rai

here is a clip about the BMW service plan:
I know it probably only covers the 30K major service, but that could be (?) up to $500 if you had to pay it out of pocket. Also many cars do require brakes within 4/50 and that could be another $500 (or more) if you have it done at the dealership.

I think that the length of overall powertrain coverage may be shorter than a lot of others, but not many will pay for all the oil and other maintance as well as brakes etc. for 4 years either.

mmarshall

Yes, basically all they do is swing back and forth with the gas pedal.....and IMO don't tell us anything we don't already know about acceleration and fuel mileage.

BMW, in the 550's literature, quotes 15/23 for the manual, 16/22 for the SMG, and 17/25 for the Steptronic. Odd that both the manual and SMG get less than the full Steptronic automatic......perhaps it is in the drivetrain gearing and computer differences in fuel injection programming.

Anyhow, either way, one does not buy a 550 to save gas. This car is no Prius.

Och

iTrader: (3)

5000 rpm redline????

mmarshall

I did not formally ask in the service department, but given the usual prices of BMW parts and service today, without the dealer-discount coupons like some shops send out, I suspect a full brake job on this car, after the warranty runs out, would definitely be more than $500. If you think that's a lot, Mercedes and Porsche dealers are even worse....especially Porsche. You would not believe what some Porsche shops charge, especially in this high-income area.

One thing that I did not like about BMW's oil-change policy on the maintenance plan, especially the way they explained it ( and it's on them if that is incorrect, not me ), is that it only covers oil changes that the oil-monitor log in the computer signals it is time for. Right or wrong, I simply don't trust those oil-monitors. I'm a firm believer in 3-5 month and 3000-5000 mile oil changes depending on driving conditions....perhaps a little longer with some synthetics. While I'm not a service technician and don't physically see it every day like they do, I've heard too many stories of sludge building up in engines that rely on the oil monitors instead of regular changes.

doug_999

When the car is cold - actually it is lower. The redline changes as the car warms up (the secret temp gauge - see Gene's post about it). It is cool to watch the actual redline change as the car warms up BTW.


All BMWs have them and always have (I think) - I use mine all the time - one of the best features of the car.

Ok seriously, you are correct - it is a waste of dash space and I don't know why they don't yank it.

As pointed out -it covers EVERYTHING. This is SUCH a piece of mind. I always dreaded going into the Lexus dealer and fighting with them over what should be done (their schedule was always different than the manual). They once even had a mechanic come out and threaten my wife that she was basically voiding her warranty by not changing her differential fluid at 15K (manual called for it at 30K). Also, as I mentioned above, it will cover the oil change at yearly intervals even if the indicator is not going off - and you don't want to be paying for the oil changes on these babies - I think you are looking at $125 due to the synthetic stuff. I'm not sure anyone has done an analysis on the oil at the 15K mark (my last 540 went to 16,500 before the light went on). I would be curious about the quality of the oil. That car was leased however.... this one is not.

I get 25-26 MPG on the highway no problem - but in the City... OMG this car is a pig. 17 is a funny number - cause I don't think that is possible My last tank (winter fuel and winter driving) I got 12.5MPG.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

550i is a wonderful machine Well put together and feels like a solid piece of granite....more so than the 3 GS imo.

mmarshall

Not near as much as the last 5-series, IMO

The 5-series, though, IS a wonderful road car. It has some of the best chassis engineering I have ever seen, and the 550 is a delight to drive.

Hameed

Excellent review mmarshal!

I especially enjoyed reading the "dynamic" part of your review.

Stupid question - why is this car called the 550i instead of 480i? I automatically assumed this car had a 5.5 litre engine.

I need to get out some more and drive one of these cars!

doug_999

The first 5 is the series (3, 5, 7), the next two are the displacement - so in theory it should be a 548 - as you can/could expect, the marketing people didn't like the sound of that. Of note, the 1997-2003 540 had a 4.4L and the 2004-2005 545 also had a 4.4L.

It gets even worse in the 3-series lineup

Hameed

Thanks Doug.

Now that I re-read my post I had actually meant to say 548 and not 480. duh.

picus

The only thing I can speak to here (which hasn't been touched) is exterior paint quality and interior wear. The paint colors on the 5-series are ok at best (aside from the availability of carbon black metallic on the M trim version of the car; an absolutely brilliant color), but the quality is actually very good. I am not talking about orange peel (since this varies from car to car), the physical characteristics of the paint (thickness, hardness, ability to be repaired) is above average in the industry. I guess you'll all have to trust me on that one.

Interior durability - like Lexus/Toyota most new BMWs wear well inside, despite some issues with materials. The one flaw I find with many BMWs is that the rear of the front seats often fades prematurely, otherwise they seem to wear very well.

As always, an excellent review!

(oh, the 335i ditched the mpg gauge for an oil temp gauge, for obvious reasons)