520D or 525i

[ciarancummins]

Hi all.

New to the forums, but heard this is the place to be for BMW advice!

Difficult question I guess, but which should I buy? 10k to spend

Considerations:

I want the most reliable (as possible) car to keep unexpected repair costs down. I had been looking at petrol, manual for this reason. And same year model patrols are considerably cheaper.
I don't drive many miles, all short trips in general, so +1 for petrol. -1 for not regen filters in diesel and no real mpg gain?
Unfortunately the 2008 petrol model has N53 engine, but have BMW finally found parts that work?
Lots of choice in diesels and limited in petrol. Resale/trade in much better with diesel. Unless gov cop on that diesels pollute more! ;-)
2008 models appear to be getting close to 10k now even in diesels.
Tax is an obvious one, 280 520d and either 1080 or 750 in petrol.
Finally, am I mad not to wait till all trade ins in jan appear with 2nd hand dealers?
My current alfa soul is not strong enough any more!

So, over to you, convince me!

Cheers, appreciate any feedback.

[Curran]

Seems you have done pretty well on the research; and know what most people will point out to you!

Suppose you need to sit down and work out the figures - taking into account all factors; premium to buy a 520d vs the offset in road tax of the different engines - 280 vs 750 - say 500 quid....if you are paying a 1k premium for the benefit of the 520d and the 280 tax, then thats two years worth of road tax in the 525i.
If you are doing low enough miles, is it worth getting the 520d - again a few calculations; mpg vs the cost if a turbo goes, etc

Have you test driven one of each?

Edit: Cummins, formerly of Hilltown?

[ciarancummins]

Thanks. I had kind of discounted the diesels as I thought they would lead to big repair bills when I dont do long runs, but now I just found a decent 520d diesel auto leather with sat nav (widescreen) for same as a 525i. It's for sale in the wilds of the Nass road, but with a long time dealer. 100k miles

Ideally I was looking for a 2007 manual N52 523 or 525. Even with 1080 tax.

I test drove a 2008 525i and absolutely loved it. But afraid of injectors/coils issue in N53 engine

Not from Hilltown. A few of us around. :-)

[ciarancummins]

I am not that clear what can go wrong with a 2008 520D manual (108k miles), in my head it is:

1. Turbo
2. DMF
3. DPF
4. issue from Swirl flaps? wrong engine/generation?

so if a Turbo has been replaced with BMW recently, there would be a 2 year parts and labour warranty on that. What are the costs of the others? How bad can things get if I very rarely go on 100 mile journeys, is that is what is required to clear filter?

[Foxhole Norman]

Timing chain is a huge problem with these engines. I definitely wouldn't be buying one with small mileage.

[ciarancummins]

Apologies, only saw your mail now. Is the timing chain the same problem in both petrol and diesel? Why stay away from low mileage? I guess because it may not have happened yet, and still might?? What would you consider low mileage?

Cheers

Timing chain is a huge problem with these engines. I definitely wouldn't be buying one with small mileage.

[Foxhole Norman]

Apologies, only saw your mail now. Is the timing chain the same problem in both petrol and diesel? Why stay away from low mileage? I guess because it may not have happened yet, and still might?? What would you consider low mileage?

Cheers

Sorry, I meant if you're doing small miles, not good for modern diesels really at all. Chains are better in the 6 cylinder engines, petrol don't go wrong too much. The mechanic I bought my E39 off said that the chains in the LCI 520D's are not much better/tougher than a bicycle chain. Positioned at the bulkhead too so a bit of a faff to remove.