vladfrenkel

I've exchanged my 2008 RL for 2007 BMW 550i last night.

The RL is absolutely astonishing vehicle, but I couldn't resist temptation of 360 bhp/ 360 trq. With current BMW prices for used cars, differential between those two, is extremely low (considering loaded BMW 550i new cost around 68-72K).

I'll not say good bye to a forum, and if you guys interested could provide some comparisons between those two.

So far, I could tell, Voice/Bluetooth and Navigation features are much better made in RL.

miner

Congrats but beware of the BMW service costs.

vladfrenkel

Hmm, forgot to mentioned, I've owned BMW for 7+ years before I've switched to RL. (325i and 4.4 X5)
As far as parts goes - price is the same as Honda, sometimes even less.
BMW Labor is quite expensive. I have pretty cheap and knowledgeable mechanic, I've used for a years.

Anyway, I'd worry about that much later, my "new" ride is free maintenance warranty covered until Nov 2010

neuronbob

Congrats! The 550i is quite a monster. 360 lb-ft torque=

vladfrenkel

Thanks a lot, neuronbob.
It sure is.

Thanks to RL, my right (throttle) leg, became a little lighter. So yesterday SF city crusing, got average 18.9 - 19.2 mpg on it, which is even better when my RL numbers was - I've had max of 18.5 in the city on my RL.

So surprisingly it is quite economical , while you're not stepping on it...

ssim3

I have found the same in my E500 every one wants to bad mouth V*'s and their mileage, but the RL's setup gets terrible mileage. It would help for Acura to get a 6 or 7 speed tranny & a 2wd variant. While the shawd handles great it eats hp & causes worse mileage.

vladfrenkel

One more interesting fact - BMW 550i is cheaper in insurance, around $60 cheaper. For sure I've not expected that...
I'm talking for GEICO insurance in SF CA only here.

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

CONGRATS! now find that guy with the 2nd gen TL and see if he wants to race you there is a whole debate on who will win 550i vs 2gen TL

(jk) your not even in the same areas!

470hpGS400

iTrader: (1)

Nice car, I almost picked up a 550 as well as they can be had for the low 30s these days, but ultimately decided that I should save my change so the RL was an inexpensive option for me vs an AMG (my preferred choice) , 550, etc. The $10-15K difference will yield many times that in the bargain investment market these days for me.
Great car, gobs of torque, enjoy.

vladfrenkel

THanks a lot guys.
Will post pics later.
With respect to a price, you're an absolutely correct - low/mid 30's (mine is 18K mi only) and 2008 RL trade-in in very low 30's as well, so differential was quite low for me...

vladfrenkel

As promised, here are some pictures of my new ride. Pls note, those been taken by a dealer, when the car was on the dealer's lot:

Blazing GT

nice upgrade my dude.

speeding tickets?

vladfrenkel

Thanks a lot,
With respect to speeding tickets...
Not yet... and hope not.... (80% of the time drive with my 2 yrs old on the back)
But I try to use 20% of the time left wisely...

acuda

How is the driving experience different from the RL?

And how do you like the iDrive (you may already be used to it in the X5)?

vladfrenkel

Sure.
With respect to driving. As I said earlier RL is very refined vehicle, but driving is quite different. In 550i (or in 5 series as a whole) you feel more involved in driving process. You always have enough power wherever and whenever you need it (from low to hi RPM) - this is with respect to power. I don't need to switch to manual, as I've used to in my RL, in order to properly accelerate on 2nd/3rd gear (at least to my liking), with BMW ZF transmission, it adapted to my style of driving after 5 min of driving it...
With respect to handling - RL and 5 series are quite comparable. With one exception, you know, how in RL you always have this wow factor with respect to cornering, as you'd not expect it to behave this way? Yes, with BMW there is no WOW, you just know, it could do it, that is quite simple...
Suspension is stiffer in 5 series, even compared to RL A-spec. 18 way sport seats in BMW is very comfortable thus sporty...
And as far as it goes, this is true for all BMW's (even in my old 2001 325i), you can't feel speed in BMW. W/o looking at speedometer, you could not tell are you driving 40 mph or 90 mph...

With respect to technology - navigation is far more better in RL. Voice commands are far more reacher in RL, but more intuitive in BMW. Bluetooth - BMW has uploaded my entire phone book (good), and automatically assigned voice pattern based on name writeup (bad). There is no way to store user defined voice entries, in my version of bluetooth (bad), but overall dial name (not number) is 50-75% success (not so bad).
I don't like I-drive interface at all, but cause voice commands are self intuitive, I was able to replace them with voice entries (good).
Sonar Like PDC (Front/Rear) in BMW vs. Parking Sensors/Backup Camera in RL are pretty much comparable. Heads up display in BMW is simply amazing.

This is in nutshell. Pls let me know, if you'd like to know something in particular.

nf3d0149ab

iTrader: (5)

Where you at in the city?

vladfrenkel

[QUOTE=nf3d0149ab;10352322]Where you at in the city?[/QUOTE
Sunset District (Outer Sunset)

nf3d0149ab

iTrader: (5)

You're close!

Inner sunset.

vladfrenkel

Yes this is very close...

Blazing GT

So what is your plans with the 550?

vladfrenkel

What do you mean?
If you're asking how long will I keep it -then I'd say from 3-5 yrs. It has mfctr warranty until Nov 2010 and I could also extend it until 80-100K or so.

BTW did I mentioned, it has only 18K mi on it...

xenonhid

Nice ride.


BTW, as you probably already know, Modification parts for Bimmers are so overpriced so be prepared, if you are into modding or not.

Although some AC Schnitzer parts do look good.

vladfrenkel

Thanks a lot. Yes I'm well aware of mod prices. For some reason, never had an urge to modify all the bimmers I've had in the past... Exterior wise, they look self sufficient, at least to my taste. With respect to power/torque I'm all set as well. And interior, I'll see - maybe all season floor mats for now.

CFoote

Congratulations on the new ride! It's great. I really wish BMW would make a 550xi...that would be the ultimate ride. I have a '00 M5 and it is a fantastic car. We'll have to see what BMW has up its sleeve for the new 5 series which is due out in 2010 sometime...

Enjoy and keep it under 100

vas25tl

Nice ride! Great improvement, LOVE the sport pack steering wheel in those cars.

vladfrenkel

Thanks a lot. I sure will try, but I-280 really pushes you sometime to go over it... With respect to AWD version, I've originally obtained RL for it's handling not AWD qualities, so I'm good here - there is not much snow in SF Bayarea...

vladfrenkel

I also have latest freeway EPA figures. I've taken SJ trip - approx 90 mi both ways this weekend with average of 28.3 mpg (normal not cruising style of driving). Again a little bit better then my RL was, max I was able to do was 27.

SSFTSX

Congratualations on Purchase.
I would have waited for used 08 535/XI turbo. 08 RL is fare exchange with 08 535.
They updated lights and facia and Car has lot better fuel economy.

vladfrenkel

Well, I've been looking at 535i (XI I don't need - see my previous post SF Bayarea doesn't get a lot of show). Problem with it cause it arrived @ 2008, prices are too high, 45-50K which makes your differential between RL and 535 is 10-15K+.
On opposite, I've got my exchange WAY lower 10K barrier... My car had 73K window sticker price in 2007, I've got it OTD less then half of it's original price with only 18K miles on it and still 2 yrs of free maintenance to go..
With respect to power - 550i and 535 are quite comparable, but 8 cyl engine and torq is quite more refined (at least to my taste). If I'd choose turbo vs. pure power, I'd choose pure power any day.
I like 2004-2007 style looks, so it was OK for me to use previous (prior to facelift) styling. And I'm not big fan of 2008+ auto gear shifter...

acuda

I'm with you on the new auto shifter in BMW's. It is an example unrestrained electronic excess that takes something that is perfectly functional and second-nature to most and transforms it into something unintuitive and prone to errors.

vladfrenkel

Yes, absolutely agree. 100% with you on that.

SSFTSX

$10 to $15k is alot difference. So choice is either to wait couple of months and tried to find 535 at price closer to RL. But if your keeping car for 3 to 5 years. 535 will be better option in depreciation/fuel savings etc.

Edmunds floor the turbo cars alot.


On Edmunds test 550 is noiser at highway speeds than 535.
http://www.edmunds.com/bmw/5series/2008/testdrive.html

vladfrenkel

Well, I could comment on that. 535i are not available massively, cause there is no lease returns yet... Once they are back (sometime close to summer) price for those vehicles would drop again - I'd say around 5-6K, as you've mentioned. Problem here, that RL would depreciate for 3-4K for the same period as well. Still 13K difference at this point, is twice as much as I've paid. With respect to fuel savings, how much 7K difference between 535 and 550 translates to?
With respect to depriciation, my vehicle already take the hit - first 2 yrs. Next one will occur once I'm off the warranty - e.g. 2010. For 535i it would be 2011.

Couldn't comment on that, but 550i seems quiet to me around 100 mph. I could hear engine a lot then I rev it, but that what I actually like
Here is taken from Edmunds: "unless you have to have that beautiful V8 growl" - Yes I have to have it, plus I pay much less for it

vladfrenkel

Here is some usefull information, for some of you guys who might be interested in 3.5 BMW bi-turbo vehicles (and engines) (335, 535), based on our previous discussions with respect to 2008 535i and 2007 550i values
Information learn, after approx a week of BMW forums participation. Although 3.5 is wonderfull engine - I think named best engine of 2008, and people love it's power and torque figures - including ME, it's not w/o problems.
According to this:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/pol...ts&pollid=4148
Around 45% of the population does experience engine malfunction problems one way or another.
Here is some of the symptoms explained:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=291279
Some of the common fixes - Fuel Pump replacements...
Also new sofware from BMW to fix turbo lag is coming as well (second generation):
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=326929

Why I'm saying it, to simply point out, that SSFTSX mentioned: "535 will be better option in depreciation/fuel savings etc." is yet to be determined...

blue.fired

Sorry Vlad, parts incomparably unsimilar. It cost us $300 at the stealer to get the battery in the 3 series replaced. The CPO extended warranty or maintenance plan did not cover it. BMW dealers are also far worse in customer care.

blue.fired

Anyway, thank heavens you did not have a biturbo they have failing fuel pumps as frequently as it rains.

vladfrenkel

Thanks a lot for your comments.
I'm not surpised with respect to $300 price tag - it is labor you've been charged. I've installed one battery (myself) after it had been ordered by dealer (friend) and price tag for 4.4i OEM BMW battery was $85. As far as I am aware it is less than civic OEM battery (replaced @ my friend car). Again, Cragen prices for batteries are low, but I'm talking OEM vs OEM.
Here is from honda OEM store:
31500-SR1-100M BATTERY (51R/500AMP85)
( No Color ) 2008 CIVIC $92.94
It wasn't that easy to replace on X5, but as I've said - labor is extremely expensive on BMWs. On civic it took 3-5min to fully install it...
Feel your pain with respect to $300 tag...

With respect to customer care - I have only had positive feedbacks for both - my Acura and my BMW dealerships...
Even with all those problems - it's quite a vehicle (535i I've meant)

vladfrenkel

With respect to dealership experience - I'd found Acura dealership to be more open minded, thus BMW technicians more knowledgeble (again judging from my experience only).
It was quite easy to get "loaner" on Acura dealership for me then needed, but you'd have to allocate one 2 weeks in advance @ my BMW dealership.
On the other hand, Acura dealership, while installing A-spec, had C-pillar cover open (unprotected electrical wiring) rite next to my 2 yrs old child car seat, thus then I've had "SRS" light on my X5 came up for short period of time, they have taken vehicle for full examination, cause of "child" presense in the vehicle (my rear airbags been turned off by the dealer in the first place cause of it...) - and my X5 wasn't on any warranty at all

Again, these are my own observations, and it might be different for you.

SSFTSX

Well prices have dropped to $32k for 2008 535. new facelifted with navigation. 40k miles. Acura RL is holding well.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/ctd/1263405715.html

vladfrenkel

Hmm, but since Dec a lot of things changed [and actually having this in mind]
First, car you're looking for is from the same dealer I bought mine from - and this 535 is beautiful no doubt, and this particular dealer is great, but it has 2 problems, for my taste [this is always subjective]:
1) 40K on it already --> mfctr warranty will expire way before 2011 will occur so one will be forced to buy an extended one (maintanance and or warranty) pretty soon [In my case, it will expire by Oct 2010 and I have only 24K on the vehicle]
2) It doesn't have Sport Package - this is the first mod [suspension], one would have to make prior of starting moding it (e.g Juicer or others) which is some extra $$$ + no Sport/Comfort seats which is one of the great features on E60

Other thing, that price for this particular vehicle will drop again after it passes 50K, after that it will remain more stable and predictable.

Now back to my vehicle, according to KBB and autotrader, price for my car is actually $$$ higher than it was during Dec [cause of very high gasoline prices during this period] - even Trade-in [see for yourself: http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/Pric...pePath=Retail] is higher so than I've paid to a dealer for 18K vehicle in Dec, so instead of losing money during this period, it actually gain some value which is always great, in my opinion - I guess Dec was the perfect time to buy.

Back to RL holding value. December private party value for my 2008 with 8K Private Party was around $32-$33K [of course Trade was lower 28-29 and dealer prices around $36K] - now dealer prices dropped to $32-$33K, Private party and trade-in dropped a liitle [1-2K] [assuming car made from 8K mi to 12K mi hypothetically]

Anyway, what I'd like to say, it does not show the trend RL vs 550i or BMW vs Acura prices or anything like this, but this is particular case we are looking for.