[RED99HT]

Back story. I currently own a 2014 F10 550i. I bought it new and it has been a flawless vehicle. It is up there in mileage @ 172,000 but I guess I got a ringer because it can’t be killed. Absolutely zero issues believe it or not and I would hate to get rid of it because it has been meticulously maintained. My oldest son is soon to have his license and I’ve been searching for a used car. The prices are ridiculous for even a POS. I did a KBB on my car and trade in is like 9k. So my thought is to pass on the car to my son and treat myself to a new or newer 550.

I’ve done a little homework and was wondering what the best year for the G30 M550 would be? Sounds like a dumb question because you would think a brand new 22 or 23 would be the best but I saw a few reviews saying the 21/22 models have been cheapened a bit because of the Chip shortage like no more soft closing doors (I really like that option on mine) wireless charging, etc. if I do step up to the G30 I would like to get into at least a low mileage 2020 that has the upgraded 525 HP . I have the N63TU with a burger piggyback on it and love the effortless power. But I would like to step it up if I’m going into this model.

Thoughts on MY 2020 vs. ‘21, ‘22?

[claykin]

For obvious reasons a 2020 will be least expensive, on a mile to mile basis.

2020 was one year before the LCI. It has the N63TU3 which is the same engine that's in the 2021 and 2022. What the 2020 doesn't have is the SP18 hardware. No remote software update, the driver assist/parking packages are the same as 2017-2019 instead of the upgraded 2021+. And of course you lose the other aesthetic upgrades from the LCI.

A 2020 can be found with soft close doors. 21+ cannot in US market.

[NGT2]

FWIW my 2018 is a 540 but I've got all the parking assist and drivers assistance features that came 2017-2020, which have been mentioned. I'm sure the newer ones are better, but I still find them to be great.

Your son is lucky. I hope he takes care of it! My sister and I inherited a babied Infiniti J30t and we killed it. Makes me want to crawl in a hole thinking about it now! And I thought that car was fast…

Last thing and then I'll shut up - the LCI 2021+ have some cool upgrades, but also are missing things due to the shortages. If it were between a 2020 with all the bells and a 2021 trimmed down a little, assuming mileage and color are both equivalently satisfying, I would have a hard time not getting the pimped out 2020. BUT those LCI models sure do look sweet! Can't go wrong, in my book.

Good luck and keep us posted on what you find!

[Gautam]

The my21 does have advantages over the my20. Full LCI, larger/newer screens, improved drivers assistance features. Soft-close doors, night vision, remote control parking got discontinued. My22 starts to lose more common features, b&w audio, wireless charging, etc.

I’d personally still pick a my21 for the superior tech, but can’t go wrong with a ‘20 either.

[H_T]

MY2021 will have all the features except soft close doors if the build date is before approx March 2021, which I think is when the shortages started to happen. I've read somewhere it is possible to have the soft close manually installed. MY21+ does have the larger screen and iDrive 7 (not the lite version).

Some things to look for that was commonly shorted for various MYs after that date (that I can remember): 360 cameras w/parking, touchscreen, wireless charging pad (which also starts the car with your phone), foot kick opening trunk, B&W audio, and wireless CarPlay/Android auto (before the replacement chipsets was supplied).

[NGT2]

I forgot about the screens. I drove an LCI 740 with the newer screens and it's pretty awesome.

[RED99HT]

Thank you for all the responses, very helpful , there are a couple 550s in my area that I’m going to try and get to this weekend.

[2022M550i]

Love my 22. I dont have B&W sound, HK is more than enough for me. Dont have wireless charging, my iphone 12 doesnt fit in the compartment anyway. I have every other option. My car was assembled in Nov 21. TU3 engine. It does 0-60 in 3.5s and the 1/4 mile in 11.6s - tested with dragy. I'm more than thrilled with it.

[eliphil]

I was lucky enough to get a new 2022 at list price without a long wait and am really pleased w the car. I am sure you will get a great one

[Ptree1822]

hit or miss from what ive seen the newer design now has tmap issues and rad hose leaking issues. the new expansion tank design is terrible imo. if any coolant spilled or over flowed injectors need to be replaced bc now they sit in wells unlike the previous versions and as per bmw warr does not cover that if traces of coolant are found in injectors!! but the newer injector and hpfp are better... still seeing the same sweating leaks from upper oil pan gasket and unless dripping active oil factory warr dsnt cover repair. still seeing lower oil pan gaskets sweating. seeing faults for eccentric shafts on both s and n versions. so hit or miss. nice that the turbo are a litter higher off the engine now nicer steel coolant lines. but still seen coolant line by radiator fan leak the same when gets brittle. if you do your own maintance the way the newer harness is rin ofer vlavle covers is more difficult to remove spark plugs as per previous versions. but previous versions have had problem with heat soaking the engine harness causing higher resistance in sensors causing fake check engine lights at least in my market and engine harness needs replacement but usually when mileage gets highter and yourt out of warr anyways. its a bmw v8 not perfect but it has lots of torque!! but remember the previous version have class action law suits against bmw for them. just be aware of what your wanting to buy.

[HerkHealer]

I'm fat, dumb and happy with my 2020. Yes, it misses out on a few things here and there but the big engine upgrade was all I really cared about. It is fully beefed up to handle tuning. Speaking of tunes, supposedly BMW is now using the OTA features on the 2021+ vehicles to have the ECU send any parameters outside factory to "the cloud". Things like higher boost, higher timing, etc.

So if you plan on tuning your car keep that in mind. Of course BMW can still catch it at the dealership too.

[Antec800]

They aren’t sending anything to the cloud, they only find out when they plug into the obd and they can tell there has been another flash(tune) installed which unfortunately no way to get past that unless maybe you have another set of dmes you can swap too, also I o answer op question find a 21 many things were fixed from previous years

[sandwi54]

Just one piece of advice, and please don't take it the wrong way, but I wouldn't give a 550i to a teenage boy who is just getting his license, unless you want to pick him up from the morgue. I remember how irresponsible and reckless I could be sometimes when I was driving in college, and all I had was a 106 HP Corolla. If I were given a 444 HP sedan, I would have ended off of a cliff.

Not to say your son would be like me, but you never know how adolescent boys can act in the heat of a moment. When my son starts driving, I'd be buying him a used VW Jetta, since my wife and I don't have any cars with less than 500 HP.

[2022M550i]

Originally Posted by sandwi54

Just one piece of advice, and please don't take it the wrong way, but I wouldn't give a 550i to a teenage boy who is just getting his license, unless you want to pick up from the morgue. I remember how irresponsible and reckless I could be sometimes when I was driving in college, and all I had was a 106 HP Corolla. If I were given a 444 HP sedan, I would have ended off of a cliff.

Not to say your son would be like me, but you never know how adolescent boys can act in the heat of a moment. When my son starts driving, I'd be buying him a used VW Jetta, since my wife and I don't have any cars with less than 500 HP.

I agree…. And I don't think your response was dramatic at all. You're spot on.

My buddy just got his son a merc CLS550 and Im not thrilled about it…but not my choice. I didn't really start getting responsible with cars until I was 50…lol..and three years later I still cant resist a good race. I 100% definitely wouldn't have made the right decisions being young with this kind of power at my finger tips.

[HerkHealer]

Originally Posted by Antec800

They aren’t sending anything to the cloud, they only find out when they plug into the obd and they can tell there has been another flash(tune) installed which unfortunately no way to get past that unless maybe you have another set of dmes you can swap too, also I o answer op question find a 21 many things were fixed from previous years

There is a lengthy thread on the M5 side on tunes where they contradict you.
I'm not saying you are right or they are, but it sure seems plausible that BMW would use OTA (5G) tech to determine what is going on with their vehicles.
I'm not thinking BMW is doing this as punishment, but more to further define how they make the greatest vehicles on Earth.

[RED99HT]

Originally Posted by sandwi54

Just one piece of advice, and please don't take it the wrong way, but I wouldn't give a 550i to a teenage boy who is just getting his license, unless you want to pick up from the morgue. I remember how irresponsible and reckless I could be sometimes when I was driving in college, and all I had was a 106 HP Corolla. If I were given a 444 HP sedan, I would have ended off of a cliff.

Not to say your son would be like me, but you never know how adolescent boys can act in the heat of a moment. When my son starts driving, I'd be buying him a used VW Jetta, since my wife and I don't have any cars with less than 500 HP.

No offense taken, that was my initial thought and I’m still on the Fence. My 1st car was a 1984 Jeep Cherokee 4 cylinder 5 speed stick, I think it pushed out a healthy 130 HP, couldn’t get out of its own way. So ya I get 445 Hp may not be the wisest decision.

We hit a few lots today to sniff out the market. Not many cars in good shape with reasonable miles 50k + or - for under $20k. Looked at accords, camries, a couple Acuras, and there are basically selling for original MSRP if they are within 3-4 years old. Mostly in the $27-32k range.

I’d rather have my 170k mile 550 all day long compared to what I’ve seen today

It’s slim pickings on 550’s at the moment so I have some time to chew on it

[jcal65]

I don’t think you can go wrong with a pre-LCI or LCI M550.

I had a 2012 F10 535i and it was one of my favorite cars. As much as I loved it, my 2022 M550i is better in almost every way as you would expect. Much more refined but it has still retained the characteristics that make it a BMW. If BMW cheapened the interior, I don’t know where.

My 2022 didn’t get wireless charging and I don’t miss it. I did get the digital key which I originally thought was a great feature and I never use it. People rip the Harmon Kardon system. I must have gotten a good one or they drastically improved it for 2022 because it sounds great in my car. I personally would not have paid extra for B & W anyway. Soft close doors are nice, had them on my last two vehicles and don’t miss it. The 523hp more than makes up for a few shortcomings.

The hardest part in today’s market will probably be finding the car that has everything you want without a completely ridiculous markup, new or used. I am blown away at how much some people will pay over MSRP just to get a car now.

[RED99HT]

Well, I didn’t get my 550, couldn’t justify getting rid of mine or giving it to my son but a did pick up a really nice 2016 X3 with the 4 cyl turbo, 51k miles, it looks and drives new, really pleased with it

[smacky]

Originally Posted by RED99HT

Well, I didn’t get my 550, couldn’t justify getting rid of mine or giving it to my son but a did pick up a really nice 2016 X3 with the 4 cyl turbo, 51k miles, it looks and drives new, really pleased with it

He'll be just fine with that. I had to read your post a few times and I thought you had dropped the F10 and went for this over a G30 M550 and was a bit dumbfounded.

The fuel economy is one thing to look forward to on that.

[RED99HT]

Yup, it’s for my son, not a lot of 550s out there in MY 21/22 so I figured I’d wait another year or so depending on how quickly we go into a recession and the car lots fill back up once demand goes down and supply chain corrects.

Picked the X3 up from Hendrick BMW in charlotte, they serviced the entire vehicle and they replaced with new battery, brakes, painted brake calipers, changed all fluids, etc. I wouldn’t buy a BMW off a non BMW car dealer, they just usually throw them right on the lot.

The ‘16 X3 had great reviews, top safety and reliability ratings so feeling good about this choice

[Antec800]

Originally Posted by Ptree1822

hit or miss from what ive seen the newer design now has tmap issues and rad hose leaking issues. the new expansion tank design is terrible imo. if any coolant spilled or over flowed injectors need to be replaced bc now they sit in wells unlike the previous versions and as per bmw warr does not cover that if traces of coolant are found in injectors!! but the newer injector and hpfp are better... still seeing the same sweating leaks from upper oil pan gasket and unless dripping active oil factory warr dsnt cover repair. still seeing lower oil pan gaskets sweating. seeing faults for eccentric shafts on both s and n versions. so hit or miss. nice that the turbo are a litter higher off the engine now nicer steel coolant lines. but still seen coolant line by radiator fan leak the same when gets brittle. if you do your own maintance the way the newer harness is rin ofer vlavle covers is more difficult to remove spark plugs as per previous versions. but previous versions have had problem with heat soaking the engine harness causing higher resistance in sensors causing fake check engine lights at least in my market and engine harness needs replacement but usually when mileage gets highter and yourt out of warr anyways. its a bmw v8 not perfect but it has lots of torque!! but remember the previous version have class action law suits against bmw for them. just be aware of what your wanting to buy.

Still haven’t seen this issue on 22+

[Cabbage]

2021 didn't have any issues until the last 3 months or so of production. So you should be safe with 2021, and plus it is an LCI. Congrats on the car though!