Hi, this is my first post. This seems like a great forum. I have read through the various posts, especially the 525i power thread. Oddly enough, I have found two cars, one is a 525i, the other is a 530i, with the options I want, which are automatic, sport, premium, and navigation, and xeons on the 525i, they are standard on the 530i. Now, I am getting both cars for $xxx over invoice, which is fine by me. I think it is fair. The difference in price between the two is $4500, when taxes are included, with the 525i being less costly. Again, same color combination, same options.

What do you guys think? I am really torn between the two. I have also considered waiting for the 07, but I am not sure if it would make that big a difference, considering these are the options I would order on a 07. So, any suggestions?

Thank you.

Hi, I too had the same decision to make. :think: In Canada, the difference between the 525 and the 530, after you add it the options to make the 525 essentially equivalent to the 530, is about $6000 give or take. I talked with a few people and driving the cars, IMO, you can't really perceive the ~40 hp difference. Not enough difference for me taking into consideration the 6K difference. In the end, I chose to save the 6K which I can spend on other mods and rims to make the car look good. I actually chose a few more options to add in the car which make the saving even bigger over the 530. I'm now just waiting for delivery as the car is supposedly 1 day from port.

Also, I saw the dealer spec sheet on the 2007 525 which is an early introduction (starting factory production in March) and there is absolutely no diff between the 07 and the 06 in Canada. The MSRP's are identical and all the options are identical.

Just my opinion.....

The only thing to differentiate from your description is mostly power and price. It all depends on what you value. I want power at a reasonable cost so I viewed the cost to do a V8 reasonable and I would not blink at dropping 4K (given the premium nature of BMW) even for the 530 over 525. If you are driven more by appearance and handling over power then you'd may not want to spend 4K for the 530i. If you are cost conscious and want to get the 80-90% of what the top of the line e60 has to offer at the cheapest price then get the 525i. It all boils down to what you value, what you can afford, and what trade-off you willing to make.

I was facing the same problem as you last year, and drove the 525i and 530 back to back a few times. I can say around town, you cannot really feel the difference. However, on the highway, there is quite a noticeable difference. The 530i just feels signigicantly more powerful when over taking vehicles.

for $4500 go for the 530. seriously...

It all depends on WHY you want a BMW. Personally, I'm in for the well-managed thrust. :cool:

Cheers,
Ray Hull

Both are great - can't go wrong.

If you spend that much money you should pick the one that feels best in your opinion - provided the difference is noticeable to you and that depends on where / how you drive the car.

Facing the same choice I saved the money and went for the 525 - it arrives next week :rolleyes: