[Shotimes] Way (OT) new BMW M5

[George Fourchy]

On Tue, 6 Dec 2005 14:44:34 -0500, Ron Porter wrote:

>I need to start buying PowerBall tickets again!!

It's so funny that you mention this today....

Yesterday, the Boss of all bosses (Eva) said that I could go look at M5s.  We are
replacing her RX-300 with an '06 X5 4.4i, and she likes it so much that she says I
can have an M5.  (Gotta sell the GS for a good price...we got $25K (above high book)
in one day for her '01 RX with 24K miles.)  We tried out the 4.4 X5 the other
day....it has been a while since I drove a 'real' V-8.  With a 6 speed transmission
with two top ratios below 1.0, it will get between 22 and 25 mpg on the cruise
(using my secrets!), but even with just 4 miles on the odometer, from about 35 mph,
I punched it, and the next thing I knew, we were going more than 80 mph on I-680 in
Concord..  This is in an SUV!!!!

This is the largest (or second largest) dealer in California...Concord BMW....and
they don't have any M5s in stock.  There is the 550i I can try, to see how it fits. 
We're going to do that this week.

The only thing that scares me..."concerns" might be a better word...is down the road
durability.  I've heard since the early 90s about BMWs that have had lots of
troubles....one cohort at work had to put 3 water pumps on a '92 3 series in 18
months, after it had about 75k miles....he was disgusted with it.  According to him,
that job is not something I could do at home...there are (were) specific large
fasteners that only the dealer has the tools for.  A neighbor just got rid of his
4th or 5th 5 series, after having them for 20 years or so, since being in the army
in Germany.  Little things drove him away from this last one, like (most recently)
heater and radiator hoses going out...I'm sure there were other bigger things...and
he didn't like the quality of service he was getting.  That's VERY important to me.

Those things won't stop me from trying one out....Eva's X5 is a lease....$62K
sticker, for 850 a month for 3 years...2.1K down, and buy it for $37K at the end (if
we want it).  That's only about $2900 interest on a 62K vehicle....the second best
lease I've ever had.  (First best was sticker paid after 2 years on a '93 Mustang GT
conv.)   We'd lease mine too, even though I'd drive it a lot farther.  If we can get
that kind of deal, it's an easy way to get into an expensive car, especially with
the "free" lease payments (sale of the previous vehicles).

Plus, for the first 4 years, all we have to buy is gas.....they take care of
everything else.

George