Alpina D5 Bi-Turbo - The Daily Driver Challenge Winner

[Simon1963]

Thanks for the tip with BMW Cotswold @Simon1963. I contacted them last week, they were very helpful and beat Sytners price by £10 for the rear pads. I also got 5l of BMW screen wash as the soapy stuff clogs the filter on German cars which use alcohol based screen wash (not soap)

I just need to muster the courage to jack the new car up and replace the pads.

I wish I had a lift in my garage or at least a set of quick jacks as the part if really hate is the process of jacking the car up and dropping it onto stands and the reverse...

I’m glad they sorted you out. I’ve dealt with them lots of times over the years and they’ve been great.

 

[Bebs]

Also not sure where you are but also find an indie who really understands Alpinas such as BMR Permormance near Gatwick or CPC Amersham

This is good advice. My B5 was previously serviced by a main dealer. They fitted the incorrect oil filter on 3 separate occasions because they used the BMW VIN number. Not the Alpina VIN.
This eventually caused the supercharger to fail as it is feed oil directly from the engine.
I tried taking this up with them but just kept running my head against a wall.
‘Its a BMW 550 Sir, it says so on the VIN... We have fitted the correct oil filter as per manufacturer’
Dumb a$$es clearly couldn’t read.. there’s even a plaque on the undertray part that needs removing in order to get to the oil filter in the first place - that plaque specifically says this car requires an oil filter for the BMW N62, 4.4 engine.
I even took legal advice because the supercharger is £4500 from Sytner, a hefty price to pay for 3 incorrect oil filters..
BMW UK wriggled their way out of it because the 3 incorrect filters were fitted to the car during ownership by the previous keeper.
Do find a good independent Alpina specialist, you will find that even Sytner mechanics don’t know what they are looking it.

 

[FIFTY]

Latest update got the pads changed at the local garage who turned out to be very friendly/helpful. Turns out the car needed to be plugged into the diagnostic to reset the handbrake which they showed me as they were doing it

What really put me off the DIY is that BMW reccomend jacking the car by the rear differential considering the cost of changing those bushes that are on the diffs fixing points I am happy to pass.

One annoyance the other day the drivers side window jammed half way down and I have to pull it up to free it and close the window

The BMW tech would have taken all of the gubbins in the door out to change the failing lock mechanism last month so how much do you want to bet this is down to finger work on the alignment of the window rails to the actuator mechanism(?)

I spoke with the dealer who suggested i take it to the local BMW to have it fixed under warranty - they want £130 to inspect it. FFS!

Slightly frustrated

 

[FIFTY]

Took the car to BMW Fleet who agreed not to charge me anything up front to look at the warranty issue with the window - unlike my local dealership who did which seems a bit daft

Turns out the technician at the supplying dealer who last worked on the door lock mechanism back in January forgot something



They inspected the mechanism and wiring loom... Lucky no damage caused to the car. Unsurprisingly this is not a warranty problem - they did not invoice me for the works rather sent the bill to the supplying dealer - I demanded that they give me the torch lol.

 

[Oneball]

Took the car to BMW Fleet who agreed not to charge me anything up front to look at the warranty issue with the window - unlike my local dealership who did which seems a bit daft

Turns out the technician at the supplying dealer who last worked on the door lock mechanism back in January forgot something

View attachment 83440View attachment 83441

They inspected the mechanism and wiring loom... Lucky no damage caused to the car. Unsurprisingly this is not a warranty problem - they did not invoice me for the works rather sent the bill to the supplying dealer - I demanded that they give me the torch lol.

Glad you’re sorted. Sytner’s took over the BMW dealership both my Dad and I used. One bad service with work I didn’t ask for, things I did, not done and insults from the service manager and I’ve never been back. If you include my Dad it’s 40ish years of custom they binned.

 

[mjheathcote]

Had fun and games with BMW dealers over the years.
Like fitting new headlight units, then the same dealer failing the car on its MOT on headlight alignment only 2 weeks later...
Servicing a car with new brake discs then a month later for tyres and the wheel lock key is missing...and wanting to charge for a new lock key...

 

[Gazcw]

Took the car to BMW Fleet who agreed not to charge me anything up front to look at the warranty issue with the window - unlike my local dealership who did which seems a bit daft

Turns out the technician at the supplying dealer who last worked on the door lock mechanism back in January forgot something

View attachment 83440View attachment 83441

They inspected the mechanism and wiring loom... Lucky no damage caused to the car. Unsurprisingly this is not a warranty problem - they did not invoice me for the works rather sent the bill to the supplying dealer - I demanded that they give me the torch lol.

Illuminating. Glad its sorted.

 

[lifes2short]

Took the car to BMW Fleet who agreed not to charge me anything up front to look at the warranty issue with the window - unlike my local dealership who did which seems a bit daft

Turns out the technician at the supplying dealer who last worked on the door lock mechanism back in January forgot something

View attachment 83440View attachment 83441

They inspected the mechanism and wiring loom... Lucky no damage caused to the car. Unsurprisingly this is not a warranty problem - they did not invoice me for the works rather sent the bill to the supplying dealer - I demanded that they give me the torch lol.

not at all surprised, my local bmw main stealer managed to leave a cordless impact drill in the engine bay, only noticed it when got back home and popped the bonnet to check things over, got to say they are a bunch of muppets, on another occasion they didn't tighten the sump plug, only spun on by hand and clearly the jimmy they gave job to must of been on another planet

 

[Wattie]

not at all surprised, my local bmw main stealer managed to leave a cordless impact drill in the engine bay, only noticed it when got back home and popped the bonnet to check things over, got to say they are a bunch of muppets, on another occasion they didn't tighten the sump plug, only spun on by hand and clearly the jimmy they gave job to must of been on another planet

I had terrible audio problems in Bahrain with my first BMW 520 (my first expenditure on what I can considered an expensive second hand car at the time) .
BMW diagnosed it as electrical component related with a hefty price tag to remedy.
Unconvinced I took it elsewhere and they removed all the speakers from the doors......all the membranes had split (that’ll be 45 degrees plus for ya).
Solution, replacement speakers and about one fifth the cost of what the BMW stealer had quoted on electrics.

 

[lifes2short]

I had terrible audio problems in Bahrain with my first BMW 520 (my first expenditure on what I can considered an expensive second hand car at the time) .
BMW diagnosed it as electrical component related with a hefty price tag to remedy.
Unconvinced I took it elsewhere and they removed all the speakers from the doors......all the membranes had split (that’ll be 45 degrees plus for ya).
Solution, replacement speakers and about one fifth the cost of what the BMW stealer had quoted on electrics.

that sounds very familiar, must admit that i don't really like any main stealers but bmw are the worst, had a similar thing with my X5 last year with lack of power, long story short main stealer clueless and gave some quite laughable quotes for bizarre things totting up to over £1500, after a bit of forum chats it was a £50 part from euro car parts and about an hour of my time

 

[Bebs]

You guys are missing an important point. With BMW main stealers you can sit in a plush lounge, in scandi inspired furniture, having free coffees and snacks whilst your car is being serviced, knowing full well the bill will be jacked up and what work has been done is carried out by a 19 year old spotty youth who couldn’t give a t0ss about your car and 100% has other things on his mind.
Still, the coffee was good

 

[rs48635]

Following up on my thread where I challenged the forum to help me pick a replacement daily as my Mercedes CLS 350Cdi Brabus was getting a little long in the tooth.

So here it is... BMW Alpina F10 D5 Bi-Turbo #137
On collection day with our old Merc next to it

View attachment 81616


Pretty sure it will be faster than the 4200 so I am not looking forward to my wife looking smug when we take both cars out when the salt clears up in Spring

I do like an Alpina and one day the chance will arrive to add one to my fleet. The CLS is a big car but next to the F10 seems 'compact', so how big is the new car? Congrats on the deal, seems pretty good.

 

[azapa]

The b5 looks lovely and certainly good value for money. I'm a complete BMW fanboy, the coffee is good.

Still dreaming about finding a nice e39 M5 and keeping it for ever this time.

 

[Twinspark]

How is the F10 so far in terms of reliability? I know three people who had them(petrol) but only one was happy with its reliability. The other had a 550i which needed a new engine.

The b5 looks lovely and certainly good value for money. I'm a complete BMW fanboy, the coffee is good.

Still dreaming about finding a nice e39 M5 and keeping it for ever this time.

Grab an E39 M5 while you can, prices are going up astronomically.

 

[rs48635]

I keep seeing various M5 and still want one. Then I remember last time I sat in Bimmer (740i) and penny drops why I went Alfa --> Alfa --> 3200 --> QP5
They are fine cars to drive. The familiarity of the driver zone links many of their cars but want't enough to entice me back. An Alpina B10 biTurbo would do the tick mind

 

[azapa]

I keep seeing various M5 and still want one. Then I remember last time I sat in Bimmer (740i) and penny drops why I went Alfa --> Alfa --> 3200 --> QP5
They are fine cars to drive. The familiarity of the driver zone links many of their cars but want't enough to entice me back. An Alpina B10 biTurbo would do the tick mind

the 7 series are just huge barges, far too big IMHO. The e39 5 series is small, I'd guess smaller than todays 3 series. It was about the perfect size I remember. Chuckable, but still able to carry the family to lunch at the weekend.

 

[FIFTY]

Some pretty shocking stories guys.

To be fair to Sytner the Service manager from the supplying dealership called me immediately and was very apologetic. I told him to call Mrs FIFTY as she nearly got stuck in a multi storey car park when it happened as she couldn't open the door due to the high kerb and therefore suggested that she deserved a similar call apologising for this oversight - they also offered to reimburse a tank of fuel for the inconvenience

I do like an Alpina and one day the chance will arrive to add one to my fleet. The CLS is a big car but next to the F10 seems 'compact', so how big is the new car? Congrats on the deal, seems pretty good.

Comparing the dimensions provided on both vehicles the BMW is 10mm shorter and 5mm narrower - but it is much taller.

You sit further back in the 5 series which makes it easier to place so it feels much smaller than the CLS.

 

[PhillV8S]

Another Alpina fan here. Had my B6S for about 5 years now. This was the second one I have had and they are great cars for the road. This one is only 1 of 3 in the UK so rather rare. Certainly brings a lot of smiles per miles.

 

[Nayf]

I keep seeing various M5 and still want one. Then I remember last time I sat in Bimmer (740i) and penny drops why I went Alfa --> Alfa --> 3200 --> QP5
They are fine cars to drive. The familiarity of the driver zone links many of their cars but want't enough to entice me back. An Alpina B10 biTurbo would do the tick mind

I was disappointed by the E34 M5. Love the looks, especially the later model, but the drive was a bit... flat.

The Alpina B10 Biturbo on the other hand was amazing. I know of one for sale at the mo, drop me a PM if serious. It’s around €50k iirc, and it’s not the Motorhub car

 

[Nayf]

Another Alpina fan here. Had my B6S for about 5 years now. This was the second one I have had and they are great cars for the road. This one is only 1 of 3 in the UK so rather rare. Certainly brings a lot of smiles per miles.

Drove the blue one for Modern Classics. A sublime motor car.