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Re: A6 4.2 Re: Best LPS to buy and hold on to? [rayainsw]
Written by: markcincinnati on Oct 23, 2007 8:06:28 AM
Much is written about Audi's apparent disinterest in agressively pricing their cars (for lease or purchase) in the US. While BMW's can be leased for a fraction of the cost of many of this class. Once, maybe twice, per year, there is a "point of inflection" so to speak, where an Audi actually can be acquired without breaking the bank. With the A6 4.2, my comment was almost literally: the duration ... Read More
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Re: All-Season Tires for BMW 535xi [markcincinnati]
Written by: lexusguy on Sep 12, 2007 8:26:29 PM
Digression: my wife's 2005 X3 WITH the sport package came with H rated, 50 series, all season tires (Mich MXV's in some flavor.) Why is it that so many new luxury cars come with those crappy Michelins? Some kind of pact? I don't understand why they would purposely worsen the ride, handling and grip of their cars with such lousy rubber.
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Re: All-Season Tires for BMW 535xi [lynnminny]
Written by: markcincinnati on Sep 12, 2007 5:44:05 PM
If you are leasing a BMW, you should know that you must put ONLY BMW authorized rubber on the car. Now, of course, this does NOT mean you cannot use the tire you want. What it means is that if you use a tire that is not on the approved list, you will be charged for the replacement of the tires to comply with "the list." This strikes me as darn ... Read More
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All-Season Tires for BMW 535xi
Written by: lynnminny on Sep 12, 2007 11:24:35 AM
Need some opionions from others about tires. Looking at the 2008 535xi. Am getting the sport pkg, so the car will have 18" tires. I do not want to have to buy winter and summer tires so am trying to find a very good all season tire that will work for both. Am in a snowy area so need something that handles well in the winter. The BMW salesman has suggested ... Read More
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Re: But I want it all! [topspin628]
Written by: alexanderk on Sep 7, 2007 5:35:46 PM
You are right, it is a scary coincidence. And what you thought about CLS , I did too. So why Jag? I did love my LS 430 ( also 2004 ) with Sport and camera and was spoiled by it's almost perfection. I also own LX470 2005, so was ready for another Lexus LS460 not less. When I was faced by the fact that every one Lexus dealer expects me to ... Read More
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Advice on CPO 525i
Written by: wbb56 on Feb 3, 2007 12:01:25 PM
I've narrowed my new car choices to three: 2005 CPO BMW 525i; '07 Toyota Avalon Touring; '07 Lincoln MKZ AWD. I like them all but have always been partial to BMWs. My concerns: The '05 525i has 45k+ miles (Seems like a lot in only 2 years.)-and in comparison to the other two, seems underpowered. The car is well equipped-Premium package, Navigation, Parking sensors, etc.. but the dealer is asking fairly ... Read More
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Re: 2004 / 2005 BMW 545i - happy? [natedog03]
Written by: shipo on Jan 27, 2007 5:04:56 PM
Lose the attitude dude. You asked a question and I answered it in a complete manner. FWIW, I am in the market for a used 5-Series, one that is bone stock. Best Regards, Shipo
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Re: 2004 / 2005 BMW 545i - happy? [shipo]
Written by: natedog03 on Jan 27, 2007 2:06:39 PM
Dude, I already have an 03 540, I just asked if there were mods on your 530 b/c you said you did brakes in your driveway??? Its a 530, there's alot around I don't care about your driving habits, this is a forum about someone buying a used BMW, not you. Best Regards, ND
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Re: 2004 / 2005 BMW 545i - happy? [natedog03]
Written by: shipo on Jan 26, 2007 7:16:28 PM
Nope, I don't like modded cars. Hmmm, maybe not quite correct. I suppose if I was to keep a car to say, over 100,000 miles, I might be tempted to breathe on it a bit, however, that really isn't my style. Pretty much bone stock or I don't want it. Just as my 530i was heading back to BMW at lease end, my annual driving profile changed dramatically. I went from ... Read More
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Re: 2004 / 2005 BMW 545i - happy? [shipo]
Written by: natedog03 on Jan 26, 2007 1:55:29 PM
That's cool bud. Did you add anything to it Dinan? AC Schnitzer?
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Re: 2004 / 2005 BMW 545i - happy? [natedog03]
Written by: shipo on Jan 26, 2007 11:21:16 AM
Hmmm, I guess we see things a bit differently. For required maintenance (i.e. oil and filter changes, brake and cooling system flushes and the first 30K scheduled service), I have no problem using the dealer. That said, even though brake jobs are effectively part of the "free maintenance" component of new BMWs, I would never use the dealer for those parts. Why? Because parts that offer superior performance (i.e. lower dust ... Read More
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Re: 2004 / 2005 BMW 545i - happy? [shipo]
Written by: natedog03 on Jan 26, 2007 10:36:42 AM
I've only had the older 7's V8, so my experience with the 6 is limited. You are correct, I apologize. If you can do the brake job in your driveway then you should. More power to you. I would never buy a used car from someone that didn't have the service records. When making any kind of investment dealership service offers some safeguards, and at least a papertrail in your research, ... Read More
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Re: 2004 / 2005 BMW 545i - happy? [natedog03]
Written by: shipo on Jan 25, 2007 1:57:07 PM
Last time I checked, BMW has never built a V6 engine. V8s? Yes, absolutely. I6s? Yes, and have for MANY years. V6s? Not yet, and hopefully never will. Regarding the other items of maintenance that you listed, the E39 530i and 540i have the same brakes, and so I can tell you first hand that they are a piece of cake to do yourself. I did mine with new pads, rotors ... Read More
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Re: 2004 / 2005 BMW 545i - happy? [natedog03]
Written by: natedog03 on Jan 25, 2007 1:15:16 PM
Just to add...... the most expensive service on the 01-03 5 series will be the SL2 60K mile service about $400 for the V6, $700 V8 you can shop around for BMW dealer specials and before 100K, you'll need a brake job, between $600 and $1200, depending your sport package options, size, etc. But if you get the maintaince done as scheduled, the driving experience outweighs the cost.
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Re: 2004 / 2005 BMW 545i - happy? [tdb99]
Written by: natedog03 on Jan 25, 2007 1:10:43 PM
I just bought a 2003 540I M sport with steptronic. It's the most amazing car I have ever driven, Black on Black with everthing from PDC to NAV and DSP stereo. I researched it intensley and I found BMW keeps great records. First I suggest CAFFAXing it, its $25 for a month long membership to run VINs, then contact BMW USA customer service, # is on the website. They will give ... Read More
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2004 / 2005 BMW 545i - happy?
Written by: tdb99 on Jan 20, 2007 2:58:41 PM
Wanted to know if anyone can share their ownership experiences with this vehicle, am considering to purchase. Thks. :D
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Re: Is there a difference? [willie2l]
Written by: markcincinnati on Jan 15, 2007 7:28:02 PM
All of the Audis my wife and I have had since that first 1978 Audi 5000 in 1977 have been purchased from the same dealer. Most of them, by far, from the same salesman (who is not in management at the dealership.) The dealership, owned by ONE GUY, was sold to a billion dollar company several years ago. The dealership built a new 7 million dollar dealership. They sell about 600 ... Read More
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Re: Is there a difference? [uglybear]
Written by: markcincinnati on Jan 7, 2007 6:53:07 AM
You are correcto-mundo! The A6 has Servotronic, the slower you go the greater the boost. Servotronic II by ZF apparently (since I have not driven a car with this) changes both the force required based on road speed and the reaction to steering wheel motions (also releated to road speed.) Audi, BMW, Cadillac, LandRover, Volvo all use Servotronic, some applications (in some models) use Servotronic II. I think I would like ... Read More
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Re: Is there a difference? [zgreatlife]
Written by: markcincinnati on Jan 13, 2007 7:11:05 PM
WOW. I had the following (not a complete list): 1995 S6 1997 A8 1999 A6 2.8 2000 A6 4.2 comfort 2001 A6 4.2 sport 2003 allroad 2.7T 2005 A6 3.2 with 18" wheels and 245 x 40 x 18" tires At the same time, my wife had multiple A4's, three TT's and one BMW X3 3.0. The A6 is the quietest of the bunch (including the A8), it also is both ... Read More
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Is there a difference?
Written by: markcincinnati on Jan 6, 2007 6:15:07 AM
I read the line "single mode 'old lady' Servotronic steering kills the entire otherwise great car" with keen interest. You see, in 2005, after months of test driving cars from Europe, Japan and the US, we came to find that both BMW and Audi had some vehicles we could really enjoy. The BMW sub-venting machine was offering a $47K vehicle for $581 per month for 36 months 45K miles with no ... Read More
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Sales, Torque vectoring, engines, etc.
Written by: markcincinnati on Jan 4, 2007 5:33:49 AM
Sales (US): "AUBURN HILLS, MI – Audi of America, Inc. set sales records during December 2006 and for the calendar year 2006, eclipsing the previous annual sales high set three years ago. Audi sold 11,897 vehicles in December, bringing the brand’s annual total sales to 90,116. Audi’s December 2006 record sales were 34.6% ahead of year-ago sales. The calendar year sales represented an 8.5% increase over 2005." Followed by: "Audi A6 ... Read More
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Re: Narrowing the field [voxboy]
Written by: markcincinnati on Dec 18, 2006 2:00:39 PM
Are you looking for maximum or optimum? Are you looking at #1 as a "deal breaker" and #2 as less of a deal breaker? What does the ranking of "performance on slippery roads" have to do with the [broader] "safety" trait? I would assume if #1 was safety that your current #4 would have been your #2, that is. Again, "general performance," [I would argue] is a significant contributing factor to ... Read More
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Re: Our second new car [lexusguy]
Written by: markcincinnati on Dec 15, 2006 12:46:03 PM
We drove the 2007 X3 with every option EXCEPT nav and this time we drove the 6speed auto. The power and performance with the sport package and the 19" wheels and tires were, er, "inspirational." The new interior was way nicer than my wife's 2005 and the car was quieter and fantastically powerful up a test hill we have coined "BMW hill." I could take the auto trans in this little ... Read More
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S80
Written by: markcincinnati on Nov 28, 2006 1:54:10 PM
The Volvo S80 is Volvo's LPS entry as far as I can tell. It may not rise to the L or the P of the LPS sedans chewed about on this forum. At worst it is a "near"-LPS car. The newest version with a V8, AWD and most of the features and creature comforts afforded LPS owners probably is a "contender." But, despite its V8, et al, it probably would not ... Read More
