Originally Posted by Rudy' post='657533' date='Aug 29 2008, 09:04 PM

And here we go again...

Originally Posted by fivetothree' post='656909' date='Aug 29 2008, 01:45 AM

Hi everyone, long time lurker, first time poster. This past Sunday I retired my e60 in exchange for an e90. I thought I would take a moment to share my experience with everyone here, who I have been reading for the past three or so years.

To set this up properly, I'll start before the beginning. Before I owned my first BMW, that is. I have two very distinct memories, kind of like those memories you have of your childhood when you were 6 years old and had to stand on your tip toes to look out the window to see if there was anyone playing outside and the world looked so different from down there. The first memory was driving home from work on a summer day with the windows down, I think owned an Acura at the time, and pulling up behind a silver 540i at a stoplight. It was in a quiet suburban neighborhood and I could hear the lovely burbling idle of the V8, and thinking to myself... cooool. The next memory was driving home from a dinner night out with my wife, kids at the babysitter, and her for some now forgotten reason asking me "What kind of car do you really want then?" and me answering "I've always wanted a German sedan with a big V8...". That memory all the more remarkable for the fact that my wife, who barely puts up with my automotive obsession, was genuinely interested in the answer.

Fast forward to a winter day at the end of 2005. I'm ready to buy my next car and I've trained my sights on a Lexus GS430. I have stalked and scoped this thing to death. I am all but ready to pull the trigger that coming weekend - I've even lined up a friend of mine who also wants one, with the intent of walking into the dealership and asking for a deal if we buy two GSes on the spot. But some weekday before that weekend, some crappy rainy day and it's late afternoon and dark out, a buddy of mine at work and I are bored and we decide to skip out down to BMW to check out a 5 Series, because I'm saying to myself, if I'm going to spend all that money then I might as well drive all the cars in the class, right? We pile into a blue 530i - they didn't have any 550i's on the lot - and off we go. Maybe we got to the edge of the lot and were pulling out into traffic, maybe it was a few hundred feet down that road, I'm not sure when exactly, but it bit me. The BMW bug bit me. It was just different. It wasn't like any other car I'd ever driven, and I've owned quite a few cars. It wanted to turn and go around corners. It sang to me when I pressed the accelerator. But what stood out the most, what sealed the deal, was merging onto the highway at night in pouring rain in an unfamiliar car and feeling supremely comfortable and confident. There really was a difference between a BMW and other cars. Before the end of the year, I had my 2006 Monaco Blue 550i with sport package and a whack of other options.

I have all kinds of fond memories of my 550i, but the best ones are of bombing up and down I-5 between Seattle and Vancouver, and on one occasion into the mountains in British Columbia, 25 mpg easy. I always thought my 5 felt bored and sleepy until it reached 75 mph, and then it would finally wake up to play. And I always thought it's most remarkable quality was, at any speed or in any situation, you could dig deeper into the gas pedal and get a surge of acceleration, combine it with a smooth wiggle of the steering wheel and you were clear of any slow moving highway clog. This was especially fun on the highway on-ramp on the way home, when some days, if I felt I deserved a treat, I would let the ramp clear and then plant the throttle. Windows rolled down so I could take in that distant mechanical roar. What a sound.

I'm a little ashamed to say that I enjoyed the comments I got, too. Let's face it, with those fancy wheels and all hunkered down on the suspension, the 550i is a cool looking beast. One time on a long drive we ended up stopped in a long row of cars on a two-lane in the middle of nowhere, while a medivac helicopter occupied the highway to load an injured motorcyclist. With traffic completely stopped, everyone got out of their cars and milled about, chatting and taking pictures. A squadron of Harley's was stopped right behind me and they all walked up to see the car. "Is that the, umm, whatchamacallit, M5?" No, it's a 550i, just a V8. How much horsepower? "That is a sweet ride, man."

There are only few things that I would have changed, if I could have. The enormous steering wheel. Active Steering. It was cool, but it took about a year to truly get used to it. The sport seats were OK but didn't agree with me 100%; the comfort seats are outstanding and would have been a better fit. I loved the look of Monaco Blue but the finish seemed to chip and scratch more easily than an E-Class I once owned. Personally, I am a fan of I-Drive - I realize many critics have had trouble with it, but it simplified things for me, not made them more complicated.

At the height of gasoline prices, the $80 fill ups started to take their toll. If I drove with an exceedingly light foot, the onboard data monitor would reward me with a 17 mpg average in my daily commute. But, finally, it started to seem like overkill. Why am I driving it if I feel bad when I bury the accelerator? In weak moments I would recall an e90 I had as a loaner while the 5 was in for service. The thick little steering wheel, the coddling seats, the burrrrip of the inline 6, the way I could toss it around that last corner on my way home from work.

Then. It happened. 0.9% financing. It was time.

This past Sunday I said goodbye to my Monaco Blue 550i, and said hello to a 2008 titanium silver 335i sedan sport/premium/yadda yadda. It, too, sings to me, a delicious and obscene roar at full throttle, a hoarse and menacing growl at ordinary speeds. Smaller, yes. Better body control and steering, yes. A better fit for it's main mission, taking me to and from work, yes. Less likely to draw a crowd of bikers? Yes. Oh well. More disturbingly, it doesn't have the magic the-world-is-ploddingly-slow-until-75-mph distortion field. Fast feels like fast. Supremely controlled, but fast.

Bye bye 550i. Thanks for the ride.

Originally Posted by DrLev99' post='657532' date='Aug 29 2008, 08:01 PM

Nice write-up. I am currently in the same situation. There's a 550i Sport that I am leaning towards purchasing on Saturday, however I drove a 335i sedan with sport package today. Now I have a dilemma. The 335i drives so much sportier than the 5. It handles even better than my '08 M5 did.

And the engine on the 335i is so sweet. The one I drove had the paddles as well, which made it even cooler. My dilemma is that I already owned a 335xi in May of 2007...for 1 whole week, SAME DAMN COLOR too! I am getting sick of silver! The sport seats were digging into my kidneys, and I couldn't take it anymore. The weird thing is that my M5 also dug into my sides, but after getting used to it, it didn't bother me as much....and I think this "getting used to it" feeling carried over to the 3 test-drive today. It wasn't such an issue today.

So, one part of me would feel like a schmuck getting right back into ALMOST the same car I originally got rid of in exchange for my first 530xi....which landed me on this great forum. However, this 335 is RWD and has the "true" sport package, unlike my 1st 335xi.

There are positives and negatives to each car, but I now need to weigh them. I know the 3 sedan gets a refresh next month on the '09, but I won't get as good a deal either. And the RWD coupes cannot be found in the area. I never should have driven that damn 335i!!

I know the 3 will never turn heads like the 550i Sport will, so I guess it's a matter of knowing what's important to me....a loaded, step 335i sedan w/ paddles that will be more fun to drive but is more bland, not to mention outdated very soon...or the wicked looking 550i Sport 6-sp manual that is bigger but isn't nearly as loaded nor as fun in the twisties. Getting a loaded 550i is not on the table right now, so you guys can hold that suggestion. And the M3 numbers don't work out either. Oh, and I'd get to still hang out here if I get the 550i!

Hey Rudy...this is starting to sound familiar!!

Originally Posted by DrLev99' post='657532' date='Aug 29 2008, 09:01 PM

Nice write-up. I am currently in the same situation. There's a 550i Sport that I am leaning towards purchasing on Saturday, however I drove a 335i sedan with sport package today. Now I have a dilemma. The 335i drives so much sportier than the 5. It handles even better than my '08 M5 did.

And the engine on the 335i is so sweet. The one I drove had the paddles as well, which made it even cooler. My dilemma is that I already owned a 335xi in May of 2007...for 1 whole week, SAME DAMN COLOR too! I am getting sick of silver! The sport seats were digging into my kidneys, and I couldn't take it anymore. The weird thing is that my M5 also dug into my sides, but after getting used to it, it didn't bother me as much....and I think this "getting used to it" feeling carried over to the 3 test-drive today. It wasn't such an issue today.

So, one part of me would feel like a schmuck getting right back into ALMOST the same car I originally got rid of in exchange for my first 530xi....which landed me on this great forum. However, this 335 is RWD and has the "true" sport package, unlike my 1st 335xi.

There are positives and negatives to each car, but I now need to weigh them. I know the 3 sedan gets a refresh next month on the '09, but I won't get as good a deal either. And the RWD coupes cannot be found in the area. I never should have driven that damn 335i!!

I know the 3 will never turn heads like the 550i Sport will, so I guess it's a matter of knowing what's important to me....a loaded, step 335i sedan w/ paddles that will be more fun to drive but is more bland, not to mention outdated very soon...or the wicked looking 550i Sport 6-sp manual that is bigger but isn't nearly as loaded nor as fun in the twisties. Getting a loaded 550i is not on the table right now, so you guys can hold that suggestion. And the M3 numbers don't work out either. Oh, and I'd get to still hang out here if I get the 550i!

Hey Rudy...this is starting to sound familiar!!

Originally Posted by DrLev99' post='657532' date='Aug 30 2008, 10:01 AM

Nice write-up. I am currently in the same situation. There's a 550i Sport that I am leaning towards purchasing on Saturday, however I drove a 335i sedan with sport package today. Now I have a dilemma. The 335i drives so much sportier than the 5. It handles even better than my '08 M5 did.

And the engine on the 335i is so sweet. The one I drove had the paddles as well, which made it even cooler. My dilemma is that I already owned a 335xi in May of 2007...for 1 whole week, SAME DAMN COLOR too! I am getting sick of silver! The sport seats were digging into my kidneys, and I couldn't take it anymore. The weird thing is that my M5 also dug into my sides, but after getting used to it, it didn't bother me as much....and I think this "getting used to it" feeling carried over to the 3 test-drive today. It wasn't such an issue today.

So, one part of me would feel like a schmuck getting right back into ALMOST the same car I originally got rid of in exchange for my first 530xi....which landed me on this great forum. However, this 335 is RWD and has the "true" sport package, unlike my 1st 335xi.

There are positives and negatives to each car, but I now need to weigh them. I know the 3 sedan gets a refresh next month on the '09, but I won't get as good a deal either. And the RWD coupes cannot be found in the area. I never should have driven that damn 335i!!

I know the 3 will never turn heads like the 550i Sport will, so I guess it's a matter of knowing what's important to me....a loaded, step 335i sedan w/ paddles that will be more fun to drive but is more bland, not to mention outdated very soon...or the wicked looking 550i Sport 6-sp manual that is bigger but isn't nearly as loaded nor as fun in the twisties. Getting a loaded 550i is not on the table right now, so you guys can hold that suggestion. And the M3 numbers don't work out either. Oh, and I'd get to still hang out here if I get the 550i!

Hey Rudy...this is starting to sound familiar!!