ch7656

I would go for the 550 but wait for the ?appearance update/refresh? for 2007/08?that?ll give BMW about one model year to work things out and then you?ll also have the updated E60 design. I know there is always something right around the corner and you can drive yourself nuts with these things?but given your time-frame it would seem to make sense to wait. Now if you?re the type of person that doesn?t care about these things?then go for it as soon as you can order an 07 (and you?ll probably miss the re-fresh by 6-12 months)

Chorethorious

Does anyone have any pics of what the body change is going to consist of? I am eager to see what is in store for the 5s.

BetterMakeWay

I would go for the 550i irrespective of price. Its a far smoother more comfortable drive than the M5. For everyday driving in LA, the M5 is far too harsh.

[/quote]

Yeah exactly...there are 2 main reasons that 550i potential customers would give to avoid buying the m5.

1st that the car is too hardcore( rides a little worse and it's more show off at looks and so on...)
and 2nd the money (but i'm sure that there are few members that could afford a 550i and not afford an m5)
We don't talk about gas mileage because when u buy a gas drinker like the 550i u don't look at the little extra gas that the m5 requires.

So on that basis i prezume that there are few members that would fit in either of the reasons above. And i for one noticed exactly the opposite on this forum and that's what's wondering me!!!

SleepR

Where did you read about this? What will the update refresh look like?

300TTto545

Well - I for one do think about gas mileage and there is a big difference between the 545 at least and the M5. When I was looking for a car a big thing for me was avoiding the GGT. I realize the 550 does have a GGT (in some trannys?). I get 22 mpg in my 545. An M5 would probably be 17 at best. That is 25% - a big deal. I remember it was a big downer that a manual Audi S4 had GGT when I was looking.

Another reason to not get a M5- SMG. Not everyone wants that - in fact about 10% of people do. There are lots of people waiting for the Manual I suspect.

Looks - another reason. For some the M5 is too hardcore - including me. Do I really want the police to know that I have one of the fastest production cars available? I honestly would consider one - if it looked the same or just subtly different and then debadge.

amigo525

Odd is that I did not hit any problem with my 525. The only problems I 've encoutered so far were:

- The usual seat bealt fault (2 times ..) the first time was a after driving for only 256 or 512 miles. after i got her.

-- driver side cup holders got busted. (once) Stopped using them to avoid any bug

Other than that, my car has not giving me any other problems.

Should I knock on door? (I did already)

Her 2 years old birthday is on 11/10. But by then, i think I will be driving my other new born.

So far 17,400 miles.

Ferdie

Totally agree with 555. I mean, what are the odds that you'll get another lemon? And like 555 said, I'm sure BMW has learned to fix a lot of their mistakes from their 2004 initial production. I would definitely go for the 550. Good luck.

63strat

I'd bet there is no appearance update or refresh with the E60 for 2007. It's just speculative at this point, probably fueled by the 7 Series refresh. The 7 had issues that BMW felt they had to deal with -- I'm not sure they feel the same way about the 5.