530d touring or V70 d5

[CRAIGR]

Advice needed chaps

Which is the better value ,better drive, better reliability etc

Got circa 6k to spend on a tow barge and have been looking at 530d's and v70d5's.

Looking at 54/55 plates with circa 100 k on them.

Criteria is auto with leather and sunroof

Which would you recommend

[Scottish Bloke]

Two people I know have sold 535's lately, both 100k+ cars and both rated highly. Incidently one also had a v70, wasn't so keen!

[Norman Verona]

Neither, buy my Audi A6 with 160 BHP it'll fly along.

 

And you can save £3550, think of the upgrades you can have with that. Then the saving in fuel, I get 49.3 on the run from here to Sheffield,

 

HERE

 

I'll even pay your train fare up to sheffield to collect it 

[CRAIGR]

Lol. I knew that was coming as soon as i saw you had posted Norm.

[Norman Verona]

Well, I'm nothing if not predictable.

[SteveD]

hu hummm 320d m sport   hu hummm   awesome car i have never been a bmw lover bt this has opened my eyes

[CRAIGR]

hu hummm 320d m sport   hu hummm   awesome car i have never been a bmw lover bt this has opened my eyes

Not looking to shake my teeth out Steve so an m sport is probably out.

[the stoat]

Not looking to shake my teeth out Steve so an m sport is probably out.

A man after my own heart, I drive a Megane R26, so rather stiff, but even after this I could not believe how horribly harsh M Sport equipped cars are.

[Norman Verona]

My Honda has got fairly new lowered suspension. It's not that harsh but if I run over a 50 pence piece I can tell if it's heads or tails.

[Wile E. Coyote]

I have a 530d (saloon), and my dad the V70 d5.

 

The BMW is in a different class in terms of drive, handling, and ambience in the car - but you want to be aware of the swirl flap and exhaust manifold issues (and the ability to steal without keys if it is one with a blade-less key!).  

 

Swirl flaps write off the car if they fail and get ingested into the engine - costs ~£180 to remove them and never need to worry about again (or about £100 if you DIY), manifolds crack (making car stink of diesel fumes) at anything from 70k miles upwards (£300 part, plus same again to fit at specialist, or ~£1000 all in at a dealer - DIY job if you have the time).  

 

Run flats are standard: £250 a corner if you're on 18s.  Crap in snow, to the extent of being unable to use my car for two weeks one winter, unless you buy winter tyres (£250 a corner!) after which they're great in the snow/ice.

 

I average 32mpg long term.

 

The V70 is very noticeably slower and less refined - not a bad car by any stretch of the imagination, and is still a nice place to be, but not in the same league.  Works well as a tow car though, and returns 40s/50s. Not sure what it is about these, but they feel a bit more "closed in" in the front too.

 

Neither of us have been let down by either car.

[SteveD]

A man after my own heart, I drive a Megane R26, so rather stiff, but even after this I could not believe how horribly harsh M Sport equipped cars are.

tbh i never noticed any difference from any other car , wouldnt say its harsh in anyway at all and i aint a bmw person or even owned another bmw ,so im not biased

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Have had lots of M Sport fives, and while the steel sprung E39 was firm, it was nicely damped, I certainly wouldn't call it harsh. Was from the days when BMW used regular tyres though.

 

Had a whole run of F10/11 M Sports with the variable (forget what they call it) suspension and 18" run flats, again wouldn't call any of them harsh, though the different settings would tweak how firm it felt. Apart from poor snow grip, the eighteen inch run flats didn't actually feel as bad as I had dreaded from listening to others. They certainly didn't feel as good as the conventional tyres I'd had before though.

 

BUT, my brother in law, on his first Z4 went for the optional sports suspension, (over and above what ever was standard on those),and  that certainly was bone shakingly hard.

[Mid life crisis]

I have been very pleased with the V70 D5's, now on my 4th. I normally buy new and run to 100k.

 

 

If you could stretch your budget a bit and get a 57 plate newer shape, they are a bit bigger than the older models. The newer ones also have a better turning circle.

 

 

My present car has done 90k. Parts fitted in it's life 2 x  sets front brake pads, 1 x rears. 1 x small water hose, oil, tyres and filters. None of them have ever missed a beat

[Steve_Farrimond]

E350 in my opinion. If you want the larger car.

I want the C350 CDI AMG for my next car

[Wile E. Coyote]

E350 in my opinion. If you want the larger car.

 

Not as good as the BMW if you're after a driver's car, but certainly a very nice place to be, just a completely different (much more relaxed) character.