My shortest car ownership

[mjb]

I'm getting rid of my BMW 530i after only 7 months It's not even my worst car by far (the Golf, Laguna and 406 saloon were worse)

Why? I'm picking up a 540i tomorrow I've been looking for one of these for a long time - manual estates are really like rocking horse sh*t! So what's it got that my 530 ain't?

* Vastly better paintwork
* Good tyres
* Washer jets with working one-way valves (better water pressure, main reservoir doesn't end up feeding into the intensive one. Bloody £25 for a new washer jet! £25!)
* Un-mayonnaisated engine oil (almost certainly a blocked breather valve on the 530 as it's only on the surface, but I haven't got time to sort it)
* Factory satnav!!!! Don't care about the navigation aspect, but I'm almost finished building a spotify/mp3 player that works with the factory display, and a full-on LCD is better than an LCD strip. Bloody hundreds to get hold of these 2nd hand!
* Better seats, heated with adjustable leg support, which the 530's lack
* Working parking sensors. Bloody BMW system refuses to work if just one sensor's knackered...
* An extra gear - 6 forward speeds
* Folding wing mirrors (actually, singular on this one...)
* CD changer. Faffing about with individual CDs sucks
* 4.4 litre V8 with what on first feel appears to have vastly better throttle response than the 530 and a much much much better sound! 63bhp more, and a gorgeous 125Nm of extra torque... Mmmmm.

So far all I've noticed needs doing to it is it needs a new passenger mirror (although it's definitely an electrical problem, so likely just a broken bus wire), a new intensive washer pump, and *something* is wrong with the tyre pressure monitor. Oh, and I'll need to re-write bits of code in my spotify player to take advantage of the extra display fields.

If I can get close to what I paid for my 530, It'll actually end up cheaper than keeping it simply because of the tyres!

Can't wait!!!

[Ares]

wow,thats one long list,good luck with your new car,hope it really turns up better than 530.
If you can,get yourself a radio with USB,no CDs,no trouble,way better.

[Doggy]

Nice one Matt.

I had a hankering for a 540 touring with lpg, but it never worked out.

The 4.4 V8 is almost unique in being a n/a petrol that can be remapped to give much more power, due to BMW having to withdraw the original disastrous 3.0 & 4.0 V8's. They went back to 6's for a spell, then relaunched the V8 at 4.4l and roughly the same power as the 4.0, (though more torque), meaning it has the potential for another 10% or more.

Disco used to have a remapped 740 which he reckoned was good for a satnav-confirmed 186 mph, even with slushmatic box and double glazing......

Enjoy

[Sonia406]

Sounds good - can't wait to see pictures

[grasmere59]

* Factory satnav!!!! Don't care about the navigation aspect, but I'm almost finished building a spotify/mp3 player that works with the factory display, and a full-on LCD is better than an LCD strip. Bloody hundreds to get hold of these 2nd hand!

Would this be of any use http://www.bmwland.co.uk/forums/viewtop ... 8&t=148372

[steve_earwig]

Never mind all that, do the indicators work?

[mjb]

* Factory satnav!!!! Don't care about the navigation aspect, but I'm almost finished building a spotify/mp3 player that works with the factory display, and a full-on LCD is better than an LCD strip. Bloody hundreds to get hold of these 2nd hand!

Would this be of any use http://www.bmwland.co.uk/forums/viewtop ... 8&t=148372

Nah. I'm using a computer (currently my laptop, but I'll install a Raspberry Pi when I've got the code somewhere near finished) in the place of the changer - which is what it identifies itself as. 12v and an ibus connection on one wire, and audio on the other, conveniently located in the hidey hole in the boot

Also, I've discovered the changer's a bit knackered. Plays the first 1.5 CDs then jams up, needing a slap before it'll return the cassette. No problem for me and my fake changer

Never mind all that, do the indicators work?

Bitch I'll have you know I still know what that little stalk does


And for the record. OHMYGOD it's good! Just like driving the V6 pug for the first time was like. Throttle response is bang on, it's soooo responsive. Torquey as hell at low revs (drives fine as low as 800rpm and does a comfortable job on the motorway at 70mph at just 2000rpm ) and it just gets fun at higher revs. Haven't got the hang of taking off quickly though - I feed in the power in ok in first, but I'm not yet smooth enough to change to 2nd without the traction control getting all arsey about it The 530 has made my feet lazy...

I love this car

[STALLED]

OMG JEAAAAALOUS!

That sounds like one cool car. That said, what is the insurance like on the 540i manual?

They aren't that bad on petrol from all accounts, then again - I am somewhat used to troddling around town in a 3.8L V6....

Pictures please!

[Welly]

f*cking YES!! at last someone on here with worse fuel consumption that me

How many horse powers does it have? I've just asked the internet and things got a bit confusing

It's a decent choice to be fair because you will ALWAYS find a buyer for cars like this so it will keep its value well.

[mjb]

f*cking YES!! at last someone on here with worse fuel consumption that me

Want to bet?

I was getting about 38mpg at a constant 70mph (just 2000rpm in 6th gear!!!), and it was somewhere in the 40s at 60mph, but I couldn't bring myself to drive it that slow Managed around 20mpg on the way to work this morning, so no change there!

The mpg needle does tend to SLAM itself against the stop when I put my foot down though...

How many horse powers does it have? I've just asked the internet and things got a bit confusing

Somewhere in the region of 290. My 530i gives 230bhp, so it's not a huge step up on paper, but thanks to the 530's disconnect between driver input and engine output, it's the difference between the tubby and v6 again - worlds apart!

It's a decent choice to be fair because you will ALWAYS find a buyer for cars like this so it will keep its value well.

If it survives long enough... I'm going to be very near the Nürburgring next month...

[Sonia406]

It's a decent choice to be fair because you will ALWAYS find a buyer for cars like this so it will keep its value well.

If it survives long enough... I'm going to be very near the Nürburgring next month...

Ooooo I want to go!

[steve_earwig]

Never mind all that, do the indicators work?

Bitch I'll have you know I still know what that little stalk does

But that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to use it

It sounds an absolute beast

[mjb]

That sounds like one cool car. That said, what is the insurance like on the 540i manual?

About £20 more than the 530, which was about £20 more than my V6 coupé

It sounds an absolute beast

Oh yes... Just a little whine (sounds like fan/AC belt noise?) driving normally, silent on the motorways, but when you put your foot down... damp trousers time!

I do wish however, that it had more of a V8 burble at low revs, but it'd probably annoy me on long drives.


Now the problems are starting to show though. On the way home yesterday I got an EML light (not read the faults yet) which is staying on, and this morning it told me to check the coolant level, which is fine (prob dodgy sensor). I also noticed the outside air temperature dangling from the undertray where it's supposed to attach somehow... Probably not biggies, but hey.

[Welly]

I hate buying used cars, like you say you start picking up on all those little niggles over a few days - most probably why the other owner sold it in the end. That's not to say there's anything major afoot but sometimes it only takes a few niggles for someone to throw the towel in and move it on.

Be interesting to see what the EML is on for? have you been driving it like a pussy? when I got my T5 I drove it like a wimp and it didn't like it, threw an EML, they told me to drive it properly or bring it back

[mjb]

I hate buying used cars, like you say you start picking up on all those little niggles over a few days - most probably why the other owner sold it in the end. That's not to say there's anything major afoot but sometimes it only takes a few niggles for someone to throw the towel in and move it on.

The seller in this instance was a guy who *really* wanted an M5, and was told by SWMBO that he'd have to sell the other one first... The guy before that bought it used with 70 miles on the clock for £30k, which for a car like this is ludicrously cheap. He then proceeded to use independent garages and home servicing where possible...

As far as history goes, this thing seems about as good as it gets from my perspective, PLUS I've got a set of Bentley (the publisher, not the car maker) service manuals ouot of it - like HBoL but good - and about 10x as many pages

Be interesting to see what the EML is on for? have you been driving it like a pussy? when I got my T5 I drove it like a wimp and it didn't like it, threw an EML, they told me to drive it properly or bring it back

Yeah, it's not that ;) Actually, the traction control on this seems a lot more on the ball than the 530's... Haven't got my skill level up high enough to turn it off yet, but the "have a little fun, but not too much" undocumented setting (hold the button for 10 secs) makes a heck of a lot of difference! The EML fault was one of the o2 sensors being dead. Apparently they're only good for 100k, so I guess it's a reasonable failure. Cleared it last night and it ain't come back yet, but it's probably only a matter of time

Other than that, I've got to repair the satnav unit, which I got wet last night also might have to change the battery - 3 hours with the stereo on managed to flatten it, so I had to bump-start the thing reversing it off my drive. I'd have been right stuck if the engine didn't take... Turns out V8s are quite vicious when they bump too... ouch. There's also a dodgy connection between the satnav (which handles radio, changer, trip computer, etc too) and the display too - very yellowish-green tint to the screen, so it's probably a sync-on-green RGB signal with a bad blue line. Easy enough as long as the problem's with the satnav in the boot... Thankfully BMW engineered the system quite well and with a dead satnav unit, it seems the TV module has taken on the role of listening to the button press bus messages and controlling most of the functions

I've already swapped the wiper blades with the ones I bought for the 530, and I suspect the thing could do with engine and gearbox mounts. That'll not be fun, but at least I don't have to drop the transmission out or anything daft. Also noticed the headrests go up electrically, but not down. Easy fix (hit it!)

The sound system could do with an upgrade too. The subwoofer in the boot is utterly pathetic. If I can I'll rip out its innards and re-use the case. Why is it that premium sound systems sound so much worse than the basic ones? The Golf's amplified setup sucked too, and it took a whole load of EQ tweaking and speaker replacement to get anything good from the Coupé

But I've got to get it ready for a trip to der vaterland next month, so battery, headrest and spotify player first! Ooh, got to get me a holder for my work parking permit too...