[kkkkkaran]

Thats the mother of all deals GTO!
Ive just got the first preowned car in the family for myself a few months ago, a vento petrol, exactly 14 months old when bought with 12k on the odo for around 70 percent of the price i was quoted for a brand new one.
This thread just motivates me for the next car to be a lateral upgrade 😁.
Wishing you a million miles with "The beauty and The Beast".
I dont think i need to say this, but i hope you'll keep the thread updated, giving us the thrills

[honeybee]

Ah, it still doesn't make coffee for you, does it?

Congratulations on the new (preowned) ride! Clearly BMW has made sure you will not have to spend your time behind the wheel in anything other than driving.

[Baddychat]

Congratulations GTO. Here's wishing you a very happy and glitch free million miles on this car !

This is the best ownership review that I have read on tbhp till date. Fabulous pics. Spent nearly half a day at work reading and re-reading your review.

Cheers

[Games Goblin]

This is an absolute gem of a review GTO! You really have not spared any detail on this one, I read it entirely on one go. In fact it reminded me of your Civic ownership report - with the hunt for the right car, knowing for sure you've spotted the one, and the sleepless night before taking delivery!

And congratulations on acquiring this beauty! The F10 5-Series truly embodies German design - I'll bet even a decade down the line, one would not grow tired looking at this car (in fact, I remember posting about it on the T-BHP review of the 525D).

I recently had a chance to travel in a 2010 525D that had clocked close to 1,50,000 KM and was immediately struck by how well the car had aged! The interiors and the paintwork showed no signs of the car's mileage. And another thing I felt was that it was better built than the E-Class and the A6. It sure does make the E feel bare-bones with the equipment on offer.

Can't wait for updates on this thread on the long drives you've got planned with her

[acurafan]

Originally Posted by viren83

Such a useless feature this is. Never used it. Money not well spent by BMW.


Thanks again!

Actually this is one of my favorite feature. BMW's voice recognition is IMHO better than Siri/Cortana or Google. There have been numerous times when I was able to just dictate the navigation address without looking at the nav unit or call some one without fiddling with iDrive or change Radio channels without touching the tuning button.
I think it makes the car safer to drive.

[sngautam]

Congratulations GTO!!! This is a sweet ride. Wishing you happy and safe ride in your beast. This truly is a beast.

This thread changed my perspective about pre-owned cars. My dream of owning a Q5 just got a boost. I should now be able to afford a Q5 in the next couple of years.

Cheers!

[ikoneer]

Awesome GTO Congrats and Best Wishes

Your Review gave me the feel of exploring the car alongside with you, fantastic photos and impeccable detail, my day will be filled with the Beast.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

The cruising abilities of this car are incredible, give it a good road, some good music and tank full of fuel and she will beg you to drive her more.

Yeah, she loves the open road. 5 highway trips up on mine!

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

And what would you say about the green vehicle whose review is in my assembly line? We bought 12 new and 10 Pre-Worshipped (1 year old).

Hahahaha! Complete that thread and lets take it live man.

Originally Posted by tilt

GTO, that was a fabulously detailed review. In fact, this is what every review should be, instead of just listing out the specs as many other magazines or websites do.

I was under the impression that ALL climate-controls did this.

Not seen it in the mass market cars.

Originally Posted by VSD

Also, get the tubeless tires asap, the ride is something else.

I can hardly wait for the swap!

Originally Posted by aah78

If you already have Michelins in your sight for upgrades I'll wholeheartedly recommend the Pilot Super Sports. I had changed the Bridgestone run-flats on my E90 to these about a year before I traded her in & I loved them!

Done. I'm a big Michelin fan and will keep this as the top option.

For 2014, BMW has a blank metal plate on the fenders and the blinkers have gone back onto the ORVMs.

Blank metal plate? How does that look? How about some pics of your ride?

If you've already set it to OFF, the engine start-stop feature should not Reset to ON when you turn the engine OFF.

Yours is the updated model. Based on complaints from irritated owners, BMW now allows you to keep it turned off (not the case with my car).

Yes, the gearbox refusing to get out of P if the car is moving is very annoying, especially if I have the door open a notch to reverse into a narrow parking garage spot.

I think this might also have to do with preventing unintended acceleration.

at the Bass & Treble settings. I can imagine the cringe on navin & Rudra's faces.

. You can get the desired results by tweaking the equalizer on your phone / USB device though.

Originally Posted by kkkkkaran

Ive just got the first preowned car in the family for myself a few months ago, a vento petrol, exactly 14 months old when bought with 12k on the odo for around 70 percent of the price i was quoted for a brand new one.

Awesome - 3 lakhs off for only 12,000 kms. Enjoy the ride.

Originally Posted by Games Goblin

And congratulations on acquiring this beauty! The F10 5-Series truly embodies German design - I'll bet even a decade down the line, one would not grow tired looking at this car

Just love the clean & proportionate styling. BMW got this generation spot on.

I recently had a chance to travel in a 2010 525D that had clocked close to 1,50,000 KM and was immediately struck by how well the car had aged!

Does this car belong to family / a friend? If so, can you check on what all major replacements they've had in 1.5 lakh kms? Thanks.

Originally Posted by sngautam

This thread changed my perspective about pre-owned cars. My dream of owning a Q5 just got a boost. I should now be able to afford a Q5 in the next couple of years.

With so many new launches, the pre-owned car scene is only going to offer more & more choices with time.

[kisharchit]

Congrats GTO for the Beast. I have driven a 530D F10 as well briefly and I can totally relate to your ideas. And in that color and the way you have kept it just complement the car even more!

Enjoy the Beast!

[Games Goblin]

Originally Posted by GTO

Does this car belong to family / a friend? If so, can you check on what all major replacements they've had in 1.5 lakh kms? Thanks.

Yes, that car does belong to a friend. He said that there were no untoward expenses till now, apart from the regular services.

One major expense that has become due on his car at 1.5L KM is the transmission oil + filter change - I am told that the 8HP transmission needs special oil, and regular ATF oil cannot be used. He told me that the quote he got for this service from BMW was expensive, but I am sure a good independent garage can source the parts and do the job for less.

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by GTO

Hahahaha! Complete that thread and lets take it live man.

I just can't wait to get it done. Unfortunately have been a bit tied up with a big upcoming inspection of the ship by an oil company and add to that frequent ports and getting caught up in Typhoon Goni. Besides the internet on board is not exactly as fast as the 530D and I have been trying several times to upload the pictures but cannot. Anyway will do that as soon as I get some net speed or get back home.

Now coming back to the main topic of this thread. I am what you call a sensible car buyer buying simple cars like Uno, Petra, Alto, i10, Rapid and Celerio. Then I thought of buying a 320 D (still on the agenda) but waiting for the new house with proper parking to be ready. So in the meantime I thought of buying a Laura TSI and doing so mods like Robimahanta's Laura. But then wife is objecting because the Laura plan may delay the 320 D. So far the story of a sensible car buyer.
Then comes along this thread. Somehow I manage to see it when it's still only 1 page. That's where half the sense of the sensible car buyer goes out of the window. Why only half? Because the ships windows (portholes) are non-openable. Well not really. Half because I'm not going all out with my heart buying a 530 D. You did mention that the 520 D is a more sensible option for most people and that got me thinking. Could I find a relatively new and less used 520 D for about half the price of a new 320D? That way I can shelve the Laura plan and wife still gets a BMW even though we'll have to park it outside. A quick check of OLX revealed that there is only 1 5 Series (520D) for sale in Goa for 28 L and it looks to be from the dealer itself. Either a TD car or some who has upgraded. So now I need to expand my search outside Goa.
Any idea if I can fit the M-Sport kit to the 520 D? The alloys and bumper should be no problem to fit and I can live without HUD, 10" Screen are rear seat entertainment. I would like to know if I can fit the M-Sport steering with Paddle shifters to the 520 D. Of course I can live without it but it would be nice to have.

[Dante]

Amazing thread Rush! Delighted to read.

My F10 520D has clocked around 55k since 2011 & not a single problem. BMW is very reliable compared to the other two germans.

Enjoy the beast'

[Shanksta]

Congratulations GTO!! Wishing you loads of (s)miles in the Bimmer.

The 5 series is the most beautiful and classy looking German sedan on sale today and you got the best version on sale in India for 60% of its original value.

[KARR]

Wow!! That is some impressive review of your car, I think GTO your attention to detail is even higher than BMW. I have been wanting to do a review of my car for quite a while now and your's is definitely an inspiration. Hopefully I will have my review up soon, but in the meantime here are teaser pics of my F10. I love this car to bits!!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Congratulations GTO.


From a used City VTec > Used Civic > and now to a 530D MSport, you are climbing the ladder of life with style!

I'm a bit late to the party. Was reading the thread from mobile yesterday, loved it and hence decided to take some time off weekend and reply. Most people in this forum (including me, I'm sure ) will live through their whole lives and never get to own such a ferocious beast of a car. Hence it was a treat reading your personal upgrade experience, and with such an amazing attention to detail. Quite a well researched decision on the car, and happy that you did not have to compromise on your 'pre-worshipped' policy. Unfortunately, this doesn't work quite as well for the salaried class who rely more on loans for their purchases.

I do agree with you on the design. It sure feels timeless, especially in black and white colours. Speaking of which, the carbon black shade is brilliant. I thought its black till I scrolled to the picture with your brother where it suddenly feels like blue. Nice indeed. However, you have mentioned that the 530D gets the 'shadowline' treatment - but I see chrome on the other contender you had considered. Pardon my ignorance, but I think it is only on the M-sport 530D. Also, speaking of the looks department, I believe the change in DRLs are more due to the fact that the current generation gets LED headlamps instead of xenon projectors.

I have used 3M services extensively and can confidently say that I am not going back there anymore. BHP'ians who have taken up detailing as their passion and secondary work do a much better job than the 3M centers. Trust me, the passion really makes them pay extra attention to the details, and the materials used by these guys are superior to the 3M products more often than not.

Was a delight to read your annecdotes on the performance of the car. And the smile on ajmat's face says it all!

Originally Posted by GTO

What's interesting is that, in 'auto' mode, the system even decides where the airflow should be. When it's too hot, you'll notice it sending cold air to your feet for a short while. If you so prefer, you can also set the desired fan speed in 'auto' mode.

'Auto recirculation' is a cool feature. It automatically keeps switching between 'recirculate' and 'fresh air' modes. You don't have to remember to 'refresh' the cabin ever so often...let the computer handle it for you. That said, the system isn't perfect. Even in 'manual / full recirculation mode', pass a stinking area and a little stench from outside does enter the car (I noticed this on the roads next to the Worli & Bandra sewages).

Not sure I get what you mention for the auto a/c controls though. I thought the auto air circulation and air flow direction control are part of all ACC designs, even in smaller cars like my Punto

Originally Posted by GTO

Another safety feature = the front neck restraints / headrests cannot be removed. They are locked in place.

Dont quite agree that this is a safety feature. May be, only in the Indian context where owners tend to remove the neck restraints for various silly reasons.

However, a removable neck restraint is a very useful safety feature if you are locked inside your car during an accident / emergency situation. Attaching the below youtube video that explains this -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZTa8Nh0VlE

The bad:

- Shocked by the absence of pure keyless entry. As you said - its a halfway there approach. Damn, even my Hyundai Xcent has one.
- Same goes for height adjustable seatbelts.
- The legroom is nothing like what I expected to see. Talk about packaging - some sub 4m cars compact sedans have a 400L boot along with more rear legroom. Of course, they dont need to account for a 6 cylinder diesel engine under the hood.
- Integrated blinkers which are considered 'premium' by the Indian crowd. However, frankly a BMW does not require a blinker for the premium feel.

Originally Posted by GTO

Quite a balanced garage, wot? Accompanying the 530d is a high-revving petrol MT, an offroader and a comfy chauffeur-driven beater. Each ride has a unique purpose:

Personally, I would like to see the Civic make way for a real "hot" hatch. The Abarth Punto or if it sounds too tame for your tastes - the VW Polo GTI should fit the bill just fine.

PS - Rudra Sir has worked his magic yet again.