I have been in lust with my 2000 540 sport since our first day of ownership. Now with financing specials and low sales at dealerships, an affordable CPO 2006 550 with sport and cold weather packages has caught my eye. Has anyone moved up and regretted it? I def prefer the e39 styling, but the power and ride of the E60 is addicting! Bev and I drove a leg of the Komen transport from Albany to Maine in one last year, and it was a joy. For those who know of Dave Ramsey, please don't tell him I am considering doing this when being five months from being totally debt free!!
I'll go one better. I JUST drove my 550i back from Chicago - I live in Houston. I had my 2003 540i sport (79,000 miles) shipped up there and I bought a one-way plane ticket. I've purchased 7 BMW's total - 6 from the same best friend at the same dealership where they treat me like family. I used to live there. Anyway. I picked up a CPO 2006 550i with 50k miles on it and extended maintenance. Effectively 3-year 50,000 mile coverage. Full premium and cold-weather packages. It does NOT have the sports package. And I am in LOVE with this car. I drove it for 15.5 hours STRAIGHT (stopping every 5 hours to fill up) completing 1200 miles. The comfort seats did their job amazingly well and I was never uncomfortable. Averaging 79.9 mph and 22.8 mpg. I hit 135 twice and loved the feeling of pulling away from EVERYONE anytime I wanted to. So after that long in the car, I feel it safe to say that I got to know the vehicle inside and out. The power and handling is amazing - not to mention the bluetooth, NAV, sat radio, rear heated seats, etc. (both cars black/black by the way), made the trip that much more enjoyable. Did I think twice about buying it once I found out it didn't have the sports package? Ya. But I realized that I could buy the steering wheel and bumper kits, and upgrade the suspension if I really wanted the feel of the sport. All that I would miss would be the sports auto-tranny (I prefer stick, but the wife doesn't. It's our little compromise), but the steptronic is what the 540i had in it before - so I have no idea what I'm missing anyway. And I can live without the paddle shifters - though I've read where you can OEM retrofit those too. So to make the point. Did I regret it? Hell no. Go for it. I love the car and If the sport is that much better than than the "normal" version, then you definitely won't be disappointed. Besides, I just sent in my form for the $500 rebate for buying a CPO BMW. Cheers, Myron
Thanks for the input Myron. I chose the fiscally sound path and decided to go debt free and pay cash for the next car purchase. I imagine there will be a flow of these as they come off lease, and within the next two years I will be able to walk in and pay cash for one. I envy your journey! You should write it up for your chapter newsletter. Several of our members have made a long distance purchase and done the drive home. My V1 has made two such journeys, but I have yet to go along with it.