550i or M5
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 8
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From: South Bay, CA
My Ride: M5 2007
Been a member for a while now but a silent one though. Thanks for sharing whatever you know about your ride. Maintenance wise, how much difference with 550 vs m5 after the warranty of course. Thanks for the help
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 456
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From: Dallas, TX
My Ride: I have an 05 545i. It's a manual with a few options. This is my first BMW but I don't know how I'll ever be able to switch to something else.
Well oil for non-m cars is about $6-7 a quart. For M cars it's about $14-15 a quart.
If that gives you any kind of indication of what the rest of the maintenance is going to be like and you are comfortable with that, then I say go for it. After all, it is the ULTIMATE driving machine
If that gives you any kind of indication of what the rest of the maintenance is going to be like and you are comfortable with that, then I say go for it. After all, it is the ULTIMATE driving machine
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,706
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From: Calgary, AB - Canada / Buenos Aires - Argentina
My Ride: 2006 BMW M5
Originally Posted by kaiten408' post='939739' date='Jul 11 2009, 08:00 PM
Well oil for non-m cars is about $6-7 a quart. For M cars it's about $14-15 a quart.
If that gives you any kind of indication of what the rest of the maintenance is going to be like and you are comfortable with that, then I say go for it. After all, it is the ULTIMATE driving machine
If that gives you any kind of indication of what the rest of the maintenance is going to be like and you are comfortable with that, then I say go for it. After all, it is the ULTIMATE driving machine
not just OIL.... GAS too.... M5 is guzzler and you will have to fill much more often.....
but M5 is a monster and 550i is a beast.
IMO get M5 if the gas is not the factor! and you live once!
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 14,646
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From: NY
My Ride: 2008 Silverstone II E60 M5 2012 E70 AW X5 50i Sport w/ LCI Aero Kit and Rocker Panels
Originally Posted by migs1969' post='939737' date='Jul 11 2009, 09:57 PM
Been a member for a while now but a silent one though. Thanks for sharing whatever you know about your ride. Maintenance wise, how much difference with 550 vs m5 after the warranty of course. Thanks for the help
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,594
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From: Europe
I doubt I'll ever go M5 again. I'm certainly glad I've done it once. It was a blast. Same deal with an RS6+ (510bhp). These machines are phenomenal. The trouble is that the difference between them and something like a 545/550 is all at the top end of the performance curve. What I mean by that is that you only see how much faster an M5 is compared to a 545/550 in, for example, a 0-60 test, if you're flat to the floor on 100% throttle and have a good traction surface. Now I'm one that always accelerates hard away from the traffic lights (nobody's ever kept up with me yet, although I've never actually properly had a race away from the lights, it's just normal driving and nobody ever kept up). I do find that I'm only using between 50% and 80% of throttle even then.
Same applies at high speed, it's not just sprints. Unless you're hitting 100% throttle for long periods (more than 10 seconds) you're just not going to be using that extra M5 performance. Even here in Germany on the Autobahns, most of the time I'd probably keep up with an M5 quite nicely simply because there's just not enough opportunity to use that extra performance advantage for long enough for it to make a significant difference.
I could have gone for an M5 or a 550i last october when I was car shopping but instead I went for this 545i and with 333bhp and 5.7s 0-60 I'm very happy. No desire for a sprintbooster or a remap yet. A 535d would have been enough performance even, but the 545i is a lot better up in the 120mph+ range.
Same applies at high speed, it's not just sprints. Unless you're hitting 100% throttle for long periods (more than 10 seconds) you're just not going to be using that extra M5 performance. Even here in Germany on the Autobahns, most of the time I'd probably keep up with an M5 quite nicely simply because there's just not enough opportunity to use that extra performance advantage for long enough for it to make a significant difference.
I could have gone for an M5 or a 550i last october when I was car shopping but instead I went for this 545i and with 333bhp and 5.7s 0-60 I'm very happy. No desire for a sprintbooster or a remap yet. A 535d would have been enough performance even, but the 545i is a lot better up in the 120mph+ range.
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 194
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From: Mission Viejo, CA
My Ride: 2006 550i Black Sapphire
Originally Posted by DD_545i' post='939938' date='Jul 12 2009, 04:23 AM
I doubt I'll ever go M5 again. I'm certainly glad I've done it once. It was a blast. Same deal with an RS6+ (510bhp). These machines are phenomenal. The trouble is that the difference between them and something like a 545/550 is all at the top end of the performance curve. What I mean by that is that you only see how much faster an M5 is compared to a 545/550 in, for example, a 0-60 test, if you're flat to the floor on 100% throttle and have a good traction surface. Now I'm one that always accelerates hard away from the traffic lights (nobody's ever kept up with me yet, although I've never actually properly had a race away from the lights, it's just normal driving and nobody ever kept up). I do find that I'm only using between 50% and 80% of throttle even then.
Same applies at high speed, it's not just sprints. Unless you're hitting 100% throttle for long periods (more than 10 seconds) you're just not going to be using that extra M5 performance. Even here in Germany on the Autobahns, most of the time I'd probably keep up with an M5 quite nicely simply because there's just not enough opportunity to use that extra performance advantage for long enough for it to make a significant difference.
I could have gone for an M5 or a 550i last october when I was car shopping but instead I went for this 545i and with 333bhp and 5.7s 0-60 I'm very happy. No desire for a sprintbooster or a remap yet. A 535d would have been enough performance even, but the 545i is a lot better up in the 120mph+ range.
Same applies at high speed, it's not just sprints. Unless you're hitting 100% throttle for long periods (more than 10 seconds) you're just not going to be using that extra M5 performance. Even here in Germany on the Autobahns, most of the time I'd probably keep up with an M5 quite nicely simply because there's just not enough opportunity to use that extra performance advantage for long enough for it to make a significant difference.
I could have gone for an M5 or a 550i last october when I was car shopping but instead I went for this 545i and with 333bhp and 5.7s 0-60 I'm very happy. No desire for a sprintbooster or a remap yet. A 535d would have been enough performance even, but the 545i is a lot better up in the 120mph+ range.
and the e63 is way more fun to stomp on at the light. passing on the freeway at higher speeds they feel fairly similar though...