[Shake n Bake]

£43k bloody hell that sounds high. I can't help but think a tester will have had the crap thrashed out of it. Maybe not.

For the £35k can't you get the same car new with auto and prof media? Rear camera and visibility pack aren't needed are they? I'm struggling with what else is bumping up the price???

[xenon]

Visibility pack is definitely needed - the adaptive xenons are brilliant plus you get the hi intensity LED DRLs and not the yellow halogen stuff.

As I said, the list of a 520d M-Sport with professional media, visibility pack and reversing camera (not needed but looks so cool ) is £36k brand new.

I

[andyk500]

Buy the demo and get all the toys, my 520d Msport was £44k list with similar toys and I paid £39.5k through broadspeed but had to wait 10 weeks, this is available now. Also 8k miles is nothing, it's only just run in. Plus when you come to sell it people will look for extras IMHO

[day841]

I'm definitely going to go with the visibility pack, professional media and reversing camera. Stuff such as park assist isn't necessarily needed but I suppose, with every other toy they would be quite fun but does it really justify boosting up the price by £8000?

[Shake n Bake]

Originally Posted by xenon

Visibility pack is definitely needed - the adaptive xenons are brilliant plus you get the hi intensity LED DRLs and not the yellow halogen stuff.

Well that's an opinion for sure. I don't have it and I am in no way disatisfied. MY opinion is that it's a total waste of money.

Many might say the same about prof nav......which I would absolutely say is Definitely Needed.

End of the day....£34k for a used (and possibly abused) 5 sounds high. compared with the new F11 I got for £32.5k

[day841]

I'm definitely going for the prof nav! What is the guidance on running it in?

[Mud]

No running in, just drive it

[Mud]

I agree with Xenon, visibility pack and prof navi is a must....

[xenon]

Yeah, the visibility pack gives Bi-Xenons, Headlight Washers, Adaptive lights, Cornering lights, High-beam assist and proper daytime running lights. The daytime running lights on halogen cars is just the headlights. What's the point in that? I'd say the vis pack is something of a bargain.

[UKMS]

Originally Posted by day841

I'm definitely going to go with the visibility pack, professional media and reversing camera. Stuff such as park assist isn't necessarily needed but I suppose, with every other toy they would be quite fun but does it really justify boosting up the price by £8000?

As I have discovered when recently ordering my replacement F11 its easy to get carried away with the options list

.... as for buying an ex demo there are pro's and con's really .... one advantage is being able to get into a nice car straight away and with a demo you often get a higher spec than you would normally order (your example seems fully loaded) .... however there is also often a compromise ... maybe not first choice of colour or is missing an option you would like etc etc. Another big downside is 5000 miles and god knows how many drivers some good some bad ! .... although I have bought ex demos and cars from stock before ..... there is simply nothing like taking the time to research and spec a car exactly how you want it and then take delivery and be the first to drive it !

As for the vis pack .... its somewhat a personal choice and does depend on where you drive at night ..... aside of the DRL difference which is more cosmetic .... the difference in night driving is astounding on dark country roads ..... if I had a choice I would never revert to halogen, unlike some of the BMW option pricing, I also feel its good value.

There are some very good discounts to be had from some dealers when ordering new if you shop around... gone are the days when BMW dealers can afford to be arrogant only offering small discounts.

Cheers

M

[xenon]

I wouldn't really worry about the mileage / drivers per se - many miles are clocked up by the salesman to whom it is allocated who is under strict instructions to look after it, and most if not all test drives are accompanied.

That aspect wouldn't bother me but I would be wanting a good chunk off list.

[UKMS]

Originally Posted by xenon

I wouldn't really worry about the mileage / drivers per se - many miles are clocked up by the salesman to whom it is allocated who is under strict instructions to look after it, and most if not all test drives are accompanied.

That aspect wouldn't bother me but I would be wanting a good chunk off list.

Being under strict instructions to look after it and how a young sales exec drives it maybe two different things

as xenon says ... if you are interested in it push for a big discount off list price .... they factor in a write down on demos and depending on how long its been on the dealers books you can pick up a bargain ... the only difficulty in negotiating a deal on a demo is that you cant always walk out and go elsewhere in the same way you can with a new one, because there may not be the same vehicle elsewhere.

M

[day841]

Yeh I am a bit hesistant with the demo and becoming increasingly wary of my local garage charging silly prices. ukstevens how come you are going down to an SE from an msport?

[Captain Chaos]

They may factor in a write-down on demos but you'll do well to get it. I struggled when trying to push 2.5-3k off a 37k car (average spec and 10k miles) and eventually got a no, far from the straight negotiation that saw me get a bigger discount off a much better spec brand new car for only a touch more. And I'd have had to wait 1 week longer before they'd have released the demo!

YMMV, depends a massive amount on the dealer/salesperson, as with all these things there are a lot of variables these days!

[northernmonkey]

an easy way to figure out which options are must haves are the ones which generate frequent "can this be retrofitted???" threads on here.

if you look back at the forum the most popular options people missed and are then seemingly kicking themselves over are as others have said:

- media pro
- vis pack
- DAB
- hifi speaker upgrade (either business or logic7)
- sports auto

[Captain Chaos]

Good way to look at it, agree with all of those, except possibly DAB. That said I did spend a bit of time mulling it over before going Internet Apps as it's got web radio. Certainly won't hurt the resale value even if it doesn't make much difference to you and the rest are no-brainers on a private car IMO.

[northernmonkey]

Originally Posted by Captain Chaos

Good way to look at it, agree with all of those, except possibly DAB. That said I did spend a bit of time mulling it over before going Internet Apps as it's got web radio. Certainly won't hurt the resale value even if it doesn't make much difference to you and the rest are no-brainers on a private car IMO.

Personally I think dab should be STD on uk models. No surprises it aint. I had it in my last e60 and e92 and use it all the time as even with gb worth of ipodery to trawl through I still like to listen to the radio and have to admit when I'm in the wife's non-dab car I really miss the sound quality. For the £300 it costs a definite tick for me.

[UKMS]

Originally Posted by day841

ukstevens how come you are going down to an SE from an msport?

Long story .... I can fill you in by email ...... briefly a suspension 'issue' from new ... 6 failed attempts to fix ....I pushed for a rejection which resulted in a negotiated buy back and new order at minimal cost to me (other than the extra options I added that werent on my original car ) .... first time round I flipped a coin between MSport and SE ... so this time went for the SE !

M

[day841]

Oh right well think I'm definitely going to get visibility pack, prof media and a few other toys. I do prefer the msport to the se, think it looks better and rounds the car off a lot more !

[UKMS]

Originally Posted by day841

Oh right well think I'm definitely going to get visibility pack, prof media and a few other toys. I do prefer the msport to the se, think it looks better and rounds the car off a lot more !

If you havnt already ..... I would certainly make sure you get a good drive of both SE and MSport (with different types of suspension) .... with the variables of how you spec the suspension it can make a tremendous difference

[Qainuh]

Ok some are more interested in how the car looks and others like to have a lot of interesting toys when they are in their car. I'm the former, so 19 inch alloys, sun protection glass and a sunroof are must for me!

Ps. Didn't get visibility pack but selected xenon lights because I'm not keen on the look of the standard head lamp design.

[Shake n Bake]

Originally Posted by Shake n Bake

Well that's an opinion for sure. I don't have it and I am in no way disatisfied. MY opinion is that it's a total waste of money.

Many might say the same about prof nav......which I would absolutely say is Definitely Needed.

End of the day....£34k for a used (and possibly abused) 5 sounds high. compared with the new F11 I got for £32.5k

I'm going to backtrack partly on my earlier statement about the visibility pack/xenons. Driving home on Saturday on an unlit 70mph dual carriageway I realised that the standard lighting when dipped isn't great in that situation. It doesn't give you a view far enough ahead to let you drive at 70mph with confidence. On high beam it's absolutely fine but you can't use high beam if there is a car coming the other way or another car 500m in front of you.

I don't know if the xenons are better, I assume they are.