Any 530e owners out there?

crank_1975

bmwfan wrote: »

i have a 181 the best I have had is 40km displayed during the summer it was on the latest software and i managed about 41km with no fan on and driving like miss daisey
im running 20" wheels
before I had the latest software I was getting 33-35 coming into the summer the update made a difference but not sure by how much as the whether had started to get better

How did you get the software update? Do the dealers check this as part of the Service or do you need to ask for it? Also has this resolved the issue with the apps like Tunein and Spotify? Currently can only get Spotify app to show up when connected to wife's iPhone but not on my Galaxy S20.

bmwfan

First problem was with the phone so they did a full software update then i had a problem with the remote 3d view so i got another full software update
I have an iphone and carplay and spotify works with or without carplay but its nicer and easier to use with carplay

ELM327

Gumbo wrote: »

A friend of mine has a 740e MSport. Lovely car.

The 745 le is nicer again with the 6-pot and the LCI styling. Substantial price premium over the 40e though.

fifth

Picked up my 201 530e M Sport this week. Very nice car. Love the connected features. The edrive exterior sound does sound like a spaceship after all..

Have a question that I can't find an answer to..

Is it possible to set the car to start in max edrive mode each time? I find when I start it's in comfort and I think auto edrive so I need to press the button each time.

Will double check that today though.

OmegaRed

So I got a quote today from the referred electrician from ePower in Cork. He's not even supplying the charger. I've decided to go with the Zappi and the monitoring hub - Price still TBC but once I include a 10 to 15 meter cable I won't have much change out of a grand :rolleyes:

The electrician has quoted €630 for install and setup :eek:

Materials: €195 (15 meters of cable and trunking??)
Labour: €360 (if he takes 4 hours to install it, that's 90 quid an hour...)
VAT @13.5%: €75

This can't be right? Is the lad taking me for a ride cos I have a bimmer in the drive?

Total: €1000 + €630 - 600 grant: €1030~

kirving

Seems high alright. Recently had Vodafone to the house who had to dig the garden, run fibre around the outside of the house, up the side wall, through the attic, down into the sitting room, install wall boxes, etc. All for free.

I've to have a charger installed for my 330e, and would be expecting half that. Maybe I'm wrong?!

ELM327

I paid that for the charger I installed, but mine involved digging up a footpath and putting a unit on a pedestal.

Casati

OmegaRed wrote: »

So I got a quote today from the referred electrician from ePower in Cork. He's not even supplying the charger. I've decided to go with the Zappi and the monitoring hub - Price still TBC but once I include a 10 to 15 meter cable I won't have much change out of a grand :rolleyes:

The electrician has quoted €630 for install and setup :eek:

Materials: €195 (15 meters of cable and trunking??)
Labour: €360 (if he takes 4 hours to install it, that's 90 quid an hour...)
VAT @13.5%: €75

This can't be right? Is the lad taking me for a ride cos I have a bimmer in the drive?

Total: €1000 - 600 grant: €1000~

Yeah he's taking you for a ride with that labour cost, shop around - any qualified electrical can install a charger

kanuseeme

My mother got her tethered 7.2 kW (2nd hand 150 euro) installed for 600 euro, 5 meters of cable, priority switch and a few odd jobs like installing a light etc.

maddness

Do any owners of 530e’s not have home chargers?
I’m thinking of on but as I don’t have a driveway would only be able to charge elsewhere.
I don’t work in an office so that’s not an option but I do notice charging points all over the place.
If so how’s your fuel economy?

jesus_thats_gre

maddness wrote: »

Do any owners of 530e’s not have home chargers?
I’m thinking of on but as I don’t have a driveway would only be able to charge elsewhere.
I don’t work in an office so that’s not an option but I do notice charging points all over the place.
If so how’s your fuel economy?

Done this myself for the first year and a half of owning it. Charged it the odd time in work pre-Covid. Based on my driving (mostly around Dublin), I was averaging 9L/100km overall. Motorway driving it would sit around 5.5L/100km when in cruise control at the speed limit.

Been charging it daily for the past 3 months and it sits square at 6L/100km overall for combined motorway and town driving.

I would have a fairly heavy good too.

Gumbo

maddness wrote: »

Do any owners of 530e’s not have home chargers?
I’m thinking of on but as I don’t have a driveway would only be able to charge elsewhere.
I don’t work in an office so that’s not an option but I do notice charging points all over the place.
If so how’s your fuel economy?

Why pay the PHEV premium if you can’t charge it.
Better to buy a 520d to be honest.

maddness

Gumbo wrote: »

Why pay the PHEV premium if you can’t charge it.
Better to buy a 520d to be honest.

Not interested in a 520d. I’m looking at used and it’s either a very high spec 530e or lower spec 530d.

Buddy Bubs

maddness wrote: »

Not interested in a 520d. I’m looking at used and it’s either a very high spec 530e or lower spec 530d.

Theres not much of a premium for a 530e over a 520d anyway.

Gumbo

maddness wrote: »

Not interested in a 520d. I’m looking at used and it’s either a very high spec 530e or lower spec 530d.

520/530 (substitute whatever version you want). The point I’m making is why bother with a PHEV and not charge it?

Your carrying around the battery for the sake of it. Now it will charge itself slight through regeneration but the biggest appeal is charging it and using it in EV mode.

Ours is in EV mode 90% of the time.

If your considering the 530d, try push for the 535d. I’ve had both. The 535d is night and day to any of the others in the line up. Remapped it’s mega.

Gumbo

Buddy Bubs wrote: »

Theres not much of a premium for a 530e over a 520d anyway.

Good ones, well spec’d ones are more expensive. But that’s not the point.
Why buy a PHEV if your not gona charge it?

maddness

Gumbo wrote: »

520/530 (substitute whatever version you want). The point I’m making is why bother with a PHEV and not charge it?

Your carrying around the battery for the sake of it. Now it will charge itself slight through regeneration but the biggest appeal is charging it and using it in EV mode.

Ours is in EV mode 90% of the time.

If your considering the 530d, try push for the 535d. I’ve had both. The 535d is night and day to any of the others in the line up. Remapped it’s mega.

There is no 535 in the G30

Gumbo

maddness wrote: »

There is no 535 in the G30

Sticking with G30 then the 530d is probably as good as you can get, especially if your sticking with diesel. It’s a pity bmw stopped it.

I had E60 535d and currently have an F10 535d taxi on the road (well off the road with current C19) and it will be be hard to replace!

maddness

Gumbo wrote: »

Sticking with G30 then the 530d is probably as good as you can get, especially if your sticking with diesel. It’s a pity bmw stopped it.

I had E60 535d and currently have an F10 535d taxi on the road (well off the road with current C19) and it will be be hard to replace!

I’d a 435d with the same engine, it was a cracking car alright.
I’d love a 530d but there is such good value to be had in used 530e’s.
I’m going to work out is it worth getting the 530e and spending the extra on the charging solution option at home.

ELM327

maddness wrote: »

I’d a 435d with the same engine, it was a cracking car alright.
I’d love a 530d but there is such good value to be had in used 530e’s.
I’m going to work out is it worth getting the 530e and spending the extra on the charging solution option at home.

You get a government grant of 600 quid which would usually cover a basic install

maddness

ELM327 wrote: »

You get a government grant of 600 quid which would usually cover a basic install

Yes I saw that but I’d need something a bit different as I don’t have a driveway.
Part of the reason I’d like a 530e is reading all the positive report on this thread.

mickdw

maddness wrote: »

Yes I saw that but I’d need something a bit different as I don’t have a driveway.
Part of the reason I’d like a 530e is reading all the positive report on this thread.

I was sure you had a 530e. Must be confusing my user names.

Gumbo

ELM327 wrote: »

You get a government grant of 600 quid which would usually cover a basic install

He needs a pedestal charging solution as the cable would have to pass a public footpath or management company path.

maddness wrote: »

Yes I saw that but I’d need something a bit different as I don’t have a driveway.
Part of the reason I’d like a 530e is reading all the positive report on this thread.

I agree, but part of that process is charging and running it as an EV. I don’t see the benefit of you don’t charge it. You may as well have a 530/20d or 540i.

ELM327

Gumbo wrote: »

He needs a pedestal charging solution as the cable would have to pass a public footpath or management company path.



I agree, but part of that process is charging and running it as an EV. I don’t see the benefit of you don’t charge it. You may as well have a 530/20d or 540i.

The pedestal cable adds a bit of expense, but you can get the grant for it, I did!


Agree, no point having a phev and not charging it. The added weight reduces efficiency

Gumbo

ELM327 wrote: »

You can even charge it on a normal plug socket overnight, the battery is small enough.

Cable across the footpath is the issue here.

My dad chargers his on the granny cable 100% of the time too. Just easier for them with regards to the outdoor socket location relative to where they park in the garden.

They haven’t actually got a Type 2 cable yet to use with their home charger

ELM327 wrote: »

The pedestal cable adds a bit of expense, but you can get the grant for it, I did!

Agree totally. I think he is weighing up the total cost of burying the cable etc.

carsfan2

mickdw wrote: »

I was sure you had a 530e. Must be confusing my user names.

M140i is what Maddness currently drives.
A 530e would be a big change. I thought he got out of a 730d to buy the m140i.

maddness

carsfan2 wrote: »

M140i is what Maddness currently drives.
A 530e would be a big change. I thought he got out of a 730d to buy the m140i.

All correct. I had a big car now and small one but might move up size again!
Just thinking about it at the moment.

Buddy Bubs

As far as I know you need to have an EV or PHEV in your name to get the grant towards the charger. So says the SEAI website anyway.

Someone that has got it done might be able to advise if its all checked or not.

OmegaRed

Buddy Bubs wrote: »

As far as I know you need to have an EV or PHEV in your name to get the grant towards the charger. So says the SEAI website anyway.

Someone that has got it done might be able to advise if its all checked or not.

you do, I was asked these questions when applying for the grant. They don't actually ask you for any proof though....

Buddy Bubs

OmegaRed wrote: »

you do, I was asked these questions when applying for the grant. They don't actually ask you for any proof though....

Thanks, I am actually looking at being guinea pig for my management company in installing one in my underground car park space. Its beside the fuseboxes etc so think its probably straightforward.
I don't have any form of an EV at the moment, just 3 ICE in the house but fully aware and happy we will be moving 2 of them to EV/PHEV in the next while.

Looking at 530e, A6 TFSIe in short term or waiting for an e-tron to come into budget for full EV for myself and maybe a VW ID3 or ID4 for the missus

fifth

As someone who has been driving a 530e for a few days now, I honestly wouldn't like to own this car if I didn't have a facility to charge it every day/night. I'm using the 3 PIN cable for now until I get the wall box installed.

Mine is the 12kwh battery and it's only showing a range of 41km, which depletes pretty quickly if you're anyway spirited with your driving.

Anyone experienced an issue where the vehicle says 'key not present'? It happened last night and would only let me start the car in MAX eDrive mode. Weird.

Gumbo

Buddy Bubs wrote: »

As far as I know you need to have an EV or PHEV in your name to get the grant towards the charger. So says the SEAI website anyway.

Someone that has got it done might be able to advise if its all checked or not.

Of course it does.

OmegaRed wrote: »

you do, I was asked these questions when applying for the grant. They don't actually ask you for any proof though....

You have to send the log book for payment. So once the applicant matches the address, and the applicants name and address on the log book matches the application, your good to go.

Gumbo

Buddy Bubs wrote: »

Thanks, I am actually looking at being guinea pig for my management company in installing one in my underground car park space. Its beside the fuseboxes etc so think its probably straightforward.
I don't have any form of an EV at the moment, just 3 ICE in the house but fully aware and happy we will be moving 2 of them to EV/PHEV in the next while.

Looking at 530e, A6 TFSIe in short term or waiting for an e-tron to come into budget for full EV for myself and maybe a VW ID3 or ID4 for the missus

You’ll need to buy an EV before you can be the guinea pig.

MisterDrak

Just went through this process last week with my new 330e.

Like one of the posters above I got a 3 pin charger supplied with the car. When charging the car using this took 6-8 hours to get to a full charge, far from ideal.

I applied to the SEAI grant via the website week before last, quoting the Make and model and Reg of the new car. I got the application letter from them next day, which has 2 parts, a basic explanation of the process, and 2 pages for the installer to fill out, sign and return to SEAI.

Last Thursday 28th I mailed Carplug.ie (recommended by Joe Duffy BMW) but plenty of other supplier out there, I asked about the process and install time-line. They phoned me back that day explaining the process, and said they would have a electrician with me on 2nd Feb.

They have 3 charger options available Basic, medium, high (€1100, €1200, €1300). I opted for the basic.

The electrician arrived on 2nd Feb and installed the charger taking the feed directly from the fuse board so its rated at 7KW as opposed to 3KW (might be wrong with actual numbers but fuse board gives double capacity). Install took about 1.5 hours. Pic below.

He then filled the part of the SEAI application letter, and also provided 2 pages of "technical info / ratings ratings etc..."

You then take 2 pictures 1 of the car, proving make model, and 1 of the installed charger. Post this whole pack (with installer info) back to SEAI in Kerry to start the Grant process. €600 will be transferred directly back to your bank account at some point in next couple of weeks if grant application is successful (no reason to suspect it wont be).

[IMG][/img]

I then needed to get a new charge cable (which I sourced from epower.ie in cork) which has the 7 port charger plug "Both sides". Bought this on Tuesday and arrived yesterday, cost €195 for an 8 Meter. Very sturdy cable and well made.

Plugged the car in yesterday and was charge from 15% to 100% in about 3.5 hours.

A fair few steps and a bit of money, but all set now...

the corpo

Got an offer to install carplay to my 530e, for 100 quid, which seems decent, and a fraction of the BWM official price, but... is it worth it?

I've gotten quite used to idrive now, if I swap over to carplay what benefits will I get, what will I miss having easy access to?

Gumbo

MisterDrak wrote: »

Just went through this process last week with my new 330e.

Like one of the posters above I got a 3 pin charger supplied with the car. When charging the car using this took 6-8 hours to get to a full charge, far from ideal.

I applied to the SEAI grant via the website week before last, quoting the Make and model and Reg of the new car. I got the application letter from them next day, which has 2 parts, a basic explanation of the process, and 2 pages for the installer to fill out, sign and return to SEAI.

Last Thursday 28th I mailed Carplug.ie (recommended by Joe Duffy BMW) but plenty of other supplier out there, I asked about the process and install time-line. They phoned me back that day explaining the process, and said they would have a electrician with me on 2nd Feb.

They have 3 charger options available Basic, medium, high (€1100, €1200, €1300). I opted for the basic.

The electrician arrived on 2nd Feb and installed the charger taking the feed directly from the fuse board so its rated at 7KW as opposed to 3KW (might be wrong with actual numbers but fuse board gives double capacity). Install took about 1.5 hours. Pic below.

He then filled the part of the SEAI application letter, and also provided 2 pages of "technical info / ratings ratings etc..."

You then take 2 pictures 1 of the car, proving make model, and 1 of the installed charger. Post this whole pack (with installer info) back to SEAI in Kerry to start the Grant process. €600 will be transferred directly back to your bank account at some point in next couple of weeks if grant application is successful (no reason to suspect it wont be).

[IMG][/img]

I then needed to get a new charge cable (which I sourced from epower.ie in cork) which has the 7 port charger plug "Both sides". Bought this on Tuesday and arrived yesterday, cost €195 for an 8 Meter. Very sturdy cable and well made.

Plugged the car in yesterday and was charge from 15% to 100% in about 3.5 hours.

A fair few steps and a bit of money, but all set now...

All chargers are taken from the Fuse Board.
the 7kw charging capability is determined by the actual charger itself so coming from the board makes no difference.

But, the sparks does have to install the correct rating of cable (6mm Sq.) and the correct rating of RCBO (40a).

The 3.7/7kw charging is dependent then on the charger itself. Think the BMW maxes out at 3.3 anyway but its good to get the 7kw charger to future proof yourself for future EV purchase.

You also have to send back a copy of the Log Book, so hopefully you didnt forget that!

MisterDrak

the corpo wrote: »

Got an offer to install carplay to my 530e, for 100 quid, which seems decent, and a fraction of the BWM official price, but... is it worth it?

I've gotten quite used to idrive now, if I swap over to carplay what benefits will I get, what will I miss having easy access to?

Had a 530i as my previous drive, and had the iPhone connectivity installed, but like yourself I always used the BM Idrive. Thought it was better suited to the car, and had everything that i needed.

Hated the smaller screen area that the iphone (apple maps) used.

Either way €100 is small beans when driving a 530e...

Gumbo

the corpo wrote: »

Got an offer to install carplay to my 530e, for 100 quid, which seems decent, and a fraction of the BWM official price, but... is it worth it?

I've gotten quite used to idrive now, if I swap over to carplay what benefits will I get, what will I miss having easy access to?

Direct mirroring of your phone.
I dont think you loose any of the BMW Built in UI.

you can have Carplay installed and decide not to use it.

phill106

the corpo wrote: »

Got an offer to install carplay to my 530e, for 100 quid, which seems decent, and a fraction of the BWM official price, but... is it worth it?

I've gotten quite used to idrive now, if I swap over to carplay what benefits will I get, what will I miss having easy access to?

I got a guy off a bmw coding group to do it for free over xmas, though i did send him a bit of cash via paypal.
Mines the 330e,on ID5, was able to bring it to ID6 lite as well as installing apple car play/android screen mirroring.
Updated maps as well, handy as mine were out of date.

Did need to purchase an Enet cable online, to allow me to get it working.
If you have an iphone, i think you would be mad not to go for it, via some method anyway.

OmegaRed

phill106 wrote: »

I got a guy off a bmw coding group to do it for free over xmas, though i did send him a bit of cash via paypal.
Mines the 330e,on ID5, was able to bring it to ID6 lite as well as installing apple car play/android screen mirroring.
Updated maps as well, handy as mine were out of date.

Did need to purchase an Enet cable online, to allow me to get it working.
If you have an iphone, i think you would be mad not to go for it, via some method anyway.

Anyone know if there is a cheaper way of using / upgrading to Android Auto with ID6? Looking at some of the units that are required and its 700 euro....

wcooba

MisterDrak wrote: »

Had a 530i as my previous drive, and had the iPhone connectivity installed, but like yourself I always used the BM Idrive. Thought it was better suited to the car, and had everything that i needed.

Hated the smaller screen area that the iphone (apple maps) used.

Either way €100 is small beans when driving a 530e...

Is your car on the warranty? If so - don’t do it. It’s easily detectable by BMW and invalidates idrive warranty. Also if dealer ever updates your firmware - you will lose all factory applied licenses (I.e. navigation).

Gumbo

wcooba wrote: »

Is your car on the warranty? If so - don’t do it. It’s easily detectable by BMW and invalidates idrive warranty. Also if dealer ever updates your firmware - you will lose all factory applied licenses (I.e. navigation).

Whatever about the iDrive warranty, I can’t confirm or deny that.
But, if the dealer applies a firmware update or software update, you won’t loose all licences. The new software will replace your base software with the required licenses.

I actually had this done before by M&G BMW but I did loose my remap.

eggerb

Advice anybody please on a 2018 530e I seen at a reputable independent garage selling a lot of high end motors - mostly imported I’d say. I’m interested in buying. Getting a decent trade in on my 2015 A6

It has done 47,546 miles / 76,500km in three years.

It has been serviced as follows:

2/01/2018 @ 2 km
- BMW Knights North Staffs

4/4/2019 @ 33,400km
- BMW Lloyd Newcastle

6/7/2020 @ 68,326 km
- Lloyd Newcastle

Are those intervals anything to worry about?

The BMW warranty is valid for another month (until mid March).

The independent garage is giving a 12 month warranty but I am thinking of taking out the BMW Insured Warranty https://www.bmw-warranty.ie/ in mid March so that I can extend it into year 2 beyond the indy dealer’s warranty.

A requirement of that insured warranty is full main dealer service. Might those intervals pose a problem with either the BMW insured warranty or with a buyer 2/3 years down the line?

Many thanks.

fifth

Driving my 2020 530e M Sport over a week now and really loving it so far.

I don't see myself needing to use any fuel for a while as my trips are mostly within the 41km of range I'm getting. (even after COVID)

How often should I be running the ICE or replacing the fuel? There's about 20e in there since I picked up the car. I'd need to deliberately run it down .. should I get a month or two at least before the petrol starts going off?

Gumbo

eggerb wrote: »

Advice anybody please on a 2018 530e I seen at a reputable independent garage selling a lot of high end motors - mostly imported I’d say. I’m interested in buying. Getting a decent trade in on my 2015 A6

It has done 47,546 miles / 76,500km in three years.

It has been serviced as follows:

2/01/2018 @ 2 km
- BMW Knights North Staffs

4/4/2019 @ 33,400km
- BMW Lloyd Newcastle

6/7/2020 @ 68,326 km
- Lloyd Newcastle

Are those intervals anything to worry about?

The BMW warranty is valid for another month (until mid March).

The independent garage is giving a 12 month warranty but I am thinking of taking out the BMW Insured Warranty https://www.bmw-warranty.ie/ in mid March so that I can extend it into year 2 beyond the indy dealer’s warranty.

A requirement of that insured warranty is full main dealer service. Might those intervals pose a problem with either the BMW insured warranty or with a buyer 2/3 years down the line?

Many thanks.

Standard condition based servicing.
Nothing jumping out there.

Did you check what’s due soon so you can budget that in?

What intervals are you worried about? It was registered every year. The system will
Pop up with what’s due and when. Usually the car will tell you oil every 2 years. Air filter every 2/3. Pollen filter etc

Gumbo

fifth wrote: »

Driving my 2020 530e M Sport over a week now and really loving it so far.

I don't see myself needing to use any fuel for a while as my trips are mostly within the 41km of range I'm getting. (even after COVID)

How often should I be running the ICE or replacing the fuel? There's about 20e in there since I picked up the car. I'd need to deliberately run it down .. should I get a month or two at least before the petrol starts going off?

You’ll be grand. No need to every month or so.
You’ll find a week is not long enough, and some drive will automatically
Invoke the petrol engine (full load or up hill).

wcooba

Everything is green on that photo so there was nothing overdue.

Is 30kkm between oil changes a lot? In theory it is. But in case of those cars it's hard to tell how many of those kilometers were done without combustion engine even kicking in. Also the car has oil quality sensor deciding when service is due.

eggerb wrote: »

Advice anybody please on a 2018 530e I seen at a reputable independent garage selling a lot of high end motors - mostly imported I’d say. I’m interested in buying. Getting a decent trade in on my 2015 A6

It has done 47,546 miles / 76,500km in three years.

It has been serviced as follows:

2/01/2018 @ 2 km
- BMW Knights North Staffs

4/4/2019 @ 33,400km
- BMW Lloyd Newcastle

6/7/2020 @ 68,326 km
- Lloyd Newcastle

Are those intervals anything to worry about?

The BMW warranty is valid for another month (until mid March).

The independent garage is giving a 12 month warranty but I am thinking of taking out the BMW Insured Warranty https://www.bmw-warranty.ie/ in mid March so that I can extend it into year 2 beyond the indy dealer’s warranty.

A requirement of that insured warranty is full main dealer service. Might those intervals pose a problem with either the BMW insured warranty or with a buyer 2/3 years down the line?

Many thanks.

eggerb

Gumbo wrote: »

Standard condition based servicing.
Nothing jumping out there.

Did you check what’s due soon so you can budget that in?

What intervals are you worried about? It was registered every year. The system will
Pop up with what’s due and when. Usually the car will tell you oil every 2 years. Air filter every 2/3. Pollen filter etc

Great - I didn't realise the signififance of the green OK. I suppose I had read that most services were at an interval of 18-20k; the 21k miles-22k miles seemed a bit high. On the A6, it was 17k miles so 20+ seemed very high. Great insight - thanks.

wcooba wrote: »

Everything is green on that photo so there was nothing overdue.

Is 30kkm between oil changes a lot? In theory it is. But in case of those cars it's hard to tell how many of those kilometers were done without combustion engine even kicking in. Also the car has oil quality sensor deciding when service is due.

Definitely thought that too. For the A6 (diesel) I did two services at 30k km and then starting doing them at 20k km.

By the sounds of things, the car will tell me what needs to be done. Really looking forward to it..

eggerb

Gumbo wrote: »

Did you check what’s due soon so you can budget that in?

I’ve emailed a main dealer to ask them, hoping they’ll give me an idea but not holding out much hope! In-car it said next service in 14,000 miles. But I suppose I could be looking at new pads and discs soon and that’s not cheap. Also on the dash it was saying (in orange) brake fluid over due since 12/2020. Now that I think about it, car had its 3km service in Jan 2018 but wasn’t registered until March 2018. I wonder what that was about..

Gumbo

eggerb wrote: »

I’ve emailed a main dealer to ask them, hoping they’ll give me an idea but not holding out much hope! In-car it said next service in 14,000 miles. But I suppose I could be looking at new pads and discs soon and that’s not cheap. Also on the dash it was saying (in orange) brake fluid over due since 12/2020. Now that I think about it, car had its 3km service in Jan 2018 but wasn’t registered until March 2018. I wonder what that was about..

The dealer will just tell you to bring the key into the so they can read what’s required.

Brake fluid change deffo due. That will be your first orange light on the service screen

The iDrive will also tell you when it needs pads, it should list it by mileage.
The brake fluid is usually 2year intervals so if it’s saying it was due in December 2020, then the car should be a December 2018 car? But if registered in March, someone may have reset the interval at some stage?

When you check the service history on the iDrive, you can actually click one more step into the system, and it tells you what was carried out at that service.