[NigeNige]

I went into my dealer this afternoon to hand over my cherished registration retention certificate. My new 520 d wil take on my registration that has been on all my cars for the past 25+ years

And the news is that the car is built and on the boat and on the way to the dealer. It should arrive on 17th March. Pick up date wil depend on how long they need to prepare it and when I am home from my business travels.

So there will will be a few weeks of uncontainable excitement. I will try to share it on this forum with a countdown based loosely on 5 series history I can't promise to do such a good job as Balster with his magnificent countdown but I hope it will keep me calm while I wait for the big day

Nigel

[Shake n Bake]

Congratulations! I hope the anticipation is bearable :-) it's like being a kid counting down to Christmas.

[Piers]

Great news, 17th will be here before you know it

[Balster]

Great news, exciting times. What spec did you go for?

[NigeNige]

Originally Posted by Balster

Great news, exciting times. What spec did you go for?

Ordered F10 520d Luxury Saloon Jet Black Oyster / Black Dakota leather with Exclusive stitching

Options
255 Sport Steering Wheel
2TE Automatic transmission with gearshift paddles
2W1 18" Multi-spoke style 454 alloy wheels
320 Model designation deletion
3AG Reversing Assist camera
481 Sport seats, front
4BN Dark Ash wood interior trim
4UR Ambient lighting
552 Adaptive LED Headlights
5AC High-beam Assistant
5AR Traffic Jam Assist
5AT Driving Assistant Plus
610 Head-up Display
6WB Multi-functional instrument panel

What experience do forum members have with these options?

Nigel

[Welshman]

I wouldn't have specced the HUD on my car - I bought a showroom car - but now that I have it I'm very pleased with it. Particularly useful in conjunction with the SatNav as the directions and distance to turn are there in front of you, not off to the left.

[Balster]

The following are a winning combination:
5AR Traffic Jam Assist
5AT Driving Assistant Plus
610 Head-up Display
6WB Multi-functional instrument panel

Lots of useful pictures everywhere.

[MickyD'bo]

Exciting times. Roll on the 17th.

[NigeNige]

here is a pic taken from the "build your bmw" on the bmw web site. It gives a good idea of what the car will look like.

There are a couple of things I wish I had ordered "speed limit display" and the "extended climate control". I am not sure what the differences are between the two options offered. I am not so concerned about the rear seat individual controls, but I think the additional control and vents for the front seaters would be nice. Any thoughts from those that have extended climate control.

Nige

[NigeNige]

Here is my other motoring passion. A nice toy to play with in this nice weather while I wait for the 520d

Nige

[Piers]

Nice bike.

Re the MFD - worth the £500 all day long
Very futuristic, makes dials seem very old hat now
Sat nav in the middle of the 'dials'
More computer info
Music changes within rev counter
All of this means you have two screens, the MFD and the idrive.

I am afraid I do not have the others

[Welshman]

Originally Posted by NigeNige

Here is my other motoring passion. A nice toy to play with in this nice weather while I wait for the 520d

Nige

The VFR is a good bike. My first "big" bike after passing my test was a VFR 750 FT. Now I've got these:

[Jocky Wilson]

Originally Posted by Balster

The following are a winning combination:
5AR Traffic Jam Assist
5AT Driving Assistant Plus
610 Head-up Display
6WB Multi-functional instrument panel

Lots of useful pictures everywhere.

I don't remember seeing 5AR Traffic Jam Assist as an option when I placed my order on my 5 series last month. Will I have it by default as part of connected drive?

[NigeNige]

Originally Posted by Jocky Wilson

I don't remember seeing 5AR Traffic Jam Assist as an option when I placed my order on my 5 series last month. Will I have it by default as part of connected drive?

I think it comes with driver assistant plus or maybe even with adaptive cruise control if specified seperately

From what I can see the traffic jam assistant will be the best option I have specified if it works as advertised . Long jams on the M$ out of London on a Friday evening are a nightmare

Nige

[Jocky Wilson]

I've got Adaptive Cruise Control but not Driver Assistant Plus. Will find out for sure on Wednesday but gut feeling is that I would need Driver Assistant Plus as you say.

[NigeNige]

Originally Posted by Welshman

The VFR is a good bike. My first "big" bike after passing my test was a VFR 750 FT. Now I've got these:

The bikes (and the car) look great. How do decide which of the bikes to ride?

Nige

[hajmuntz]

So some people remove their number when posting on the forum, some don't. What exactly is the risk of putting your number up?

[Balster]

Originally Posted by hajmuntz

So some people remove their number when posting on the forum, some don't. What exactly is the risk of putting your number up?

Identical car gets stolen and the original number plate is replaced with a valid one from an identical car.
Happened to my Sisters Astra about 14 years ago. the stolen Astra had the same number plate as my sisters and it was used in a Bank job...que lots of Policemen turning up at my parents house one Saturday morning.

[NigeNige]

Originally Posted by NigeNige

I went into my dealer this afternoon to hand over my cherished registration retention certificate. My new 520 d wil take on my registration that has been on all my cars for the past 25+ years

And the news is that the car is built and on the boat and on the way to the dealer. It should arrive on 17th March. Pick up date wil depend on how long they need to prepare it and when I am home from my business travels.

So there will will be a few weeks of uncontainable excitement. I will try to share it on this forum with a countdown based loosely on 5 series history I can't promise to do such a good job as Balster with his magnificent countdown but I hope it will keep me calm while I wait for the big day

Nigel

So it looks like pick up day will be 24th march. Here goes with the countdown with the 5 Series history.

The 1st 5 series was the E12 introduced in 1972. It stayed in production for 12 years, making it the longest production run for any 5 series.

Comparisons with the 6th generation, the F10 that that I will be getting are difficult to make, but overall the car was much smaller.

E12 / F10
Wheel base 2.6 m / 2,96 m
Length 4.6 m / 4.9 m
Width 1.69 m / 1.9 m

All engines were petrol with no diesels available. The closest comparison to my new car would be the 4 cylinder injected petrol M10 engine with only 125hp, wheras my 4 cylinder 520d will have 181hp.

There were no aotomatic gearboxes only 4 speed manual compared to the modern 8 speed auto fitted in my new car

So here is the old E12. A classic 5 series


Nigel

[Balster]

Excellent, great work Nige.

[NigeNige]

Here is the 2nd part of the 5 series history lesson

The E28

In 1981 BMW introduced the 2nd generation 5 series, the E28. Styling changes to this model included revised headlights, thicker rubber bumper surrounds and large rectangular taillights.

The E28 received the first BMW diesel engine ever, a 2.4 litre turbocharged 6 cylinder unit (the M21) Fitted in the 524td the 114 hp engine produced the fastest and most silent diesel car at the time. Top speed was 112 mph but I cant find any acceleration data. At 85 bhp tonne it was probably not that exciting. Comparisons with my 520d on order are as follows. This shows what improvements have been made over the years and what fantastic performance we get these days.

Here is a lovely example of the E28. What a pretty car !

E28 524td / F10 520d

2.4 litre / 2.0 litre
114 bhp / 184 bhp
112 mph / 145 mph
85 bhp / tonne / 108 bhp /tonne

In 1982 the 5 series had its first automatic gearbox, a 3-speed automatic offered in the 528e . By 1984, the 4-speed version was introduced to both models. In 1986, the EH version was available in the 535i. It featured a 3-mode switch: E, S, 3-2-1. A long way from the 8 speed paddle shifting box on my new car

Here is a lovely example of the E28 What a pretty car !

[hajmuntz]

Originally Posted by Balster

Identical car gets stolen and the original number plate is replaced with a valid one from an identical car.
Happened to my Sisters Astra about 14 years ago. the stolen Astra had the same number plate as my sisters and it was used in a Bank job...que lots of Policemen turning up at my parents house one Saturday morning.

But we drive our cars around with the reg plate on. Risk seems the same to me?