[bike99]

It's too late for me (I wish I saw it 6 months ago ).
Anyway can be useful for those looking for options.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/ulti...s-guide/256028

[gatoman39]

The dealers were confused when ordering. The consumers are confused when ordering. Das confusion symmetry!

[ccuk-F10]

Thanks! - good link.

I wish I'd got the USB connection and heated seats (not standard in 11/2010). Otherwise, I'm happy with my options.

[delvek]

Went through the pages, sort of happy this wasn't around when I ordered, everything is too expensive according to the writer and almost nothing has a residual value affect. Could I show this article to prospective buyers who have higher expectations?

the 90% diesel must be UK not worldwide.

[acey81]

Must be very market specific. In Sweden few would be a car like this without xenons, yet according to this article they hold no residual value, yet nav pro seems to be a must.

[Shake n Bake]

Originally Posted by acey81

Must be very market specific. In Sweden few would be a car like this without xenons, yet according to this article they hold no residual value, yet nav pro seems to be a must.

Given the low low volume of used F10/F11's on the market I doubt there is a lot of data of what extras are desireable to second-hand purchasers. I'm sure they can extrapolate from other car's in the class but it's still an informed guess right now, wouldn't you say?

[delvek]

I think its well known that the more options on a car the better chance of resale. At least from my standpoint. I have never not sold a car because it had heated seats but I have missed a sale because I didnt. That whole article/review is bizarre.

[RCUK]

The article is written for the UK market - its a uk publication.

Re options - its pretty much known that u wont get much back on resale for them. People will want them - but they wont pay for them and will just shop around til they find the right car at the right price.

Only option that might swing someone for me would be Navigation.

[SpawneyGet]

I just sold my E61 535D M Sport. In the UK, for E60/61;

Must-haves (because very few don't):
- Auto
- Media Pack (prof sat navs)
- Visibility pack

The rest are pretty much desirable but won't affect resale value much. Sunroof might fetch few hundred more, perhaps £300.

Desirable means having more optional extras enables a car to be sold quicker but people won't be prepared to pay more for them.

For F10/11, I am beginning to get concerned that perhaps I should have added some (if not all) suspension things including steering onto my M Sport as I noticed a lot of you guys have had them and I am worried that I may be one of the few without. I won't say I miss them because one cannot miss what one have never had. I never even test drove one with because M Sport suspension was more than adequate for my road driving.

[RCUK]

I think one further thing to add though is the higher up the range u go - 530/535 people expect more toys when it comes to buying 2nd hand.

In the 520d range - people seem to be less choosy, perhaps as the majority of these are going to be company cars so extra's are limited by company budgets.

[northernmonkey]

Originally Posted by RCUK

I think one further thing to add though is the higher up the range u go - 530/535 people expect more toys when it comes to buying 2nd hand.

In the 520d range - people seem to be less choosy, perhaps as the majority of these are going to be company cars so extra's are limited by company budgets.

i think this is pretty accurate.

i've bought my last 5 cars (E46,E60,E60,E92,F11) as private purchases and each time taken the lazy approach of dealer trade in for the outgoing car...in most cases i've been given same part-ex value for the car from multiple dealers without even seeing the car. dealers can see the spec on their system for themselves and most options don't affect resale, mileage, condition, colour (exterior and interior) are as (if not more) important.

options can make the sale quicker but for my purchases i'm not buying the options for the next owner i buy them for me. I spend a lot of time in the car and its usually the one place i get some time to myself to listen to music etc so spending some £££ to make the experience more enjoyable seems ok to me.

as a rule if i did tick some options with some re-sale thought in mind it would always be for UK market:

* if engine > 2.0 auto is almost a must very few people want a manual 3.0 or larger, until the latest 2.0 units and boxes came out most 2.0 autos were sluggish, definitely NOT the case now...well done BMW
* media package
* leather (not issue now its std)
* ipod connection (same as leather....now usb std no prob)

pretty much everything else is difficult to judge what value it adds come resale everything I put on mine I put on because I like the toys as a retail buyer if buying approved used i'd definitely seek out the following as must haves as well

* xenons
* dab
* panoramic roof (if touring model)

other stuff is nice to have.

[RCUK]

Thats actually a very important comment.

Buy the car you want to spend the next few years driving.. not the car u think the next buyer might want!

[acey81]

Originally Posted by RCUK

I think one further thing to add though is the higher up the range u go - 530/535 people expect more toys when it comes to buying 2nd hand.

In the 520d range - people seem to be less choosy, perhaps as the majority of these are going to be company cars so extra's are limited by company budgets.

Totally agree. And also, the older the car gets the less important the gadgets become. If you sell your cars within 3 years, the extras will probably have a higher impact on the desirability and resale value. However in 6-7-8 years time the condition of the car and miles will be more important.

Must have for me if I was to buy a second hand F10, or in my case, F11 (within 2-3 years).

Xenons
Nav Pro
M-sport
Leather
Auto

[bike99]

To be honest when I saw it I recalled all hours spent on the list of options trying to figure out which are "must" and which "nice to have". I did not care about the residual value. I cared about the budget I was ready to spend, and what were the best picks within that budget. I know there is at least one option I just forgot to order, which is easy if the list is a few pages long.
When the money you can spend on options can double the price of the car (and it is a case with 520), you have to be very careful when making choices.

[Titanflux]

Originally Posted by bike99

To be honest when I saw it I recalled all hours spent on the list of options trying to figure out which are "must" and which "nice to have". I did not care about the residual value. I cared about the budget I was ready to spend, and what were the best picks within that budget. I know there is at least one option I just forgot to order, which is easy if the list is a few pages long.
When the money you can spend on options can double the price of the car (and it is a case with 520), you have to very careful when making choices.

+1 totally agree. It's about getting as much as you want and trading things off within your budget. No point worrying a lot over resale, especially with a 520d, that's a long way in the future! Other things like mileage and overall condition will make a bigger impact.

[Jon D]

I sometimes wonder where these magazines get their figures from and the repeated inaccuracies only serve to increase their dubious reputation. This is what they say about the 550i:

"550i from £53,040 saloon only..... Average mpg 46.3mpg"

BMW's figure is 27.2 mpg combined! OK, it's probably nothing more than a 'What Car' typo, but, to me at least, it just shows that you should take anything they say with a healthy degree of scepticism.

[Titanflux]

Originally Posted by Jon D

I sometimes wonder where these magazines get their figures from and the repeated inaccuracies only serve to increase their dubious reputation. This is what they say about the 550i:

"550i from £53,040 saloon only..... Average mpg 46.3mpg"

BMW's figure is 27.2 mpg combined! OK, it's probably nothing more than a 'What Car' typo, but, to me at least, it just shows that you should take anything they say with a healthy degree of scepticism.

Totally agree - and it's only an opinion of one (maybe two) probably freelance writer at the end of the day.