Originally Posted by pukka' post='546499' date='Mar 17 2008, 05:57 PM

No buyers remorse for me. I actually started planning this purchase back in 2006. For the first time, I set a price point that would include almost all options, then I spent a month going over the brochure and making sure I wanted all of the options I checked.

Of all the E60's sold through my dealer, very few had as many options as mine so it was difficult to find somebody that had something I was on the fence about to get their opinion. Overall I'm absolutely thrilled with the car.

Originally Posted by calpalmer' post='546568' date='Mar 17 2008, 08:03 PM

Same here, Rudy, I think this transmission is really going to work out well.... Somewhere along the way somebody had told me the SAT would lock out 6th gear in manual mode, and I thought that's a bit of a bummer... not true at all, so all's well. The paddle shifters are my first experience with such, and I can't wait for some stretches up in the mountains I know about, when I head east next week. Goofed with them on our back roads in Pierce County coming home tonight, and I like what I've seen so far.

Cal

Originally Posted by JeffNNJ' post='546470' date='Mar 17 2008, 05:14 PM

I always have buyer's remorse after a purchase. The more expensive the purchase the more strongly I feel that maybe I should have bought something different. With my 2006 550, I had wished that I would have waited another year to get the better steering wheel and comfort seats that became standard with the Sport package in 07. I also hated the gray head liner as well as the dark burl wood trim. There was absolutely nothing else dark brown and I thought that it blended in poorly with the interior. I really wanted anthracite wood trim and head liner but I opted to save some money and buy what they had in stock at the end of the model year.

I can honestly say that the more I drive my 08 550, the more I love it. The Platinum gray is such a nice, rich color and the Natural Brown seats look great. I bit the bullet and sprung for the anthracite head liner and am thrilled with the way it looks. I thought that I might miss the stick but the SA is just so refined and fun to drive that I am quickly becoming a convert. This really may be the first thing I have purchased in a long long time that I would absolutely buy again the exact same way.

Originally Posted by moschse' post='546597' date='Mar 17 2008, 08:49 PM

That's great. Congrats. One question, does the SA have a "lag" when you floor it in first gear. I have the regular auto, and this hesitation, or delay is starting to piss me off. I just hit 1200 miles, so i'm starting to truly understand the power...every other gear is fine, but first gear from a complete stop is not good. Any thoughts?

Originally Posted by JeffNNJ' post='546470' date='Mar 17 2008, 05:14 PM

I always have buyer's remorse after a purchase. The more expensive the purchase the more strongly I feel that maybe I should have bought something different. With my 2006 550, I had wished that I would have waited another year to get the better steering wheel and comfort seats that became standard with the Sport package in 07. I also hated the gray head liner as well as the dark burl wood trim. There was absolutely nothing else dark brown and I thought that it blended in poorly with the interior. I really wanted anthracite wood trim and head liner but I opted to save some money and buy what they had in stock at the end of the model year.

I can honestly say that the more I drive my 08 550, the more I love it. The Platinum gray is such a nice, rich color and the Natural Brown seats look great. I bit the bullet and sprung for the anthracite head liner and am thrilled with the way it looks. I thought that I might miss the stick but the SA is just so refined and fun to drive that I am quickly becoming a convert. This really may be the first thing I have purchased in a long long time that I would absolutely buy again the exact same way.

Originally Posted by TMQ' post='546522' date='Mar 17 2008, 05:27 PM

I will forever kick myself for not getting the sport package. True, it was winter, and I didn't want to deal with the issue of performance tires on lousy slippery roads, and my 2-yr old will be often riding in the back.

Now I can say that I drive the somewhat sporty sedan with status.

I don't regret anything else though, and am fine without the turbo.