What happened to 5 Series Forums?
01-07-2011, 08:15 PM
#1
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My Ride: 2011 535i... Alpine White, Black Dakota, Anthracite, Premiium 1+2, Sports Package, Comfort Access
I used to be on this site a few years back and it used to be so active. Back then I had a 2004 545. I just picked up my 535 last week but I've been following topics since I placed the order back in October. However I find that I can go a few days before there are enough replies on a topic to make it worth reading.
01-08-2011, 01:05 AM
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01-08-2011, 05:14 AM
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My Ride: 11 550i Sophisto Gray/Oyster Black/Anthracite, Sprt Trns, DHP, IAS, SP, PP1, PP2, CWP, HUD, DAP, AVSP, SF RS, CA, ACC - Euro Del
Bimmerfest and 5post are quite active for the F10. There used to be a great group of people that posted here. Now posting is way down.
01-08-2011, 06:16 AM
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01-08-2011, 08:41 AM
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My Ride: 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera S Convertible. Midnight Blue, 6 Speed.Retired - 2007 997 Carrera S, Midnight Blue, Grey leather, premium audioRetired - 2007 550i, Monaco Blue over Beige, Navigation, Logic 7, Cold Weather Pack, Comfort Access, Sport Package
Model Year: 2008
The forum is is decline, there is no question. It is simply nowhere near the place it once was. The level of posting appears to me to be significantly down, in terms of both volume and quality.
The are a number of possible explanations and drivers for this. I'll offer two.
Firstly, as the price of the prior E60 fell and it became a more widely accessible used car purchase, we saw a significant influx of a very different caliber of member, offering little more than childish trash talk and "text speak" in expletive-laden but otherwise unremarkable posts. There's a place for levity in the forum, but not to the degree we sometime see. In the past we used to see some great threads, with interesting discussion, different opinions with generally respectful disagreement and some pretty cool topics. We simply don't see this to the same degree we once did. I accept this is a subjective assessment - what I find mediocre others find interesting, but I am sure that the longer standing members, and many great members from the past who for reasons such as those I've just articulated rarely or no longer post here, would agree with me.
The other is perhaps equally subjective, and I offer the paucity and the quality of some of the threads and posts in the F10 forum as evidence. My own judgment is that fewer buyers of the F10 are enthusiasts who buy the car for reasons that appeal to the "car guys" amongst us but buy it because it is an expensive, luxury, premium car with a premium badge on the hood. This is not a slam on the F10, it is simply that these "badge-buyers", who are, after all just as likely to buy a Mercedes, Audi or Lexus when the F10 lease is up, are simply less inclined to register and post on a forum. My judgment is that the F10 speaks to these customers (and let us not forget, their money is just as good as just as important to BMW as those of us who like to think we're still from the old school) perhaps to a lesser degree than the E60 did.
Whether it is the forum that is moving on and leaving those of us from the old-school behind or whether it is the converse that is true is largely moot - the net result is the same. The forum just isn't the place that it once was.
The are a number of possible explanations and drivers for this. I'll offer two.
Firstly, as the price of the prior E60 fell and it became a more widely accessible used car purchase, we saw a significant influx of a very different caliber of member, offering little more than childish trash talk and "text speak" in expletive-laden but otherwise unremarkable posts. There's a place for levity in the forum, but not to the degree we sometime see. In the past we used to see some great threads, with interesting discussion, different opinions with generally respectful disagreement and some pretty cool topics. We simply don't see this to the same degree we once did. I accept this is a subjective assessment - what I find mediocre others find interesting, but I am sure that the longer standing members, and many great members from the past who for reasons such as those I've just articulated rarely or no longer post here, would agree with me.
The other is perhaps equally subjective, and I offer the paucity and the quality of some of the threads and posts in the F10 forum as evidence. My own judgment is that fewer buyers of the F10 are enthusiasts who buy the car for reasons that appeal to the "car guys" amongst us but buy it because it is an expensive, luxury, premium car with a premium badge on the hood. This is not a slam on the F10, it is simply that these "badge-buyers", who are, after all just as likely to buy a Mercedes, Audi or Lexus when the F10 lease is up, are simply less inclined to register and post on a forum. My judgment is that the F10 speaks to these customers (and let us not forget, their money is just as good as just as important to BMW as those of us who like to think we're still from the old school) perhaps to a lesser degree than the E60 did.
Whether it is the forum that is moving on and leaving those of us from the old-school behind or whether it is the converse that is true is largely moot - the net result is the same. The forum just isn't the place that it once was.