jtxc

I ordered my 545ia somewhat un-loaded compared to others here. My thinking was I'd rather have a "stripped" V8 over a loaded 6.

Base almost 1 year ago was 54,300, plus 695.00 dest.

Sport Package was 3300.00
Logic 7 was 1800.00
Cold weather was 750.00
Fold down was 475.00 (did not need, do not use)

total was 61,320.00
I settled @ 59,950.00

IMHO, you cannot buy a finer 4 door sport sedan for that money.

Looking back I would have included these items in order.

PDC...now standard...(drove an X5 with it and found it annoying....this car NEEDS it)

rear shades (short money, cool looking...I knew I wanted them but forgot to order)

Nav.....(did'nt think I needed it untill I realized I get lost often)

Hud..(unproven technology in my mind, guess I was wrong.)

SMG..(see above)

rear heated seats....(no kids, have yet to have four adults in the car!)

Bunbun

COMFORT SEAT !!! YES IM SHOUTING BECAUSE THAT"S WHAT I SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN :-(

Bunbun.

bmwin14rsm

My opinion on priority options

1. Sports package
2. NAV
3. Sirius
4. Xenon
5. Cold Weather, love the heated seats and Heated stearing wheel
6. Logic 7

juan2mini

I have a stripped down 545i - 6-speed manual w/sport package, Logic7, PDC and rear shade. I have no use for PDC, the rear window shade is "nice to have", the Logic7 is a must have for me, as is the sport package. I don't need the other stuff. I think PDC is standard for 2005.

bmwin14rsm

It is standard on 2005's

Guest

I would get the Sports package (which, for 2005, should include the comfort seats and SMG as I understand it), Logic7 and NAV (PDC is standard for 2005 on 545i). Depending on where you live, you may also consider the cold weather package. Nice to haves -- rear sunshade, rear airbags and split fold down rear seats.

my530i

Here are my thoughts:
1. Either SMG or Stick which will exploit as much hp and fast from the crank as possible. Auto (torque converter) will suck up some power. Auto seems to have a little delay from the crank to the rear drive due to waiting for liquid drain in and out of torque converter.

2. Logic 7 is a must if you listen to music 50% of the time your in the car.

3. Rear sunshade is a must if you have kid, otherwise don't bother. You might just need it to show off your friends and relatives if you don't have kid.

4. PDC is a must if you live in area where parking is tight. Once again, it's also a cool feature to show off. I'd prefer rearview backup camera. It's standard on 545i anyway. So don't worry about this.

5. Navigation/HUD are cool gadget to show off and quite convenience if you plane to use it more often. People often get on the car, see LCD screen, and always ask if this car has nav. This cost about 2700USD. Wow, that's quite a bit of money.

6. Sport Package is a must for a 545 due to its heaviness. It'll help the car hugging corners.

7. Comfort/Sport seat: you must sit in the seat to feel it for yourself. It's a very personal thing.

8. Cold package: you live in LA, so there is no need for cold package. The fish does not need bicycle , so people in LA don't need cold package.

9. Fold down rear seat: you don't need it unless you'll go to Big Bear quite often. How many time do you go skiing and drive your 545? Do you carry long stuffs often? If money is not matter, why not have it in case you need it?

10. Active cruise control: If you spend most of your time in LA, ACC is not needed to due heavy traffic jam day in day out. Unless go travel to Bay Area or San Diego often, you must have ACC.

11. Ventilated seat (if available) is nice to have in LA during summer, but it requite you to pay for $2500+ for a seat like that. It's ridiculous.

I love to have 545i, too, but it's worth the wait for 2006 (fall 2005 release) to have most of bug resolved and new features added.

It's just my $0.02.

Jimbo

Thanks for all your replies. I'll be making my option selection and keep on searchin' for a good deal. The financial hit may be too much now so 2006 is more realistic time frame....but I can always dream, no?

We'll see how it goes.

my530i

BMW just announce that E90 is going to have MP3, and now, MY2005 still does not support MP3 . Also, it has keyless start, why not on E60 MY2005?

heezy545i

I pretty much have no use for the cold weather package, but you do get the thicker steering wheel, which is really a plus.