Well after 2 years of relatively happy motoring (apart from the ridiculously noisy door seals and prevelance of raod noise) Its time to go back to BMW.

I'd been mulling it over for a while and after driving a 325d at work I realised I still yearned for the 3litre diesel engine I used to have in my old 330d. I looked at the financials and I've come away with a 2007 535d M-Sport tourer for the same price as I'm paying for the vRS.

The only frustrating thing is that I had recently retrofitted a columbus, so that and the trim will be up on ebay soon!!

Thanks to all those on here who have helped with inane queries prior to purchasing the vRS, and while waiting for the thing to turn up. Briskoda is a great forum to be a member of and a wealth of uselful info.

Is the Columbus LCD or LED?

PM me a price. MIGHT be interested

Wow, a new vRS to a 5 year old BMW?

I hope your leggy 5 series turns out to be more reliable than my 3 series.

Trim??

What trim??

I've test driven 5 now between 5-7 years old in varying states and all felt so much nicer that the vRS, even those with in excess of 100k miles. The cars are just that well built that the age doesnt really matter. My old 3-series was 10 years old when i got the skoda and still pulled like a train

Trim??

What trim??

The trim piece needed around the columbus

The trim of the BMW i.e the specification!

M Tec?

The trim of the BMW i.e the specification!

M Tec?

Its an M-Sport

Wow, a new vRS to a 5 year old BMW?

Hmm decisions decisions.....

Not

Wow, a new vRS to a 5 year old BMW?

I hope your leggy 5 series turns out to be more reliable than my 3 series.

I wouldn't class a 2 year old car as new.

Good luck with your new BM, great engine (for a diesel!)

I wouldn't class a 2 year old car as new.

Good luck with your new BM, great engine (for a diesel!)

2yr old vRS that I've owned from new vs a 5 - 7yr old BMW? vRS every time.

Can't agree but with the 535d you have much bigger bills, poor mpg and a reputation for lack of reliability compared to the e39.

That's why I went Skoda.

Great choice, top motors. Age is only a number, as long as a few bushes are changed it will still drive like a new one.

I'm going back to BMW after, I just prefer the straight 6 drive train in petrol varient, 330i or 130i

Hilarious the comments about new v old, sorry Skoda owner two different cars

One handles and has superb steering other doesnt... and its not the Skoda that handles or has great steering.

I know what i would have... and this time next year hope to have and its a 5 series touring again, loved my 5 series but as it was a diesel didnt need the derv, stupidly bought this cack Skoda.

Enjoy mate it puts massive smiles on your face and easily trumps a Vrs in looks, handling and pace.

Can't agree but with the 535d you have much bigger bills, poor mpg and a reputation for lack of reliability compared to the e39.

That's why I went Skoda.

You went Skoda for reliability.... lmao!!

Hilarious the comments about new v old, sorry Skoda owner two different cars

One handles and has superb steering other doesnt... and its not the Skoda that handles or has great steering.

I know what i would have... and this time next year hope to have and its a 5 series touring again, loved my 5 series but as it was a diesel didnt need the derv, stupidly bought this cack Skoda.

Enjoy mate it puts massive smiles on your face and easily trumps a Vrs in looks, handling and pace.

Haha couldnt agree more. The Skoda, while not a bad car suffers terribly from build quality issues like road noise, loose door seals which take the fun out of the drive.

The BMW's are in an incomparable league im afraid. It does make me laugh that of all places here is where I encounter brand snobbery!!!!!

I think some people misunderstand. New vRS vs new 5 series with a reasonable engine then there's no comparision, of course the BMW is better but it costs twice as much. Two yr old vRS owned from new vs 5 - 7 yr old BMW then like I said it would be the vRS everytime. I don't aspire to BMW ownership, if I did I would just buy a new one but if I was that inclined to spend that sort of money it would be an Audi A6.

As Jonno says, two entirely different cars. The only thing to add is that premium price doesn't always mean premium reliability. Hopefully the 535D will be as reliable as it is potent. They are great cars Nice to see a sober balanced view from somebody going back to another make. And yes I also find this forum to be very helpful thanks to the contributors who post their experiences.

I think some people misunderstand. New vRS vs new 5 series with a reasonable engine then there's no comparision, of course the BMW is better but it costs twice as much. Two yr old vRS owned from new vs 5 - 7 yr old BMW then like I said it would be the vRS everytime. I don't aspire to BMW ownership, if I did I would just buy a new one but if I was that inclined to spend that sort of money it would be an Audi A6.

Have you actually driven a BMW long term???, an Audi A6 is no comparison.

And comparing a 2yr old Vrs with a 5-7yr old Bmw is just silly.

Bmw is a far better car wether you think it does or doesnt command the money they do make a lovely handling car RWD is awesome.

Been browsing BMW's site and autotrader most of the day, plenty of 550i's lol

550i's are cheap and if they would do 20-23mpg it wouldn't be too bad for me doing 6-7k a year, but I think a 530i would be a better choice - cheap to buy, cheap as chips to run if you are doing less than say 8K a year. Reliable bullet proof engine too with no cambelts etc. Parts are cheap too for the size of car.

Have you actually driven a BMW long term???, an Audi A6 is no comparison.

And comparing a 2yr old Vrs with a 5-7yr old Bmw is just silly.

Bmw is a far better car wether you think it does or doesnt command the money they do make a lovely handling car RWD is awesome.

Been browsing BMW's site and autotrader most of the day, plenty of 550i's lol

I didn't infer the BMW wasn't the better car. Why is comparing a 2 year old vRS with a 5 - 7 yr old BMW silly? It's what the op is considering hence relevant and MY preference would be to keep the 2 yr old vRS that I'd owned from new rather than buy a car with mega miles that was 2+ years out of warranty that would be more expensive to run.

I didn't infer the BMW wasn't the better car. Why is comparing a 2 year old vRS with a 5 - 7 yr old BMW silly? It's what the op is considering hence relevant and MY preference would be to keep the 2 yr old vRS that I'd owned from new rather than buy a car with mega miles that was 2+ years out of warranty that would be more expensive to run.

It was never a matter of what I was considering, the car has been bought. These days it's so easy to verify a cars history and the financials over a few years really aren't much different. I'd sooner take my chances with the depreciation of the Beemer over the next few years than the vRS. Having had a 3l BMW diesel before it has a big draw to return

Good luck to you mate hope it works out for you

You went Skoda for reliability.... lmao!!

Erh - yes?

The faults on E60's are well documented and do not cost a few hundred quid to fix.

Have you owned many BMW's or other cars for that matter?

550i's are cheap and if they would do 20-23mpg it wouldn't be too bad for me doing 6-7k a year, but I think a 530i would be a better choice - cheap to buy, cheap as chips to run if you are doing less than say 8K a year. Reliable bullet proof engine too with no cambelts etc. Parts are cheap too for the size of car.

They work superbly on LPG - worth the investment on such a car. MPG is better than you might think on v8 Beemers but I'd personally baulk at £450 road fund. Was considering an Alpina B10 V8, but I'm not a massive fan of auto's.

My BRC kit paid back in 21,000 miles on the Volvo and that cost £2100.