E60 523i a good decision?

[yellowmanta]

Hello everybody,I'm new to BMW and this forum. Am about to sign on the dotted line for a new E60 523i and needing to make sure I'm doing the right thing. Am hoping the members here would share their experience or views on this particular model in terms of performance, maintenance and any common problems encountered, both with the car and after sales service. I am presently driving an S60 which is a great car to drive BUT when it comes to parts replacement, it can get really expensive! I'm not so much peeved with that as with the durability and quality of many parts on the Volvo. Wondering if it's gonna be the same with a BMW... Much appreciated.Cheers

 

[XXX]

First of all wellcome to the club, as this is your first post it would be nice to introduce yourself in the newbies section

Its not called the Ultimate Driving Machine for no reason...of course its the right thing to do, buying any beeemer is...well there are definetely going to be post later asking you to go for 525 blah blah...stick to ur budget and be happy with what you have targetted bcos at the end of tha day if you really want to go for the best its definetely the M5 but does ur budget permit u?

 

[dumeort]

just thinking why not 525i e60 ? is the price different alot ?

 

[funfer_fahrer]

Yeah man, why not 525? Buying a 523 doesn't sound like you are on a budget. 520 is a budget car.

 

[XXX]

its what u can afford ...a kancil and a wira maybe another 20k diffrence but why buy kancil bcos its what u can afford...I maybe able to afford instalments up to Rm2k a month but add another Rm500 and I may have to eat maggi mee...kekekkee

 

[Jerman]

E 60 523i vs 525?

Yeah man, why not 525? Buying a 523 doesn't sound like you are on a budget. 520 is a budget car.

F Fuhrer,
The difference is RM 50k+, ler..............can do a lot of things with such amount such as M5 bodykits so that the UDM will not look 'STOCK STANDARD'!

XXX is right, it all depends what you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend!
Yellowmanta, there is no right or wrong choice.......when it comes to car, follow your heart. Go for it and welcome to the club!

 

[kelvinp]

Yeah man, why not 525? Buying a 523 doesn't sound like you are on a budget. 520 is a budget car.

520i has been replaced by the 523i here.. AFAIK.

 

[hitman]

go for it.
put the m5 bodykit on and go for a quad exhaust set-up.
repair costs wont be cheap i presume but nevertheless, it's a brand new car and therefore most of the costly items will still be covered by the warranty.
better the beemer than the e-class merc.

 

[funfer_fahrer]

F Fuhrer,
The difference is RM 50k+, ler..............can do a lot of things with such amount such as M5 bodykits so that the UDM will not look 'STOCK STANDARD'!

I heard someone has got his new sports rim from Bimmer73 aa? What happen to our STOCK STANDARD crusade? I thought you are my friend..

 

[funfer_fahrer]

Let's see, 523i 177bhp RM343K vs 525i 218bhp RM398K. 523i (loan 90%) RM308700 for 7 years at 2.65% RM4356.71 per month. 525i loan (90%) RM358200 same interest rate for 7 years RM5055.31. Difference= RM698.60. Of course, if you need to take up this loan comfortably you need to earn at least RM40K a month. Otherwise, like XXX mentioned you and your family might end up with maggie mee, and that's the reason why I didn't buy the E60. Guys, I am not trying to compare between a Wira and a Kancil. I am talking about value. Yes the 525i is 55K extra but in terms of percentage is only 16% extra. If you earn RM40K a month, is RM698.60 extra per month such a big deal?

 

[KL2DC]

Good grief, those are huge numbers

 

[dumeort]

Let's see, 523i 177bhp RM343K vs 525i 218bhp RM398K. 523i (loan 90%) RM308700 for 7 years at 2.65% RM4356.71 per month. 525i loan (90%) RM358200 same interest rate for 7 years RM5055.31. Difference= RM698.60. Of course, if you need to take up this loan comfortably you need to earn at least RM40K a month. Otherwise, like XXX mentioned you and your family might end up with maggie mee, and that's the reason why I didn't buy the E60. Guys, I am not trying to compare between a Wira and a Kancil. I am talking about value. Yes the 525i is 55K extra but in terms of percentage is only 16% extra. If you earn RM40K a month, is RM698.60 extra per month such a big deal?

But let say we more crazy, 9 year loan with 2.65% interest.

523i will be Rm 3,540.00 p.m

525i will be Rm Rm 4108.00 p.m

after all the debate, there still rm 500-600 diff per month.

just a stupid idea, let's go for e39 and e46. Can own both.

 

[yellowmanta]

Thanks everybody! Appreciate your advice/comments/suggestions. Guess I'll follow Jerman's advice and go with my heart which is the 523. It's well within my budget and I'm not really into this power and speed thingy. Just a nice car which will be good enuf to be my UDM (btw it took me a while to figure out what this abbreviation meant!).

 

[David Yong]

yellowmanta,

e60 523i is definitely much better than volvo s60...

 

[safri]

Thanks everybody! Appreciate your advice/comments/suggestions. Guess I'll follow Jerman's advice and go with my heart which is the 523. It's well within my budget and I'm not really into this power and speed thingy. Just a nice car which will be good enuf to be my UDM (btw it took me a while to figure out what this abbreviation meant!).

smart move, enjoy your ride. 177bhp is good enough, you'll not regret your choice.

 

[XXX]

Pls join the 5ers when you get ur ride ...What is 5ers? We are a group of 5 series owners who meets up occasionally for drives and food.

 

[funfer_fahrer]

Thanks everybody! Appreciate your advice/comments/suggestions. Guess I'll follow Jerman's advice and go with my heart which is the 523. It's well within my budget and I'm not really into this power and speed thingy. Just a nice car which will be good enuf to be my UDM (btw it took me a while to figure out what this abbreviation meant!).

Are you really sure you are not into power and speed thingy? I just hope that after one month you will not wake up one morning wondering why you bought a sub 200bhp BMW.

 

[funfer_fahrer]

Pls join the 5ers when you get ur ride ...What is 5ers? We are a group of 5 series owners who meets up occasionally for drives and food.

The activities of 5ers uncles:

Food
Fun
Food
Fun
Food Again

 

[XXX]

Are you really sure you are not into power and speed thingy? I just hope that after one month you will not wake up one morning wondering why you bought a sub 200bhp BMW.

FF
you ni teruklah, sudahlah STOCK STANDARD lagi nak cuntfuse orang...the 520 also can hit 200+kmh what morelah the 523, how fast you want to reach heavenlah...

 

[funfer_fahrer]

FF
you ni teruklah, sudahlah STOCK STANDARD lagi nak cuntfuse orang...the 520 also can hit 200+kmh what morelah the 523, how fast you want to reach heavenlah...

Bro, speeding is like drug la. Once I hit 200km/hr, I want 220km/hr. Now I want 250km/hr with the RPM still rising. Just like playing golf la. You always want to break 90.