520i E60 - underpowered?

[thsaw99]

juan the M bodykit is yours at 7.5k.. AB quoted me 13k..i'm hunting for a set of nice rims now, kinda hook on the M5 19"...b4 this was thinking of the AC type 2 but wife to be say look dull..hehe..

 

[Juan Powerblow]

Golly, that means for the full works with rims, tyres, bodykit and other goodies, it may well be more than RM20K. So, the standard 523i with those horrendous cup cake rims at RM348K would in fact cost about RM370K. This is pretty steep considering for another RM28K, you can have the fully kitted 525i with 'em extra 41 horses! Are you guys sure the current 523i on sale in Malaysia only comes with the 177 bhp engine?

 

[thsaw99]

yup bro unless the facelifted 5 in already here the 523i now is still at 177 ponies..yeah the way you put it the 525 is a pretty neat deal..

 

[r37720]

It should be middle of next week. I'm feeling much better now that I've seen the car and all that's needed is Puspakom check and registration.

BTW, since MSports kit is only an option on the 523i in Malaysia, how much issit to do the full works to make it look like the 525i? I would think it's about RM20K or so?

I did ask auto bavaria and they told me at once AB offer arounf RM10K for conversion and they take the old parts. That is a good deal.. may be it is still valid

 

[r37720]

I'm sure we have all heard of the old adage, "there is no replacement for displacement". Looks like this is still true to a large extent, despite new technologies such as vanos, valvetronic, variable intake/exhaust geometry, etc...

If it was up to me, the 530d would be my pick. Tons of torque + unbelievable fuel economy. never mind the diesel clatter...

When I about to buy this 530d I have received a lot of feedback esp on negative about diesel and resale but I go against it.

Now I am very happy person, the torque enough for me to overtake 5 cars in a row confidently

 

[David Yong]

Well, 523i is a nice car. I tested it before.

 

[Juan Powerblow]

I was at AB Glenmarie today and checked out the showroom 523i. I must say, it's a lot of car for RM348K even in standard specs. Too bad it hasn't got the new 190 bhp engine or else it would have given me a splitting headache in choosing a new car earlier.

 

[thsaw99]

hehe...so you're doing a final check on the arrival of your e92 323i? be a good boy and post pics when you get yr new toy ya..juan did you ask them when the 190hp version will be here?

 

[Juan Powerblow]

hehe...so you're doing a final check on the arrival of your e92 323i? be a good boy and post pics when you get yr new toy ya..juan did you ask them when the 190hp version will be here?

Yup, I was there to pass 'em the necc docs for registration. Shucks! it didn't occur for me to ask leh. I should have since the facelifted 5er should be available here pretty soon.

 

[thsaw99]

no prob bro...you can always ask them when you go pick up the new sexy toy next week....

 

[bmwjunkie]

Also tested the 523 at AB, the 177 horses are really mild compared to the 218horses on the 325, in a dillema now which to get, the new 325 or a pre-reg 523.

Love the power of the 325 but love the space and comfort of the 523.... decisions, decisions.....

 

[David Yong]

It's all depend on what you want; size or performance ???
Size; go for 523i
Performance; go for 325i
Size & Performance; go for 525i or higher

 

[Mouse]

It's all depend on what you want; size or performance ???
Size; go for 523i
Performance; go for 325i
Size & Performance; go for 525i or higher

david is right, if your budget permit, go for 525i, u wont regreat.

 

[safri]

Also tested the 523 at AB, the 177 horses are really mild compared to the 218horses on the 325, in a dillema now which to get, the new 325 or a pre-reg 523.

Love the power of the 325 but love the space and comfort of the 523.... decisions, decisions.....

i would go for 325 sport...i'm not sure 523 will give you that much extra comfort. also heard that 325 sport is much more comfortable than 525 sport!.

 

[bmwjunkie]

Anyone know of any good grey importer for a 525i? Been really studying it a lot lately, even picked up the latest issue of BMWMag which had tips on buying 2nd hand E60s in UK, really useful mag

 

[k3nny]

bmwjunkie: When you look at a 523i, people wil ltell you if you got budget, go the 525i. You wont regret.

If you looked at the 525i, the case will be look at the 530i if you can add abit, you wont regret.

I drive the 525i and i feel the 530i is actually quite a fair bit faster and has more torque despite the fact that the power figures are quite similar.

And that is my N-series engine 525i vs the M-series engine 530i meaning about 10hp i difference i think?

But the bottom line is a 523i will always garner you more recognition and respect in terms of social standing. It will definitely be a more comfy car for long distance drives and for the family and will definitely look better if you're doing business.

The difference when you're trashing the life out of the 325i and the 523i will be noticeable but what about daily driving?

I dont think you will really notice the difference in the power driving in the city and even on the highway, im certain the 523i can do you 200km/h with ease.

If power is anything to go by, you should buy the 325i. You should buy an Evo or even GTR.. How bout my GTR?

But if its between the 325i and 523i, i will go the 523i. The difference in the real world isnt really that much..

My humble opinion of course.

 

[bmwjunkie]

Thanks K3nny, appreciate the honest opinion. I share the same opinion as you and since I'll be using it as a weekend car, am serioulsy considering the 5 series now. Am going around checking out the grey 525s, got quite a few around going for around mid RM250K+, any issues driving it so far?

Cheers

 

[k3nny]

Issues driving it so far?

I feel the N-series 525i at higher revs, being 4500 - redline sounds very trashy.
Doesnt sound like its enjoying it and overall doesnt sound good which prevents you from really wanting to get up there unless you need the power.

The M-series 530i that my bro-in-law has however sounds much deeper and more willing to rev in the higher rev range. Could be the extra 0.5cc?

Then again, the 318i N-series 2.0 a couple years back did sound very lousy, somewhat like a taxi, at the upper areas of the rev range as well.

Could be a characteristic of the N-series valvetronic engines?

As a weekend car, the 525i is a great car although i wouldnt buy it for a weekend car. In my humble opinion, the 5 series is more like a work horse. To bring customers around, to run from place to place and to get you to work.

A weekend car would be a M3 or basically something more passionate to drive with that bit of impracticality when used daily. Like a BNR34 GTR.

I would suggest against parallel imports and then again the savings are so much that it only makes sense to go for parallel imports.

Essentially, ill give you my unbiased opinion of both sides of the spectrum.

1. My active steering gave way just 2 weeks ago. By give way, its not that bad. Its just that it clunks like hell while driving on uneven roads and it is extremely heavy.

Replacement = RM22,000.

No fuss though cause BMW Malaysia is picking up the tab. You'll see my car at Sapura Auto today if you head there cause thats where its getting it done..


2. And this is really really funny.

I work in North Port, in Klang, and as you can imagine, the roads are somewhat sh1tty. So while driving over some uneven roads a couple of weeks back, the 2 pieces that basically form a cover that covers the electrical bits of the windscreen rain sensor decides to fall off the windscreen.

So i pull over to the side of the street and i proceed to put back the cover assembly.

Once i was confident it had clipped itself in, i gave the cover a final push. Not so much as a shove even. When i pushed it just to secure it in its position, the whole windscreen cracked.

Starting from the center point where the rainsensor is, 8 lines extended outwards like a childs interpretation of the sun.

This is odd though cause the windscreen actually cracked just from me exterting pressure on one part from inside. As much pressure as i could muster from stuffing my hand behind the rear view mirror, it shouldnt be able to crack a windscreen.

At the end of the day, BMW replaced it for me free as well after alot of fuss proving that it wasnt caused by a rock and im a cheapskate.

3. The service inclusive really makes the BMW a joy to own because of the high servicing costs.


My bro-in-law however has had numerous problems, with the worst of it all being a failing gearbox.

His car was a grey import and therefore he saved quite abit, but he also paid quite abit more for repairs whereas i got mine free under warranty.

Not to mention local BMW's have roadside assistance and a host of other stuff i suppose to substantiate the higher purchase price.

The gearbox cost him around 20+k so that would be somewhere near my active steering price and the thing is, a gearbox is something that shouldnt fail.

Maybe if you had 100k kms or more but not in a BMW with 30k kms.

Neither should a steering rack assembly like it did in my car.

But then again, thats what warranty is for isnt it?

At the end of the day, with BMW's, ive reached the conclusion that it all comes down to luck cause im quite sure some have had no problems whatsoever..

It just seems we're a lil "sueh" down here.
hehe.

 

[E46Fanatic]

Eeek. Funny tale but I always believe that if you have this problem(s) its likely that others with the same car has/had them too. Somehow, there seems to be a lot of gripes by members with issues with the E60 which cost an arm and leg to replace. Post warranty period, sounds scary, as not only as the warranty run out but the car is aged with more miles on it. Not a good combo.

 

[Equalizer]

The service inclusive really makes the BMW a joy to own because of the high servicing costs.

My thoughts exactly too, k3nny - frankly, I will always avoid spending anything more than RM200k for a used car and would rather settle for a lower-specification model but new vehicle with warranty. Add this to the fact that a number of car importers are suspect and the service deal from Auto Bavaria really makes a lot of sense .....