I would not even think twice about the BMW. I love my coupe wouldn't trade it for any car besides GTR, Ferrari, etc. My cousin is a mechanic at BMW and just the stories i hear from him i would never buy one. Their nice car dont get me wrong and the technology is great, but thats their problem to much technology and it breaks

 

x2 it does make sense finacially but I still wouldn't do it. The only reason I ever would is if I had a wife with a kid on the way.

Kind of like if someone offered you $100 dollars for your only picture of you with all of your childhood friends, one that you cherish. Even though it's $100 for a 10 cent piece of photo paper, your not going to do it. Get what I mean?

EDIT: Ok, I didn't realize that the 535xi went to twin turbo. And that it could potentially be worth 80,000. At least you have a year to think about it bro. I still would keep my G35, unless I could get that 535 and sell it right away to buy a new G35 and put a TT in.

 

18 months from NOW that 2007 535ix might be worth $26K. Especially since the restyled F series 5 will be coming out in 2010. The 5-er will be 3 model years old then. That's what two year old 5 series were selling for early this summer before the market tanked.

The 5 is a great car. I owned an E39 as a winter back-up car to my E36 M3. It offered the most sublime ride compliance/ handling combination of any sedan I've driven. A couple of friends and family members have E60s.

I've driven a couple of 2008 G35x sedans and an M35x as loaners when my coupe was in for service. While the Infinitis offer sharper steering, the Bimmers offer better composure over frost heaves and expansion gaps in the roadway.

Having the extended 6 yr/ 100K warranty is an absolute must for the 5-er.

 

just think, in 5 years that BMW will cost you as much in repairs as a used G35 coupe...

Keep the G

 

With the extended maintenance (6 years/ 100,000) miles you pay zero - not even for brake pads.

But once warranties on Bimmers or any other true luxury car expires only then do you realize what luxury means. That it can be a luxury to repair them when they do need repair.

That's why it's considered a true luxury car. Few are made, few places service them, and the OEM component supplier network charges accordingly for parts.

I can tell you that a rebuilt GM sourced Turbo-Hydramatic for an E34 or E36 runs about $4000 installed. And that's at a private service shop. Each my brother and father had to have the transmissions in their previous Bimmers replaced at around 80,000 miles. I can [I]smell[I] that the twin turbo system in the 535 will not be cheap to repair.

That having been said, they are rather robust cars - especially the 5-series. They are particularly resistant to developing rust. Little wonder why BMW provides a 12 year no rust perforation warranty while Infiniti offers only 6 years coverage.

That's why you still see many 15 year old+ Bimmers on the roads in pretty good condition.

 

Its got the twin-turbo... perform. chip that and you've got a winner

 

EXCELLENT ADVICE!!!! And I'll add my own, often self quoted suggestion by just cutting and pasting what I wrote on another thread:

Most European cars now have extremely low ratings on Consumer Reports, Edmunds, (and most foreign car mechanics I've spoken to) with respect to reliability and dependability. Most European cars (I own a 92 Volvo with >300K miles) manufactured in the last 10-12 years now rate as among the lowest in the world! In general, a 10 year old Lexus, Infiniti or Acura has greater reliability than a brand new European car (Volvo, Mercedes, Audi, Range Rover, Saab, BMW, etc.) according to consumer research, from various sources, over the past 10 years.

I'm not down on European cars and you have to also know that they still set the standard for excellent driving experience. I think the issue is balancing what you want in a car with what best fits your criteria.

I would ignore most of opinions here and look carefully at consumer research, which is gathered from 1,000's of reviewers-- much more reliable than the opinion and data of <20 guys on this forum.

European cars are sexy, beautiful, drive extremely well and established a good reputation as status symbols alone (never for their reliability or quality build).... for those who know cars well, they're viewed as extremely overpriced, and mechanically inferior. While they are used by many as a status symbol (as many G drivers do with theirs), there has been a huge problem with reliability and dependability. Repair costs are also among the industry's highest-- and if your car happens to be in the severely unrelaible/undependable category, you're looking not only at costs issues, but also convenience factors.

Finally, if you like being on a first name basis with your mechanic, if your mechanic has given your car a name like Sophia or Janet, if the shop has named a door or wing after you, if you like having a mechanic on retainer......... and if you like driving a red 1990 Ford Taurus as a loner while your car is in the shop week after week- by all means buy a Mercedes or most any other European car.

Much better options now are the Lexus, Infiniti and Acura lines, all of which have received Consumer Report, Edmund's and numerous mechanics who deal in foreign cars, highest ratings..... contrast that to most European cars and the data will give you everything you need to know.

 

Your a smart guy, chip it and say good buy to your engine. You would need to change some internals, and get a good tune. I hate when ppl think ohh look at this 500$ chip, all i do is plug it in get an extra 100hp and trq.

 

certainly not looking to chip /tune the bimmer if i decide on that. Only mods i'd do would be window tint and rims. Maybe black out the tails. Its a tough choice, but i appreciate all the input.

I have heard about bmw being a damn flake when it comes to repairing it all the time. I dont have the time/patience/money for that.

 

The 135/335/535 engine is pretty stout. There are many running around with just a chip, running 12's, on stock internals.

FYI, I frequent the 335 Forums

But yeah, European Luxury cars are just status symbols and are costly to repair and need a lot of repairing, lol. For reliability, your better off with Japanese luxury cars. But if I ever was gonna get a Euro luxury car, it would only be a 335/535 or R/S4.

 

Why not make this decision in a year and a half and get some sleep...

 

Some Consumer Reports info, FWIW:
The G35 starts w/ above average reliability then drops to average over the years, the 5 starts average and drops to below average then to horrible over the years.
The 5 is a second faster on the 0-60, but handles a little worse. However the 5 is nicer to you after you do lose traction. CR says the G35 is "tricky".
The 5 is just a little better on mpg.
Comfort/convenience is similar on both; the 5 is just a hair more roomy. That includes ride comfort, btw, so you can't boost handling in the 5 without sacrificing comfort compared to the G35.
Both did good on the IIHS offset crash test. Remaining crash tests for the G35 were missing. The 5 did good on all government tests, but marginal on IIHS side impact and average on IIHS driver front impact.

 

dont do it .

 

ericgrau:

Take it from someone who has owned a 5 series (E39) and who has many relatives and friends who own E39s and E60 5 series, the E60 5 series is not barely larger than the G35 coupe. The E60 5 series is considerably larger than the G35 coupe for utility purposes.

The EPA measures passenger interior volume in the G35 84.9 cu. ft. with sunroof, which places the car in the smallest car category defined by the U.S. EPA "Mini-Compact". That makes the G35 coupe's interior considerably smaller than even a Chevy Aveo. The G35 coupe has only 4 more cu. ft of interior passenger space than does a Mini Cooper Clubman. The Mini Clubman even has a bigger trunk at 9.2 cu. ft.. The G35 coupe's trunk is a tiny 7.8 cu. ft. (But this contributor assures you that it will barely hold a 29" suitcase. Just barely).

The BMW E60 5 series has an interior passenger volume of 99 cu. ft which the EPA places in the Mid Size category. That is a whopping 15. cu ft. of extra interior space. 15 cu. ft. is nearly the size of an extra trunk taken from the 5 series. Or 5 average adults stacked together. (The 5 series trunk volume measures at 14 cu. ft - almost twice the size of the G35 coupe trunk).

To put the 5 series in perspective it is only 4 cu. ft. smaller in interior passenger volume than a full size BMW 750i.

An average sized male adult, seated as a rear seat passenger has 5 or 6 inches of knee room in the E60 5 series.

Does an average sized adult have that kind of space in the back seat of a G35 coupe???

If you boost handling in the G35 coupe with higher spring rates, larger diameter sway bars and urethane bushings aren't you going to reduce the ride compliance from the base settings in the G as well?

The intended use and market for the G35 coupe and the BMW 5 series sedan are have little in common. For comparison purposes the G35 has much more in common with the BMW 6 series than the 5 series, (with the exception of price when new).

 

^ agreed...g35 = bmw 3 series and m35 = bmw 5 series q45 = bmw 7 series