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Old 25th October 2010, 21:07   #1
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My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!

Hey all,

This probably is the first time I am posting in this section, not because I never got a new car in last few years, but only because of the strange mentality and should I say? Pure Addiction?I am not good as writing as good as some of you are, so will try do the best I can, do read the following it might be interesting.

Revind back to 2005, Our garage included a S350L & E240, (W211 & W210) and events of which some old members may recollect but to keep it simple it was one of the worst ownership experience in my life, not just mine but also my dad who at that time was 65 year old. So frustrated were we that on one fine day we called a broker and asked him to sell all of it by the end of the day, which he gladly did and dad replaced his 'S350L' with a humble Getz & me who used the E's swapped to the Ford Fiesta, which was launched on the day we sold our cars and the dealer gave me one of the test cars he had the Fiesta 1.6 Sxi.

Believe me life was beautiful, no more wondering if the car will collapse, no more having a driver come 200 kilometers across the state with a Maruti van to pick us up because the gear box fails and no more dealing with Mercedes-Benz India and the dealership who would just always say,"Sir, please do not worry, you are in good hands. We will take care of it"

Just to add to all of it, we sold these cars in November 2005 and January 2006 is when my sister was getting married, so you can imagine the frustration. Infact I do remember dad once saying, if we use the S-Class for the wedding don't you think we should get a Honda City as back up? As funny as it sounds, it was a serious consideration.

Getting back to last week, my wife who lives in the U.S is going to be back to India, and mind you she has never really lived in India so was thinking of car options for her and dad insisted I get her a nice car, Options were i20, Vento 1.6TDI, Jazz, and obviously I test drove all on Saturday & Sunday and liked the Vento but we already have a Jetta TDI so kinda felt like you were in a similar place. i20 was nice too and was the final contender and while going back home from the hyundai showroom on the way we had a F10 525d in front of us, and I realized I have'nt met the owner since a while and thought I will go say a 'Hi' to him, which I did and over a cup of tea I just casually said, can I keep the F10 (525d) for few hours? He was fine with it, and when I drove it I had the biggest smile in years for a car and I just called to ask if he had any 530d's in stock? to which he says I will revert on monday morning.

Monday Morning : October 25, 2010

I get a call from the dealership saying they have one which landed this morning, I said I will check it out and I go to their workshop and the sales manager was there too, we had a cup of tea together and I looked at the car and I was like I want it, I asked him if I can take a picture of the interior and ask my wife if she is ok with it, as the car has a combination of Black / Oyster and my wife needs all black, he was like sure go ahead, I take a grainy picture of it using my phone and email it to her and wait for her reply, in the mean time the owner comes and this is our conversation,

Him : Boss, You have to take this home.
Me : Sure and have nightmares with service? and I don't think my wife will want a car with this light interior.
Him : Ok, take her approval until then im getting the PDI done for you.
Me : No, please do it tommorrow once I get confirmation.
Him : No it's ok, even if you don't want it, I need to get it done.
Me : Ok, I'm in a rush I need to go will call you once I get the confirmation.
Him : Don't call me I am going to be busy just take the car if she says yes I will keep it ready.

I leave at about 12:50 P.M when it's about 3:20 A.M in Washington, and at 4:05 P.M in a meeting and I get multiple calls from her, and I picked once and she was like "GET IT RIGHT NOW"

I left right away, When I got to the service centre in my Jetta they were doing final touches to the car and I spoke to Mr.Munshi, who is their service manager and since I had to reach some place I just asked them to complete it in a day or so, and drove off with it and thanked the owner as never in my Life have I bought a car without any payments / Insurance etc. and this goes to show how good the dealership is.

There is very little that one can speak about this car, GTO in his review has summed it all up very well, all I can say is and I quote from his review, "I fall in the 1% who will not drive the 525d"

At the end of it, am I happy? ofcourse to know that I got a good car for my wife, but ofcourse the past does worry me on service etc. Hopefully BMW will change what Mercedes-Benz damaged.

My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-f10530d.jpg

My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-530dd.jpg

Woke up at 6 A.M today, and on the way to work which includes a smooth road, and a bumpy one and the last half a kilometer is pretty much offroading and as of now the car feels quite composed, I hardly have hit or scratched any component any place, the ride is fine and looks like the F10 is well made with the run flats too, coming from Mercedes-Benz all my life, I still can vouch for ergonomics being better in a Mercedes-Benz, while some of it maybe because I need to get used to the new world but I do believe Mercedes-Benz placements of buttons etc. are far superior and everything feels like it is easy for you to access, but then again maybe it is only because its the first day. Eg. I had a hard time finding where the rear sunshade button was, also for some reason the radio was on mute and could not figure where to unmute it from even though I tried increase the volume from the steering wheel?

Things I like about the car? Everything, love the bluetooth pairing of the phone and how easy the whole process is and idrive it self has come a long way and dare I say is better then the COMAND Mercedes-Benz use in their S-Class? (S-Class you can make seat adjustments too)

The engine, one of the finest parts of the car, if you read GTO's review all positives are very well written but this upgrade makes it a whole new car, my experience with the 525d is limited to the test car only but I have driven the 535i & 550i and believe me this engine makes the 35i a baseless engine no wonder BMW decided to just sell it as a CBU unit. One thing though I wish this had twin pipes at the rear which the 535i does have one on each side.

Seats are nice, and infact when the W212 came out I had complains about the leather being used by Mercedes-Benz India, as the seats felt harder then the ones in the US but no such difference in the F10, which I could check out side by side with the 535i. But as I always have mentioned I still think they need to add ventilated seats, this is my opinion since years as I do believe it's a great feature for our hot weather climate and believe me it hardly will add to much of a cost.

I'm quite surprised with the amount of CD/DVD slots, one in the dash, one in the glove box and one at the rear for rear seat entertainment, but for some reason the car does not have head phones, I will check this but in the US spec I think the car does come with head phones for the rear, not that it matters because the rear is where I never will be!

Lastly, and one of the best thing about the 530d is the steering wheel, in the 525d it's quite plain jane but in this it's nice and thick with a metal rim insert along with thumb rests on the rim and last but the best, "Paddle shifters"

Will keep updating this tread but until now, this is one of the best purchases I have made, hopefully the opinion will remain.

Regards,

Last edited by GTO : 27th October 2010 at 10:37. Reason: Adding your car review to the opening post itself
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Old 25th October 2010, 21:22   #2
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Heartiest congrats on getting this absolute brute of a car !!! All that power with those understated looks.Beautiful. Hope your wife enjoys flying it !
Cheers
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Old 25th October 2010, 21:28   #3
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Congrats on the car, that is one brilliant machine you have picked for your wife. I am pretty confident you wouldn't face with BMW, what you faced with MB. Going by the ownership reports here, most Bimmer folks are happy.

And yes, more pics awaited
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Old 25th October 2010, 21:37   #4
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@S350L-E240: Congratulations!! What a car! I drove a friends car over the weekend and it was an awesome car! it did insane speeds and no one could feel it! the ride is all soft and makes you all happy happy!!
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Old 26th October 2010, 15:51   #5
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Platzaturbo, I believe you have one gorgeous brute too, thanks a lot! and jagxf, I'm sure that 5.0L should be one gorgeous ride and sachinj12, I do hope all goes well like I said only keeping fingers crossed and until my wife returns it's mine so yeah will make the best use of it

Coming back to the car, woke up at 6 A.M today, and on the way to work which includes a smooth road, and a bumpy one and the last half a kilometer is pretty much offroading and as of now the car feels quite composed, I hardly have hit or scratched any component any place, the ride is fine and looks like the F10 is well made with the run flats too, coming from Mercedes-Benz all my life, I still can vouch for ergonomics being better in a Mercedes-Benz, while some of it maybe because I need to get used to the new world but I do believe Mercedes-Benz placements of buttons etc. are far superior and everything feels like it is easy for you to access, but then again maybe it is only because its the first day. Eg. I had a hard time finding where the rear sunshade button was, also for some reason the radio was on mute and could not figure where to unmute it from even though I tried increase the volume from the steering wheel?

Things I like about the car? Everything, love the bluetooth pairing of the phone and how easy the whole process is and idrive it self has come a long way and dare I say is better then the COMAND Mercedes-Benz use in their S-Class? (S-Class you can make seat adjustments too)

The engine, one of the finest parts of the car, if you read GTO's review all positives are very well written but this upgrade makes it a whole new car, my experience with the 525d is limited to the test car only but I have driven the 535i & 550i and believe me this engine makes the 35i a baseless engine no wonder BMW decided to just sell it as a CBU unit. One thing though I wish this had twin pipes at the rear which the 535i does have one on each side.

Seats are nice, and infact when the W212 came out I had complains about the leather being used by Mercedes-Benz India, as the seats felt harder then the ones in the US but no such difference in the F10, which I could check out side by side with the 535i. But as I always have mentioned I still think they need to add ventilated seats, this is my opinion since years as I do believe it's a great feature for our hot weather climate and believe me it hardly will add to much of a cost.

I'm quite surprised with the amount of CD/DVD slots, one in the dash, one in the glove box and one at the rear for rear seat entertainment, but for some reason the car does not have head phones, I will check this but in the US spec I think the car does come with head phones for the rear, not that it matters because the rear is where I never will be!

Lastly, and one of the best thing about the 530d is the steering wheel, in the 525d it's quite plain jane but in this it's nice and thick with a metal rim insert along with thumb rests on the rim and last but the best, "Paddle shifters"

Will keep updating this tread but until now, this is one of the best purchases I have made, hopefully the opinion will remain.

Regards,
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Old 27th October 2010, 10:44   #6
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Congrats on the torque monster, S350! For someone who has Mercedes Benz woven into his forum handle, BMW must be doing something right for you to switch over. I hope she proves reliable over the longer term. And there's always the 5 year service + warranty package to fall back upon (a BMW USP).

The new 5 is my favourite from the current 50 lakh sedan segment. The classic timeless design, stupendously powerful 6 cylinder turbo diesel, smooth 8 speed tranny and comfortable ride quality make it an all rounder. Sure, the steering isn't the pure hydraulic unit of the E60 - this car's single weak point - but the F10 is better composed over broken roads (ride quality as well as grip levels).

Quote:
Originally Posted by S350L-E240 View Post
I do believe Mercedes-Benz placements of buttons etc. are far superior and everything feels like it is easy for you to access
Agreed, Merc controls are far more intuitive in their placement.

We need proper pictures from all possible angles!
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Old 27th October 2010, 15:56   #7
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Congrats man, that is one nice car you got. How about some more pics?

And I do hope you are keeping that for yourself Give the Jetta to your wife.
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Old 27th October 2010, 16:55   #8
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Congrats ! Good choice of engine and color.

I haven't driven the 530d but did drive the 525d and felt it lacked the 'punch' to some extent. But I think the 530d would more than have that covered.

Are you planning to add any upgraded wheels or packages ?



Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Agreed, Merc controls are far more intuitive in their placement.

We need proper pictures from all possible angles!
I remember complaining about this during our TD, I found myself lost in the controls.
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Old 27th October 2010, 20:13   #9
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GTO, trust me while BMW has done everything right, Mercedes did everything wrong, I'm sure you do remember those cars were a major reason for issues on the forum too, though at that time it was partly due to a certain threat which I baselessly fell for but still the point is more then BMW doing right Mercedes did all the wrong and believe me the fact that BMW caught up so well is partially due to how unprofessional Mercedes was and not to mention their technical problems, I know so many W221's with 7G issues, to the point where the car has stalled.

Not only in the 50L segment, but IMO this is as good a car as one needs to daily use, unless extra rear legroom is needed for which I do believe the F01/02 is the best thing available in the market.

akshay1234, Adding more pics, I aint any good at the camera and infact if someone can help me what settings do I use to take a good picture of the Corona rings? I use a Canon Powershot G11? And no, I will continue using the Jetta, this will be her car and hers alone, and lets see if BMW is good in the long run's the entire family who always drove nothing but Mercedes is ready to make the move infact the dealer is so good it's been 4 days now and I've still not paid a penny. So yeah like I said will take a wait and watch approach, and if all's well will expand the portfolio.

Sahil, Honestly speaking still living on the edge with fears from past, so for now intend to keep the car as is, infact I don't think I will need tints either, but then will wait for the summer to test the a/c.


Some more observations :

1. The glovebox is a little delicate / flimsy, might have to get it checked.

2. Ergonomics are still an issue, and no matter what position I use for the steering wheel I just cannot manage to see certain data on the lower end of the instrument cluster? I'm 5'6'' so am curious if I am too short for this?

3. Standard seats are as good as they get, and also on the softer side compared to Mercedes which I found hard and have mentioned earlier.

4. Steering wheel is miles ahead compared to the basic one in the 525d / other lower end models, and if it is possible to retro fit I do recommend this one upgrade. The rim itself is a pleasure to hold, and the metal inserts do help visually on an otherwise boring design. Ofcourse the thumb rests are a pleasure too.

5. Keys could have been smaller and have a lot better look and feel to it, I love Mercedes-Benz keys with the metal rim around it. Looks expensive.

6. Interior lighting is not so nice, I mean when you unlock an S-Class or most other Mercedes cars you get a sense of having arrived, which is not so well done in the BMW. (Unless the Indian package do not have the nicer ambient lights package which Mercedes do, Someone could clarify?)

7. Just realised the car has a USB port in the glove box and in the centre arm rest, Will check it tommorrow if both work in a similar manner for similar devices or perhaps the one in the glovebox is to download songs onto the inbuilt hard disc.

8. The biggest problem is no space for a spare wheel, and to have one extra one in the boot will use a lot of space so any suggestions from fellow members could help in long drives with the Run flats?

Thats all for now, Will keep updating this thread just waiting for 1500 kms to be done, and then traction control goes off, sport mode on and Kickdown!!

Sorry for the quality of pictures I just cannot take good pictures and mostly use the Auto mode on the camera.
Attached Thumbnails
My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-img_2065.jpg  

My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-img_2069.jpg  

My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-img_2070.jpg  

My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-img_2071.jpg  

My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-img_2072.jpg  

My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-img_2088.jpg  

My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-img_2089.jpg  

My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-img_2090.jpg  

My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-img_2091.jpg  

Attached Images
 

Last edited by S350L-E240 : 27th October 2010 at 20:15.
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Old 28th October 2010, 00:01   #10
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Firstly Congatulations!This is an awesome machine the new 5 series.When it first came out i was quite dissapointed with the design that seems so mellow after the agressive E60,but after having spotted so many on road it looks very good in flesh.

These days German reliability and flatbeds seem to be so much in vogue,with most breaking down so often!I hope you have a trouble free time with the BMW.
Did you opt for the BSI package?

Seriously when i read that line when you replaced a S350L with a Getz and then life is beautiful i was like Huh?
But then getz is just a wee bit smaller,and i guess a few less buttons

Last edited by avishar : 28th October 2010 at 00:03.
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Old 28th October 2010, 08:14   #11
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Nice pictures I especially loved the Angel Eyes effect.
Am putting in 2 pictures one of which is the headlight pic of your car for reference . Hope you dont mind -
2 pics of 2 trademark styles of 2 very popular manufacturers
( The pic i have clicked it absolutely horrible and does not do any justice to the beauty of those DRLs but nonetheless )
Attached Thumbnails
My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-5.jpg  

My F10 BMW 530d - Wise or Blunder? Only time shall tell!-4.jpg  

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Old 28th October 2010, 08:58   #12
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Congrats on the lovely looking white beemer. The 3.0 engine should keep you grinning quite wide whenever the throttle is pinned down.

Do enjoy many more happy miles with the Beemer.
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Old 28th October 2010, 12:19   #13
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Congrats on what can be called the quintessential Bimmer...bigger than the 3-, smaller than the 7-. The Porsche Cayman among BMWs.
A very polished, sophisticated looking machine nonetheless.


Quote:
Originally Posted by S350L-E240 View Post
Hey all,

So frustrated were we that on one fine day we called a broker and asked him to sell all of it by the end of the day, which he gladly did and dad replaced his 'S350L' with a humble Getz & me who used the E's swapped to the Ford Fiesta, which was launched on the day we sold our cars and the dealer gave me one of the test cars he had the Fiesta 1.6 Sxi.

Believe me life was beautiful
Stumbled upon this while reading between the lines.
That must be one of the insanest demotions by choice! And your handle always made me think otherwise.
Folks considering buying Mercs would think and rethink.....n, about their consideration.

Wishing that you have a great experience with it.

Last edited by Jayabusa : 28th October 2010 at 12:26.
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Old 28th October 2010, 12:42   #14
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Congratulations S350 on buying the fabulous 530D. We had test driven this in UK before buying the XF and I loved the 8 speed gearbox, the engine and those fabulous lights. In UK, BMW offers a 3 year service package at about £ 350 only which is very good. But in India, I understand they offer a even better 5 year service package in India, hope you have taken that.

BMW's insistence on Run Flats is a big problem which I did not like. One puncture and the tyre is finished and user has to shell out £ 250 for each tyre. Hope you have changed the RFT's to the normal tyres, as in India, RFT may be even bigger problem. And sadly like you have written, there is no dedicated space for a spare tyre. You will have to keep it in the boot.

BMW is king in the Executive and Compact Executive segments, so 5 and 3 series are better than E and C class. However in Luxury segment, S class rules.

Drive safe and continue to post your ownership experience.

Last edited by akj53 : 28th October 2010 at 12:46.
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Old 28th October 2010, 14:40   #15
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Congrats for the 530D. Wishing you and your car miles and miles of happiness, reliability and driving pleasure. Well 530D is my dream car and that too in white. What a pretty sight it makes! Wish to lay my hands on this beauty in the near future.
How is the build quality in comparison to your previous mercs?
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