Aaron

How many miles do you have on your existing car? What kind of major maintenence have you had to do to it (replacements, major repairs of any kind, etc.)?

Marven

How many miles do you have on your existing car? What kind of major maintenence have you had to do to it (replacements, major repairs of any kind, etc.)?
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I have 180000 miles on my car...I havent had any major replacements - I think the most expensive item was the Ujoints..other than that just the usual items such as brakes, lowering springs, tie rods, thrust items.

I'm just kinda waiting for it to die but it runs so well...

joebel

Marven, you're obviously leaning towards the 5 series. You really can't go wrong with that choice. I suspect if you did choose the M you'd be regretting it every time you saw a 5. Cars are emotional beasts, go with what your heart desires. Don't listen to logic. I we did, we'd all be driving diesel/electric/hydrogen Smart cars.

Ronzo

There was an entire comparison in Road & Track on all three of these cars. The 545i and the M45 were neck and neck, with the M45 being judged better by a narror margin. From the tests, the deciding factor, believe it or not were the looks .... or how the testing parties thought the 545i looked. They said the 545i was by far the BEST car of the 3 to drive, but the M45 had the looks and a overall nice drive.

My thoughts, the 545i is worth the extra money. Japanese cars in general come better equipped for less money than thier German counterparts. They are made better and will last longer, but money should not be the deciding factor. BMW makes a car that BEGS to be driven hard. As a BMW owner we expect the occational service visit for problems (which are all covered under warranty). But, if money is you concern, get the M.

Ziering545I

Well I am in the same boat, my car is going back with a host of problems that wont go away, 2005 545iSport.
M45 is a good buy but for sure nothing will come close to the E60 Sport nothing!


I may wait for the 550 myself and drive my Fx45 for now, All I say as bad as the Quality is of BMW now, this car in particular ROCKS, but not enough to make me a loyalist, I am a busy guy and need a reliable car and when I need to go from A to B it gets me there fast, safe and on time!


You can drive a Porsche, Ferrari , Maserati and the 545i Sport will still impress you if not make the others feel dated to some effect. For the Money its a much better buy than the M45 for the driver feedback and confidence you get.

I wonder if the new 3 is even better with the smaller chassis layout.

I posted if anyone drove the 645ci no replies yet, I am curious if that drives as nimble the dealer said not even close, a shame being a coupe it must be a big heavy cruiser like a MB CL, which I cant enjoy driving.

Get the BMW, lease it the E60 will not last you 16 years before it self destructs, Good Luck

Gadgets

1. Wanna spend 10K less and stay German ?... Go with the new Audi A6, If you wanna enjoy your ride in the next 10 years or so, forget abouth the asian cars.. (my opinion...)

2. I got my 545i about 3 month ago, my partner just got his A6 4.2 about 2 weeks ago..

I have only one thing to tell ya - i'm SOOOOOOO happy with my decision..
The Audi is nice, but you just can't compare to the bimmer..

Bottom line, if I had to buy a cheaper car, I would go with the Audi (About 10K less for the same comfort level), BUT - I just can't see myself in another car since I got my 545i.

Enjoy !

Bob in NY

I'm also shopping both cars and while I have owned BMW's since 93, I have to say that the M45 has very impressive power, handling and electronics features. I know all the BMW culture and yes I love them too, but it presents an interesting alternative for 10k less money. I never was considering a Japanese car until I read enough reviews on this thing and I went for test drive trying 4 different configurations. All I can say is it will blow the doors off my 540i sport and that has been my benchmark. Anyway, just my opinion guys.

teutonictrio

Mr. B, how's this? How could you do a quickie ED and get the 550 for not much more than the M45, when there is a price difference of about 10k for the US model (similarly equipped)? If this is true, I'm all over it if I can do a lease this way!

I'd have to find another dealer, as mine told me (to my face) that the 550i wasn't available for another 18 months, even though I prodded him further saying 'I heard (because I read it all over the web) that they were available in November'. He denied it yet again - gotta sell those 545i's!!!

Evenflow545

The bottom line is this: If you have to ask, get the M45.

krispykreme

I will add my 2 cent worth.

M45 sport handles just as well as the 545i sport.
The power delivery is just as smooth as well.

The only difference between the two in terms of handling is that 545i steering response is better. Which no japanese car short of Skyline GT-R has been able to re-produce.

I have little over 2k miles on the M45. This is not a typical japanese car. It can be drive hard, in fact, you would want to abuse it like E60.

The M45's interior and feature is far better than E60. Not to mention the $10k less price tag.

Personally I would take the M series over their E60 competition.

If you want to really experience BMW, buy a M5 or M3.