madmatt151

Hello all, I am a new member and joined because I have been looking to buy a 545 or 530, not sure which one yet. I wanted some opinions etc. I tried searching the forums first, but it keeps returning errors when I try to search for M3. It tells me I need 3 or more characters, but I want to see if anyone else is posting about M3's.

I currently drive a 2003 M3. I absolutely love this car and really do not want to part with it, but it has reached 50,000 miles with no CPO and I am getting married/having children this year. This is why I am considering the 5 series. Specifically one with a sport package and manual transmission. I cannot stray too far from the M3 performance and the logical choice (other than M5) is the 545i. Price prohibits me from the M5. I test drove both the 545 and the 530 in manuals and obvioulsy the 545 had more power and speed. My questions are to those that may have gone from an M3 or other sports car to the 5 series. How was the transition? Any regrets. Should I go 545 or 530? Should I do some upgrades exhaust, intake etc. to a 530 to make it more performance oriented. I know this is a long post and there are many questions, but I am dreading replacing my M3 and I know I will be fairly unhappy, but I want to limit my unhappiness as much as possible. Thanks all.

PS Here is a picture of my baby. It could be for sale if someone is interested. Dealer isn't being too generous with trade in amount.

dlevi67

Search: search for "M3*" (without quotes) or "M5*" or ... However, qualify your search better otherwise you'll end up with thousands and thousands of hits.

I'd leave "performance" exhausts well alone - they seldom improve anything except the bank balance of the seller. The same goes for most other "easy to fit" performance improvement measures on a normally aspirated engine. And for a good 530 + the amount you'd need to spend for serious performance improvement, I'm sure you can find a 545 (or even a 550, now that the LCI version is out in USA) for less.

Just my $0.02

andy545

Welcome.

It seems you're performance orientated and although I think the 530i is wonderful all rounder - you're possibly gonna miss the power coming from an M3.

Budget and get the 545i.

heezy545i

I'd go with the V8 if you can. Compared to the M3, an e60 is more of a cruiser with it's comfort and accommodations. Though the v8 e60s offer performance comparable to the M3, the M3 is simply more raw, tactile and overall just more fun to drive.

LowOrbit

Although a fine car, the 530i would be too much of a shock to your system, but the 545i performance should be fine, although it is softer and much less raw than an M3.

You can always get a 2002-3 M5 - Autotrader has a few examples with only 17-22K miles for around $45K, but may be hard to find a CPO car.

We all have to grow up sometime.

BetterMakeWay

Probably the 550i/545i seems the best alternative. Although the 530i especially with the uprated engine may be a good alternative also, since the 530i will handle slightly better.

lawguy

Hey Matt -

Welcome. It sounds like you're stuggling with many of the same issues that many of us share...the need for speed, balanced with the practicability of a family, with a budgetary constraint as well. I would give one of my kidneys for a new M5, but just cant justify that kind of expense with 3 kids at home (all heading to college some day).

I looked at 2002-03 M5's, and like LowOrbit said, you can find amazing ones with under 20k miles for $45k. However, very few have any extensive warranty left, and since I'm not very mechanically inclined, most if not all my servcice is dealer oriented - so I needed warranty.

I just took delivery last week of an '07 550i with manual transmission. 4 doors, very practical, and still fast as hell. I would suggest its pretty close to an E39 M5 in terms of the feel of its performance, but a little more well mannered, and since the kids are in the car from time to time, its important.

The money factor on my lease was really amazing, and I was able to swing the 550i for less than buying the older E39 M5, so it was a no brainer for me.

So, I have my "family car" with killer alter ego as well.

Just my thoughts.

- Pete

PS - I like the phoenix yellow on your M3.

madmatt151

Thasnk all for your input. I just looked at the dealership where I test drove the 545i and lo and behold, the particular vehicle he told me a dentist bought is back online and more pictures have been posted. Interesting. I did test drive both 530 and 545 both with sport packages, adn the sport package does make it better driving for what I am looking for. During the test drive of the 545i the salesman told me I didn't have to slow down because the handling was "very good" so I did a power slide through the 270 degree off ramp and witnessed horror come from his face, but no sound. The car was very controlled and predictable... you know a BMW! I apologozed and he said nothing. That alone made me want to buy the car. I may go down and renegotiate that car. Manual transmissions here in the NYC area trend to be very unpopular so I think I can still budge him a bit.

Thanks for the info all guys. Oh, I was also told by my fiance that we all have to grow up sometimes LowOrbit. I just didn't want to get rid of my toys!

info@trinityautosport

welcome. looks like you have yourself set on the 545i. go for it

lawguy

what are they asking for the 545 ?