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Post by Martin on Mar 25, 2017 14:18:29 GMT
As I reported on the last forum, I was a bit underwhelmed by the new 5 Series when I went to the launch evening. I've not been to look since, although I was a little tempted when I drove past my local dealer the other week and saw that they had a 540i demonstrator.
My Dad has had the new car itch for a little while. He's got an late 2011 ex demo 525d Estate which is pretty much 'fully loaded' and has only done about 40,000 miles, because its only used for long trips. Whatever he gets must fit in the garage, so that limits the width and it needs to be able to have a tow bar fitted, or ideally have a properly integrated one fitted at the factory (as he's got now). He's been through all sorts of options in his head, from a Flying Spud to an F Pace.
We were talking about the new 5 series when we were away the other weekend and I told him I was disappointed, but it's still probably the best option in the class and the 7 Series was in another league.
He emailed me earlier to tell me he'd been to look and I was right, the new 5 is disappointing, but the 7 is fabulous. I don't know whether it will work, as I can't see it fitting in the garage, but (amazingly), my mum had suggested they change the front of the garage to give one double width opening and a single (currently 3 x single doors) to get a bigger car in.
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Post by Roadrunner on Mar 25, 2017 18:50:35 GMT
Sounds like she's a keeper ;-)
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Post by Martin on Mar 25, 2017 20:55:40 GMT
Sounds like she's a keeper ;-) Ha ha! They've managed 45 years, so she must be! |
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Post by grampa on Mar 27, 2017 9:51:58 GMT
They have a three car garage??!! - wow - I would never have left home!
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Post by Martin on Mar 27, 2017 12:24:38 GMT
I used to keep the Sprite in one over the winter until I got my own garage. They have 2 cars, a caravan and a small boat, which all fit, along with a whole load of other stuff. It's nicely done as well, you wouldn't know you could fit a caravan in as all the doors look the same, but the end one is a 'barn door' (others are up and over) with a removable panel above. That's the benefit of having a house built to your specification, the only issue is the width of the garage doors, which where fine when it was built nearly 30 years ago.
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Post by Tim on Mar 28, 2017 10:12:37 GMT
I've never really understood the point of designing a double garage with 2 single doors.
How is your dad with all the tech that'll be in a new 7 series Martin?
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Post by Martin on Mar 28, 2017 10:33:50 GMT
No, our garage is the same (house is 7 years old) and a double door would be better, although the Boxster fits in nicely, so it's not a problem at the moment.
He'll be OK with a bit of training, as his current 5 has plenty of options. He worked it out to be about £12,000 worth, which just annoyed him because the only one that made a difference to the trade in value was the ProfessionalNavigation. They offered him £12,500, which he wasn't happy with. It would be a bargain for someone, as it's got the 3.0l engine, is just over 5 years old, has only done 36,000 miles and is absolutely immaculate.
The only option he has that he doesn't use is the self parking and that's because it takes too long / he prides himself in still being good at it, rather than him not understanding how to use it.
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Post by Tim on Mar 28, 2017 12:39:06 GMT
Conversely we've got a double door but the garage is actually quite small - it's fine for the Fiat and M5 but I wouldn't want to put 2 more modern, larger cars in it.
£12,500 of extras is crazy!
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Post by Martin on Mar 28, 2017 13:05:26 GMT
It's easily done, mine has over £9,000 worth and he's got an SE wth Sport Pack which was an expensive option as it included 19" wheels (£2000 option on an SE), sports seats etc. The parking pack would have been £1600, navigation wasn't std then so Professional Nav which was a £1300 option on mine would have been over £2,000, then you have 4 zone climate, panoramic roof, memory seats, electric towbar, wood trim etc etc.
It all adds up....very quickly, but it was an demo car so he didn't pay full price and got a decent deal.
When I spec a car up, it's rare it has less than £10k worth of options, which I know isn't good for resale, but it gets harder as you get used to more things.
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Post by michael on Mar 30, 2017 12:51:08 GMT
They offered him £12,500, which he wasn't happy with. It would be a bargain for someone, as it's got the 3.0l engine, is just over 5 years old, has only done 36,000 miles and is absolutely immaculate. That's quite tempting, is it black leather? |
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Post by Martin on Mar 30, 2017 14:59:41 GMT
They offered him £12,500, which he wasn't happy with. It would be a bargain for someone, as it's got the 3.0l engine, is just over 5 years old, has only done 36,000 miles and is absolutely immaculate. That's quite tempting, is it black leather? No, it's Oyster/Black, so very light coloured seats / lower dash and black carpets / upper dash. |
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Post by Big Blue on Mar 31, 2017 11:28:05 GMT
I think Michael needs to know the boot is black carpet  |
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Post by chipbutty on Mar 31, 2017 13:37:12 GMT
Apart from the exterior looks, what specifically about the new model is disappointing ?.
The interior looks fantastic and it's allegedly a peach to drive.
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Post by racingteatray on Mar 31, 2017 13:48:47 GMT
I find it looks a bit melted - we were stuck in traffic behind a pale gold one at the weekend. And personally I don't like the way the headlamps attach to the kidney grilles on the latest BMW designs.
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Post by Martin on Mar 31, 2017 14:14:27 GMT
The interior looks really good in pictures, but compared to an F10/F11 it doesn't feel like much of a step forwards in terms of quality, it feels a bit small/cramped (it isn't), I don't like the way the dashboard on the passenger side slopes down etc. If I had to buy a new car now with the same criteria as 2 years ago, it would be the new 5, but I have no desire to change mine.
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Post by ChrisM on Apr 1, 2017 19:56:06 GMT
..... And personally I don't like the way the headlamps attach to the kidney grilles on the latest BMW designs. ..and personally I do like this feature ! |
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Post by Tim on Apr 4, 2017 15:55:52 GMT
..... And personally I don't like the way the headlamps attach to the kidney grilles on the latest BMW designs. ..and personally I do like this feature ! I don't like it either and couldn't work out why my 320 didn't offend me until I realised the grille surround and the little trim fillet between there and the lights were in black. It makes a huge difference to the look of the car.
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Post by johnc on Apr 4, 2017 20:00:50 GMT
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Post by Big Blue on Apr 6, 2017 8:28:28 GMT
I find it looks a bit melted - we were stuck in traffic behind a pale gold one at the weekend. And personally I don't like the way the headlamps attach to the kidney grilles on the latest BMW designs. +1 The lights meeting the grille is a fundamental problem with the current design direction - it's making the front look too generic. The kidney grille has been totally fucked up by some need to have a big, wide grille because others have done so. If they can't resolve the cooling with the 500 other vents they've added to the front end, what they need to do is have the big wide grille as one section in body colour (or black for lowly spec) with a small pair of kidneys in the middle. Like a modern E30 / early E34. |
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Post by Martin on Apr 6, 2017 9:04:08 GMT
I'm getting used to it, but do prefer the old solution. One thing it does fix is the slightly 'squinty eyed' look, which is slightly worse on the F10/11 than the 3/4 Series. The best looking versions are the ones with optional LEDs, especially the 5 series as the units look bettter and slim the front of the car as the headlights part is wide due to the indicator being a strip above the lights. I would say that of course, but it was one of the reasons I specified them.
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2017 14:17:40 GMT
That's quite tempting, is it black leather? No, it's Oyster/Black, so very light coloured seats / lower dash and black carpets / upper dash. Perfect colour combo. £12,500 would be a bargain for someone. Indeed I'd have bought it if I hadn't just got the X5. If he does want to sell I'll stick it on a few forums. |
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Post by racingteatray on Apr 20, 2017 15:47:51 GMT
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Post by Martin on Apr 20, 2017 15:52:03 GMT
He does, but no more than the previous model, which (without driving one) is how I feel. A great car, but not one I'm desperate to replace mine with.
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