[raj981]

Originally Posted by GTO

30 - 32 PSI buddy. Anything higher is too much for Indian roads (ride quality).

Absolutely, always keep it at 30. Ride quality goes dramatically downhill at 35+

Also looking at the pressure in isolation is not what you may want to do. The softer compound tyres may still go with slightly higher pressure. So look what your tyre company recommended numbers are also the region that they recommending for.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by GTO

Look up what other 530d owners have to say (including on this thread). On tirerack, they have a 4.1 / 10 rating for wear.

This tyre is a real poor performer as per those TIRERACK reviews, genuinely shocking to see those ratings especially the treadwear performance

So it isnt the tyre pressure alone which is contributing to the faster wear in your car but majorly the genetics of this tyre.

[GT3]

I have been looking to get a well maintained E60 530d. There is a 2009 vehicle for sale in NCR. It has run 27K Kms and it is in excellent condition. The tyres have been replaced recently and its got a Pete's remap. What would be a fair price for this vehicle. The owner has taken great care in maintaining it so I am ready to pay a premium for it.

[Turbanator]

There is a 2009 vehicle for sale in NCR.

I seriously doubt if any Diesel car from 2009 would have actually run 27 K Kms. I own a very sparingly driven X6 and despite having multiple cars, it has done 37000 Km. In the initial years of ownership, one runs the car maximum and it gradually decreases for a number of reasons. If the seller is a First owner and confirms Odo is correct, try to get records from Dealership. If it's a second owner car then no way this mileage will be correct. If you still agree with him on mileage, do a thorough check of interiors, watch out for the areas which normally are not visible but in use, like wear on brake pedal or accelerator. See how the switches feel and windows roll. If you feel this is a genuine 27 K car, take it to the dealership for a thorough check. Coming to the value, can you share how much is the seller asking for? You need to factor re-registration costs of an NCR registered car at your place as well.

If you finally decide to get this, I will connect you to a senior guy at Bird BMW with whom I am in touch regarding my 7 series

[GT3]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

If you finally decide to get this, I will connect you to a senior guy at Bird BMW with whom I am in touch regarding my 7 series

It is a first owner car. By seeing the pictures I am very sure the car has run only 27K Kms, no doubts in that. Finally the owner is asking for 18 lakhs. First I need to finalise an approximate price with him, as I need to travel more than 3000 Kms from my place. Regarding registration I plan to transfer it to my name with a local address. It would be very helpful if you can connect me with someone at BMW.

[dhruvritzed]

Originally Posted by GT3

It is a first owner car. By seeing the pictures I am very sure the car has run only 27K Kms, no doubts in that. Finally the owner is asking for 18 lakhs. First I need to finalise an approximate price with him, as I need to travel more than 3000 Kms from my place. Regarding registration I plan to transfer it to my name with a local address. It would be very helpful if you can connect me with someone at BMW.

The owner of the car is trying to charge almost double of the price he would get in delhi, at max this car is worth 11-12 lacs in case of a brilliantly maintained machine.The car is very old and you need to factor in sparse availability of spares and very expensive service.Heck i recently made a friend buy a 530d 2012 run 28000kms genuine for 21 lacs, NCR registered car.Keep that for reference.
.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by GT3

I have been looking to get a well maintained E60 530d. There is a 2009 vehicle for sale in NCR.

Might be worth a look if you get it for a good price. As Turbanator posted, he's asking for nonsensical $$$ - shave it off by at least 7 - 8 lakhs. Heck, early F10s are now available for less than 20 lakhs. Also remember his desperation - next year, he won't be able to drive it in Delhi anymore. Use that information to your advantage.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

If you still agree with him on mileage, do a thorough check of interiors, watch out for the areas which normally are not visible but in use, like wear on brake pedal or accelerator. See how the switches feel and windows roll. If you feel this is a genuine 27 K car, take it to the dealership for a thorough check.

It's rare, but there is still a possibility of it being a low mileage car. Agreed with Turbanator - get it checked at a BMW workshop. Will be the best 8 - 10k you spent on this potential purchase.

Also check service records in detail.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by GTO

Ground clearance:

The 2010 - 2012 F10s had 141 mm of ground clearance. Based on owner complaints, in 2013, BMW increased the ground clearance of the 5-Series (and 3-Series too) to 158 mm. The additional ground clearance is welcome. What the car has lost is the smart, low and planted stance of the earlier F10s. Go back to the exterior pictures and see that gap in the wheel well!

With their non-sagging suspensions, German cars don't scrape that easily. I've taken my C220 to various places over 100,000 kms and it hardly ever scraped. The BMW is no different, if initial impressions are anything to go by. The 530d has been on 3 highway trips already and the underbody has stayed well clear of speedbreakers & the like (including the super tall toll-naka bumps). Note: I haven't taken her out with a full load of 5 onboard & luggage though. Will update this review if any problems come up, although I'm not concerned due to the increased 158 mm clearance. A tip for 530d owners: Use Sport mode when the car is loaded. Because the dampers firm up, it won't sag.

Originally Posted by GTO

+ Ground clearance. The GC of the 2013+ update is fantastic! Had no issues on the entire drive and she cleared all broken / rural roads with ease (including the times I had to take half the car off the road). In 1,800 km, the single speed-bump she scraped over was one where the Innova ahead did too, so that doesn’t count.

Did a TD of the latest G30 5 series yesterday. Had serious issues with ground clearance. The car was scraping lots of regular sized speed breakers even when taken at crawling speeds. I have documented the TD in this post.

As you have mentioned about the 2010-2012 F10's having poor GC which BMW corrected later, looks like BMW has to do something with the G30 as well!

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by graaja

Did a TD of the latest G30 5 series yesterday. Had serious issues with ground clearance. The car was scraping lots of regular sized speed breakers even when taken at crawling speeds. I have documented the TD in this post.

As you have mentioned about the 2010-2012 F10's having poor GC which BMW corrected later, looks like BMW has to do something with the G30 as well!

Were the tires properly inflated? I own a G30 530i and have driven it over all kinds of roads in the last several months. Have never had a problem even with fairly large and abrupt bumps. I only had a scraping issue once when coming down a very steep path at an under-construction site.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Were the tires properly inflated? I own a G30 530i and have driven it over all kinds of roads in the last several months. Have never had a problem even with fairly large and abrupt bumps. I only had a scraping issue once when coming down a very steep path at an under-construction site.

Hi, thanks a lot for the response. I have asked the SA to check the pressure.

PS: I was planning to ask you some questions on the 530i in your ownership thread.

[Turbanator]

I have asked the SA to check the pressure.

I don't think the pressure will make any change as it must be running on RFT. I will usually put my older 7 on sports mode while crossing through speed breakers, so it's not just the GC but also suspension behaviour.

If you are holding your purchase just because of not enough GC, take another ride.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by graaja

Hi, thanks a lot for the response. I have asked the SA to check the pressure.

PS: I was planning to ask you some questions on the 530i in your ownership thread.

As Turbanator has mentioned pressure won't make any difference to the GC as RFTs have extremely hard sidewalls that don't deform much. They are after all designed to run even under zero pressure.

Down south we do have some nasty speed breakers. Also at times the road just at the base of the hump gets eroded and that makes the wheel sink in even more and can catch out even cars with decent GC. According to me, the 3 will not fare so much better than the 5 in this respect. Only way to know is to take back to back test drives. BMW's in particular don't take kindly to underbody hits. Oops didn't want to scare you!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by graaja

As you have mentioned about the 2010-2012 F10's having poor GC which BMW corrected later, looks like BMW has to do something with the G30 as well!

I just took my car out for another 500 km road-trip this last weekend and believe me, we crossed all kinds of roads. No scraping anywhere. Of course, I am cautious over the large humps (taking them at an angle instead of perpendicular attack), but the car was also loaded (4 adults + FULL boot), yet no scraping. In fact, ground clearance is the least of my worries with the F10.

This wasn't the case with the 2010 - 2012 F10s though. I think it'll be the same with the G30 as I doubt BMW would have already added some 'local touches' to it, but then again, the Indian G30 does look a bit 'raised' compared to the Euro spec. 84.monsoon also states that he has faced no GC issues. Maybe your demo car was closer to Euro spec than the actual customer cars? It is possible (early build).

Let me try getting the G30's official ground clearance rating from BMW. Not much of a wheelbase difference between the F10 & G30.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by GTO

Let me try getting the G30's official ground clearance rating from BMW. Not much of a wheelbase difference between the F10 & G30.

Confirmed. The G30's ground clearance is "around 158 mm" (sic) as well. Considering the marginal difference in wheelbase length, it should also be capable of touring India like the F10 is.

Be sure to engage 'sport' mode on bad stretches as it firms up the suspension (less sagging).

[graaja]

Originally Posted by GTO

Confirmed. The G30's ground clearance is "around 158 mm" (sic) as well. Considering the marginal difference in wheelbase length, it should also be capable of touring India like the F10 is.

Be sure to engage 'sport' mode on bad stretches as it firms up the suspension (less sagging).

Thanks a lot for the confirmation GTO. Will keep this in mind. Will also check with SA what could have caused this issue in the TD car.