So i sold my huge SUV and decided that i wanted somthing fun to drive, but i wanted luxury as well. I ended up buying a 2007 Lexus IS350. This is by far the funest car i have ever owned! Great power, beautiful interior, every option that was available for that year, black on black...everything that i thought i wanted. The problems start here: for one its too small, feels great in the drivers seat, but outside of the car it just looks small. Im used to a Ford Expedtion with more room than i knew what to do with! Suddenly im feeling trapped in a little sports car. Not to mention that i was parked in a spot at a local shopping mall and when i came out there was a Prius Hybrid parked next to me that was EXACTLY the size of my Lexus. 2 - 6 days after i bought the car my touch screen head unit stopped responding to "touches". Meaning i can no longer change the following, radio presets, climate control, cannot access navigation or any maintnence options. Bad, Bad, Bad!! So the final straw is the engine noise that i have...its a bad tap. The only good news is that there is a RECALL on the top end of the motor that will fix the problem, brand new Springs and hydrolic lifters at the manu's expence.... ugh

So after that long intro, my situation is ive lost all faith in that car and im goin to trade it in. Im looking at a black 530 with navi, front thermal cam, orange leather, 60k miles for $25k. What do you think of the deal. BTW i will be buying a warranty as well for the next 24k miles. I love the body of the E60 but the interior looks like its from the 1940's (am i the only one that thinks BMW drops the ball here??) The Lexus interior is amazing but there is NO "ES" Lexus that i like from the outside.

Final note: I have driven my friends E60 and it doesnt even compare to the fast/fun driving experience of the IS. However it felt alot more stable at 140+ mph......

Long winded, i know. But now you know my entire situation. What would you do????

 

Your friend has a 530i as well? The E60 is a heavier car for one and bigger... so it would feel a tad bit heavier than the IS350.

 

I agree that the E60's interior is not its strong suit. Many competitors (A6, E Class, Infiniti M) have nicer interiors. What makes the E60 so special is the handling and its unique blend of ride comfort and performance -- but only with the sport package suspension.

Personally, if I were you, unless you don't care about power, I'd get a 535 or 550. A 530 is going to feel slow in comparison to you IS350. And don't get an E60 without the sport package suspension as there is a dramatic difference in handling prowess between the non sport suspension cars and the sport suspension cars.

 

dont waste your time getting a pre lci.
if it doesnt have sports package dont waste your time.
i personally wouldnt buy one without xenons.
i personally wouldnt buy another underpowered, oversized 530 or 525 again

 

From what I've seen and heard, you can get an 08 or better 535 or 550 with less miles for only a few $k more than what you are considering.

 

I agree with everything except the part about it feeling slow compared to an IS350. BMW's are very good at being quicker than they feel. For 2 weeks earlier this year there was a IS350 taking the same route home as me (some young kid) and every day he'd try to race me off the lights. He failed each and every time, whether I was in D mode, DS mode, or manual mode, didn't matter - the only thing that changed were the gaps between me and him.