[tsbrown]

Originally Posted by Warp Ten

Much less than I would like, of course. Hard to say precisely but similarly equipped (2LZ, Automatic) Z06 coupes with similar mileage (29,000) seem to have asking prices between about $62,000 and $68,000. Mine is one owner and dealer serviced but has a few minor cosmetic blemishes as one might expect from a daily driver. But it really is a hell of a car, even at those prices. The one below at a Carvana is virtually identical to mine with the same mileage but 3 owners.—Bob

Bob you have a good thing going. G30 5er when you want comfort and extra seats, plus the 2 seater sports car with loads of power and sounds when the mood strikes. If only I still had that 3rd garage spot. It’s a good life, enjoy it.

[Warp Ten]

Originally Posted by tsbrown

Bob you have a good thing going. G30 5er when you want comfort and extra seats, plus the 2 seater sports car with loads of power and sounds when the mood strikes. If only I still had that 3rd garage spot. It’s a good life, enjoy it.

Ahh, Mr. Brown, the trick is I don't have a third garage spot. After many years of having three or once even five garage spots, in 2007 my wife moved me into a two car garage and I had to sell my '93 ZR-1 Corvette which I had owned for 13 years. It took me a few years without a toy car, but I finally started thinking about a third car and did some research on car heights and measured my ceiling. Turns out I have a 10' ceiling, so with a five foot tall car (BMW 5 Series) and a four foot tall car (a Corvette) I had room for a lift. So in 2012 I bought a four post lift, had it installed and bought a '95 ZR-1. Sold the ZR-1 in 2016 to get the Z06. If you have a high enough ceiling and a normal sized garage (mine is 21'x21') and the right combination of car heights you too can do this. There are a number of pictures of my garage setup in my Albums section if you are curious. It has worked great all these years with only a single repairs to the lift needed to replace the cables. But don't tell your wife that I suggested this....Bob

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by Warp Ten

Ahh, Mr. Brown, the trick is I don't have a third garage spot. After many years of having three or once even five garage spots, in 2007 my wife moved me into a two car garage and I had to sell my '93 ZR-1 Corvette which I had owned for 13 years. It took me a few years without a toy car, but I finally started thinking about a third car and did some research on car heights and measured my ceiling. Turn out I have a 10' ceiling, so with a five foot tall car (BMW 5 Series) and a four foot tall car (a Corvette) I had room for a lift. So in 2012 I bought a four post lift, had it installed and bought a '95 ZR-1. Sold the ZR-1 in 2016 to get the Z06. If you have a high enough ceiling and a normal sized garage (mine is 21'x21') and the right combination of car heights you too can do this. There are a number of pictures of my garage setup in my Albums section if you are curious. It has worked great all these years with only a single repairs to the lift needed to replace the cables. But don't tell your wife that I suggested this....Bob

My dad wanted to do this for his ‘97 Z3 but he doesn’t have quite enough ceiling height. I’ve thought about how I’d rebuild our garage and put a game room over it when the kids get a little older. Rest assured, I’ll be keeping this in mind!

[tsbrown]

Originally Posted by Warp Ten

Ahh, Mr. Brown, the trick is I don't have a third garage spot. After many years of having three or once even five garage spots, in 2007 my wife moved me into a two car garage and I had to sell my '93 ZR-1 Corvette which I had owned for 13 years. It took me a few years without a toy car, but I finally started thinking about a third car and did some research on car heights and measured my ceiling. Turn out I have a 10' ceiling, so with a five foot tall car (BMW 5 Series) and a four foot tall car (a Corvette) I had room for a lift. So in 2012 I bought a four post lift, had it installed and bought a '95 ZR-1. Sold the ZR-1 in 2016 to get the Z06. If you have a high enough ceiling and a normal sized garage (mine is 21'x21') and the right combination of car heights you too can do this. There are a number of pictures of my garage setup in my Albums section if you are curious. It has worked great all these years with only a single repairs to the lift needed to replace the cables. But don't tell your wife that I suggested this....Bob

She was a bit surprised to see my BrilliantRot E36 coupe on our first date many years ago but is no longer surprised by anything I do car-related. Hell, she doesn’t even bother to say I need to get a new wife with a Porsche anymore. A lift in the garage has come up before. Your garage looks about the same size as mine, maybe a couple feet wider. How much ceiling height is required for that setup and do I also have to change the door to lift straight up?

That snow blower is a dead giveaway you live too far north in the winter for me. That wouldn’t work for my golf habit.

[BlueSander]

Bob, your 4-post lift just stands on the concrete floor? No bolts?

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by tsbrown

She was a bit surprised to see my BrilliantRot E36 coupe on our first date many years ago but is no longer surprised by anything I do car-related. Hell, she doesn’t even bother to say I need to get a new wife with a Porsche anymore. A lift in the garage has come up before. Your garage looks about the same size as mine, maybe a couple feet wider. How much ceiling height is required for that setup and do I also have to change the door to lift straight up?

That snow blower is a dead giveaway you live too far north in the winter for me. That wouldn’t work for my golf habit.

I can somewhat answer this after my research. You can easily look home home garage lifts. You can get the dimensions to figure out if you have enough space. You’ve got to have enough height for your first car, the lift rails, and your second car. Most people I’ve seen have gotten a new garage door opener motor that wall mounts to replace the one they had on their ceiling.

[Warp Ten]

Originally Posted by BlueSander

Bob, your 4-post lift just stands on the concrete floor? No bolts?

No bolts required for a four post lift. Two post, yes. And actually, mine sits on 1x6 pieces of Ipe wood because the first year we had a lot of snow and salt and the feet seemed to be getting rust on them. So using the casters I slipped the 3/4" thick Ipe under them (Ipe is extremely hard Brazilian Walnut and is impervious to water and insects). One thing: I set up my lift to be very close to the garage door to provide room up front for my tool chest, a compressor, a refrigerator, etc. Had to keep an eye on it because due to the natural approximately 2% slope to a typical garage floor, over a number of years it tends to creep just a bit. I marked the original position of the feet with a magic market and about every 4-5 years I check it and see if I need to move it back an inch or so. Only had to do so once. --Bob

[Warp Ten]

Originally Posted by tsbrown

She was a bit surprised to see my BrilliantRot E36 coupe on our first date many years ago but is no longer surprised by anything I do car-related. Hell, she doesn’t even bother to say I need to get a new wife with a Porsche anymore. A lift in the garage has come up before. Your garage looks about the same size as mine, maybe a couple feet wider. How much ceiling height is required for that setup and do I also have to change the door to lift straight up?

That snow blower is a dead giveaway you live too far north in the winter for me. That wouldn’t work for my golf habit.

First apologies for hijacking this thread and I will keep my answers short. My garage is 21'x21' which is a bit larger than many and gives plenty of space for the lift. A big benefit that not everyone has is I have an 18' wide door instead of the more common 16'. This allowed me to position the lift left of centerline and give my wife room for both her car and her shelves, and also enough room for me to get around on my side. Due to floor slope, the ceiling height is about 10' at the overhead door and about 9'-9" near the door to the kitchen. As NGT2 suspected, I had a garage door expert install a jackshaft opener (Liftmaster 3800) and raise the door tracks to within about 4"-5" of the ceiling. It is a close fit but as my Uncle used to say, "A miss is as good as a mile." 10' of height is enough to handle a 5' tall car and a 4' tall car with room for the lift itself. SUVs need not apply. I also had the expert install a new insulated steel door, as I keep my garage heated to about 50 degrees in winter. I did cut away the topmost horizontal support on the door and replaced it with some strong "L" channel to provide a little more room. As noted above, more pics in my Albums section.--Bob

[br2wdc]

Four years ago I purchased my 2011 BMW M3 E90 in LeMans Blue, and I decided a few months ago it was time for a change and sold the car locally to an excellent "BMW" guy who will hopefully enjoy it as much as I did.

I loved my M3, but wanted something newer, possibly bigger with a higher level of Technology, and given those parameters, I had narrowed my choices down to either an 540i (preferably xDrive), or a M550i (all of which are xDrive, as you know).

I located a 2019 M550i at CarMax in Sterling VA, took a test drive, and it was "game over" ...

The engine was unbelievable, the 0-60 numbers were better then my E90 M3, and also faster then previous generation F10 M5, and the 2018 had the more updated version of the engine: N63B44O2 (N63R). Throw in xDrive, and all the technology updates over my M3 and I was "sold".

Fast forward a few weeks ago, I identified and purchased a 2018 M550i from a private owner that has essentially ever option/package short of the Bowers & Wilkins upgraded stereo, and I could not be more thrilled

For me, the M550i gives new meaning to the term "sleeper" car, with a wrapper suggesting "normal" but at it's core lurks an untamed beast of an engine that provides a brutal punch when needed but with a refinement and class that is unmatched in this segment.

FWIW I would suggest driving an M550i to see if you had the same reaction as I did with the engine, which IMHO is why you would consider this upgrade ... the B58 is certainly a great engine, but the N63R is a visceral monster

Originally Posted by tsbrown

As some of you know I have a 2019 540i M sport and absolutely love this car. But I’ve had it since new - ordered with every option I wanted and left off those I didn’t - in December 2018 so I have the itch for something new, even though the G30 still meets all of my needs and most of my wants. I’ve explored other cars…Macan S, 8GC, F90 M5 base, G60 540iX among them. Nothing is better in total for me than my G30.

So the M550i has emerged as a contender.

Pros
- as wonderful as the B58 is, this has the V8
- color combination nearly same as my Mediterranean Blue/mocha Nappa

Cons-
- I’ve never actually driven the M550.

Thoughts/recommendations?

[tsbrown]

Yeah I finally was able to drive an M550i and really like the way the engine is always ready, vs slight lag on the 540i for the turbos to spool up. That and the xdrive (mine is RWD) ensures less or no traction control interference. Easy to understand why this car is so well loved. So I’ll be on the hunt for one with very low miles and my must have options but other than that will enjoy my 540i until then.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by tsbrown

Yeah I finally was able to drive an M550i and really like the way the engine is always ready, vs slight lag on the 540i for the turbos to spool up. That and the xdrive (mine is RWD) ensures less or no traction control interference. Easy to understand why this car is so well loved. So I’ll be on the hunt for one with very low miles and my must have options but other than that will enjoy my 540i until then.

Hell yeah! What’s the must have option list look like? I love a good car search. Or the idea of it. My impatience makes it torture in practice. But I still enjoy it. Thrill of the hunt.

[darkrom]

My vote is no but for specific reasons. I love the m550 and the stuff these guys are doing with 9 second 1/4 miles is amazing, but you’re going from one of the most reliable engines to what I understand to be a high maintenance one. Fuel efficiency might matter to some but I’d live with the hit there. The m550 is a monster I just wanted a reliable fast daily. Stage 2+ 540i is that for me, and I can keep my 135 as the fun car that needs high maintenance. I personally couldn’t do 2 at once.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by darkrom

My vote is no but for specific reasons. I love the m550 and the stuff these guys are doing with 9 second 1/4 miles is amazing, but you’re going from one of the most reliable engines to what I understand to be a high maintenance one. Fuel efficiency might matter to some but I’d live with the hit there. The m550 is a monster I just wanted a reliable fast daily. Stage 2+ 540i is that for me, and I can keep my 135 as the fun car that needs high maintenance. I personally couldn’t do 2 at once.

Its really not high maintenance. The only thing I’ve had that was different than my 540 is replacing the coolant tank under warranty. In every other aspect it’s been the same.

[darkrom]

Originally Posted by NGT2

Its really not high maintenance. The only thing I’ve had that was different than my 540 is replacing the coolant tank under warranty. In every other aspect it’s been the same.

Surprised to hear that and it wasn’t the impression I got so it was a big factor for me personally going 540 and tuning it. Stage 2+ is a great car. I’m jealous of the m550 raw performance you guys are doing with the right tune and trans tune, both are fantastic cars just giving my personal opinion. I was told many times the b58 would be more reliable and easier to maintain. Maybe I got fleeced lol, but I am very happy with it as well. I got to drive the 750i as a loaner and I love the v8 engine too.

Great era to own a 5 series of any kind.

[adhrp]

Originally Posted by darkrom

Surprised to hear that and it wasn’t the impression I got so it was a big factor for me personally going 540 and tuning it. Stage 2+ is a great car. I’m jealous of the m550 raw performance you guys are doing with the right tune and trans tune, both are fantastic cars just giving my personal opinion. I was told many times the b58 would be more reliable and easier to maintain. Maybe I got fleeced lol, but I am very happy with it as well. I got to drive the 750i as a loaner and I love the v8 engine too.

Great era to own a 5 series of any kind.

That's been the reputation of the N63 and rightly so for previous versions, but the TU2 and TU3 iterations have turned out to be very reliable thus far. Many of us on here can testify to that, some even with 100K+ miles with minimal repairs. It's a reputation that is going to be difficult to shake off seeing how bad the V8 was for years. How it compares to the B58 in the 100-200K mile range is something we'll have to wait and watch.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by darkrom

Surprised to hear that and it wasn’t the impression I got so it was a big factor for me personally going 540 and tuning it. Stage 2+ is a great car. I’m jealous of the m550 raw performance you guys are doing with the right tune and trans tune, both are fantastic cars just giving my personal opinion. I was told many times the b58 would be more reliable and easier to maintain. Maybe I got fleeced lol, but I am very happy with it as well. I got to drive the 750i as a loaner and I love the v8 engine too.

Great era to own a 5 series of any kind.

Is the B58 more reliable? Maybe. If I had to bet, probably. But the N63TU2&3 have been reliable engines. It’s all relative. Now if you’re tuning either way, I think the B58 is a safer choice for tuning. Lots of guys have tuned M550’s with no trouble. But the B58 has a reputation for being very tune friendly.

[G30M]

Originally Posted by NGT2

I’d like to drive an F90 M5 Comp, or even base, to see what the dynamics are like. The body and interior are so similar to the M550 and I will never use all the power. But if the feel of driving the car was different enough, it might be a better choice than the M850 just because of how poorly those 8 series seats fit my back.

it's a different car but with the same interior as the 550.

the steering is quicker and more precise, the throttle response is very angry, and there is a thousand more power though it comes on slightly later i thought, just slightly.

the drive is very very RWD, it lights up the rear wheels every time i gassed it. (either that or it has a thousand more torque than the 550)

the tires are so massive you can feel every pebble on the road but it's not a harsh feeling.

F90 Comp LCi ftw.

there is but one problem - if you floor the gas pedal and it's not in the right gear (as it usually isn't), it still needs to think about what to do, change the gear, spin up the turbo, before it moves. coming from my 600hp EV, that is annoying as heck! (for me anyway)

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by G30M

it's a different car but with the same interior as the 550.

the steering is quicker and more precise, the throttle response is very angry, and there is a thousand more power though it comes on slightly later i thought, just slightly.

the drive is very very RWD, it lights up the rear wheels every time i gassed it. (either that or it has a thousand more torque than the 550)

the tires are so massive you can feel every pebble on the road but it's not a harsh feeling.

F90 Comp LCi ftw.

there is but one problem - if you floor the gas pedal and it's not in the right gear (as it usually isn't), it still needs to think about what to do, change the gear, spin up the turbo, before it moves. coming from my 600hp EV, that is annoying as heck! (for me anyway)

I’m in!

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by NGT2

Is the B58 more reliable? Maybe. If I had to bet, probably. But the N63TU2&3 have been reliable engines. It’s all relative. Now if you’re tuning either way, I think the B58 is a safer choice for tuning. Lots of guys have tuned M550’s with no trouble. But the B58 has a reputation for being very tune friendly.

There's a reason Boringyota put the B58 in the Supra.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

There's a reason Boringyota put the B58 in the Supra.

Yep. It’s a badass engine. But the G30 is a lot heavier than a Supra. I bet the M240 is pretty fun to drive.

[Neusser]

Originally Posted by NGT2

Yep. It’s a badass engine. But the G30 is a lot heavier than a Supra. I bet the M240 is pretty fun to drive.

Define a lot.

A GR Supra weighs 1570 kg.

A BMW 540i sedan weighs 1650.

Roughly 80-100 kg is not what I would call a lot, particularly when one car is a sedan capable of seating 4-5 people and carrying their luggage.

[tsbrown]

Originally Posted by NGT2

Hell yeah! What’s the must have option list look like? I love a good car search. Or the idea of it. My impatience makes it torture in practice. But I still enjoy it. Thrill of the hunt.

Well these are the options my current G30 has on it. It's what I wanted 5 years ago and I wouldn't change any of them if I could order an M550 today except possibly B&W instead of HK audio. I know BMW updates packages and makes certain options standard on the higher spec models so some of the below would probably be standard on a '22 or '23 M550i.

Nappa Leather Multi-Contour Comfort seats (absolute must-have)
Lighting Package - Icon Adaptive Full LED Lights + Automatic High Beams
Front and Rear Heated Seats
Parking Assistance Package w/Parking Assistant Plus, Active PDC, Surround View w/3D View
Premium Package 2 w/Head-up Display, Wireless Charging, Gesture Control, Enhanced USB & Bluetooth
M Sport Brakes (should be standard on M550i)
Heated Steering Wheel (must-have in cold weather)
Space-saver spare (nice to have but not absolutely necessary)
Ceramic Controls
Harman Kardon surround sound (as mentioned above, would consider B+W)

As for colors, probably ideally Tanzanite with ivory nappa leather but I'd consider others except black paint and black leather.