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Getting a great deal on a 530i to go along with triplets - not sure life gets much better than that! Congratulations and enjoy all of your new babies!
What other packages did it have, Manual/Auto or CWP, Xenons, and can you let us know what you paid?
I am betting you paid 36K! Thanks
Man, I am jealous. I am moving into a new home in 4 weeks, and once settled - the car is next. But I want it now! Several times I have come close to pulling the trigger - but common sense tells me to get the house situated first.
Dzuba: The car had Xenons/Steptronic/Sport/Premium/Convenience packages/Single CD. Also, it was a late 2001 (8/01) which meant more free maintenance, as well as a longer original and CPO warranty than some others. The dealer asked 36,993, and I got them to accept 36,500 with a new factory CD changer installed at that price. Given that I was told that the changer would be $795+, you could say I paid just under $36K. Did I do OK?
It's Electric Red/Sand with a spoiler, and I think that made it a bit tougher to move quickly since most people want a more conservative look. We weren't looking for such a cop magnet, but we liked the look (save the spoiler, which is a bit unnecessary) so it wasn't a tough call.
2.5 hours 'til I pick the car up, but who's counting?
I own a 525, sport pkg. with 235/45R 17 ContiSportcontact tires. I have 20,000 miles on them.
They generally seem to be good tires except they have developed a loud humming noise at 20-30 mph.
Speeds higher then that and the tires are quiet.
I rotated the tires at 15,000 miles and that seemed to start the problem. The noise is driving me crazy.
Does anyone have suggestions or recommendations on tires that are quiet and long lasting?
The car is not driven hard.
chaseag
Seems like more and more people are complaining about tire noise. Seems to be the price paid for ever higher levels of performance.
My '98 540i6 has developed tire noise issue. Yokohama AVS Decibels. They have around 20,000 miles. Me, I just turn up the radio. They still have tread life. Can't see spending $500-1,000 right now over noise. I'll let it go about another 10,000 miles.
Per the 5 series owner's manual, the recommended break-in procedure is: For the first 1200 miles, DO NOT exceed 4500 RPM or 1000 MPH in any gear. It is also recommended you drive the car at varying speeds during the break-in period, but not exceeding the limits stated above.
I recommend you register in the BMW "Owner's Circle" section of the www.bmwna.com site and download the 2002 5 series owner's manual. The 2003 is exactly like the 2002 so all the info applies. By doing so, you will be well acquainted with your new toy by the time you take delivery.
Hope this helps...JL
I do think that srfast meant "100 MPH" and not "1000 MPH." Unless his engine is a little more special (!)
Look under 5 Series Technology, BMW Rear Wheel Drive Advantages.
Maybe this helps.
Even BMW has succumbed to the metallic boring color thing. More's the pity. At least they had Electric Red once. The car I own never had a decent color choice and probably never will.
It's much harder to cover up defects in solid-color paint. Black is worst.
We have a 2002 MDX and a 2002 540i. I have a 5-month old daughter and I have a car seat base in both cars. I suggest getting a seat saver for use under the bases to protect the seats from conforming to the bottom of the car seat base. I do not have the Peg seats, but the from my experience the Graco's will leave indentions in the seat without the seat saver.
I find the rear facing car seat cramps the front seat in the 5. It is not terrible. In seven months, my daughter will be in a forward-facing seat and the front seat will not be affected. The slight cramped space of the front seat is a short term problem.
The MDX has a lot of room. I am sure the three car seats fit in it with room to spare. The LATCH systems in both cars (I assume the 2001 530i has them) make the installation much easier than using seatbelts to secure the base.
Best of luck on getting rest!
As is, the rear-facing seat slightly affects the rear travel (particularly the tilt) of the front seats, but in a way that doesn't affect my driving. The middle infant seat sits more forward, and the back/top of that seat actually rests against the inside of both front seatbacks in the 530i. Thus, it's important to have the seats at roughly the same position.
Regarding the MDX, it does have a lot of room, and the seats fit easily with room to spare. Unfortunately, our 2001 MDX (which we bought new when it was released) didn't have the LATCH system, and the CPO '01 530 doesn't either. Both cars have tethers at each seating position (including seats 6 and 7 in the back of the MDX). Interestingly, it appears that the MY2001 3-series had LATCH, while the E39 didn't:
http://www.cartrackers.com/Buyers_Guide/Consumer_Advice/Safety/PI- - D.23998.58142219101.1.html
Re: Electric Red. I didn't realize until after the purchase that this color is no longer available. It's nearly an exact match to the color of the car we're replacing (a '93 Integra GS-R that is "Milano Red.") Every time I walk out to the garage, I'm more satisfied that we bought the right car, in the right color.
Re: Sleep. What's that? Haven't had more than 2.5 hours in a night in the past two weeks. I did get a chance to memorize the owner's manual while feeding at 2 a.m., though!
The other type of software upgrade, which I think you're alluding to jeffry, is that which is performed by after-market tuners. With normally-aspirated engines like ours (and highly refined ones at that), there's precious little improvement that can be expected. Even Dinan, a well respected BMW tuner who aggressively tries to squeeze as much performance as possible out of these cars--admits he can't get any more power out of the 3 liter inline 6. BMW has simply made it as efficient as possible. (The only things he can do are improve "throttle response"--which really just maps throttle inputs more aggressively, raise the redline--which I'm highly skeptical of--and remove the top-speed governor.)
While some BMW dealers are "Dinan Certified" and perform his upgrades (and honor his warranty), BMW NA's official position is that tinkering with your car potentially releases them from liability and their warranty obligations. Many have tested this assertion (if and when parts start breaking), and usually end up losing unless the dealer's objections are baseless (e.g. smashed valvetrain on a car with aftermarket sway bars).
If you go to your BMW dealer for a software upgrade, do NOT expect a blazing performance boost. While it may well happen on a certain series of cars, my bet is that most cars will simply have their drivability improved, and that is it.
Best Regards,
Shipo
TIA...JL
In all cases, my 530i was fast, way faster than my former 328i. From my point of view, the only real problem was the throttle response, which was absolutely rotten with the second code version.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Chris M
Being the car junkie that I am, as the parents did the drop-off/pick-up thing, I was keeping track of their automotive hardware, which went something like this:
Boy #1: Mom – Mercedes-Benz ML430 & Dad – Hummer H2
Boy #2: Dad – Chevy Suburban
Boy #3: Mom – Toyota Sequoia & Dad – Land Rover Ranger Rover
Boy #4: Dad – Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie Quad Cab Long Bed 4x4 (Cummins Diesel)
On the way up to the slot car tracks (riding in our lowly Dodge Caravan), they were all bragging about the cool "Cars" that their parents drive, and my son chimed in, "My dad drives a 5-Series."
The instant response, in harmony no less, was, "What's a 5-Series?"
My son said, "A BMW, of course!"
I don’t know who said it, but someone actually said, "Oh, you mean a CAR!"
They then changed the subject; it was like my son had noisily passed gas at a Royal Wedding or something. Later, after all of his buddies had left, my son said, "Daddy, they just don't get it, do they?"
"No son, they don't."
Best Regards,
Shipo
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Thanks for all your input...JL
Chris
Best Regards,
Shipo
Thx
Best Regards
Shipo
Federal law states that any new car and new car seat sold (or manufactured - can't remember) after Sept 1, 2002 must have the LATCH system. I bought the MDX in Dec 01 and the 540i in May 02 and both have it. Both are MY2002, which is why both of mine have the LATCH.
Both are very nice cars. The 5-Series is definitely more fun to drive. Of course, the MDX wins in the ability to carry people (babies, in your case) or 'things'. I absolutely love my 540i. It is an absolute blast to drive.
Happy driving!!
Hope this helps...JL
Others interested in car seats: I found an outstanding link for info about car seat questions, including summaries of others' experiences with placing three seats or boosters in various cars:
http://pages.ivillage.com/carseatfaq/
Better still, my range of motion at my ankle is a whopping 10 degrees, I know it doesn't sound like much, however, my OS said that it was very good, and that I should be almost completely recovered within 4 to 6 weeks (strength however, is another issue).
With any luck (and some good PT), I will be back in the drivers seat of my 530i in three or four weeks, which is about three MONTHS earlier than I had initially hoped. In the mean time, I will still have to live vicariously through y'all.
Best Regards,
Shipo
To keep my post on topic, it will be a goooood feeling getting "back in the saddle" of your 530 I bet.
It seems that one car outperformed the 2nd place 530 in EVERY acceleration and handling test and outperformed the 1st place E320 in everything except skidpad where it was only .01 g's behind. And it did all this with all season tires.
Since the cars in the C&D test were not comparably equipped I did a cost comparison on similarly equipped models using Edmunds TMV. The 530i sport was $48K. The E320 sport was $53K. This car was $40K. This car also has considerably more interior room than the 530i and just a bit more than the E320.
This car is the 2003 Lincoln LS V8 sport. Surprised?
I'm not saying it's a better car nor do I wish to debate the quality of the interior or any other subjective issues like styling. And yes - the 530i can be had with a stick while the LS and E320 can't. I just find it exciting that an American sports sedan can finally run with the top dogs from an acceleration and handling standpoint - and do it for a lot less money. The CTS, while a good first step, isn't there yet. But at least they're trying.
About interior room, I've been in both cars and the 530i feels bigger to me. It may be the better interior ergonomics of the BMW, but I did not get the impression the Lincoln *was* bigger.
That's great. I had to pay for oil service at 7.5K myself.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I checked with the service technician and he told me they had checked for TSB and any software upgrades and on my copy under those headings it said NONE. Like I said my car runs really great and it is very,very quick.
The LS is closer to the previous generation 740i than the 5 series in interior room. A lot of the extra room is in the back seat.
As for engine choices, I would venture that the BMW 3.0L V6 probably cost as much or more as the LS 3.9L V8 so I think it's a fair comparison.
I'm all for the comparo because it shows strengths and weaknesses of each car. But I think a comparison more along similiar engine lines each optioned out equally in terms of performance options, would have been the 3.0L Lincoln vs a 3.2L Mercedes vs a 3L 5 series.
Here is the rub. My 530i has but 14K miles on it. The service adviser tells me that unless it is a manufacturer's defect (highly unlikely), I have to pay for replacing the clutch ($1000). He says the wear looks like it is from abuse. What?
How can this be? I have been driving stick shift for 23+ years (Japanese cars) and have never had a clutch go bad after just 14K miles. Usually about 80K to 120K miles. I am the only one who drives this car and I purchased it new.
Although I have had difficulty getting used to this clutch from day one, I do not believe I have abused the clutch. I rarely make quick starts necessitating slipping the clutch and rarely do I down-shift coming to a stop. Most of the time my shifts are smooth (even the 1-2 shifts). I have driven this car in a similar manner as my previous stick shift cars. So where is the abuse?
If and when (tomorrow) the dealer tells me that it was from wear and tear (normal?) and/or abuse and BMW does not cover this, do I have any recourse?
By the way, if I had purchased the car from this dealer, they would have given me a courtesy loaner car. But because I did not (they were over $2,000 higher than my purchasing dealer), I get nothing. I have to find my own ride at my expense. They told me that it may take 3 working days or more to get the parts and replace the clutch.
Again, my questions are:
1. Does needing a new clutch after 14K miles seem very unusual? How could this happen? How long does a typical BMW clutch last?
2. Is there any recourse when they say that I abused the clutch and therefore it is not covered?