying both UK and Irish VAT.

E92

If you can afford the higher running costs, then it has to be the 535d. If you chip them, they can go as fast as this one can, which isn't just fast for a diesel, it's fast full stop:eek:.

Lord Nikon

You'll be saving money and getting more power, am I missing something?

Gumbo

for me it would be the 535D without question, but im a petrol head!

in fairness though the new 520D is 177bhp so fairly quick i would assume too.

Eoin

The 535d is very quick - a friend of mine has one, and he much preferred it over the 530d, let alone the 520d. He gets about 30mpg from what I remember, which is pretty respectable given its performance.

TheBazman

I changed from a 2006 520d to a 2007 535d a month or so ago.

My advice - it depends really what you are coming from. If you are coming from another diesel with less than around 180 bhp I would prob go for the new 520d as the extra bit of power will be a treat (also you can get a DMS upgrade down the line that will bring it up to around 200bhp). I was getting around 42 mpg in the 520d (auto).

The 535d I have is the LCI model so it has marginally more power than the one you are looking at. It is a beast of a car. I do a mix of motorway and city driving and am getting consistently 36mpg. If I had a less aggressive driving style then 38/39 would be achievable no problem.

Note there will be a big difference in the annual tax around 1250 per year versus a couple of hundred. Also going to be a few hundred in the difference for insurance.

Either way I think you will be a happy camper

E92

kceire wrote: »

for me it would be the 535D without question, but im a petrol head!

Have to say I appreciate the irony of a "petrol head" driving a paraffin stove:D!

The 535d would have vastly superior performance and of course a much nicer exhaust note cause it has a 6 pot engine over the 520d, as well as a much lower cost if you're going for a high spec 520d, on the other hand a new 520d can be had for €46,057 in July with only €150 road tax, it is more economical in the real world than the Toyota Prius, and while 08 535ds will be €600 for road tax I'm afraid anything before that is stuck on the cc based system which means you'd be paying €1230 a year while someone on a 08 535d(or even a 530i:eek:) pays €600 which is bad news for owners of used versions of these cars.

bazz26

To be honest if I was buying new and was open to something other than a 5 Series I would probably go for the 2.0 litre twin sequencial turbo 3 Series(to be called 323d)? No idea when it is going to arrive or how much it will cost but that engine is already in the 1 Series and is very impressive to say the least. 204bhp and 400Nm of torque from a 2.0 litre 4 cylinder engine is impressive and thats coming from someone who isn't a BMW head.

Unless the additional space of the 5 Series rules it out, the 323d would be on my shopping list come July.

E92

323d should be here in time for the start of next year. Should be one of the additions to the facelifted 3 series range that is making it's debut in October. I would expect that the rest of the E90 range will get further improvements, like the 318d which should get into 14% VRT because its CO2 should be down to 120 g/km at the very most.

Btw BMW hasn't officially confirmed that there will be a 323d, rather it's speculation, and I would point out that BMW already have a diesel that will do all the proposed 323d will do, namely the 325d. So if they do bring in a 323d, then either they will be dropping the 325d(I seriously doubt that will happen) or they will be updating the 325d's engine and giving it more power to differentiate it from the proposed 323d.

Padraig Mor

Decisions decisions.....

Am test driving the 535 tomorrow - maybe I'll be an immediate convert to 6 cylinders? Have driven the 520 (163 version) and it's plenty powerful (at least compared to my Mazda 6 1.8 petrol). The tax of the 535 is saucy alright - 1200 per year over 5 years is equivalent to an extra 5000 on to the purchase price when loan interest is factored in.

Current 3 series not really an option - don't like the styling. looks like a Kia or something IMHO...


edit:

E92 wrote:

If you chip them, they can go as fast as this one can, which isn't just fast for a diesel, it's fast full stop

Just looked at that video. Holy crap!:eek::eek::eek:

Anan1

Padraig Mor wrote: »

It's a bit tatty but I'm sure most of that will be taken care of prior to purchase.

Well-treated cars don't get tatty. Walk.

Alzar

Have a look here, 535d on Top Gear track in the wet:

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=aUvVuABeE6Q&feature=related

Bearcat

as a driver....535d

residuals...your wallet....520d

pburns

TheBazman wrote: »

I changed from a 2006 520d to a 2007 535d a month or so ago.

My advice - it depends really what you are coming from. If you are coming from another diesel with less than around 180 bhp I would prob go for the new 520d as the extra bit of power will be a treat (also you can get a DMS upgrade down the line that will bring it up to around 200bhp). I was getting around 42 mpg in the 520d (auto).

The 535d I have is the LCI model so it has marginally more power than the one you are looking at. It is a beast of a car. I do a mix of motorway and city driving and am getting consistently 36mpg. If I had a less aggressive driving style then 38/39 would be achievable no problem.

Note there will be a big difference in the annual tax around 1250 per year versus a couple of hundred. Also going to be a few hundred in the difference for insurance.

Either way I think you will be a happy camper

Good advice from The Bazman. Even allowing for extra size/weight the 520d should be noticibly quicker than your Mazda.

The difference in road-tax is gonna be a killer and residual-wise I just don't see pre-July 08, high-cc cars making sense. Frankly I'd avoid like the plaque until maybe next time around you can move to a 535d under the NEW tax system

niceirishfella

Bearcat wrote: »

as a driver....535d

residuals...your wallet....520d

+1 ........well put.

I have had a few 6 cylinder vehicles in my life versus 4 pot ones........and the straight 6 that BM make is wonderful..........but as an ould lad said to me one day - "You're feeding 2 more calves than you need to with a 6 cylinder"!

But the smoothness and power is worth it.

Mc-BigE

520d now

or wait till you can afford a 2008 535d.

how much is the first of the latest M5's in the UK at this stage?

same roadtax at the 535d, more kit, if your worried about the MPG then buy the 535d.

what about an alpina D3 coupe from the UK?
http://www.thealpinaregister.com/news/2938

Biro

The 520d isn't really all that fast. It certainly doesn't feel as quick as it's figures suggest. Having driven both a 320d and 520d on the same day, there isn't much between them, but neither feel any quicker than a 2 litre TDi Passat, and as many will know, I'm certainly not a VW head. I know that they are actually quicker, the 140bhp VAG unit is no animal either, just par for the course, but you don't get that feeling when driving.
Having said that, there's no comparison between the 3 and 5 series in terms of comfort and overall feel. While the 3 is sharper in the steering department, it fall short in every other way. The 5 actually feels like a quality car. I'd no question go for the 535d, which is a quick car. The 520d is not quick. It's a good car for sure, but if it's speed you're after, then you have to go for the bi-turbo 6cyl.
If you're worried about costs, then at €150 road tax, a 08 520d is a good option. I don't care about kit or extras, chassis, engine and steering are my criteria.

Gumbo

E92 wrote: »

Have to say I appreciate the irony of a "petrol head" driving a paraffin stove:D!

The 535d would have vastly superior performance and of course a much nicer exhaust note cause it has a 6 pot engine over the 520d, as well as a much lower cost if you're going for a high spec 520d, on the other hand a new 520d can be had for €46,057 in July with only €150 road tax, it is more economical in the real world than the Toyota Prius, and while 08 535ds will be €600 for road tax I'm afraid anything before that is stuck on the cc based system which means you'd be paying €1230 a year while someone on a 08 535d(or even a 530i:eek:) pays €600 which is bad news for owners of used versions of these cars.

LOL After i wrote that i was like, that just doesnt sound right! what i meant was for the driving and performance the 535 would be my pick!