Questions on F10 520d (about to purchase the car)

[lmaleke]

Hi all,A newbie from Jakarta here . I've been lurking on this forum for quite sometimes in search for as much as information I could learn on F10 520d which I'm interested in.There are several questions I have to ask prior me jumping in on the purchase:1. I've noticed, through their signatures and what nots, that some members let go their F10 520d's within a year or two of the ownerships. Any issues on this car? Particular or major issues I need to be aware of? I'm planning on keeping the car about 5yrs or so...2. If I decided to go ahead with the purchase than this will be my 1st diesel sedan ever. (well, I had a Land Cruiser LC100 turbo diesel and that suv is practically bulletproof). Now, on the maintenance side, in comparing between maintaining a gasoline motor vs. a diesel motor BMW, how much of a headache I should be expecting on this BMW diesel maintenance? What I'm trying to say is, is BMW diesel a maintenance horror?3. My other option is the F10 528i. Should I go with this option instead?Thanks,Leo

 

[lmaleke]

anyone?

 

[BaddBoyz3]

Hi Leo,

1) from the above, i recall theres 1 fella who sold his 520d to move up to a X5 3.0d:3:, didnt notice any one else tho.. But to get back to the question at hand, as I'm also on similar engine - from experience of fellow e90 320d owners who have been running strong for more than 3 yrs, and out of warranty/bsri - no major issues. Just normal service and wear & tear which could be done at many experienced bimmer workshops - do look out on belting/tensioner issues highlighted recently on e90 thread.

2) My take on this -bmw diesels have been selling well overseas - period:3:

3) Not exactly apple to apple comparison but for extra RM50k difference (i stand corrected) and better package? Why not?

 

[ahloong2]

Hi Leo

1. Agreed as above.
2. Not familiar with diesel engine, F10 520d is my first diesel car, so far I like it.
3. If fuel consumption is not an issue, then 528i is the way to go. if not then 520d will be better.

 

[lmaleke]

Hi Leo,

1) from the above, i recall theres 1 fella who sold his 520d to move up to a X5 3.0d:3:, didnt notice any one else tho.. But to get back to the question at hand, as I'm also on similar engine - from experience of fellow e90 320d owners who have been running strong for more than 3 yrs, and out of warranty/bsri - no major issues. Just normal service and wear & tear which could be done at many experienced bimmer workshops - do look out on belting/tensioner issues highlighted recently on e90 thread.

2) My take on this -bmw diesels have been selling well overseas - period:3:

3) Not exactly apple to apple comparison but for extra RM50k difference (i stand corrected) and better package? Why not?

Hi BaddBoyz3,

Thanks for your reply. I'll definately keep an eye on those belting/tensioner issues. And on BMW diesels, from what I read online and from friends overseas they all highly recommend the car thus my interest in acquiring this F10 520d . As far as F10 520d vs. F10 528i, unfortunately, in Indonesia the F10 528i doesnt really come with significant additional options. Here the F10 528i came with 2 trims, first is the business trim and the other is the executive trim. The business trim doesnt really have additional significant options over the F10 529d, such as: 4-zone climate controls, rear seat entertainment, Harman Kardon, and so on. Whereas, the executive trim does come with 4-zone climate, rear seat entertainment, harman kardon, DVD, larger on board monitor (12" if im not mistaken) and others..

I see you are from Georgetown, I've been travelling regularly jkt-penang taking my parents see a cardiologist there

 

[BaddBoyz3]

PM me if you're coming bro, our Penang Chapter do meet up for TT every 2 weeks or so:3:

 

[lmaleke]

Hi Leo

1. Agreed as above.
2. Not familiar with diesel engine, F10 520d is my first diesel car, so far I like it.
3. If fuel consumption is not an issue, then 528i is the way to go. if not then 520d will be better.

Hi ahloong2,

Thanks for your response.. When you floor your 520d, do you happen to notice any faint black smoke puffing from your exhaust? I'm just curious because Malaysian and Indonesian spec F10 520d have their particular filter removed...

 

[lmaleke]

PM me if you're coming bro, our Penang Chapter do meet up for TT every 2 weeks or so:3:

Thank you for your kind invitation.. I'll PM you the next time Im coming in there bro...

 

[ahloong2]

Leo

No significant black smoke observed, or never notice, unlike some other lorries/trucks emitting black smoke that you might see in Penang or Jakarta....

 

[lmaleke]

Leo

No significant black smoke observed, or never notice, unlike some other lorries/trucks emitting black smoke that you might see in Penang or Jakarta....

Thanks bro... Btw, does the F10 520d came stock with a larger screen in Malaysia? I just found out today that the 520d came with stock 6" wide screen whereas its siblings (528i, 535i) came with larger screens to accomodate navigation system

 

[dark1234]

Thanks bro... Btw, does the F10 520d came stock with a larger screen in Malaysia? I just found out today that the 520d came with stock 6" wide screen whereas its siblings (528i, 535i) came with larger screens to accomodate navigation system

no malaysia F10 520d is quite decent come with larger screen because of navigation only compare with 528 it does not have active steering , msport kit , 18" msport rim , sport seat , HUD , better HIFI , msport steering ( fat one ) , 4 zone climate and sport transmission.

 

[lmaleke]

no malaysia F10 520d is quite decent come with larger screen because of navigation only compare with 528 it does not have active steering , msport kit , 18" msport rim , sport seat , HUD , better HIFI , msport steering ( fat one ) , 4 zone climate and sport transmission.

Darn.. we got shafted again on options. Malaysia spec F10 528i came nicely equipped when compared with Indonesia spec which only came with sunroof, xenon, parking sensor (front and rear), dakota leather, large screen for nav, rear sunblind (these are for business spec). Additional equipment for executive spec: the above plus 4zone climate, rear seat entertainments

On the 520d, Indonesia spec are: sunroof, xenon, parking sensor (front and rear), rear sunblind, dakota leather, auto start/stop...

 

[dark1234]

Darn.. we got shafted again on options. Malaysia spec F10 528i came nicely equipped when compared with Indonesia spec which only came with sunroof, xenon, parking sensor (front and rear), dakota leather, large screen for nav, rear sunblind (these are for business spec). Additional equipment for executive spec: the above plus 4zone climate, rear seat entertainments

On the 520d, Indonesia spec are: sunroof, xenon, parking sensor (front and rear), rear sunblind, dakota leather, auto start/stop...

malaysia 520d come with all those except sunroof all 520 , 520d , 528 no sunroof

 

[rsnavin]

im considering the 520d as well. just test drove it about an hour ago. nice car. in short:

+ points:
- good handling, although steering is slightly on the lighter side, feedback is pretty good
- its also comfortable, so much more than an e60 - my uncle used to have one, been in it many times, ride was hard
- general interior finishing is good
- idrive is simple to use and screen is readable under sunlight.
- car is solid
- seats are quite comfy
- dynamic drive control is good, i can feel the diff between sports and comfort
- cheap

- points:
- sounds system is seriously mediocre. i streamed music from my iphone to the car via bluetooth and quality was below average. also, i tried the fm stations, sound was still average to me. of course, a CD will change that, but i feel that the sound in general is quite disappointing. maybe im just picky cause ive listened to the b&o system on the s500 and the new a6. wish there was an upgrade option.
- no lumbar adjustments for front seat.
- no cd changer (nitpicking really, there is a 12GB HDD)
- when you put the car into reverse, the rear sunblinds dont fold down - the camry and the accords do this.
- vibration is quite strong when you start up the car
- big lack of storage compartments - even the centre compartment is tiny.
- we dont get the full black panel display for the 520d

all in all, its good value for money. probably take the 520i for a spin before i decide. also, hoping the new idrive system and the touch controller makes to malaysia soon, i definitely want this for my car.

on a separate note, i have never driven a diesel car, but driving the 520d; i felt that the car kinda ran out of steam after 140kmh. i didnt have enough room to run further, but thinking back, perhaps im used to the petrol 'kickdown' I might have felt that the car was loosing steam, when really it probably wasnt? need to do another run. the diesel stops revving about 4k rpm whereas in a petrol car i might have revved it to 6.5k rpm? will need to revisit this.

anyone knows when the new idrive system and touch controller will make it here? i also hope they dont limit this to the higher model range.

 

[dark1234]

1. for e60 vs f10 since i own both before ,check the rim size , 520d is 17 your uncle e60 could be bigger rim.

2. during reverse the sunblind dun fold down to me its kind of useless the back is too high and long to judge just look at i drive for reverse better or retrofit reverse camera ask your sa.

im considering the 520d as well. just test drove it about an hour ago. nice car. in short:

+ points:
- good handling, although steering is slightly on the lighter side, feedback is pretty good
- its also comfortable, so much more than an e60 - my uncle used to have one, been in it many times, ride was hard
- general interior finishing is good
- idrive is simple to use and screen is readable under sunlight.
- car is solid
- seats are quite comfy
- dynamic drive control is good, i can feel the diff between sports and comfort
- cheap

- points:
- sounds system is seriously mediocre. i streamed music from my iphone to the car via bluetooth and quality was below average. also, i tried the fm stations, sound was still average to me. of course, a CD will change that, but i feel that the sound in general is quite disappointing. maybe im just picky cause ive listened to the b&o system on the s500 and the new a6. wish there was an upgrade option.
- no lumbar adjustments for front seat.
- no cd changer (nitpicking really, there is a 12GB HDD)
- when you put the car into reverse, the rear sunblinds dont fold down - the camry and the accords do this.
- vibration is quite strong when you start up the car
- big lack of storage compartments - even the centre compartment is tiny.
- we dont get the full black panel display for the 520d

all in all, its good value for money. probably take the 520i for a spin before i decide. also, hoping the new idrive system and the touch controller makes to malaysia soon, i definitely want this for my car.

on a separate note, i have never driven a diesel car, but driving the 520d; i felt that the car kinda ran out of steam after 140kmh. i didnt have enough room to run further, but thinking back, perhaps im used to the petrol 'kickdown' I might have felt that the car was loosing steam, when really it probably wasnt? need to do another run. the diesel stops revving about 4k rpm whereas in a petrol car i might have revved it to 6.5k rpm? will need to revisit this.

anyone knows when the new idrive system and touch controller will make it here? i also hope they dont limit this to the higher model range.

 

[rsnavin]

well, he has since sold the 530d but i will check with him. was actually thinking of swapping the rims out for the style 356 20". i know going bigger rims normally would compromise ride quality, but really, how would i measure/judge how much comfort im going to be sacrificing?

i suppose yes the PDC is there to help but i would still look behind too. btw, my SA quoted 4.8K for the reverse camera + installation. seems to be on the higher side. this is from AB Jalan Tun Razak.

still waiting for an answer when we can get the new idrive system with our cars. SA says can deliver car in about 1-2 weeks after loan processing, so definitely not the upgraded idrive system.

 

[dark1234]

we are few month behind due to SKD of F10, eg my oct F10 the build date is june

 

[rsnavin]

ah i see, might have to wait those few months then I suppose. New i-drive improvements are nice, especially that touch controller. hopefully bmw malaysia does not limit that to the higher end variants though. so how has your 520d journey been thus far, dark1234?

 

[dark1234]

its been great !!!! , changing my rim to 18" soon.

 

[rsnavin]

nice, which one do you think of getting?