acorradi87

Hey guys -

I have checked in here periodically but haven't posted for over a year. After being very active on here for a while, I went away for a bit. In that time I've almost finished business school (graduating in May), my baby crossed the 50,000 mile mark, and everything's running smoothly (knock on wood... especially now that I'm no longer under warranty!) I went to a e60 run/meet on the SF peninsula a couple years ago and really enjoyed my time with everyone, and after thinking about that recently I knew it was time to come back to the forum.

My dream is to be a collector of my favorite BMW models, and as such I have no plans to sell my e60, and when my grandmother stops driving her 07 335i coupe (she's 89 and still zooming around in it!) we'll be keeping that as well. I'll probably retire my e60 to 'weekend car' status around 65k, as I don't want it to have tons of miles.

Ideally, I'd love to sell mine and buy an identical 2010 model, because I wish I had a black headliner, M steering wheel, and M door sills. Silly, I know, but it always bugged me that the 08 550 sport 'only' got the exterior aero treatment and wheels, and not the interior pieces. As much as I'd love to do that, it concerns me to not know the service history of another car or how well they treated it, so I'll probably keep mine. As you fellow bimmerphiles can probably understand, even though my next 15k miles are some time away, I've already begun thinking about what my next car will be.

To be honest, I'm very uninspired by the latest BMW models. Although I'm sure they'll fix vague steering and other issues with the F10 LCI, it's grown too large for me. I had an F30 328 loaner during my final warranty inspection/service a couple months ago, and was extremely disappointed. Sure the engine was rough, which would be remedied with the n55, but the interior materials and drive felt like I was behind the wheel of a Corolla. Even my friend's base 01 325i has better handling. Please understand I have had an undying love of BMW for years and am not trying to needlessly badmouth them, I am trying to share my particular point of view.

On that end, I am drawn to the more classic models of the early to mid-2000s, namely the end of the e39 and e46 life cycles. A family that I have been close with for years has a 2003 540 M-Sport wagon that is their 'extra car' and gets driven probably once every couple weeks. Ever since they bought it around 2004/2005 (it was a CPO from a former Bay Area CEO) I have lusted after it. Before that, I never really thought much about wagons, but after being around it frequently (and driving it) I fell in love. Even after having my 550 for nearly 4 years, I still lust after that wagon. I believe it only has 40-45k miles on it and is in immaculate condition. They know that when the time comes to sell it, I will be the one to take it off of their hands. I also came to learn that this model is pretty rare overall, which makes it even more special to me. The feel and sound of the doors when they open and close is like a bank vault. I just don't feel as if they build them now like they used to.

Given my thoughts on these models, it was coincidental for me to come across this article today:
10 Best BMW for $20,000 because besides the 540 wagon and the 330 ZHP, if they were more practical I would love to consider the 03 M5 and the 04-06 X5 4.8. By reading this, I'm clearly not the only one drawn to the classic models over newer offerings.

I know this was kind of a rambling post, but I'm sure you most of you can understand how I feel right now... rather lost, since I revere their past more than I have hope for the future. If anyone wants to chime in with their thoughts I'd gladly appreciate discussion on this topic.

On that note, it's good to be back! Thanks for bearing with me