[ohwowmike]

Hey guys, I’m exploring the option of leasing a 530i. I test-drove the car about 6 months ago, and I liked how it drives compared to my current 330i.

But now that I’m seriously looking into all the details, I’m left wondering:

What is going on?

1. Okay, the car has vegan leather instead of real leather—fine, I can live with that.
2. I’m seeing threads about recent recalls related to some kind of braking system.
3. The ambient interaction bar isn’t available in the spec at all, and to get it, I’d need to upgrade to the 540i xDrive.
4. And honestly, the design of the car is pretty questionable…

I remember when I bought my 3 Series, I had zero complaints.

I really want to stick with BMW, but the current models just don’t seem to work for me, except for the 5 Series - and right now the car that I want to upgrade to have this issues, and I am staring to think is it worth it ?

Or if I decided to go with 5 series I’d rather think only about 540i, but it’s extra 10k and to be honest with 330i already had enough speed tickets, so having more powerful car it’s like provoking me even more…

[AiredaleDad]

Go for the 540. The extra 10K won't be much in your lease.

[jha96]

Originally Posted by ohwowmike

Hey guys, I’m exploring the option of leasing a 530i. I test-drove the car about 6 months ago, and I liked how it drives compared to my current 330i.

But now that I’m seriously looking into all the details, I’m left wondering:

What is going on?

1. Okay, the car has vegan leather instead of real leather—fine, I can live with that.
2. I’m seeing threads about recent recalls related to some kind of braking system.
3. The ambient interaction bar isn’t available in the spec at all, and to get it, I’d need to upgrade to the 540i xDrive.
4. And honestly, the design of the car is pretty questionable…

I remember when I bought my 3 Series, I had zero complaints.

I really want to stick with BMW, but the current models just don’t seem to work for me, except for the 5 Series - and right now the car that I want to upgrade to have this issues, and I am staring to think is it worth it ?

Or if I decided to go with 5 series I’d rather think only about 540i, but it’s extra 10k and to be honest with 330i already had enough speed tickets, so having more powerful car it’s like provoking me even more…

I have one and it's my first non-M BMW. My last one was a 2021 M8 GC Comp.

That said, I like the car. I drive it around for work and it's comfortable and easy to use. No complaints except this inventory car doesn't have ACC Stop & Go. I incorrectly assumed it was standard equipment, and I didn't want to eat up a lot of time looking at different cars.

You can option it with real leather (I have the black/atlas grey).

Sounds to me like you want a 540... if you do get it and you'll enjoy the car a lot more. You'll regret not getting what you want.

[jha96]

Originally Posted by AiredaleDad

Go for the 540. The extra 10K won't be much in your lease.

This is great advice, you'll enjoy making those payments more even if it is a higher payment.

[AiredaleDad]

See if you can test drive a 540i You will notice the difference and be convinced as I was.

Don't worry about the complaints you see here. Most of the issues you probably won't ever see. Most of the satisfied customers don't post about their non issues. Go look at the complaints in the G20 forum and ask if you have seen any of those on your current G20.

Don't listen to the haters who don't like the new G60. They are sour about the changes from their preferred G30. If you like the car, get it. If you don't like it, look elsewhere.

[RichardInCA]

Not sure what to say other than point 3 and 4 are your deal-makers or breakers I think. I’ve owned BMW’s for getting on 14 years, and the idea of a recall being issued is far from a new thing for me, so I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it - especially given how well BMW is doing in product quality/reliability surveys.

Really like my i5, it’s been a fantastic car, but that’s different calculus to a 530 I suspect.

[rgw]

Originally Posted by ohwowmike

Hey guys, I’m exploring the option of leasing a 530i. I test-drove the car about 6 months ago, and I liked how it drives compared to my current 330i.

But now that I’m seriously looking into all the details, I’m left wondering:

What is going on?

1. Okay, the car has vegan leather instead of real leather—fine, I can live with that.
2. I’m seeing threads about recent recalls related to some kind of braking system.
3. The ambient interaction bar isn’t available in the spec at all, and to get it, I’d need to upgrade to the 540i xDrive.
4. And honestly, the design of the car is pretty questionable…

I remember when I bought my 3 Series, I had zero complaints.

I really want to stick with BMW, but the current models just don’t seem to work for me, except for the 5 Series - and right now the car that I want to upgrade to have this issues, and I am staring to think is it worth it ?

Or if I decided to go with 5 series I’d rather think only about 540i, but it’s extra 10k and to be honest with 330i already had enough speed tickets, so having more powerful car it’s like provoking me even more…

1. Personally, I think the veganza upholstery looks better in the 5s because the two-tone options are just not that compelling to me. If the milano leather options came with more leather-bound areas around the common touch points that are hard or soft plastic, I'd miss the genuine leather option. However, BMW isn't doing that to preserve market segmentation between the 5 and 7.

2. MY24 5s may have this defect and recall but more recently built MY24s and upcoming MY25s will not have this issue

3. The ambient light bar makes the interior in my opinion. Yes, you need to test drive a 540ix because you will be disabused of any notion of buying a 530i. Not only is the driving experience better with the B58 but the interior is improved by the ambient lighting.

4. It'll grow on you. Frankly, it is a fairly conservative design for BMW lately.

[PeterC4]

Like others have suggested, take a serious look at the 540. I have found heavily optioned cars in the lowest model range creep close to the next level in terms of price. As to the design, I thought the same thing at first, but it has grown on me.

[ohwowmike]

RichardInCA why did you pick i5 and not 540 ?

[SkykingUSA]

I'm also very happy with my i5 eDrive40. Despite the recalls, I have had no real problems with the car and love the interior and the crystal-looking light bar in the interior. Like others have said, if you don't buy the one your really want, you may regret it later. Take a test drive of the two models you're considering and decide from that.

[ohwowmike]

SkykingUSA why did you pick i5 and not 540 ?

[RichardInCA]

Originally Posted by ohwowmike

RichardInCA why did you pick i5 and not 540 ?

I wanted to transition/try out an EV for a while, and as a BMW fan I was very interested to try out the 5, the 540 never really entered into the equation. On top of that the M60 puts out substantially more power and torque which checked a box for me.

If I wasn’t going EV I had a hankering after an M car, so likely wouldn’t have gone for a 540 tbh.

[SkykingUSA]

Originally Posted by ohwowmike

SkykingUSA why did you pick i5 and not 540 ?

A few reasons:

• The 540 was not available when I ordered my car. I sold my prior vehicle privately in early December 2023 and needed another car before the 540 was even available in the US market.
• For the past 21 years I have driven a V8 vehicle as my primary vehicle. I have also driven other 4 and 6 cylinder vehicles that we bought for my wife to drive and always found them less responsive than my V8. I didn't want to downgrade on the feeling of responsiveness I was used to, and figured an electric vehicle would give me the best responsiveness feeling than a 4 or 6 cylinder vehicle. I didn't want another V8 since gas prices in California range from $4.00/gallon to almost $6.00/gallon.
• I don't drive a lot (I work from home), and I don't often take long road trips so I figured an electric vehicle would fit my needs well. I also have solar panels on the roof, so keeping the car charged at home will not be a problem. At first, I thought the public charging would be very important, but for me it's not so much, since I can keep the car charged from home. I have only used public charging once in almost 6 months and that was just to test it out to make sure the car worked from an Electrify America charging station.
• I chose the eDrive40 instead of the M60 basically for price and range. I guess I could have spent about $15K more than I did but that was not worth it to me to get 600+ HP vs. 340 HP, and to get less range. I'm not a fast driver normally, so 340 HP is more than enough for me. There are things I wish I had that comes in the M60 (but not in the eDrive40) but they still weren't worth the extra money and lower range to me: the tri-color stitching on the steering wheel, the red center marker on the steering wheel, and perhaps most importantly the 4 wheel steering (IAS) and adaptive suspension. This is by far the most expensive vehicle I have ever bought, so it was a leap for me just to get to eDrive40 levels, let alone M60 prices. :-) One step at a time I suppose.

Good luck with your decision and I hope you get exactly what you want in the end!

[PsychDoc]

540 in a heartbeat. And I don't think the delta between the 530 and the 540 is anywhere near $10k. Similarly optioned, it should only be about $4500.

Definitely worth it.

[AiredaleDad]

Originally Posted by PsychDoc

540 in a heartbeat. And I don't think the delta between the 530 and the 540 is anywhere near $10k. Similarly optioned, it should only be about $4500.

Definitely worth it.

The differential for me for my 540iX was about $8K over the demo 530iX the dealer had for display. But the car I bought was a fully optioned 540iX. The only exceptions from what the Demo had was the Executive Package. I wanted the opening sunroof. I didn't want the panoramic roof, and didn't care about the glass controls. However, I got ALL the options. MSport, MSport Pro, DAPP, the 20" Wheels, the Luxury seating package, and the spare tire, which the demo did not have.