E320cdi replaced by BMW520i SE

[Wighty]

Well , I woke up 2 weeks ago and ended up buying an approved used BMW 520i SE , low mileage 28,000 full BMW history.
I’ve spent 8 hours on the paint work and 3 hours scrubbing seats , door panels etc .
Multiple washes , 2 clay bar passes , iron decontamination, Poorboys SSR2 with orange pad , then a Manzerna 3 in 1 with yellow pad removed all the dullness to the non metallic paint . I might get some Auto finesse Lavish on it this week when I’ve done the wheels with a proper clean , they could do with a refurb but the tyres have 6mm on so that can wait until I need new tyres .
Just driven to Wales and back to use my Mums garage because of poor weather everywhere .
All I can say is what an absolutely stunning car . Incredibly quiet, comfortable , 50mpg at motorway speeds , glorious cabin and tech .
Yes I realise I will be on the i Haven’t got a Merc thread for some of the time (I still have an E350d coupe )
So bye bye E320cdi and thank you for being a stunning car for 147,000 miles .
The decision sort of came down to MB don’t do many petrols , most newer ones don’t have leather seats . Audi A6 do more petrols but don’t do that many leather seats and usually have large wheels . So BMW petrol in SE spec with comfort seating is where I ended up browsing for months on AT .
I had considered the 540i but for cars older than mine which is a very late 2018 G30 model they were a few thousand £ more which i did not really want to spend . I think in real world driving the 2.0i is pretty decent , it delivers power differently to the 320cdi but considering an on paper difference of 181 vs 224 bhp it is no slouch .
Oil and filter changes are in the pipeline after my Welsh Italian tune up . I don’t think the car has really seen a motorway as there weren’t any bonnet stone chips . New pads had been fitted but the car had been sat round so 10 hard braking events from 60+ down to 10 on empty roads has cleaned them up .

 

[PaulG]

Swapping a Merc for a BMW. Will have to have a word with the admin of the forum to see if this thread is appropriate.

Hope it all goes well with the new car.

 

[Blobcat]

Swapping a Merc for a BMW. Will have to have a word with the admin of the forum to see if this thread is appropriate.

Hope it all goes well with the new car.

It’s not, warnings will have to be issued. Although the lucky pants can remain, due to privacy and public health concerns.

 

[AMGeed]

Nice one Wighty. Health to enjoy.
Retired now and still never owned a BMW or Audi myself.

 

[Malcolm Johnson]

Funny enough late 90s I went 528i between Audi 100 and Citroen XM.
As I started doing a lot of miles moved to S, my first two cars were W220.
Bought a 2 year old W221 in 2015, Still got it although stopped working in 2018.
Hopefully it meets your requirements

 

[Wighty]

Swapping a Merc for a BMW. Will have to have a word with the admin of the forum to see if this thread is appropriate.

Hope it all goes well with the new car.

I do feel bad , that’s why I waited 2 weeks to get my courage up

 

[Wighty]

It’s not, warnings will have to be issued. Although the lucky pants can remain, due to privacy and public health concerns.

Don’t forget I am still an E350d owner buddy , let’s forget the BMW

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Congratulations!

I pondered over a 540i before I purchased the E53 but decided on the latter but as you say MB offer little choice with petrol models which is an oversight IMO and retrospectively a marketing mistake.

The ZF automatic is a gem and certainly on a par with the MB 9 speed there is very little to choose between them. BMW cars >2014 are very well finished and ceratainly on a par with MB it will be interesting to hear your views on ownership.

You’ll be pleased to know oil change intervals are every two years (pun intended) which I stick with my car only covers <4k miles over that period BMW LL04 0W-30 is what the car was filled with at factory so I’ve stuck with it.

Hope it serves you well you’ve made a great choice.

 

[Wighty]

Congratulations!

I pondered over a 540i before I purchased the E53 but decided on the latter but as you say MB offer little choice with petrol models which is an oversight IMO and retrospectively a marketing mistake.

The ZF automatic is a gem and certainly on a par with the MB 9 speed there is very little to choose between them. BMW cars >2014 are very well finished and ceratainly on a par with MB it will be interesting to hear your views on ownership.

You’ll be pleased to know oil change intervals are every two years (pun intended) which I stick with my car only covers <4k miles over that period BMW LL04 0W-30 is what the car was filled with at factory so I’ve stuck with it.

Hope it serves you well you’ve made a great choice.

Cheers buddy , there is already a 20L cube of LL-04 in my garage , I’ll be doing changes every 6k maximum you will not be surprised to know .
I will probably do the gearbox ZF service in the summer just to set it from the start again in my ownership .
Apparently the 520i is one map away from 260-300 bhp .

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

260-300 bhp would be good my IL6 3.0 @300bhp is a delight mated to the ZF box

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

As

Cheers buddy , there is already a 20L cube of LL-04 in my garage , I’ll be doing changes every 6k maximum you will not be surprised to know .
I will probably do the gearbox ZF service in the summer just to set it from the start again in my ownership .
Apparently the 520i is one map away from 260-300 bhp .

As a matter of interest did you trade-in the W211?

 

[peterws1957]

It’s not, warnings will have to be issued. Although the lucky pants can remain, due to privacy and public health concerns.

And "Inclusivity".

 

[Wighty]

As

As a matter of interest did you trade-in the W211?

My brother has it at the moment , he needed a backup .

 

[Snake Charmer]

What happened to the poor unloved W211?

 

[Wighty]

What happened to the poor unloved W211?

My brother has it ….literally the post above yours

 

[Wighty]

Didn’t get much done today , just some exploratory prep for fitting my old Blackvue dashcam in this car , I’m hoping the drivers front fuse board (ciggy lighter) fuse is ignition live and that will save me buying any extra wire .
I need a dry couple of hours to get it done .

 

[Snake Charmer]

My brother has it ….literally the post above yours

How did l miss that?

 

[sonic]

Well , I woke up 2 weeks ago and ended up buying an approved used BMW 520i SE , low mileage 28,000 full BMW history.
I’ve spent 8 hours on the paint work and 3 hours scrubbing seats , door panels etc .
Multiple washes , 2 clay bar passes , iron decontamination, Poorboys SSR2 with orange pad , then a Manzerna 3 in 1 with yellow pad removed all the dullness to the non metallic paint . I might get some Auto finesse Lavish on it this week when I’ve done the wheels with a proper clean , they could do with a refurb but the tyres have 6mm on so that can wait until I need new tyres .
Just driven to Wales and back to use my Mums garage because of poor weather everywhere .
All I can say is what an absolutely stunning car . Incredibly quiet, comfortable , 50mpg at motorway speeds , glorious cabin and tech .
Yes I realise I will be on the i Haven’t got a Merc thread for some of the time (I still have an E350d coupe )
So bye bye E320cdi and thank you for being a stunning car for 147,000 miles .
The decision sort of came down to MB don’t do many petrols , most newer ones don’t have leather seats . Audi A6 do more petrols but don’t do that many leather seats and usually have large wheels . So BMW petrol in SE spec with comfort seating is where I ended up browsing for months on AT .
I had considered the 540i but for cars older than mine which is a very late 2018 G30 model they were a few thousand £ more which i did not really want to spend . I think in real world driving the 2.0i is pretty decent , it delivers power differently to the 320cdi but considering an on paper difference of 181 vs 224 bhp it is no slouch .
Oil and filter changes are in the pipeline after my Welsh Italian tune up . I don’t think the car has really seen a motorway as there weren’t any bonnet stone chips . New pads had been fitted but the car had been sat round so 10 hard braking events from 60+ down to 10 on empty roads has cleaned them up .
View attachment 98031View attachment 98032View attachment 98033View attachment 98034

Never saw that one coming, I thought you recently bought a newer Mercedes?

 

[Wighty]

Never saw that one coming, I thought you recently bought a newer Mercedes?

Me neither buddy ! Yep , I swapped the CLK for the E350d coupe in September as Mrs W’s runaround.

 

[Rotorhead500]

Well , I woke up 2 weeks ago and ended up buying an approved used BMW 520i SE , low mileage 28,000 full BMW history.
I’ve spent 8 hours on the paint work and 3 hours scrubbing seats , door panels etc .
Multiple washes , 2 clay bar passes , iron decontamination, Poorboys SSR2 with orange pad , then a Manzerna 3 in 1 with yellow pad removed all the dullness to the non metallic paint . I might get some Auto finesse Lavish on it this week when I’ve done the wheels with a proper clean , they could do with a refurb but the tyres have 6mm on so that can wait until I need new tyres .
Just driven to Wales and back to use my Mums garage because of poor weather everywhere .
All I can say is what an absolutely stunning car . Incredibly quiet, comfortable , 50mpg at motorway speeds , glorious cabin and tech .
Yes I realise I will be on the i Haven’t got a Merc thread for some of the time (I still have an E350d coupe )
So bye bye E320cdi and thank you for being a stunning car for 147,000 miles .
The decision sort of came down to MB don’t do many petrols , most newer ones don’t have leather seats . Audi A6 do more petrols but don’t do that many leather seats and usually have large wheels . So BMW petrol in SE spec with comfort seating is where I ended up browsing for months on AT .
I had considered the 540i but for cars older than mine which is a very late 2018 G30 model they were a few thousand £ more which i did not really want to spend . I think in real world driving the 2.0i is pretty decent , it delivers power differently to the 320cdi but considering an on paper difference of 181 vs 224 bhp it is no slouch .
Oil and filter changes are in the pipeline after my Welsh Italian tune up . I don’t think the car has really seen a motorway as there weren’t any bonnet stone chips . New pads had been fitted but the car had been sat round so 10 hard braking events from 60+ down to 10 on empty roads has cleaned them up .
View attachment 98031View attachment 98032View attachment 98033View attachment 98034

My work here is done.

This is good timing, Wighty... and good to hear what figures you're getting.

In a bid to find a suitable mile-muncher, and keep winter miles off the M4C, I might've accidentally tested a 520d Xdrive on my way back south today...