Loving the man maths! :D
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It depends on how much importance you put on low speed NVH and also general engine character. As I said, I did all the maths and had myself convinced but the 520d just didn't do it, certainly not when we're talking about the amounts of money that a 2016 520d costs! There is a lovely (albeit high mileage) 08 730i for sale at the moment with comfort seats, much nicer place to spend your time! It does sound like your mind is made up on the 520d though, if so just go for it.
Out of interest - do your man maths include all costs i.e. not just fuel and tax but depreciation and likely repairs. Also the risk factor that, if you've put ~17k into a car and it drops a gearbox (or a timing chain..) you're going to be invested so will have to foot the bill. If your 530i drops a major failure tomorrow, you are not stuck with a massive sunk investment that you have to protect...
I wish there were a glut of 6 cylinder petrols @ about 5-7 years old because that's what I'd be buying but there just isn't. It's a shame but I feel I'll be stuck in "old petrols" for some years..
Firstly, yep, the TCO figures, I've calculated cover purchase cost, 3 years worth of road tax, maintenance, repairs, consumables (tyres, etc.), fuel and a ballpark residual value - all calculated back to a price per mile, based on 3 years/45k miles. Same rules apply to all that I've compared so maintenance and repairs calculated for an older car are estimated a little higher per year than a fresher younger diesel. That's just using the accumulated experience of >20 year and 650k miles of BMW experience.
On NVH - I see your point, but if the main role of the 520d is to do a decent job of the 30 minute commute twice a day rather than a late night 250 mile non-stop run to the tip top of Donegal then your level of tolerance of NVH with a 4 pot diesel is different. In this scenario then the existing 630i or similar would deal with NVH where it counts.
In an ideal world I'd keep on buying good value 6-7 year old straight six petrols, but like you said, that's not a realistic option in the times in which we live, and not going to get a whole lot better. Given todays apparent government formation then it could get worse even more quickly.
The 520d approach isn't a foregone conclusion here, in fact just before reading this post I was looking at this - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...e=60000&page=4 and checking it on the VRT Calculator. However, it does make a strong real world argument.
Diarmuid, that 335i looks stunning and the DCT is a rare option on these (if the ad is correct).
I still can't get over the distinct lack of F3x petrol variants for sale on our shores, everything is still diesel unfortunately.