Hi Friends:

Went to my dealer today for minor service. Its first M5 just arrived and was being put on the floor--for $120,000 ($96K list). A few people looked at it, and it left the floor--sold for full price. FIFO in accounting is first in first out. That applies here. But, for the M5 it also was fast in fast out.

 

And as P.T. Barnum (not an accountant )said...

No doubt the first few in any market will get a crazy premium from somebody with more money than brains, but this will be very short-lived IMHO.

 

Never buy a 1st year ///M car.

See the 2001-02 E46 M3 ... can anyone say "blown engines"??

 

Not totally disagreeing, but as long as it happens under warranty (which these type of engine problems typically do), not a big deal, other than the inconvenience of having your car out of commission for a week or so.

 

Not totally disagreeing, but as long as it happens under warranty (which these type of engine problems typically do), not a big deal, other than the inconvenience of having your car out of commission for a week or so.
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Well, it actually is more than just an inconvenience.

First, there's the safety issue -- would you really want to be driving at 80mph and have an oil gasket blow?

Two, there's also the psychological trauma -- always wondering when (not if) your engine is going to blow and being paranoid over every little tick, burp and rattle that your car gives off. :thumbsdown:

 

I agree that I'd never buy 1st year //M. This V10 is so new and running at high rev. The potential high very high.
Also, I'm still wondering about high rev engine which is applied to motorcycle. 10000 mile of motorcycle is equivalent to 15~20K miles on cars. Therefore, //M would be short live for sure.

 

Not totally disagreeing, but as long as it happens under warranty (which these type of engine problems typically do), not a big deal, other than the inconvenience of having your car out of commission for a week or so.
[/quote]

Well, it actually is more than just an inconvenience.

First, there's the safety issue -- would you really want to be driving at 80mph and have an oil gasket blow?

Two, there's also the psychological trauma -- always wondering when (not if) your engine is going to blow and being paranoid over every little tick, burp and rattle that your car gives off. :thumbsdown:
[/quote]

Fair points!

 

Not totally disagreeing, but as long as it happens under warranty (which these type of engine problems typically do), not a big deal, other than the inconvenience of having your car out of commission for a week or so.
[/quote]

Well, it actually is more than just an inconvenience.

First, there's the safety issue -- would you really want to be driving at 80mph and have an oil gasket blow?

Two, there's also the psychological trauma -- always wondering when (not if) your engine is going to blow and being paranoid over every little tick, burp and rattle that your car gives off. :thumbsdown:
[/quote]

Fair points!
[/quote]


You know, I'm going to add another, third, point -- which is the worst part of the E46 M3 first-year teething problem ...

When engines started to blow because lack of oil in the bearings, BMW's reaction was to DENY DENY DENY and then to blame it on (of all things!) DRIVER ERROR!

Driver error on a traditional 6sp maybe, but there was no way in high heaven could a driver make a "money-shift" (or mis-shift from 3 to 2 going 100 mph) on an SMG.

Gets me worked up just thinking about it. BMW finally came to their senses, initiated a recall, ahem, I mean service bulletin and then extended a 6yr/100k mile warranty on all affected cars.

 

Not totally disagreeing, but as long as it happens under warranty (which these type of engine problems typically do), not a big deal, other than the inconvenience of having your car out of commission for a week or so.
[/quote]

Well, it actually is more than just an inconvenience.

First, there's the safety issue -- would you really want to be driving at 80mph and have an oil gasket blow?

Two, there's also the psychological trauma -- always wondering when (not if) your engine is going to blow and being paranoid over every little tick, burp and rattle that your car gives off. :thumbsdown:
[/quote]

Fair points!
[/quote]


You know, I'm going to add another, third, point -- which is the worst part of the E46 M3 first-year teething problem ...

When engines started to blow because lack of oil in the bearings, BMW's reaction was to DENY DENY DENY and then to blame it on (of all things!) DRIVER ERROR!

Driver error on a traditional 6sp maybe, but there was no way in high heaven could a driver make a "money-shift" (or mis-shift from 3 to 2 going 100 mph) on an SMG.

Gets me worked up just thinking about it. BMW finally came to their senses, initiated a recall, ahem, I mean service bulletin and then extended a 6yr/100k mile warranty on all affected cars.
[/quote]


Yes--I remember well hearing about the bearings problem with the M3 engines. :'( Buying a first model year car is living on the (b)leading edge--but keep in mind this car has been in production and delivered to the rest of the world for ~9 months now, so '06 is really the second production year.

 

Thinking about all that's been said. I think that if one has scads of money, wants an M5 right now, and buys it for "too" much, then that's smart. In other words, I don't think it is dumb to pay an amount that, by someone else's standards, is too much for an item. Many will say that buying a 545i is dumb and that anyone who does so has more money than smarts. Also, I too don't buy 1st year cars. Another example of a first year problem was the 01 Z06. Many burned oil and had to be repaired. Fortunately, those that were repaired were fine thereafter. So, as mentioned, a good warranty can help with the pain. But, yes, there still can be trauma.

More on the FIFO M5. It was white and, of course, looked very nice. I was thinking, in person, do I really like the look better than the sport package 545i/550i (SP5). I decided not necessarily. The looks have different purposes IMO. The M5, of course, is changed to look more agressive--particularly from the front and via the quad tips. The SP5, IMO, is designed to look more refined and luxurious. Incidentally, I noticed that the M5's trunk looked just like that of my late build 545i (see Trunk Funk).

Assuming I could buy an M5 for an MSRP of $96,000 (which I am not sure includes the gas-guzzler tax) during the second year of the car, I wondered how strongly I felt about having an M5 vs the SP5. I am not sure that the M5 would be $30,000 or so more fun than a modded SP5. Tomorrow, I might feel the same or differently. Who knows? I could always trade the 545i and my 02 Z06. Hey, maybe that's what I'll do. More realistically, I'll probably wait to see if the M5 is as fast in the 1/4 as the Z06.