Test drove a 545 and 530 yesterday
08-14-2005, 07:01 PM
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My Ride: 2006 BMW 550i "Ben Hogan's 5 Iron"
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2003 Audi A4 3.0 CVT "Part of the Moniker"
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Hi all,
I finally located a 05 545i, fairly loaded, white with beige interior in Chicago. My wife and I really wanted to see this color combo in person. The salesperson was super and let us take the car and, for comparison, a 06 530 sport for a test drives alone.
Well, first off we took the 545 out and right away the drivetrain or ride just seemed rough. I mean noticeably rough, as compared to my other drives in 545s. The acceleration was just as I remembered it and maybe a tad less strong. The white was nice and beige looked really warm and matching sharply with the other materials. I think the car had 100 miles on it.
Next, we jumped into the 530 with the new N52 engine. It is was silver grey with black leather. The black actually looked better than I expected, classy and understated. It seems as though the I-drive booted faster and the engine felt smooth. We took the car around twice on three mile loops with a mix of stops, straights and interesting curves. The engine has noticably smoother, I mean super smooth. The engine seemed to rev quicker, but the torque came on later than in the 545. You have to really gun the engine and wait, which feels far behind the 545 in acceleration.
That said, I'm worried about this 545 in terms of smoothness and ride quality. Anyone notice how much smoother the N52 engine is over the V8? I'm puzzled because my last ride in the 545 it seemed smoother and quieter. I'm alittle concerned and the invoice date of this car is April 2005.
Your comments would be appreciated. I'm going back to the dealer on Tuesday for another test drive, maybe I'm missing something or hearing things.
CVT Benhogan
I finally located a 05 545i, fairly loaded, white with beige interior in Chicago. My wife and I really wanted to see this color combo in person. The salesperson was super and let us take the car and, for comparison, a 06 530 sport for a test drives alone.
Well, first off we took the 545 out and right away the drivetrain or ride just seemed rough. I mean noticeably rough, as compared to my other drives in 545s. The acceleration was just as I remembered it and maybe a tad less strong. The white was nice and beige looked really warm and matching sharply with the other materials. I think the car had 100 miles on it.
Next, we jumped into the 530 with the new N52 engine. It is was silver grey with black leather. The black actually looked better than I expected, classy and understated. It seems as though the I-drive booted faster and the engine felt smooth. We took the car around twice on three mile loops with a mix of stops, straights and interesting curves. The engine has noticably smoother, I mean super smooth. The engine seemed to rev quicker, but the torque came on later than in the 545. You have to really gun the engine and wait, which feels far behind the 545 in acceleration.
That said, I'm worried about this 545 in terms of smoothness and ride quality. Anyone notice how much smoother the N52 engine is over the V8? I'm puzzled because my last ride in the 545 it seemed smoother and quieter. I'm alittle concerned and the invoice date of this car is April 2005.
Your comments would be appreciated. I'm going back to the dealer on Tuesday for another test drive, maybe I'm missing something or hearing things.
CVT Benhogan
08-14-2005, 07:39 PM
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Did the 545 have the sport package? Did the 530?
I haven't driven the N52 yet (a friend just took delivery of a 530Xi yesterday so I hope to get a chance to test it soon.)
I haven't driven the N52 yet (a friend just took delivery of a 530Xi yesterday so I hope to get a chance to test it soon.)
08-15-2005, 07:39 AM
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My Ride: 2006 BMW 550i "Ben Hogan's 5 Iron"
SilverGrey/Black Sport, L7, NAV, CW, AS, Split FR
2003 Audi A4 3.0 CVT "Part of the Moniker"
Silver/Ebony, Prem, CW, Star 17s
Originally Posted by Rudy' date='Aug 14 2005, 10:39 PM
Did the 545 have the sport package?? Did the 530?
I haven't driven the N52 yet (a friend just took delivery of a 530Xi yesterday so I hope to get a chance to test it soon.)
I haven't driven the N52 yet (a friend just took delivery of a 530Xi yesterday so I hope to get a chance to test it soon.)
[snapback]159348[/snapback]
Yeap, both had the sports package.
CVT Benhogan
08-15-2005, 07:57 AM
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My Ride: 2005 545i
If one car has NAV and the other doesn't that will greatly effect boot up times. Later version of the software do boot faster. My 545i had (guessing) 15.2. I am now on the lastest version and it does boot alot quicker. Maybe that is why the 545 felt harsh. My 545 is very smooth all the time.
08-15-2005, 08:21 AM
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Boy, I'd stay away from a 545 if it doesn't run smoothly out of the gate. The 3 or 4 test drives I've taken in 545s have all been perfect machines.
It just seems from the experiences of a few on this board that once a 545 goes bad, they haven't had much success getting them right again. But when the 545 is good from the start, it stays that way.
See how your re-run test drive goes tomorrow, but if you have any doubts I would walk away.
It just seems from the experiences of a few on this board that once a 545 goes bad, they haven't had much success getting them right again. But when the 545 is good from the start, it stays that way.
See how your re-run test drive goes tomorrow, but if you have any doubts I would walk away.
08-15-2005, 08:30 AM
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could just be software issue....if you are leasing now, the lease pricing on the '05 545i is much better than the '06 530i....payments are not much for for the 545i.
Originally Posted by CVTBenhogan' date='Aug 14 2005, 07:01 PM
Hi all,
I finally located a 05 545i, fairly loaded, white with beige interior in Chicago.? My wife and I really wanted to see this color combo in person.? The salesperson was super and let us take the car and, for comparison, a 06 530 sport for a test drives alone.? ?
Well, first off we took the 545 out and right away the drivetrain or ride just seemed rough.? I mean noticeably rough, as compared to my other drives in 545s.? The acceleration was just as I remembered it and maybe a tad less strong.? The white was nice and beige looked really warm and matching sharply with the other materials.? I think the car had 100 miles on it.?
Next, we jumped into the 530 with the new N52 engine.? It is was silver grey with black leather.? The black actually looked better than I expected, classy and understated.? It seems as though the I-drive booted faster and the engine felt smooth.? We took the car around twice on three mile loops with a mix of stops, straights and interesting curves.? The engine has noticably smoother, I mean super smooth.? The engine seemed to rev quicker, but the torque came on later than in the 545.? You have to really gun the engine and wait, which feels far behind the 545 in acceleration.?
That said, I'm worried about this 545 in terms of smoothness and ride quality.? Anyone notice how much smoother the N52 engine is over the V8?? I'm puzzled because my last ride in the 545 it seemed smoother and quieter.? I'm alittle concerned and the invoice date of this car is April 2005.?
Your comments would be appreciated.? I'm going back to the dealer on Tuesday for another test drive, maybe I'm missing something or hearing things.?
CVT Benhogan
I finally located a 05 545i, fairly loaded, white with beige interior in Chicago.? My wife and I really wanted to see this color combo in person.? The salesperson was super and let us take the car and, for comparison, a 06 530 sport for a test drives alone.? ?
Well, first off we took the 545 out and right away the drivetrain or ride just seemed rough.? I mean noticeably rough, as compared to my other drives in 545s.? The acceleration was just as I remembered it and maybe a tad less strong.? The white was nice and beige looked really warm and matching sharply with the other materials.? I think the car had 100 miles on it.?
Next, we jumped into the 530 with the new N52 engine.? It is was silver grey with black leather.? The black actually looked better than I expected, classy and understated.? It seems as though the I-drive booted faster and the engine felt smooth.? We took the car around twice on three mile loops with a mix of stops, straights and interesting curves.? The engine has noticably smoother, I mean super smooth.? The engine seemed to rev quicker, but the torque came on later than in the 545.? You have to really gun the engine and wait, which feels far behind the 545 in acceleration.?
That said, I'm worried about this 545 in terms of smoothness and ride quality.? Anyone notice how much smoother the N52 engine is over the V8?? I'm puzzled because my last ride in the 545 it seemed smoother and quieter.? I'm alittle concerned and the invoice date of this car is April 2005.?
Your comments would be appreciated.? I'm going back to the dealer on Tuesday for another test drive, maybe I'm missing something or hearing things.?
CVT Benhogan
[snapback]159344[/snapback]
08-15-2005, 08:30 AM
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also ride quality could be affected by tire pressures
Originally Posted by CVTBenhogan' date='Aug 14 2005, 07:01 PM
Hi all,
I finally located a 05 545i, fairly loaded, white with beige interior in Chicago.? My wife and I really wanted to see this color combo in person.? The salesperson was super and let us take the car and, for comparison, a 06 530 sport for a test drives alone.? ?
Well, first off we took the 545 out and right away the drivetrain or ride just seemed rough.? I mean noticeably rough, as compared to my other drives in 545s.? The acceleration was just as I remembered it and maybe a tad less strong.? The white was nice and beige looked really warm and matching sharply with the other materials.? I think the car had 100 miles on it.?
Next, we jumped into the 530 with the new N52 engine.? It is was silver grey with black leather.? The black actually looked better than I expected, classy and understated.? It seems as though the I-drive booted faster and the engine felt smooth.? We took the car around twice on three mile loops with a mix of stops, straights and interesting curves.? The engine has noticably smoother, I mean super smooth.? The engine seemed to rev quicker, but the torque came on later than in the 545.? You have to really gun the engine and wait, which feels far behind the 545 in acceleration.?
That said, I'm worried about this 545 in terms of smoothness and ride quality.? Anyone notice how much smoother the N52 engine is over the V8?? I'm puzzled because my last ride in the 545 it seemed smoother and quieter.? I'm alittle concerned and the invoice date of this car is April 2005.?
Your comments would be appreciated.? I'm going back to the dealer on Tuesday for another test drive, maybe I'm missing something or hearing things.?
CVT Benhogan
I finally located a 05 545i, fairly loaded, white with beige interior in Chicago.? My wife and I really wanted to see this color combo in person.? The salesperson was super and let us take the car and, for comparison, a 06 530 sport for a test drives alone.? ?
Well, first off we took the 545 out and right away the drivetrain or ride just seemed rough.? I mean noticeably rough, as compared to my other drives in 545s.? The acceleration was just as I remembered it and maybe a tad less strong.? The white was nice and beige looked really warm and matching sharply with the other materials.? I think the car had 100 miles on it.?
Next, we jumped into the 530 with the new N52 engine.? It is was silver grey with black leather.? The black actually looked better than I expected, classy and understated.? It seems as though the I-drive booted faster and the engine felt smooth.? We took the car around twice on three mile loops with a mix of stops, straights and interesting curves.? The engine has noticably smoother, I mean super smooth.? The engine seemed to rev quicker, but the torque came on later than in the 545.? You have to really gun the engine and wait, which feels far behind the 545 in acceleration.?
That said, I'm worried about this 545 in terms of smoothness and ride quality.? Anyone notice how much smoother the N52 engine is over the V8?? I'm puzzled because my last ride in the 545 it seemed smoother and quieter.? I'm alittle concerned and the invoice date of this car is April 2005.?
Your comments would be appreciated.? I'm going back to the dealer on Tuesday for another test drive, maybe I'm missing something or hearing things.?
CVT Benhogan
[snapback]159344[/snapback]
08-15-2005, 08:41 AM
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My Ride: '05 545i - scheduled for ED pickup in Munich on 7/22!
The engine of the '05 545 I got was SO MUCH SMOOTHER than the new engine of the '06 530 I test drove.