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      11-21-2019, 02:47 PM   #1
protamine
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2020 M550i ordering guide - newbie

Hi,
New to the forum. New to ordering a car. Anyone who knows my user name can guess what I do. Looking at the 2020 M550i as I think its amazing compared to its 6 cylinder peers and about a 95% M5 for 75% the cost, and probably a better DD. Looking to order a 2020 and before I head to dealer I'd like to discuss options.

Color:
Matter of personal preference - I've loved carbon black since the E39 days, but I think lighter colors really work well on the car. Alpine white or Rhodonite, but it seems steep to pay 2k for silver (what used to be such a vanilla color). My 69 Camaro is white with a white houndstooth/black carpet interior.

Wheels/Tires:
I prefer the 668. Is the 'performance' run flat an all season? If I needed winter wheels anyways, would I just get the 668 with the high performance non run flat? - curious as to the actual model of tires. Dont get a ton of snow where I'm moving but a few times a year. Moot point if I keep the Jeep

Interior:
Want upgraded leather. I want the executive seating and a leather dash so the real decision is if I want black or not. Black obviously is nappa. Not sure about the white interior - I love the look and would look great with Carbon black as a contrast, but I occasionally will have my kids there.

Trim:
seems that the configurator doesnt do it justice. The aluminum looks better in pics, and the muted woods (fineline) also look good. Dont feel that the others are worth $1000

Packages:

Premium - to me better than the executive as I dont want shades. Really just want HUD and wireless charging.

Drive assistance plus - must have
Luxury seating - must have
Parking plus - why not, seems like a good thing, $750 is about one corner ding anyways

Dynamic handling - seems split. its steep, I've been reading reviews. I'd probably spring for it as it sounds pretty good. Would be curious as to more feedback.

Ceramic controls - most seem to love these

Remote control parking - is this a gimmick?


Night vision - seems overpriced, not used much
Bowers and Wilkins - im not an audiophile, usually just on phone or using podcasts
Rear seat - tempting with 2 little ones


---------------------------
Long winded, I know this is personal, but I'd love to hear everyones discussion of the options, kind of one by one. Pics for the interiors too. Would really help the new people.
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      11-21-2019, 07:24 PM   #2
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Order the leather dashboard ...IIRC $700 ?
Best option to make the car look & feel special
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      11-21-2019, 07:46 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by protamine View Post
Hi,
New to the forum. New to ordering a car. Anyone who knows my user name can guess what I do. Looking at the 2020 M550i as I think its amazing compared to its 6 cylinder peers and about a 95% M5 for 75% the cost, and probably a better DD. Looking to order a 2020 and before I head to dealer I'd like to discuss options.
I wouldn't say the M550i is 95% M5. Engine HP/Torque is just one aspect. M5 is so much more. Nevertheless, the M550i is pretty amazing.

Quote:

Color:
Matter of personal preference - I've loved carbon black since the E39 days, but I think lighter colors really work well on the car. Alpine white or Rhodonite, but it seems steep to pay 2k for silver (what used to be such a vanilla color). My 69 Camaro is white with a white houndstooth/black carpet interior.
Naturally, color is personal preference. If choosing purchase over lease, choose a color that's widely acceptable on the second hand market.

Quote:

Wheels/Tires:
I prefer the 668. Is the 'performance' run flat an all season? If I needed winter wheels anyways, would I just get the 668 with the high performance non run flat? - curious as to the actual model of tires. Dont get a ton of snow where I'm moving but a few times a year. Moot point if I keep the Jeep
Not all season, the 668M comes with a performance tire. Here's the rub, if ordered with runflats, your car will come with any of the following: Goodyear Eagle F1, Pirelli PZero or Michelin Pilot Sport 3. The Michelin is top choice followed by Pirelli. However, if you get the Goodyear, all I can say is sorry because that tire is horrendous and the sidewall is a very weak design. Meaning pray you don't get Goodyear or order the car with non runflats which some feel is a better idea altogether.
Quote:

Interior:
Want upgraded leather. I want the executive seating and a leather dash so the real decision is if I want black or not. Black obviously is nappa. Not sure about the white interior - I love the look and would look great with Carbon black as a contrast, but I occasionally will have my kids there.
Are you saying you want luxury seating? I really like the multi contour seats, but beware the ventilated seats have a little less support than non ventilated. Will you really use the massage feature after the first month? Some love it.
Quote:

Trim:
seems that the configurator doesnt do it justice. The aluminum looks better in pics, and the muted woods (fineline) also look good. Dont feel that the others are worth $1000
to me fineline and fineline matte look best. Personal choice. Piano black is also nice if you want to spend $1080

Quote:
Packages:

Premium - to me better than the executive as I dont want shades. Really just want HUD and wireless charging.
Premium is fine. I've got kids who never seem to close the doors right so I very much appreciate soft close doors in the Executive pkg. You might too.
Quote:

Drive assistance plus - must have
Luxury seating - must have
Parking plus - why not, seems like a good thing, $750 is about one corner ding anyways

Dynamic handling - seems split. its steep, I've been reading reviews. I'd probably spring for it as it sounds pretty good. Would be curious as to more feedback.

Ceramic controls - most seem to love these

Remote control parking - is this a gimmick?


Night vision - seems overpriced, not used much
Bowers and Wilkins - im not an audiophile, usually just on phone or using podcasts
Rear seat - tempting with 2 little ones
DA+ I like a lot for highway driving. It's far from perfect and sometimes I get a good laugh. You will appreciate it on a highway in traffic. And the additional safety is nice too!

I prefer multi contour seats alone to the entire luxury seating package. If you butt/back sweat a lot, then ventilated seats is nice too. In which case get the luxury seating package. Just beware it's ventilated, not air conditioned. It seems to circulate cabin air.

Parking+ is worth it for the surround cameras. The parking aid is laughable IMO.

Dynamic handling I have no real opinion. I have passive MSport 704 suspension and 20" Michelin PS3 run flats and am quite happy.

Ceramic controls - they're nice but not necessary. Personal preference

Remote control parking - one of my G30s has it. Never use it. Waste of $ IMO for most North American purchasers, since we rarely get jammed into embarrassingly narrow parking spots.

Night vision - worth it if you live in areas with limited street lighting. If you're an urban dweller, I'd pass.

B&W - expensive and better sounding than HK but if you're not an audiophile HK will be plenty OK for your needs.

Rear seat entertainment - I have younger kids and would say you're better off talking with your kids over letting them zone out on TVs. Then again some feel differently.


---------------------------
Long winded, I know this is personal, but I'd love to hear everyones discussion of the options, kind of one by one. Pics for the interiors too. Would really help the new people.[/QUOTE]
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      11-21-2019, 07:52 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WSH View Post
Order the leather dashboard ...IIRC $700 ?
Best option to make the car look & feel special
yes, it's $700 and I agree the leather dash looks great. That said I know 2 people who had issues with the Leather de-laminating from the dash.
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      11-21-2019, 09:14 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by claykin View Post
...

Parking+ is worth it for the surround cameras. The parking aid is laughable IMO.
...
They must have improved on this some in MY2020. As I don't find it to be a problem at all. It works pretty flawless for me and can handle some very small parallel parking spots in the city where I spend most of my time. I've been battle testing this for about a month so I can confidently turn it over to my wife and I've been pretty impressed honestly.

That being said, it isn't a must have feature on its own. The surround view cameras are though and this comes along for the ride. IMHO the surround view cameras are simply a must have upgrade.
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      11-21-2019, 09:16 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LogicalApex View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by claykin View Post
...

Parking+ is worth it for the surround cameras. The parking aid is laughable IMO.
...
They must have improved on this some in MY2020. As I don't find it to be a problem at all. It works pretty flawless for me and can handle some very small parallel parking spots in the city where I spend most of my time. I've been battle testing this for about a month so I can confidently turn it over to my wife and I've been pretty impressed honestly.

That being said, it isn't a must have feature on its own. The surround view cameras are though and this comes along for the ride. IMHO the surround view cameras are simply a must have upgrade.
Parallel parking aid can be helpful but I find it sometimes can't complete the job or just takes way longer than if I did it myself. I've successfully used it to parallel park once or twice. For straight in parking it's just too slow! Too many correction steps.
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      11-22-2019, 07:39 AM   #7
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I’ll just make a few random observations. I had a 2012 550 that had Luxury seating, soft close doors, surround view along with other normal stuff in today’s cars. I now have a 2017 540 with luxury seating but no surround view, no soft close doors. They both have had HUD. Both M-Sports. The 2012 550 came standard with adaptive dampers, my 540 does not have them. My 540 came with 20” runflats.

Luxury seating. My 2012 was incredibly comfortable. The 2017 is very comfortable, but my butt does feel like it’s bottoming out as though the padding needs to be a bit thicker. It’s not a deal breaker, but I notice it. Living in Houston I consider ventilated seats a must, and between my wife’s vehicles and mine, we have had a lot of vehicles with ventilated seats. I’m 50/50 as to whether I would care about them if I buy another 5 series. They don’t work that well and I think the seat cushions my be better.

I changed my 20” wheels for 19s and non runflats. Enough said.

When I bought my 2012 I wondered what the point of surround view and soft close doors was. Now I miss them on my 2017. Surround view allows you to back into a parking spot along a curb and comfortably get an inch from the curb with no fear of curbing a wheel. If I curb a wheel I’m one of those people who has to get it repaired immediately.

Soft close doors are hard to explain, but they are just nice to have. In my book, if you buy a premium car you should buy the premium features that just make you feel good about it.

My car is Carbon Black with Ivory interior. My 550 was Imperial Blue with what was called Oyster. The Oyster and Ivory are almost the same color. That is a must have for me. But then again, I never checked the “kids” box. Never had any
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      11-22-2019, 10:01 AM   #8
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few personal opinion comments from my 2019 M550:

20" 668s with non-run flats: I have the Michelins and love the set up and ride. Mind you, I keep a careful look out for potholes. If you tend to hit potholes, stay away from this set up.

I have nappa/multicontour seats (no massage/ventilation): very comfortable.

My previous car was no-frills, so lots of new stuff on this one:

HUD: must have IMHO

soft-close doors: took a week or so to get used to, but now I like it a lot. Only issue is I can no longer close the non-soft close doors on my wife's car properly on the first try, which makes my kids laugh.

leather dash and ceramic controls: like 'em. Both add nice touch. I use the controls (radio, climate control, Idrive knob etc) a lot (I dont speak to my car much, at all) so I can "feel" the difference After 1 year, no issues at all with leather dash, but I also only park indoors.

I like fineline matte trim a lot, looks good and low maintenence.

Parking plus: good to have the 3D cameras

Dynamic handling package: amazing. try with and without. This refers only to the package on the M5550, other 5ers are not the same. Once you get used to rear wheel steering, you will appreciate it. Active suspension, and changes different modes make a big difference.
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      11-22-2019, 11:16 AM   #9
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I started a thread + poll about the DHP, hope it's helpful:

https://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...&highlight=dhp
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      11-22-2019, 01:46 PM   #10
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My thoughts:

Quote:
Originally Posted by protamine View Post
Color:
Matter of personal preference - I've loved carbon black since the E39 days, but I think lighter colors really work well on the car.
CB is a great color. I have some kind of metallic black on current car, also looks great. A coworker has the Alpine white G30, and me personally, with the black grill and other black trim stuff, thinks it looks bad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by protamine View Post
Wheels/Tires:
I try to stay away from low profile tires for ride quality and cost of replacement and fragility. First thing I do on all of these cars is ditch the runflats and put on proper tires.

Quote:
Originally Posted by protamine View Post
Interior:
Want upgraded leather. I want the executive seating and a leather dash so the real decision is if I want black or not.... but I occasionally will have my kids there.
I love the lighter colors, especially the white/off white thing, which I have now. Kids are not a problem - just wipe up any spills, and try to reduce the amount of eating and non-water beverages that could stain.
Quote:
Originally Posted by protamine View Post
Really just want HUD and wireless charging.
My silly phone (Note 9) won't fit in the cradle, so that feature is useless for me. HUD is great. I don't care for the dynamic handling and stuff like that, as I don't care for electronic interventions beyond ABS.

Ceramic controls are nice but not worth the money, really.

No interior pics, sorry, but I can take some if no one else steps-up.

Also, as others noted, there is a lot more in an ///M car than just the engine. The 550 ain't 95% of an M5. Not by any means. That said, I'm not sure the price difference is worth it if you're not going to track it. The capabilities are just so high, it's a waste for driving on road.

In fact, I feel that way about the V8 as well. It's a big premium for a performance improvement that you will rarely use. The I6 is actually a bit more responsive in "normal" driving. I say this coming from an F01 750i which is not the same animal, but not too different. I don't miss the extra 100 or so horsepower, and I appreciate the $12K (or whatever it is) that I saved. You also get hammered pretty hard in resale on the V8.
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      11-27-2019, 12:56 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LuvMyE92 View Post
My thoughts:



CB is a great color. I have some kind of metallic black on current car, also looks great. A coworker has the Alpine white G30, and me personally, with the black grill and other black trim stuff, thinks it looks bad.

I try to stay away from low profile tires for ride quality and cost of replacement and fragility. First thing I do on all of these cars is ditch the runflats and put on proper tires.



I love the lighter colors, especially the white/off white thing, which I have now. Kids are not a problem - just wipe up any spills, and try to reduce the amount of eating and non-water beverages that could stain.
My silly phone (Note 9) won't fit in the cradle, so that feature is useless for me. HUD is great. I don't care for the dynamic handling and stuff like that, as I don't care for electronic interventions beyond ABS.

Ceramic controls are nice but not worth the money, really.

No interior pics, sorry, but I can take some if no one else steps-up.

Also, as others noted, there is a lot more in an ///M car than just the engine. The 550 ain't 95% of an M5. Not by any means. That said, I'm not sure the price difference is worth it if you're not going to track it. The capabilities are just so high, it's a waste for driving on road.

In fact, I feel that way about the V8 as well. It's a big premium for a performance improvement that you will rarely use. The I6 is actually a bit more responsive in "normal" driving. I say this coming from an F01 750i which is not the same animal, but not too different. I don't miss the extra 100 or so horsepower, and I appreciate the $12K (or whatever it is) that I saved. You also get hammered pretty hard in resale on the V8.

Appreciate the input from everyone. Sounds like we want different things in a car. I want comfy that can sharpen up and then slam me in my seat. So I want a V8, and as we know they're going by the wayside. I've had a E92 and know how good a BMW I6 turbo can be. But for the same reasons I'll avoid Audi and Mercedes - BMW offers a V8 while the others dont. Obviously I want a M5, but spec'ed out the way I want its 115k. Significantly more than the 87-92 that I'd be looking in the M550i. Since I'm not going to track it, I cant imagine it being worth 25k more than the 550. With only 75 hp difference now (and chippable), I seriously doubt I'd get the handling nuances. Who knows. There's always the next one.

I'd be ready to order this summer (especially if I go Merino and have a 2-3 month delay). I wouldnt mind seeing the 2021 LCI announcement (will the 2020 be a special 1 year only configuration). Of course there will be some 19-20 M5s around to cross shop. I guess its a good position to be in.
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