ygillard

I have a hard decision (but good one to make) and I need some help. First let me give you a couple of contraints and info about me. I am trying to decide between a 08 535 and CPO 07 550 (I removed the 08 550 from my list because I find it too expensive).

1) While money is not a major issue, I am trying to be somewhat smart with how I spend it and as such almost always buy cars that are approx 1 year old as I want to avoid the 1st year depreciation and I have always been very happy getting a sligthly used car. I usually get CPO cars to have the peace of mind of the reminder of the manufaturer warranty + a liitle cushion.
2) I always had cars with manual tranny but will get the 5 with an auto tranny (I think it will be easier to sell when the time comes). I test drove a a 08 550i with the auto tranny (not the sport tranny) and my short test drive gave me the impression that the tranny was good but it was a short test drive so I did not get the full picture. I never drove a 5 series with the new Sport Auto (I read some info about it in this forum)
3) I enjoy performance oriented cars, push them hard once in a while but I do not go to the track with them.
4) As much as I hate to admit it, I believe that I somewhat enjoy some status recognition.
5) Beside the tranny changes between 07 and 08, the other changes do not seem that significant (the 08 535 and 07 550 look pretty much the same from the outside if both have sport pkg and the changes inside seem pretty small)

The purchase price of a new 08 535i and CPO 07 550 is somewhat the same. The big surprise for me was the anticipated depreciation looking at sites like edmunds and yahoo. If I keep the car 3 years, the depreciation for a 08 535 and 07 550i is within $500.

2007 550i (yahoo) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Depreciation $13,463 $6,470 $5,854 $5,340

2008 535i (yahoo) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Depreciation $7,346 $5,606 $5,105 $4,605

(keep in mind for the 07 550i depreciation would start at year 2 sinec I would buy it used)



Well that's a pretty long email and I hope you can help me think through my decision if you have read so far...

Thx,

Yves

Scooter

Can't enlighten you on which way to go, but I can point this out if you have not already read it.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drive...7/pageId=124608

iversonm

The depreciation differences are mostly due to the fact that the 550 is the most expensive model out there, and it will lose value faster. After 5 years, the price difference between a 550 and a 530 will be a fraction what of it was when they were new.

Assuming Edmund's numbers are more or less accurate, I'd get the 535. You can equip it the way you want, and get your choice of colors, rather than live with someone else's choices.

pharding

I would get the 535 with the sport package and the sport automatic transmission.

enelrojo

Unless you have driven both cars and prefer the 07, I would also recommend the 08 535 vs the 07 550. The 08 535 is a further evolution of the e60 concept. There are many refinements in the 08 vs the 07.