WWYD - come back to BMW?

[gehmjc21]

I had this over in the 3forum, thought it might spark some conversation here....thanks!

Alright guys, I have to get some opinions here, but first some background info....

I purchased my first BMW a few years back - e92 blk/blk 6mt. Absolutely loved the car. I\'ve always been a coupe guy, I don\'t like people in my back seats :-). Anyways, I don\'t like to do any mods to my cars (just me) but I decided to put the jb3 in there, unreal! I loved that car. BUT living in upstate ny I see 150 inches of snow a year, I was sick of putting my car up for the winter and driving a clunker in the snow. So I decided to get the b8 s4 almost two years ago. Prestige, blk/blk 6mt, sport diff. I love the car. It\'s a little less \"showy\" as my e92 (besides the LEDs) and the awd takes away from the rwd drive but all in all the car is great. Handles the snow with ease, yet I haven\'t tuned it. Here\'s my dilemma. One, I married now and driving in my car is my freedom :-) so I kind of miss that two door look. Two, I need to stay awd. Three, I want something that I can tune. FOUR, should I lease or buy? I never believed in leasing but I always want to change cars every 2-3 years, does it even make sense to buy?? Five, I just miss my BMW. Most of the Audi forums don\'t come close to e90, I end up reading more on here than AZ or QW. Okay so here are my final thoughts -
2012 Audi A6
2011+ BMW 550xi
2012 BMW 650xi

F30 BMW 335xi coupe
650xi Gran Coupe(?)

I don\'t want to sacrifice HP and the A6 shares the same engine as my S4, but it\'s also 500lbs less than the 550xi - fully load Ed a6 is about $15k less than the 550xi, plus I like the look of the prestige with 20s. I love the new 650xi but it may be too \"boaty\"? Then again I\'d hate to get in a 12\' 335xi and have the new model come out in a year or two. And the S5 does nothing for me. Enough is enough, sorry for my ranting, I wanted to get some opinions and spark some conversation. Thanks guys.

[m630]

Hi,
Interesting situation you have there, I'll just post some random thoughts for consideration. If you like to change cars so often, I think that a lease is the most cost effective way to go, you have to be taking a hit with the ownership route, either by trading in a two year old car to a dealer, or looking for someone to buy a higher end 2 year old car privately, just not things that I like to get involved in, so Id say look into a lease, it absolutely works out to the same or better financially in every case, imo.

In terms of your choices, I think first you have to decide on a budget as there is a quite major difference between the options you are noting.
The 650xi is very expensive, and the 650 GC will be even more expensive than that, we're talking over 100K nicely optioned out, so consider your budget carefully. Again, if you lease, you can get into these more cost effective, but still, they aint cheap by a long shot.
Unless you drive the F10 550xi and absolutely love it, I would discount it immediately. It is a very very large car, just a tiny bit smaller than the 7er, so coming from an e92 or s4 will be a very big change, the car is massive and heavy. Its quite a bit less than the 6er but thats all I can say nicely about it as I had one for almost a month during some service late last year and ruled it out as a replacement for my car in the coming months.

The A6 is OK I suppose if you want something a bit bigger than you have now and it wont cost nearly as much as the 550xi, and may be a better car, but Ive never driven the A6 so cant compare honestly.

Then you listed the 335xi coupe, now Im not sure if you are aware, but that car is being redesigned and the new concept should be shown this year, but its not coming out any time soon as far as I can tell, im not sure it will be this year, so if you are looking for something to order now, that would not be an option. However, if you start reading up on the F30 335xi sedan, you may find an interesting option especially since you are coming from the A4. The 3er has grown again, and now its basically the same dimension as the e39 5er, so its quite a useful size car and Id now compare it to the A6 vs the 550 which is really big. I find it a great looking car and may just make the move to one soon.

Some other points to discuss if you look at the 6er for example, if you get that level of snow, you would definitely need to put snow tires on the car, and even with that, Im not sure that it would be the most useful since its so low, so depending on your road conditions, that may be a factor.
Ive been driving the 6 series for nearly 7 years now, first in the 645ci and then with the M6 for the past 3 years, and I have a dedicated set of winter wheels with snow tires and I have been able to use the cars as daily drivers with the amount of snow and ice we get down state. But, im not sure you would get the same use based on the stats you noted above, thats alot of snow and probably alot of time when you have to drive in the snow. With all the power, regardless of x-drive and even with snow tires, Id never drive the 6er in a snowstorm unless its an emergency, it just isnt meant to be driven in blizzards if you know what I mean.

good luck

[gehmjc21]

M630- thanks for the detailed response, a ton of great points all around. I'm actually up in Syracuse, and I currently run my S4 with Dunlop Winters, it handles great but like you said, being so low to the ground it can be tough at times when the plows haven't hit the roads. I actually prefer my wife's A4 in the snow because it's a few inches higher....

So back to the discussion...first and foremost is the leasing sitaution. I was lucky to find my S4, used with 5k miles on it, I got a steal for $12k under the sticker about 4 months after the guy bought the car - nothing was wrong with it but his wife was pregnant with twins. Needless to say you're right, I just don't want to deal with getting in and out of owning a car if I'm not going to hold on to it for more than a few years. Now, I must admit I know nothing about leasing. I constantly hear about residual value, loan rate, etc but I wouldn't know if I'm getting ripped off or not. At least with purchasing I can check Manheim auctions to get an idea (friend does private sales) to see what the cars are going for. With that being said my budget would be under $1000 a month. Do dealers do 24 month leases? more expensive?

Now back to the car discussion. I am aware of the new 335i coupe that has yet to be revealed. I've seen the new F30 328i reviews and I must say the sedan looks pretty appealing. By that time the N55 engine will probably have the ability to be tuned like the N54 is today. Next car, 550xi, I appreciate the heads up, I haven't driven one before but I don't know if it's worth the money to me. Again, I could get a fully loaded A6 2012 for $65k, but I'm compromising for power. However that 3.0Tfsi can be tuned - same engine as my S4. Getting to the 6er. I've driven a 2008 650i conv a handful of times and loved the car. Heavy but quick, and cruises effortlessly. The new 650xi would be great, but like you said I'd be looking at 100k+ and the gran coupe even more.

I don't know! Maybe I just keep the S4 (which is a great car and fun) and tune it in the spring. Then lease the new 335i coupe when it comes out - keeping it garaged in the winter and S4 year round.

How do you like the M6? stupid question when is the new one coming out? Cheers

[m630]

Wow, Syracuse, now thats alot of snow. I am often in the area and know the weather patterns well, I commend you for not having an SUV in the garage for that type of snow!

Lets talk about leases for a sec to give you some details. So its another form of financing first and foremost, so you have to know the formulas and you can determine if you are getting an OK deal. Usually dealers will give you the rates and the money factors so you can work to determine the math and how it works out. Just like with anything, you can work out a deal that meets your needs and its usually competitive with a finance. Residuals are what companies use to project the future value and determine how much the car would be worth book value wise when the lease is through.

Now others may come and chime in and argue other points, but trust me, ive done this for years and know the numbers inside and out, leases or no more or no less risky and have no other hidden costs. They are for those that like new cars every few years, you pay a little more over the years but you get much for for your dollars.

Now about the cars, as you can tell, I really like the F30, and may be moving to one in the future so it gets props from me of course as I think its going to be a great car. I think the N55 will be tunable for sure. As for the A6, im sure its a great car, but like you I just have a feel for how BMWs drive, though Im sure the S4 is a blast too. But if you like audi now, I think the A6 looks great.
On the 6er, as you noted, its a great car, effortless power, heavy, but you never feel it unless you track the car. The coupe is even better, imho and several hundred pounds less. If you were to get one, Id say go for the coupe, they are beautiful inside and out and ive enjoyed very moment of ownership...but it comes at a cost, a premium for sure, but the car is great period.
If you really are going to keep 2 cars, you have more options for sure, Ive just never been one to have multi cars, id feel heartbroken to not be able to drive the M6 all winter, and yours starts in september and goes to may!!! lol!

As for the M6, what can you say, its the best car in the world, imho. Its probably the nicest car I'll ever own unless I hit it real big! I got it several years ago when I had a different life as well, but things have changed and I have different responsibilities now, so I wont be getting the next M6. Mostly because I dont like the direction M took with the engine, and in reality, the car is going to be way rediculous in terms of cost, just based on what BMW did with the new 650i pricing which is about $20K more in MSPR when optioned out like my former '05 645ci, which leads to the reality that the new M6 will most likely be about $20K more as well from my '08 M6 (113K), which means that the new M6 is probably going to list for about $130K+ fully optioned
They will be an even rarer breed than my beloved beast! No, my next car wont be and M, but my next M will probably be the F30 M3

[gehmjc21]

I give you a lot of credit for driving that m6 year round in NY Then again you guys don't get nearly as much snow as we do!

So last night I was researching the new F30 a little bit. I watched all the videos and I must say I'm impressed by the new 328's engine. However, I'll be honest, I'm not really crazy about the interior look. The navi screen is nice, instrument panel nice, but the area from the shifter to the arm rest looks cheap?! I don't know what I'm going to do!

So here's my dilemma. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-6...m=330668115991

I just spoke with the dealer. He said the residual is 65% with the MSRP of 87,800 - end of lease value is 57,118. Could probably get the monthly payments on the car down to 850 before tax. There's not many options on the car - is this even worth considering? Also, with the new 335xi coupe next year, I'm guessing it'll run 60-65k optioned, I don't know if that residual will be as high.

Just some thoughts - let me know if you think that's even worth thinking about. OTHERS PLEASE CHIME IN!

[kdbryce]

2012 550i xdrive for sure. it's faster than the a6 by far - and is much better looking. especially in person.

everybody drives Audi's now.. i'd go back to beamer

[gehmjc21]

Does it come in 6mT? That's my dilemma, I want something that is manual. That's why the 650xi might fit me the best.

Originally Posted by kbryce

2012 550i xdrive for sure. it's faster than the a6 by far - and is much better looking. especially in person.

everybody drives Audi's now.. i'd go back to beamer

[kdbryce]

Originally Posted by gehmjc21

Does it come in 6mT? That's my dilemma, I want something that is manual. That's why the 650xi might fit me the best.

i think the 550 only comes in auto, but the 535 comes in MT