550i M Sport Touring Manual - any reason not to?

[Naldrett]

I saw this '55 plate for sale:

http://www.jasonbarker.co.uk/shop_detail.asp?offse...

Thinking of upgrading from my 330i E91 Touring for a bit more space with another child on the way and this looks the nuts to me.

Main concerns are as follows:

1) Will it feel any quicker than my 330i Manual? (more power but more weight and refinement)
2) How is the real-world MPG? (actually have read that may not be much worse than the 330i)
3) Should I be concerned that it is pre-facelift? (heard a lot of very negative reviews on the pre-facelift interior)
4) Moonstone Metallic - what's it like in the flesh? (looks like pretty normal silver in the ad)

Thanks

[pattyg]

Seems pretty expensive for non AUC

[Naldrett]

Yep - the price is a bit optimistic I agree - I would struggle to sell privately for £10-11k I'm sure - these big V8s are tough to shift at present for obvious reasons.

[The Nur]

Apologies for the mild off-topic but how well did the 550 sell in the UK?

I was under the impression it was more mainland Europe model than here for some reason but I seem to be noticing them more and more lately.

[Mustard]

Moonstone is nice, it's a kind of pearl silver, has more life to it than regular titanium.

Nice spec and miles, and the fact its pre march 2006 is good from tor the RFL (260 instead of 460

Rare beast http://howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=550...

One of 11 m sport manua
It's push button start and a 550i (rather than 545i) there for it is facelift?? First of 2006my
Ok not 2007 lci but
2007 onwards cars amounted to 3!

Edited by Mustard on Sunday 9th September 08:41

Edited by Mustard on Sunday 9th September 08:58

[scz4]

Do it, I used to have one until May this year, see my thread here for more information -
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

1 of 7. Price isn't too bad, if you can get a discount and a warranty. I sold my 57 plate privately for £19k with 40k on the clock. The face lift is very desirable with the interior being a lot nicer.

Yes... It will feel much faster than the 330i.

[Cheib]

Pretty sure I saw that very car in Hexagon's showroom about 5 years ago....I imagine from it's history they bought it from BMW UK. It's a stunning car, I really like the colour...Piano Black interior is also lovely too. It's a marmite car some people will absolutely love the big petrol with a manual box but 99% of buyers wouldn't consider it. Personally I think it's a car well worth having a further look at....it's a great alternative to an M5 touring because of the manual gearbox IMHO.

[Naldrett]

Like buses these 550i M Sport Touring Manuals...!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

£2.5k cheaper and slightly newer but with more miles though. And somehow the spec is OK but not as special - I heard the panoramic roof can be problematic in reality and the wood trim doesn't look nice at all IMO.

[Mustard]

Been for sale a little while that one.... Looks a little 'ordinary'

[Redeem]

It seems the car at Birds has now been sold

[Fox-]

Mad money for a pre LCI E60 without 'M5' on the back. I'd be questioning whether its really worth spending £15k on a facelift one let alone a 7 year old prefacelift one.

[Olf]

I have an E61 545i so feel able to comment!

1). Yes. It's an effortless kind of fast. It takes something pretty special to beat you in the traffic light grand prix!

2). Real world - a/b road thrashing 18mpg, pootling around with a heavy boot, 24mpg, long distance cruising up to 30mpg.
-
3). If you are moving from an E91 I would imagine it will take a bit of getting used to - the i-drive in particular. If you were moving from an E46 you'd be very happy.

4). no idea!

Great car - you won't regret it. Money is fair I'd say given the mileage and the fact it's a manual. You either want it or you don't - it's such a rare car they can hang on for the right buyer.

For those comparing it to an M5 in initial outlay - I can see your point but the M5 is ruinously expensive on insurance, servicing, mpg and warranty. Here you're getting 3/4 of the performance for probably half or less of the overall running cost of an M5.

[Fox-]

Olf said:

3). If you are moving from an E91 I would imagine it will take a bit of getting used to - the i-drive in particular.

Why? If his E91 is pre 2008 then it's pretty much exactly the same system, if his E91 is pre 2007 then it IS the exact same system.

[Olf]

Fox- said:

Why? If his E91 is pre 2008 then it's pretty much exactly the same system, if his E91 is pre 2007 then it IS the exact same system.

ok fair enough - I thought the E90s have more shortcut buttons.

[Fox-]

Olf said:

ok fair enough - I thought the E90s have more shortcut buttons.

In 2007 both E90 and E60 gained the shortcut buttons

[roofer]

V8 Manual? ....No brainer.

[Vroomer]

roofer said:

V8 Manual? ....No brainer.

??????

'No brainer' yes or no?

[ortontom]

dont do it, you will never be able to sell it. That will be worth 8/9k at PX within a year. But selling it privately will take forever....

friend has a E55 estate for sale which has 7 seats, and will hold value far better.....also its alot quicker

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

[Fox-]

ortontom said:

dont do it, you will never be able to sell it. That will be worth 8/9k at PX within a year. But selling it privately will take forever....

So you think its depreciation curve will get steeper as it gets older? Isnt that the opposite to how it usually works? If it was going to shed £6-7k a year does that mean it was nearly £30k 2 years ago, I somehow doubt it?

ortontom said:

friend has a E55 estate for sale which has 7 seats, and will hold value far better.....also its alot quicker

And a lot more heavy on the running costs. The fact a warranty from Merc is something stupid like £5k tells you all you need to know about those. By contrast the 550i is under £1k.

[roofer]

Vroomer said:

??????

'No brainer' yes or no?

Yes