There will always be something better :'( At some point you have to stop waiting and just DRIVE!

And about the "it will be faster" comments..... Is BMW raising the 155 mph limiter for the 550?

 

I doubt it. The M5 has the same limiter.

 

Go ahead and wait. By the time you place your order, the dollar will have dropped in value vs the euro even more.

What theoretical losses us 545i owners MAY experience upon sale of our vehicles will pale to the upfront costs you will experience when taking delivery. We have had years of driving pleasure which a mere few additional HP cant take away from us. There is a real cost in waiting that is both economical and emotional.

 

There will always be something better :'( At some point you have to stop waiting and just DRIVE!

And about the "it will be faster" comments..... Is BMW raising the 155 mph limiter for the 550?
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Great point, and what I was trying to say. Who on a normal drive to work is going to really notice a difference. Nobody has said this, but new engine means software glitches. Yes it is the same motor that is in the X5 but.................We will have to wait and see.

 

If BMW and their dealers do their job properly in terms of a) new product that compels current owners to trade up and b) service levels that inspire a repeat buy the primary purchaser of currently owned vehicles is the dealer network taking your car back in trade for a new one. They simply cannot afford for you not to be in a position to want to buy a new car and not to be able to. Dealers and BMW create their own market, and it is semi artificial. As an example, the current low leases on 545's are underpinned by a) arguably optimistic residuals, set by BMW and b) subsidized money factors for the lease rates, again set by BMW. They want you to buy a new car at the end of your lease or be able to trade up to a new car when you are able to. So if your argument against buying a 545 now is based on a) 30 more horses that no one has experienced yet and you probably won't notice in most situations and b) what may happen to the value of 545's when the 550 comes out then I'm not totally sure I buy it. BMW will want current 545 owners to have a compelling reason to trade as well and that is addressed by the semi-artificial market created by all manufacturers and dealer networks.

 

Who cares? A 550 might beat my car by .2 seconds, assuming that we're lined up, acting like 16 year-olds, at a stoplight. It's not like they're adding 100 horsepower to the car. It's a non-issue. The 282hp 540 still sells like hotcakes and can still smoke most luxury sedans known to man. That being said, if I wanted a 545 now, I'd still wait for the 550, just to have the newest equipment. However, it's not like the 545, one of the fastest BMWs ever made, will fade into obscurity.

 

I wonder where the logical end is of all of this horsepower one-upmanship that's been taking place between upscale car makers lately. It's absolutely jaw-dropping the horsepower improvements that have been made to cars in this range in the past 5-10 years. In 10 more years will we routinely see 5xx's and GSxxx's with 600 horsepower? Or will the oil crisis cause a major collapse like it did in the early 80's? Or will fuel cell cars finally become economical and we can all drive 2200-pound hydrogen powered rockets (sans 90% of the mechanical complexity of their combustion-powered predecessors) that can do 0-60 in 3 seconds?

 

I don't think the economics of hydrogen cars are the issue, so much as the danger of fueling them and driving them.

Imagine some numbskull in middle america trying to fuel a hydrogen car while smoking a cigarette?

YIKES.

 

I dunno about the 155 mph (250 kph) limiter. The best I could do was 152 mph in Germany and BMW always has optimistic speedo readings. I'm wondering if it is really set to 149 mph (240 kph) like the new E90 330i specs that I read about.

That said, this is like waiting to buy a computer so you can have the latest and greatest. You could spend a long time with no computer....

The lease deals are fantastic on the 545i. I'm driving a nearly 70k car for $715/month (3yr/36k). BMW upped the residual (no way this car will be worth 41 k after 3 years and 36k I'm betting) so even if the car takes a hit in the market, I'll just turn it in myself or if it does maintain its value, I'll sell it myself and see if I can pocket a couple k....

 

545i obsolete i don't think so.


Maybe in 2105 when we have vehicles like in the Jetsons!