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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Should I buy an F10?
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      05-08-2020, 04:03 PM   #1
AndrewT3X
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Should I buy an F10?

Hello!

I'm new to this forum so please excuse my limited bmw knowledge. I am wanting to buy a 2011 F10 528i that was an early model, particularly made in late September of 2010. I have seen that this car has had 3 electrical maintenance's. Could this be a problem that should shy me away from buying this car? It only has 72k miles and is in like new condition it seems. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

BTW: It's currently going for a little under 12k.
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      05-08-2020, 07:33 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewT3X View Post
Hello!

I'm new to this forum so please excuse my limited bmw knowledge. I am wanting to buy a 2011 F10 528i that was an early model, particularly made in late September of 2010. I have seen that this car has had 3 electrical maintenance's. Could this be a problem that should shy me away from buying this car? It only has 72k miles and is in like new condition it seems. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

BTW: It's currently going for a little under 12k.
That should be the naturally aspirated inline-6. Should be fine, if you can live with "only" 240 horses. BMW are known for their inline 6's.
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      05-08-2020, 08:20 PM   #3
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Yep, this one doesn't have the infamous N20 engine, so should be great. Not sure what the electrical maintenance was, but at 72k miles these things are barely getting broken in.
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      05-08-2020, 11:03 PM   #4
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Ahh okay! Thank you for replying! I appreciate you replying guys!
!
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      05-08-2020, 11:04 PM   #5
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The only thing that got me a little scared WAS the electrical system. If you guys wanna check out the carfax you can see it here:https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistor...821&source=BUP
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      05-08-2020, 11:17 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by AndrewT3X View Post
The only thing that got me a little scared WAS the electrical system. If you guys wanna check out the carfax you can see it here:https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistor...821&source=BUP
I wouldn't be concerned. It could have been as simple as a battery change.

They've had the car for a couple of weeks now. That's like an eternity in car sales. I would low-ball them and see what they say. Go to kbb.com, enter the vehicle specs and look for poor condition under trade-in value. That is probably what the dealer paid for the car.
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      05-09-2020, 01:13 AM   #7
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thank you so much!
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      05-09-2020, 03:31 AM   #8
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      05-13-2020, 12:07 AM   #9
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Front brakes and rotors just being done is a huge plus!! Thats about a $1000 repair. Looks well serviced. You may see if a BMW dealer will run the VIN thru thier computer about the electical problem.
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      05-13-2020, 09:14 AM   #10
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N52 cars are usually pretty darn reliable, I always advise ppl that want an F10 but don't really care about performance to get an early F10 528i, they're pretty damn reliable and this one is pretty well equipped! Go for it man!
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      05-16-2020, 01:33 PM   #11
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I appreciate all the replies guys! This really does encourage me to proceed with the 528i!
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      05-16-2020, 02:42 PM   #12
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I appreciate all the replies guys! This really does encourage me to proceed with the 528i!
Just to verify, you want the N52 inline-6 (2011 only F10), NOT the N20 4-banger (2012-2016).
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      05-16-2020, 11:46 PM   #13
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If this is your first BMW and your not getting it for BMW Performance experience and more of luxury and brand then you should be fine. Make sure it has EDC suspension. If it doesn't i would rethink that purchase. The stock springs without EDC suspension is like driving on marshmallows and quite frankly not confidence inspiring. You can tell by the shifter if it has buttons for sport mode.
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      05-17-2020, 11:31 AM   #14
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If this is your first BMW and your not getting it for BMW Performance experience and more of luxury and brand then you should be fine. Make sure it has EDC suspension. If it doesn't i would rethink that purchase. The stock springs without EDC suspension is like driving on marshmallows and quite frankly not confidence inspiring. You can tell by the shifter if it has buttons for sport mode.
I wanted the 704 (the base suspension is competent enough, though softish) but not the EDC. I plan on keeping the car for a long time and didn't want the added great expense of replacing the dampers. I haven't looked, but my estimate was around $2K for the replacement. That's just too much for shocks, IMHO. Our 2012 was our 1st BMW and even though it has the base suspension it does well enough for me; I chicken-out before the car does. The 704 in our 2014 is much better. I still chicken-out before the car.
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      05-17-2020, 02:50 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc View Post
I wanted the 704 (the base suspension is competent enough, though softish) but not the EDC. I plan on keeping the car for a long time and didn't want the added great expense of replacing the dampers. I haven't looked, but my estimate was around $2K for the replacement. That's just too much for shocks, IMHO. Our 2012 was our 1st BMW and even though it has the base suspension it does well enough for me; I chicken-out before the car does. The 704 in our 2014 is much better. I still chicken-out before the car.
I got my 535d for the diesel engine and wanted a softer car for my spinal arthritis, believing BMW as a whole has excellent ride/handling compromise.

What I found was that the basic setup in my LCI 535d was not nearly as pillowy soft as described for earlier f10's and it's actually about right. My old E30 318is suspension was a better setup, especially compared to its stablemate the Carrera 3.2 with sport suspension, but also still a bit softer perhaps than my RFT equipped LCI 5-er.

I'm on the fence for my next tire purchase thinking good non-RFT's will improve both the ride and handling, and feel that the shocks are not ready to be replaced. New shocks would either be the new version of Koni FSD's or my tried and true standby Bilsteins.
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      05-17-2020, 04:39 PM   #16
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Best suspension I've rode in modern cars is the Audi A6. Soft when it needs to be and sporty when you lean into it. Not street race or track sporty. Comfortable sporty if that make sense.

I have koni's adjustables on non RFT and when i adjust my shocks to soft it's a very smooth ride.
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      05-17-2020, 04:47 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bmwdoubles_ View Post
Best suspension I've rode in modern cars is the Audi A6. Soft when it needs to be and sporty when you lean into it. Not street race or track sporty. Comfortable sporty if that make sense.

I have koni's adjustables on non RFT and when i adjust my shocks to soft it's a very smooth ride.
Good to know. Thanks.

Reminds me of my old Audi 100LS which was a historic benchmark for suspension and maneuverability but had every system break on it except the VDO clock. I had Koni reds in it and original equipment Michelin XZX's which was a fantastic combination along with the manual steering.
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      05-19-2020, 04:45 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre Louis View Post
I'm on the fence for my next tire purchase thinking good non-RFT's will improve both the ride and handling, and feel that the shocks are not ready to be replaced. New shocks would either be the new version of Koni FSD's or my tried and true standby Bilsteins.
I switched from the stock RFT tires to a set of Michelin pilot super sports on my 2016 550i xDrive M-sport with a square setup and EDC. Unlike the e90s (335D) with thier pot hole explosions.... removing the stock RFT didn't really yield an improvement.

Anyway, I'll say there was no significant improvement in ride moving from RFTs to will be flats on my F10. I would actually say the stock Goodyear Eagle LS-2's were noticeably quieter on most pavement, had less road feel aka vibration and road equally well over pot holes. Mind you I went to a dedicated high performance summer only tire from an all season touring tire. So I'd say no, ditching the runflats on this car for dedicated summer tires will not improve your ride, reduce vibration, or decrease noise... The stock tires in most regards were better for everyday driving.

Traction is a different matter..

As for suspension I had Koni FSDs on my 335D for about 45K miles, they were a big improvement over my stock sport suspension dampers. Really removed a lot of harshness without compromising handling, in fact I felt it improved handling. Not as good as the Ohlins R&T mind you, but good for the price. I'm not sure that the FSDs would be a significant improvement over the stock F10 adjustable dampers in terms of handling, I think stock the ride is fine. If I was to upgrade it would be the ohlins, and don't worry about the tires.

Personally, I'll probably go back to run flats for my next set of tires given how well matched they were to the character of the car or a set of Pilot Sport 4S.

Last edited by Thecastle; 05-26-2020 at 06:31 PM..
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      05-19-2020, 05:14 PM   #19
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P.S. I'll mention a good used 7 series is about the same as a nicely equipped 5er... I see 750is going for 35K asking with 33K miles.
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      05-19-2020, 06:05 PM   #20
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Thanks for the advice.

I'm just a geezer driving my stock suspension 535d "nicely" and enjoy having a decent chassis for handling when I need it. One of these days I might get a sports car to get more out of light track driving/backroads.
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      06-04-2020, 10:49 AM   #21
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BMWs aren't most reliable cars out there but they aren't bad if maintained properly, you should not worry too much as far as you plan to take it good care.
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      06-04-2020, 11:04 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewT3X View Post
I am wanting to buy a 2011 F10 528i that was an early model, particularly made in late September of 2010.
So, Andrew, did you buy the car?
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