Should I sell the beasht

tom_tarbucket

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


edit : attached is a picture of the beasht after her wash..........which really got me thinking what a nice car it is

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly

No.

Bpmull

Ultimately the cheapest thing to do is keep it. You rarely actually save money by changing a car as by the time you buy the new one and sort out any problems it may have. Changing to a smaller car that's cheaper to run will feel like a downgrade rather than upgrade you may regret getting rid of the e60. If your car is running well it's only downside is the tax and mog isn't really an issue at 6k miles per year. But then if you just fancy a change go for it.

tom_tarbucket

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Hi

I bought a 2006 523i a year ago......the beasht ; )) Automatic SE. 65,000 miles on the clock. 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

Cons

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

unkel

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

I'm thinking of selling to buy a smaller car with cheaper tax and better mpg.

Everybody else is doing this, making smaller cars with cheaper engines bad value for money and bigger cars with (very) expensive tax extremely cheap.

Not so good when you plan to sell the latter and buy the former.

Keep the car!

Foxhole Norman

Definitely keep it, you're doing < 20 miles a day in a comfortable, powerful and we'll specced car. It'd be near impossible to find a car smaller with cheaper tax that offers anything near the same quality.

Tax is a killer but at €3 a day it's worth it!

Boskowski

It depends on what you're going to replace her with. Like Bpmull said it would take an awful lot of a downgrade to actually come out of this with money up. For starters she is not a desirable car. So you're not going to get a lot for her, maybe 5 or 6 k?. When it comes to the replacement then anything half decent that has low tax will cost you at least 8 to 10 k? So most like you gonna end up with a car that feels like a big downgrade and it will probably take you years of driving that one to just break even.

Edit:
I've just been in a similar enough situation only my E39 has a few more years on yours. I had a repair coming that exceeded book value. Technically a write off. But I still went ahead with it cos a crappy enough replacement would have cost me at least twice the money and left me with a car I wouldn't be happy with.

Unkel has it in a single sentence. Could've saved me all that typing.

imurdaddy

You'd be selling your soul for better mpg and cheaper tax! Just another joe soap driving a ecobox! Unless you do big miles or cant afford it, keep it. I was out of work for a bit and had to drive a micra! It eats away at you if you love your cars!

tom_tarbucket

Boskowski wrote: »

It depends on what you're going to replace her with. Like Bpmull said it would take an awful lot of a downgrade to actually come out of this with money up. For starters she is not a desirable car. So you're not going to get a lot for her, maybe 5 or 6 k?. When it comes to the replacement then anything half decent that has low tax will cost you at least 8 to 10 k? So most like you gonna end up with a car that feels like a big downgrade and it will probably take you years of driving that one to just break even.

Id be thinking something like a Seat Leon or VW golf etc with the 1.4 Tsi 122 bhp engine......from about 2009. So yeah looking at at least 10k I suppose.

tom_tarbucket

imurdaddy wrote: »

You'd be selling your soul for better mpg and cheaper tax! Just another joe soap driving a ecobox! Unless you do big miles or cant afford it, keep it. I was out of work for a bit and had to drive a micra! It eats away at you if you love your cars!

Don't care about selling my soul ; ) Do care about spending 1080 on tax

Del2005

As said you'll be looking at €3-4k to change. That's 3 years tax of the beast and a fair bit of fuel. You'll still need to tax and fuel the new car so the saving will only be a few hundred per year for tax and fuel.

So you've now spent say €4k to save ~€400 per year, in 10 years you'll be even that's assuming you keep the replacement for 10 years.

Boskowski

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Id be thinking something like a Seat Leon or VW golf etc with the 1.4 Tsi 122 bhp engine......from about 2009. So yeah looking at at least 10k I suppose.

That one has 144g/km which is €390 per annum road tax, savings €690, but it costs you 4k to switch. So you have to drive that Golf nearly 6 years just to come out evens. Ok you may be saving a bit on juice, make that 5 years so.

For the next 5 years you'll be sitting in that Golf/Leon thinking I could be sitting in my 5er for less.

Spipov

have a 520i and hate the tax and mpg as im doing 600km a week. but its an incredibly nice car and i tried an xtype diesel, which i hated absolutely. so i took my e60 back. i had to put in some money for service, get 4 new tyres and a new starter motor.

but i love it. its worth nothing anymore, but nothing else comes close.

if i put in a couple of 1000s and get a newer car, im still going to put money into it, as you always have to do some form of repair when you get a 2nd hand car.

so ill swallow my pride, pay the tax and the petrol, and enjoy my ride.



in summary: e60s are fantastic but worth zilch. keep it.

rocky

Sell it!





And do it properly next time:
530i
MSport
Comfort seats
Nappa leather
Logic 7 Sound


:pac::rolleyes:

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

tom_tarbucket

rocky wrote: »

Sell it!





And do it properly next time:
530i
MSport
Comfort seats
Nappa leather
Logic 7 Sound


:pac::rolleyes:

I do wonder sometimes if I am asking this question to the right audience. As some of you are big petrol heads and love the sound off a 6 cylinder etc etc

unkel

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

I do wonder sometimes if I am asking this question to the right audience. As some of you are big petrol heads and love the sound off a 6 cylinder etc etc

If you really want to save money, go bangernomics. Spending €5k up front to buy an inferior car to what you have only to very slowly save €50 tax and €50 fuel per month is something a lot of people are doing but it is penny wise, pound foolish in my book...

@Spipov - over 30k km in a 6 cylinder petrol car? LPG it!!!

biko

The loss you will have from selling it and buying another car will probably eat up any savings you think you will get.
Do the math and decide.

tom_tarbucket

biko wrote: »

The loss you will have from selling it and buying another car will probably eat up any savings you think you will get.
Do the math and decide.

I get ya. In one way I think I'm going to make savings and then when I think about it a bit more I think not.

mullingar

What is it with motor tax.

Motor Tax is one of the cheapest parts of running a car.

The 2 biggest killers are depreciation and fuel. Insurance/tax/maintenance are the cheapest.

Minimise your depreciation by just keeping the e60. Consider Lpg'ing it!

Bpmull

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

😜

I do wonder sometimes if I am asking this question to the right audience. As some of you are big petrol heads and love the sound off a 6 cylinder etc etc 😇

I drive a diesel golf so I won't give you the petrol head view on it. But the problem is you are selling a car that is not desirable everyone wants a 520d not a 523i. Then you are trying to buy a car with cheap tax which everyone wants. From the sound of that alone you are going to be throwing a fair bit of money at it just to change. At 6k miles the mpg is not a huge issue. The tax is a pain but then then so is trying to find a clean low tax post 08 car as everyone is out looking for them.

On a side note I know from another thread you were trying to avoid cars that give timming chain trouble. Best cross them 1.4tsi golfs and Leon's off the list so as they cause a fair bit of chain trouble and failure. I don't think the 2013 ish onwards do but again for 10k you won't be looking at them.

tom_tarbucket

Bpmull wrote: »

I drive a diesel golf so I won't give you the petrol head view on it. But the problem is you are selling a car that is not desirable everyone wants a 520d not a 523i. Then you are trying to buy a car with cheap tax which everyone wants. From the sound of that alone you are going to be throwing a fair bit of money at it just to change. At 6k miles the mpg is not a huge issue. The tax is a pain bu

t then then so is trying to find a clean low tax post 08 car as everyone is out looking for them.

On a side note I know from another thread you were trying to avoid cars that give timming chain trouble. Best cross them 1.4tsi golfs and Leon's off the list so as they cause a fair bit of chain trouble and failure. I don't think the 2013 ish onwards do but again for 10k you won't be looking at them.

Thanks bpmull. Some good points there.

Cen taurus

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Hi

I bought a 2006 523i a year ago......the beasht ; )) Automatic SE. 65,000 miles on the clock. 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

6k mileage is a dream mileage bracket to be in.
You're never going to run into much maintanence in any one year with those miles.
Thats when a larger auto smooth engined low mileage petrol makes most sense by far.
Count yourself lucky.
You've no need to be driving some smelly clattery over teched higher miles diesel shytebox if you are only doing 6k miles a year.
The ladies will not be impressed with your false economising, your clutching, and your diesel and cloth seats aroma.
That's for mere mortals and the great unwashed who have to drive for miles to work and back.
6k miles a year ? You have it made my friend.
Sprawl yourself out in your smooth large leather cabin.

Summer wind

I think there's more pros than cons with your car. you could be searching a long time to find another that suits you so well. Keep the beasht:)

CianRyan

So what you're asking is, should I spend €5000 to save €500 on tax?
No, that would be utterly stupid.

tom_tarbucket

Summer wind wrote: »

I think there's more pros than cons with your car. you could be searching a long time to find another that suits you so well. Keep the beasht:)

you could be right !

_Kaiser_

Keep it.. although not a fan of that generation BMW myself, your pros outweigh your cons IMO

- A 2L on the old tax system will cost you €800 anyway if you don't pay it upfront and €710 if you do. Over a year that's not much difference really
- Future repairs COULD be expensive, but you run that risk with any car.. especially one you don't know the history of
- A 5 series isn't that big at all really
- You LIKE the car. That's pretty important too.


If it helps....

- My 05 Audi A6 has a 3.0 TDI under the bonnet... €1495 per year tax or €420 per quarter
- Is pretty good on the motorway but you can nearly see the fuel needle drop in city traffic
- Can be a pain to park sometimes cause many spots it seems assume you drive a small hatchback

But..

- It's extremely well-specced (particularly for an Irish car). I occasionally look at newer versions on DoneDeal and the likes but think I'll need to go to an A8 next to get the same spec
- It's big and comfortable (I do a lot of long distance runs and so that's important)
- I like the look/shape of them - the big grille, the wide/substantial look, the rounded edges.. nicer looking than the overly angular C7 variant that replaced it IMO
- Powerrrrr! Doing a long distance high-speed run is effortless, overtaking is a doddle and she goes from 0-50/60 km/h in a flash with only a gentle prod of the pedal

If we're doing pictures....

Lurching

I'm going with a "no" as well.
You obviously bought it for a reason int he first place.

I had a nice car before I left Ireland, then sold it a month or two before leaving. Ended up driving an ecobox for the last month, and it really depressed me.

166man

mullingar wrote: »

What is it with motor tax.

Motor Tax is one of the cheapest parts of running a car.

The 2 biggest killers are depreciation and fuel. Insurance/tax/maintenance are the cheapest.

Minimise your depreciation by just keeping the e60. Consider Lpg'ing it!

I'm not sure I agree with motor tax being one of the cheapest parts of running a car. 4 figure tax to be paid out of your disposable income having already paid income tax, PRSI, vat, mortgage, food, bills etc, suddenly that motor tax occupies a significant portion of your income.

H3llR4iser

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

I do wonder sometimes if I am asking this question to the right audience. As some of you are big petrol heads and love the sound off a 6 cylinder etc etc

The concept is simple: you will spend more money to "get a car that lets you save". It's the same situation as the geniuses who bought a new car post '08 with the specific intent of saving on Motor Tax; They saved 500 euro/year in tax but spent 35k upfront - make the calculations about how long they need to keep the "cheap tax" car in order to get even.

As it was already suggested, the only option would be to go cheap: get a 1000 euro 1.2 runaround and he pronto, cheap tax, good MPGs and you didn't break the bank to get the car. But coming from a much nicer one, you'll hate every screw and bolt in it, I can guarantee you.

166man wrote: »

I'm not sure I agree with motor tax being one of the cheapest parts of running a car. 4 figure tax to be paid out of your disposable income having already paid income tax, PRSI, vat, mortgage, food, bills etc, suddenly that motor tax occupies a significant portion of your income.

I agree with you, Irish motor tax is amongst the highest in Europe, if not the highest outright when you consider the cc system. But hey, the Irish solution is "buy a newer car, problem solved!"

Irishcrx

Nah - not if you can afford to keep it anyway.

I'm similar , drive a 2.5 V6 and tax is €1080 or something for the year , MPG aren't great either particularly around town but I do a lot of motorway driving down the country with work and she's super refined , comfortable and powerful for that reason alone it's worth it , secondly I love the car and would rather pay the extra bit in tax and fuel than drive something with a smaller engine , no soul and generally not enjoyable to drive...

I know for a fact if I sold it I'd regret it before the money hit my account.

unkel

166man wrote: »

I'm not sure I agree with motor tax being one of the cheapest parts of running a car. 4 figure tax to be paid out of your disposable income having already paid income tax, PRSI, vat, mortgage, food, bills etc, suddenly that motor tax occupies a significant portion of your income.

This is exactly why many Irish people have such an issue with motor tax. You have to pay for it every year or every quarter. You have to hand over your money. Out of your hard earned cash. After you paid all those other taxes already. It is very painful.

On the other hand, the silent costs don't seem to bother people here. Sure, pay a few thousand a year interest on that loan for your car, it's all part of the monthly repayments, on direct debit. Doesn't really hurt. What hurts even less seemingly is that your new shiny mediocre car is depreciating several thousand in the first day of its life alone.

The OPs car is worth about €5k here in Ireland because of the Irish attitude to motor tax. Nowhere in the world is his car worth less than here. On the continent his car would fetch €10k...

166man

166man wrote: »

I'm not sure I agree with motor tax being one of the cheapest parts of running a car. 4 figure tax to be paid out of your disposable income having already paid income tax, PRSI, vat, mortgage, food, bills etc, suddenly that motor tax occupies a significant portion of your income.

Indeed... Almost 100 per month is far from small.

unkel

unkel wrote: »

....

Sure, pay a few thousand a year interest on that loan for your car, it's all part of the monthly repayments

..

It would want to be some car loan if the annual interest was a few thousand. Let's not get carried away now.

166man

Augeo wrote: »

Indeed... Almost 100 per month is far from small.

There's a strange attitude to motor tax on this forum.

The problem with motor tax is that, as I said already, it's paid out after you have paid for pretty much everything else, including the new shoes for the kids or that unexpected bill.

Suddenly €100 a month instead of being 3% of your gross income, once all your taxes are paid and bills paid, that motor tax becomes 15-20% of your income, and as you said that's far from small.

Rough figures being used here obviously but you get the idea.

jacksie66

This post has been deleted.

166man

166man wrote: »

There's a strange attitude to motor tax on this forum....

Suddenly €100 a month instead of being 3% of your gross income, once all your taxes are paid and bills paid, that motor tax becomes 15-20% of your income, and as you said that's far from small.
.....

I traded a petrol 5 series for a diesel lancer, the cars are fairly incomparable but what I was spending on motor tax on the 5 covers the tax on the lancer and at leasr 30% of the lancers annual depreciation.

I wanted a lancer sized car as with the 5 I was either scraping the passenger side mirror off briars/hedges/ditches or driving on cats eyes with drivers side wheel.

Small difference in width but made all the difference, when I got the 5 years back I was based in the city, did less miles and the tax didn't bother me.

unkel

Augeo wrote: »

It would want to be some car loan if the annual interest was a few thousand. Let's not get carried away now.

At 6% APR we're talking a €32k car to cost €2k in annual interest. Boggo Avensis or something like that. Hardly getting carried away, is it?

unkel

unkel wrote: »

At 6% APR we're talking a €32k car to cost €2k in annual interest. Boggo Avensis or something like that. Hardly getting carried away, is it?

Well borrowing the full amount over 5 years would indeed cost 3k per annum in interest.... Realistically does anyone do that?

In that context even 4 figure motor tax is small by any stretch of the imagination.

166man

Augeo wrote: »

Well borrowing the full amount over 5 years would indeed cost 3k per annum in interest.... Realistically does anyone do that?

In that context even 4 figure motor tax is small by any stretch of the imagination.

Nope, nobody does that, because most are on PCP, with a reasonable deposit and robe ballon payment at the end of it, the amount borrowed often isn't high meaning higher than average APR can still mean low enough interest payments.

tom_tarbucket

I'm Bl00dy back again !!! Got a decent offer on the 5 series in last few days.

After the offer test drove a couple of cars that are 1/2 years newer.

1st was a 2007 Honda Civic saloon 1.8 petrol manual. Found I had to rev the sh1te out of it to get moving fast. Just felt like a tin can really. Tax = 636

2nd was a 2008 Saab 93 1.8t manual. Decent enough drive. But concerned the mpg will be no great improvement on the Beasht. Tax = 710

3rd was a 2008 Volvo S60 2.0t. Manual. Not bad. Interior very dated looking. Concerned about the mpg figures too. Tax = 710.

I could get the above 3 for about the same I sell the beasht for.

I would save about 400 euro a year in tax.
If I got 10 mpg better than the beasht it would be an extra 500 euro saving a year.
And maybe cheaper maintenance costs than the 6 cylinder older car.

Oh I dunno. I'm confused.

Supergurrier

Keep the BM, those S60 petrols are ridiculous on petrol.

My old one got similar mpg to my ST which is not factory spec to say the least

umop apisdn

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

I'm Bl00dy back again !!! Got a decent offer on the 5 series in last few days.

After the offer test drove a couple of cars that are 1/2 years newer.

1st was a 2007 Honda Civic saloon 1.8 petrol manual. Found I had to rev the sh1te out of it to get moving fast. Just felt like a tin can really. Tax = 636

2nd was a 2008 Saab 93 1.8t manual. Decent enough drive. But concerned the mpg will be no great improvement on the Beasht. Tax = 710

3rd was a 2008 Volvo S60 2.0t. Manual. Not bad. Interior very dated looking. Concerned about the mpg figures too. Tax = 710.

I could get the above 3 for about the same I sell the beasht for.

I would save about 400 euro a year in tax.
If I got 10 mpg better than the beasht it would be an extra 500 euro saving a year.
And maybe cheaper maintenance costs than the 6 cylinder older car.

Oh I dunno. I'm confused.

None of those will save you any real money compared to what you know and have.
If you really want a change, buy a small newish fast car, much better suited for Irish roads, and much more fun.

CIP4

The only logical one out of them 3 to buy would be the 1.8 civic as they are reliable and get very good mpg up on 40 afaik. Sure either of the other two would be more or less like your own on fuel. Can't see any of them being that much cheaper to maintain especially if you buy one that has any kind of issues. I am kind of struggling to see logic behind the move over unless your going to buy something that's going to have similar economy to the civic there is going to be very little to be saved other than tax.

tom_tarbucket

Supergurrier wrote: »

Keep the BM, those S60 petrols are ridiculous on petrol.

My old one got similar mpg to my ST which is not factory spec to say the least

Jays. Sounds like the S60 is pure useless for mpg

Supergurrier

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Jays. Sounds like the S60 is pure useless for mpg

All 5 cylinders are

tom_tarbucket

umop apisdn wrote: »

None of those will save you any real money compared to what you know and have.
If you really want a change, buy a small newish fast car, much better suited for Irish roads, and much more fun.

I'm sure that small newish car would cost me a good few pound extra.

umop apisdn

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

I'm sure that small newish car would cost me a good few pound extra.

It might, but you said you wanted something smaller, the cars you listed aren't really that much smaller and cetainly won't be any more fun. A 523i is only a "beasht" in terms of Irish motor tax, and you'd be better holding onto it than changing to what you listed.

tom_tarbucket

CIP4 wrote: »

The only logical one out of them 3 to buy would be the 1.8 civic as they are reliable and get very good mpg up on 40 afaik. Sure either of the other two would be more or less like your own on fuel. Can't see any of them being that much cheaper to maintain especially if you buy one that has any kind of issues. I am kind of struggling to see logic behind the move over unless your going to buy something that's going to have similar economy to the civic there is going to be very little to be saved other than tax.

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.

tom_tarbucket

umop apisdn wrote: »

It might, but you said you wanted something smaller, the cars you listed aren't really that much smaller and cetainly won't be any more fun. A 523i is only a "beasht" in terms of Irish motor tax, and you'd be better holding onto it than changing to what you listed.

Ah tis a beasht to me : )

CIP4

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.

How much money do you actually spend on petrol for the 5 series in a week. As although it sounds like you are getting terrible mpg your journeys seem terrible sort it doesn't sound like you cover to much distance in a week. I mean no car is going to give good mpg when the engine is cold over drives that are only a few miles long. Even your 10 mile commute is nothing. Do you drive it much at weekends or outside of the commute.