Former 5er guy now with Audi comparison

3. Drivers who has experienced quality issues with early build F10's.[/QUOTE]


I have a 2011 550ix january build and have had zero issues....but then again I haven't driven a 2013 to compare it to.

Originally Posted by bubbahead

3. Drivers who has experienced quality issues with early build F10's.

Originally Posted by bubbahead

I have a 2011 550ix january build and have had zero issues....but then again I haven't driven a 2013 to compare it to.

Makes sense since I meant early MY 2011. If your's is a January build it's not an early 2011 MY. The early most problematic 2011's were built in summer 2010. And you have hydraulic steering which haven't had the myriad of steering issues. You should be fine.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

There were multiple congrats (from me) in your post in the X5M section

bm323 is too dumb to go look.

I knew it had to be somewhere.

I may be the only person in the world who doesn't mind the pop up Nav.

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

I may be the only person in the world who doesn't mind the pop up Nav.

Yep, you are the only one. I'd be okay with it if it were just the nav. But the way they are designed today you will be driving with it up all the time. Makes no sense to me.

I would like to put my 2 cents in. I have a E30 in my garage that I have owned for many many years. I am fully aware how older BMW's drove back in the day.

I currently own a 2013 550i M Sport. My previous car was a 2003 Mercedes W215 CL600, V12 Biturbo. This was like a fine cigar and had a cockpit of a Lear jet. It had so much power and torque few could compare (at the time). This car was probably the most expensive car to maintain on the market (3 years maintenance and repairs cost me around 34K). Having said that, it was a blast to own and drive.

I sold it and spent the next 7 months test driving and researching what car I want next. Mercedes seemed a bit too Japanese in styling for my book. Though, I really liked the C63 AMG, the power of my previous V12 had me spoiled. And, the AMG sounded amazing. But, there was no heads up display, the screen was small, the technology (not engine) was not as advanced as BMW, the seats were not comfortable.

So, I went and test drove other cars including the Audi S5 and A7. The S7 was about to be released and there wasn't one for me to test drive. I liked the S5 but it was not as fun as the C63 or the M3. The Google mapping seems cluttered. I found the burp note in the exhaust interesting but not as satisfying as the AMG exhaust. The M3 exhaust was ok, but the shifting and handling of the M3 was top notch but not enough room for my needs. The A7.... I like the styling of this car. I personally found the power a bit lacking for my personal taste. Remember, the V12 had me spoiled. After test driving the Audi I was pleased but when I got out of the car there was smoke coming from out of the driver's side rear tire well. I had not even driven the car really hard. This left a leery feeling in my gut and the only thing that I really liked was the wood grain interior and fancy lights.

I found the 5 and 6 series without M packages rather boring looking and the face (bumper) reminded me of a big catfish. After seeing what I could do with options, power, and cost I decided that the 550i with M sport, heads up display, bang and olufsen sound system, seats, carbon fiber extras, woven aluminum trim, black rims and amount technology integration was the best looking, most fun bang for my buck.

I have driven the car 1500 miles and have not had any steering issues at all. Its actually enjoyable to drive. I wish the exhaust was more aggressive, but all in all I really am enjoying the car so far.

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

I may be the only person in the world who doesn't mind the pop up Nav.

I'm the other guy.

When it comes to the A vs B threads, my comment is usually the same: both are great cars, both have their strengths and weaknesses. If one were so much better than the other, then we wouldn't even need to make a choice, because one would put the other out of business.

Some people like Apple iOS, some like Droid. Some people like the beach, some people like the mountains. Some people like cab, some people like malbec. In all of these scenarios, including the A vs B one, there isn't a clear winner.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

I'll check my PM's, there probably was a congrats somewhere.

P.S. Since you reminded my I think I'll post an update.

he can't be seen by his bosses congratulating you in this forum having bought 2 BMWs then

Originally Posted by solstice

Everyone else are sharing opinions about the cars not the commenters. ... lay off the personal attacks

Originally Posted by solstice

2. Drivers who put sportiness first. The E60 was the only car in it's segment who did this. These drivers often wants luxury as long as it doesn't compromise sportiness. Most of this group comes from an E60 with sport suspension. This group is often dissapointed in the F10.

Don't crap on the F10 drivers then, which you have been doing, crapping on the F10 and their owners being not sporty (like you, so you claimed).

You bought the F10 and heaped praises on it. You changed your mind about the F10 and it had a defect and you lemoned it. You have been on this forum ever since persistently crapping on it and insinuating negatives against their owners for more than a year. Now, what drives you to do all this? Does it not suggest bitterness?

You need a four door sedan for passengers and bought the M3 and you are now praising it like Godsent. And again, you changed your mind about the E9x.

It is clear to me that an M3 is not big enough for people who require a four door sedan for passengers and that passengers are not in love with it, when it is driven sportily.

Another thing about the M3, its steering is more numb than a non M at lower speeds.

Originally Posted by bm323

Don't crap on the F10 drivers then, which you have been doing, crapping on the F10 and their owners being not sporty (like you, so you claimed).

You bought the F10 and heaped praises on it. You changed your mind about the F10 and it had a defect and you lemoned it. You have been on this forum ever since persistently crapping on it and insinuating negatives against their owners for more than a year. Now, what drives you to do all this? Does it not suggest bitterness?

You need a four door sedan for passengers and bought the M3 and you are now praising it like Godsent. And again, you changed your mind about the E9x.

It is clear to me that an M3 is not big enough for people who require a four door sedan for passengers and that passengers are not in love with it, when it is driven sportily.

Another thing about the M3, its steering is more numb than a non M at lower speeds.

Here we go again. Ignore is on.

While I prefer an integrated nav. screen I don't see a popup as a reason to not buy a car. It's pretty far down on my list. The A7 like The A6 is however lacking something like the OP also remarks on. It's not easy to pinpoint, the steering is part of it but there is something more that a sporty BMW or Porsche has that just isn't there. It's dissapointing since I had hoped Audi would have gone all out when BMW let the guard down, but they didn't or maybe couldn't.

Some people don't want to let go of the past...

The era of the E60 is over, folks. The current 5-series is not a sports car anymore, but a sporty luxury car. In certain incarnations, a very fast sporty luxury car.

You want a mid-sized sporty BMW today? Look into the 6-series. I know the cost can be an issue.

Why are we still making comparisons of the F10 to E60? The same goes for F10 to A7. Apples to oranges.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

I knew it had to be somewhere.

Presumably he encouraged you to get the X5M when you were considering it

Originally Posted by solstice

Here we go again.

again? any accusation of you being a liar?? Said that you changed your mind, which was what you said.

Why? You are entitled to crap at F10 drivers, but others cant say facts about you?

Originally Posted by Detrick

Some people don't want to let go of the past...

The era of the E60 is over, folks. The current 5-series is not a sports car anymore, but a sporty luxury car. In certain incarnations, a very fast sporty luxury car.

You want a mid-sized sporty BMW today? Look into the 6-series. I know the cost can be an issue.

Why are we still making comparisons of the F10 to E60? Apples to oranges. The same goes for A7 to F10.

From the specs the 6GC seems not to be very different from the F10 dynamically. I don't think we heard much comparisons from people with significant seat time in both. I'm curious to hear more about the difference in feel if you happen to be one who has? I've not driven the 6GC but it would have to be as good or better than the Panny for me to consider it at the price they are asking.

I see the F10 as the evolution of the expanded BMW product offerings. By offering the 1, that has in a way become the new 3. The new F30 3, which is pretty big, I'm sure bigger than the E39, and has most of the high end options available in it, has slotted itself as the new 5, more or less. The F10 is now the 7, and the 7 is the uber 7. One look inside the F01 and F10 confirms the similarities.

I've now written a couple of posts about my disappointment with my 2011550ix Sport Dinan stage 2. I've been driving BMW's all my life. Over 30 years. I've been a huge fan. At one time in my life I had a dedicated race set up 2002. No more. This car is NOT The Ultimate Driving Machine. That's a joke. It's certainly the best handling boat I've ever driven. It's fast without question. So was my E55 Mercedes, when I owned one of those. I sold it because it didn't handle like a BMW. It was simply fast. Well, that's what this car is. Simply fast. That's it. The faulty engine light which has sent me to the dealer now at least 6 times is the end of the road. I have a year left on the lease of this pig, so I went to the Audi dealer to see if I could work out something. Never thought in my dreams I'd be at an Audi dealer. Well, thanks to BMW pushing me there, I've now arrived.

Think about this one, boys....the Audi dealer called on Friday and said he should be able to swap me out on an S7, for the same lease payment as my current car. He'll take my car, and I'll be done with it's issues. Have you seen the S7? In person? It's a beautiful car. The interior is miles ahead of anything BMW has. Every review has it out handling the 550. Even the M5 in one review I read. I'm with the guy who started this thread. I love BMW's. It just seems that BMW no longer loves the drivers that put them where they are. They love Lexus drivers and Mercedes drivers. I hope they'll all be happy together. In the meantime, I'll keep monitoring BMW in hopes they find their way back.

I can understand your disappointment if you are referring to below, but not your posts about car mag comparisons.

Originally Posted by 1973BMW

Before I begin, please note that this is not my second post. I have a new screen name because my last one, which I have used over the last 2 years won't let me on any longer. No idea why. Maybe the password is an issue for some reason. It was "bikerboy".

However, that is not the issue. The issue is the DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION. I had my car in 3 times last week!...and that's not the first time for this issue. It's probably the 5th or 6th. My service guy appears disgusted that after 20 years of dealing with me and my cars, it has come down to this. He tells me that BMW is having fuel injector issues on all cars that have V8's. 5, 6 and 7.

You know what.....if they are, then recall them and put in new ones instead of having us drive our cars on freeways, possibly hundreds of miles from home, and you get a DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION light going on and your car begins to run like ****. I hope you all realize that the scenario I just wrote is very possible for any of you. The solution then would be to call a tow truck in the middle of nowhere and have it towed to the dealer, hundreds of miles away. Great!

THIS IS MY LAST BMW. I have been driving them since 1973. I'm done. If I have a client meeting 100 miles away, or have to be in court (I'm a lawyer) half way up the state and my car does this again (which is likely) I'm in serious trouble.

Unfortunately I have 1 year left on my lease. If I'd have bought the car, it'd be up for sale on Monday morning. Not sure what I can do now. Those of you who have these cars and love them....good luck. I've been their biggest fan for 40 years. A 1973 BMW 2002 was my first new car. I haven't abandoned them, they've abandoned me. Literally.

Originally Posted by 1973BMW

I've now written a couple of posts about my disappointment with my 2011550ix Sport Dinan stage 2. I've been driving BMW's all my life. Over 30 years. I've been a huge fan. At one time in my life I had a dedicated race set up 2002. No more. This car is NOT The Ultimate Driving Machine. That's a joke. It's certainly the best handling boat I've ever driven. It's fast without question. So was my E55 Mercedes, when I owned one of those. I sold it because it didn't handle like a BMW. It was simply fast. Well, that's what this car is. Simply fast. That's it. The faulty engine light which has sent me to the dealer now at least 6 times is the end of the road. I have a year left on the lease of this pig, so I went to the Audi dealer to see if I could work out something. Never thought in my dreams I'd be at an Audi dealer. Well, thanks to BMW pushing me there, I've now arrived.

Think about this one, boys....the Audi dealer called on Friday and said he should be able to swap me out on an S7, for the same lease payment as my current car. He'll take my car, and I'll be done with it's issues. Have you seen the S7? In person? It's a beautiful car. The interior is miles ahead of anything BMW has. Every review has it out handling the 550. Even the M5 in one review I read. I'm with the guy who started this thread. I love BMW's. It just seems that BMW no longer loves the drivers that put them where they are. They love Lexus drivers and Mercedes drivers. I hope they'll all be happy together. In the meantime, I'll keep monitoring BMW in hopes they find their way back.

I hope you don't abandon bimmerfest as well. I for one is curious about the S7 so please check back with a review once you have some seat time.

Originally Posted by solstice

From the specs the 6GC seems not to be very different from the F10 dynamically. I don't think we heard much comparisons from people with significant seat time in both. I'm curious to hear more about the difference in feel if you happen to be one who has? I've not driven the 6GC but it would have to be as good or better than the Panny for me to consider it at the price they are asking.

The 6GC might have more bandaid tech and tricks to compensate for all the weight and such, but inherently it's in a worse position than the F10 in respect to be a "hardcore drivers car". It's heavier, if I'm not mistaken less aerodynamic ("4 Door Coupes" are generally less aerodynamic than their Sedan parents for some reason), has longer overhangs. A 535i puts down better straight line numbers than the 640i GC (which comes with 15 more HP to boot) which is really telling in terms of just how heavy the 6 GC is.

Originally Posted by solstice

I hope you don't abandon bimmerfest as well. I for one is curious about the S7 so please check back with a review once you have some seat time.

Ask him to pm his adress, I am pretty sure he can let you make a testdrive in any Audi you might like.

Originally Posted by 1973BMW

I've now written a couple of posts about my disappointment with my 2011550ix Sport Dinan stage 2. I've been driving BMW's all my life. Over 30 years. I've been a huge fan. At one time in my life I had a dedicated race set up 2002. No more. This car is NOT The Ultimate Driving Machine. That's a joke. It's certainly the best handling boat I've ever driven. It's fast without question. So was my E55 Mercedes, when I owned one of those. I sold it because it didn't handle like a BMW. It was simply fast. Well, that's what this car is. Simply fast. That's it. The faulty engine light which has sent me to the dealer now at least 6 times is the end of the road. I have a year left on the lease of this pig, so I went to the Audi dealer to see if I could work out something. Never thought in my dreams I'd be at an Audi dealer. Well, thanks to BMW pushing me there, I've now arrived.

Think about this one, boys....the Audi dealer called on Friday and said he should be able to swap me out on an S7, for the same lease payment as my current car. He'll take my car, and I'll be done with it's issues. Have you seen the S7? In person? It's a beautiful car. The interior is miles ahead of anything BMW has. Every review has it out handling the 550. Even the M5 in one review I read. I'm with the guy who started this thread. I love BMW's. It just seems that BMW no longer loves the drivers that put them where they are. They love Lexus drivers and Mercedes drivers. I hope they'll all be happy together. In the meantime, I'll keep monitoring BMW in hopes they find their way back.

Yes, the F10 is a disappointment for those who want a good handling car. Fast has no meaning unless you do quarter miles everyday for a living.

Do you have dynamic damper control on your 550ix? I'm starting to get a feeling that unless you get that option, you'll get a boat instead of a BMW. Maybe explains why some have no complain about the car?

Originally Posted by 1973BMW

Think about this one, boys....the Audi dealer called on Friday and said he should be able to swap me out on an S7, for the same lease payment as my current car. He'll take my car, and I'll be done with it's issues. Have you seen the S7? In person? It's a beautiful car. The interior is miles ahead of anything BMW has. Every review has it out handling the 550. Even the M5 in one review I read. .

Let us know if/when you get the S7. It's a beautiful car.

huh, I thought the Corvair was the worst car ever, maybe you guys should be debating the pros and cons of the Corviar -vs- the F10......

Originally Posted by solstice

It seems to be mainly three camps here.

1. Drivers who put luxury first. Many are coming from other brands since they found the E60 lacking in one or several of: ride quality, interior and exterior styling. They want as much sportiness as possible as longs it doesn't compromise luxury. This group has found heaven in the F10.

2. Drivers who put sportiness first. The E60 was the only car in it's segment who did this. These drivers often wants luxury as long as it doesn't compromise sportiness. Most of this group comes from an E60 with sport suspension. This group is often dissapointed in the F10.

3. Drivers who has experienced quality issues with early build F10's.

That just about sums it up, except I am a bit confused, if someone put sportiness first, then why the heck would they buy a 2 tons+ 4 door sedan