[changed]

So my quandary....

The F10 is now 4 yrs old, I’m paying £100 a month warranty in top of the pcp. I think it’s about break even time on finance (I hope) and I have tyres/services coming up. This all points to a new motor!!

But I’m totally unsure what next... this was my first 5er after having a 3 and a 1 coupe before so it has to be bmw and I love the refinement of the 5.

I need to be family savvy really.. certainly 4 doors, probably a hatch/touring. But I love cars so must be an msport and has to be a nice one.

I don’t think I can afford the G30 touring in a spec I want, and I’m not sure if a 4 grand coupe would feel to small or unrefined. I’m even considering x3 but again probably to many £££.

Perhaps I just keep the f10

[Jim-Bow]

Finance deals on the G30 are excellent at the moment, it was cheaper for me to get into a new one than it was to refinance the old 330d - the spec was also better in the g30 too

[martin mustang]

GC 4 to composate for the inferior feel of the interior of the 3 and 4 sereis in comparison to the F10, i.e. the good looks of the GC4, the face lift changes worked spot on on an already good package.

[JLR1969]

Not a fan of the G30 the shape just doesn't work for me.

12 month old M5 with 2,000 miles for £48K now that's worth having and there are a lot on BMW Used

[shiner]

Originally Posted by JLR1969

Not a fan of the G30 the shape just doesn't work for me.

12 month old M5 with 2,000 miles for £48K now that's worth having and there are a lot on BMW Used

The serving costs on the M5 make hard men weep.....

[shiner]

Like you, I was unsure last November when the warranty expired on mine so just stuck the extended warranty on it.

... I will review at the end of this year what to do when mine hits four years. Only 36000 miles and is a beaut. It'll cost a bomb to get something remotely like it. My gut instinct is to run it until it's five years old then review the market,

[IanS100]

Originally Posted by shiner

...I will review at the end of this year what to do when mine hits four years. Only 36000 miles and is a beaut. It'll cost a bomb to get something remotely like it. My gut instinct is to run it until it's five years old then review the market,

That's petty much my feeling, at 3 yrs old now my 2.0d with 40k on the clock depreciation plus extended warranty are a fraction of that on a new car so I'll be running it for a good few years yet, then I'll see what the market has to offer.

[changed]

Hmm really hard decision... in paying £350 monthly for my current 520 msport lci inc warranty.

I can have a new one for £450 it’s only an extra £100 so I’m really tempted other than having a £40k debt on pcp.

The annoying part is there’s a lovely 8mth old one around for just £33k but the finance actually works out £50 more than a new one!!!

[en1gma]

Originally Posted by changed

The annoying part is there’s a lovely 8mth old one around for just £33k but the finance actually works out £50 more than a new one!!!

That's also the reason I went new: better finances than I could get for a used one/from the banks...

I also looked at the 4GC as i like the looks, but my son is a teenager now (he's not that tall, c5'8"/1.73m) and the roof slopes too much, it touches his hair when stationary - you can imagine going over speed bumps!

[JLR1969]

Originally Posted by changed

Hmm really hard decision... in paying £350 monthly for my current 520 msport lci inc warranty.

I can have a new one for £450 it’s only an extra £100 so I’m really tempted other than having a £40k debt on pcp.

The annoying part is there’s a lovely 8mth old one around for just £33k but the finance actually works out £50 more than a new one!!!

What about waiting for the new 3 series?

The new 5 is a large car, I think too large unless it's on a motorway

[shiner]

Originally Posted by JLR1969

What about waiting for the new 3 series?

The new 5 is a large car, I think too large unless it's on a motorway

My GF says exactly that. Too big for her to drive and park.

[changed]

Hmm fair point in the 3 series.. and very useful comment on 4gc I have 2 teenagers who would need to be housed in the back... although I could make a great game going over the speed humps 😄😄

[Balster]

I was in a similar situation. PCP + warranty. So I decided to buy a new G30 with most of the tech. It costs me less than how much I was paying before. Also, my car is worth less than giving it back to BMW.
I wanted to buy a 7, but OH said it was too big.

[Ronstein]

Originally Posted by changed

So my quandary....

The F10 is now 4 yrs old, I’m paying £100 a month warranty in top of the pcp. I think it’s about break even time on finance (I hope) and I have tyres/services coming up. This all points to a new motor!!

But I’m totally unsure what next... this was my first 5er after having a 3 and a 1 coupe before so it has to be bmw and I love the refinement of the 5.

I need to be family savvy really.. certainly 4 doors, probably a hatch/touring. But I love cars so must be an msport and has to be a nice one.

I don’t think I can afford the G30 touring in a spec I want, and I’m not sure if a 4 grand coupe would feel to small or unrefined. I’m even considering x3 but again probably to many £££.

Perhaps I just keep the f10

Despite the haters, the 3GT is a very good car and has considerably better rear leg and headroom compared to any other 3 series (it's based on the Chinese market 3 LWB chassis). Definitely worth having a drive!!

[en1gma]

I haven't driven a 3GT but assume it will be fine. I have sat in the back of one, and it was huge - loads of space!

If you are OK with the looks, it's a contender with the amount of internal space in a smaller footprint than a 5.

[changed]

Went to the dealers yesterday and even more confused now!!! Sat in basically every car in the show room.... I think i am quite partial to the X3, but that aside the 3series feels just a bit umm... non luxurious???, the 4 looks great but in addition to the above I think it’s just to small overall. Sat in the 5 and it felt like home straight away. On the way out I pulled up next to a touring and lined the cars up, in my opinion it is absolutely no bigger at all.

So 5 it should be, but it still doesn’t solve the fact I don’t want a £50k debt whatever the monthly is!!!

[xenon]

Whatever you do, test drive a 3 series before buying one. I foolishly didn't after two F10s and the refinement is horrendous by comaprison.

[changed]

That’s what scares me xenon! I may just be better sticking with a 4 year old car and paying for what needs to be done!

[Martin2C]

Originally Posted by xenon

Whatever you do, test drive a 3 series before buying one. I foolishly didn't after two F10s and the refinement is horrendous by comaprison.

Sound advice. I’ve driven 4 over the last couple of years, including a fairly well specced (inc adaptive dampers) 320d hire car on a weeks holiday and they are quite a step down from a 5 Series.

The new 5 is a bit more comfortable, but feels like a bit of a step backwards inside (quality) and out (styling), so if I have another BMW it will have to be a 740d.

[martin mustang]

X cars are a joke the quality have nothing to do with BMW, we are at our 2nd X car ordered new, after having the worst car ever the 2nd generation X3, going on the basis and thinking our X3 was a Sunday before a bank holiday car, and being one of the 1st X3 produced, we decided last year to switch to an X5, hopping the fact it is an expensive car and in production few years, so all defects fixed, how wrong in the 1st month the box with the switches for the seat controls came off, the dealer told us it was faulty screw that broke, it feel cheap and loose even after fixing, the chrome on the dash board around the vents is loose and out of line with other chrome bit above the glove compartments, it is simply not glued properly, an eyesore and the A pillar cover feel empty and cheap, as well as the door top cover every time I rest my arm on it, it feels empty on the inside and loose, and as per a tread in the X5 forum we find out that all X5 40e are delivered with the plug cover not aligned in one corner, hence looking like it is not locked properly.

Our other BMW's made in Germany are simply different quality and as expected, the X5 is for sure our last X car ever.
My advice from experience, avoid the X cars if you have a lengthy experience with normal BMWs made in Germany, you will simply be disappointed, especially when you paying the premium SUV price.

Originally Posted by changed

Went to the dealers yesterday and even more confused now!!! Sat in basically every car in the show room.... I think i am quite partial to the X3, but that aside the 3series feels just a bit umm... non luxurious???, the 4 looks great but in addition to the above I think it’s just to small overall. Sat in the 5 and it felt like home straight away. On the way out I pulled up next to a touring and lined the cars up, in my opinion it is absolutely no bigger at all.

So 5 it should be, but it still doesn’t solve the fact I don’t want a £50k debt whatever the monthly is!!!