BMW M6

I too read that but found it odd because when you read the article it mentions how "...The Maser can't live with this kind of savage power, though it didn't fade too far in the mirrors..." as compared with the M5...so how could they have identical lap times. I have e-mailed the author of the article inquiring as to whether or not the QP's listed lap time is a type-o...I will report back if I receive a response...

 

You sound like the typical stereotype car salesmen and e-racer. Have you driven any of the cars you speak of more then 250ft? From what I have been reading the answer is mostly likely no.

BMW happens to be selling a tremendous amount of cars; sales are up for them in near record numbers. It's pretty hard to find a M models. Design is subjective, I love bangles new designs. Alot of people do, and a lot of peopel don't. Just like a lot of people hate the new Ferrari designs, while others love them. Same goes for just about every other car manufacture. The M6/M5 interior leather work is next to none in that price range. The performance is also phenomenal and the gear box couldn't be better. Handling is also amazing in the M5 considering it's size and weight.

Bottom line the M6 is a beautiful car that performs very well. I am really hoping that BMW does infact release the M6 CSL.

 

Do I now? What exactly have you read that makes you believe I haven't driven any of the cars I speak of? Should I post a list of cars I have driven more than 250 feet, and comment on only those cars? What is the "typical stereotypical car salesman and e-racer"? Please enlighten me, since you seem to be an expert on the subject.

I have not driven the newest M5, but I have driven a Quattroporte on several occasions, and have logged hundreds of miles. My statements made in this particular thread are based on comparison tests I have READ about, and I stated exactly that in my posts.

 

BMW sell cars because they sell cars. Pontiac sells cars too and a lot more than BMW. Why because most people will buy what they want regardless of rumors, quality, reliability, price, fact and other peoples thoughts.

Having worked at a standard BMW shop, I can tell you 50% of our then current clients hated the new cars and many said flat out "I won't be getting one of those." Some changed their minds as the cars grew on them, others just decided to buy them anyway and others walked away. That said, we dumped a bunch of cars off the lot for below cost because we couldn't move them.

I've driven every BMW made from 2000 and up and when the cars work, they work well, even the cars with smaller engines. They still go around turns well, brake well and have a very nice interior. When it comes to the 9 times in the first year of ownership and I see you flat bed your car to the dealership for the 4th time, my ears perk up.

Not only has the visual draw left BMW the reliability and solidness has also left and in quick steps. MY 540 has been to the dealership 45 times in 8 years, I know of several 740's that were returned to us and lawyers of those customers were holding the keys, 330's with broken engines after 2 days, 530's that won't start, computers burning themselves up, electronic nightmares that reoccur in half of the cars we sell, brakes that don't last, tires that shred themselves in 4 months, cloth tops that leak from day one, sensors wink out after a few months. I must have seen 70 cars this year with cracked headlights from closing the hood.

BMW has turned into Chev, people just don't know that yet. Why would I buy a $50,000 car that lasts 6 years with a dump truck load of issues when I can buy a $15,000 car with an eighth of the issues and spend 3 to 4 times less. THE NAME! That's why BMW's sell. Not the style, not the ride, not the quality. It's the "I have a Bimmer parked out front, what do you drive?"

Also I don't know of a larger group of people who take the numbers off of their cars to hide the fact they bought the cheapest one. 320's with M badges, 528's with M5 markings, give me a break!

Some BMW's will drive forever without any problems but for every one of those cars, there's 50 with one problem ranging to 50 problems. I know people that have had Bimmers for 40 years and love them to death and won't onw another make, they also cross their fingers when it's time to trade in their car.

I like Bimmers but will caution anyone who isn't rich against buying one.
Wayyy too many things are going sideways with them.

 

that was the funniest post i've read in a while...very sad opinions on your part.

 

"Opinions", I don't think I wrote any.

 

I beg to differ...I have owned an e34 M5, e36 M3, e34 740iL, e39 M5 and my current e60 M5...I have driven each one 100k miles or more during my ownership and plan to do the same with my current e60 M5 which now has 13k almost trouble free miles...I did have to get the A/C reprogramed after it froze up on a 800 mile round trip to Kentucky...out of those Bimmers, the e60 M5 is by far the best in looks, performance and build quality compared to the others...the only bad so far is the 12mpg in city driving...I did average 21.6 mpg on an 80mph 700 mile round trip to St. Augustine, Florida last week though...All in all BMWs are getting better with each new model...

 

ok sorry...bullsh*t.

 

Play nice, now, kids.

Parkerfe, I didn't wait for a magazine article to throw up upon seeing the new 5 series.

The 6 is alright, but 1, 3, 4 and 7 and borderline ugly.

Fact is, 95% of BMW buyers just buy the logo, it's sad, but that's how it is. They don't care how it looks or performs or how reliable it is, as long as they can flash their keys to impress their friends. That's why BMW sales have gone up. More and more people fall into the "I wanna impress others with my BMW" idea.

 

Maybe with the people you know...but most of the BMW owners I know are in the BMWCCA and drive their Bimmers at several track events a year as well as use them as their daily driver...as do I.
And, FYI, BMW doesn't really use "keys" anymore, at least not in the traditional sense of the word...you now get a littel electronic module that can be kept in your pocket at all times and you start/stop the engine by pressing a button on the dash and lock/unlock the doors by touching the door look with your thumb...so, no one ever sees a "key"...

 

That really sounds more like the average Ferrari owner...you know, the one that drives their new 360 1500 miles a year or has a 30 year old classic Ferrari with 15000 orginal miles...I have found that most BMW owners, especially M3 and M5 owners are much more likely to be a car enthusiast than your average Ferrari owner who only admires his Ferrari garage queen in the garage while sipping wine or smoking a cigar...who would never dream of driving it if there was a chance of rain in the 48 hour forecast...

 

That's just plain stupid. You're trying to compare a spoiled teenager in an M3 to someone with a 250k Ferrari? We drive our Sl600 all the time, and I drive my Porsche Turbo regardless of the weather, but the Ferrari will be kept in the garage and driven 1500 miles a year. I guess were not car enthusiasts because we respect our vehicles and don't trash the ones that cost 300 grand. How can you even compare a regular car made to be a daily driver to a Ferrari.

The reason people drive their M, AMG, and S-line cars is because they needed something cheap and fast they could drive all the time. The reason people buy Ferraris is to be a part of history, to own a car with spirit, to own the greatest automotive works of art of our time. Driving a Ferrari on a sunny afternoon around a race track is one of the greatest things anyone will ever do. As for an M5, who cares it's just another car with some horespower that you see lined up in front of the country club with the Mercedes AMG crowd. When it's raining out though I'm leaving the Ferrari under the cover, I'll save the miles for a track event instead. I guess I'm just not a car enthusiast.

 

DON'T!

 

Cheap is a relative word. Why don't people buy mb or bmw's to be a part of history...those marques have a long, great automotive history of their own. Some parts of your post sound a bit snobbish...but that's just me.

 

First, fill out your profile.

Second, I have the feeling you are not, in fact, much of a car enthusiast but you certainly are, in fact, misinformed. Further, you come across as a little full of yourself.

I am blessed to own several marques and I respect each one; and each one brings with it a heritage of its own.

Anyone who has driven an M5/M6 respects the car, even if you don't like the looks. The car can flat out perform and yet it has a practicality that other cars don't possess.

As far as Ferrari, should you drive the car and not treat it as a garage queen? Hell yeah! That's what it's for. To DRIVE!

 

I would love to see pics of your cars that you mentioned. what kind of ferrari do you have?

 

Well, I have owned a Ferrari of some type for 25+ years now and during that period I have averaged driving them 5k+ miles per year and on some 10k+ miles per year. I have also meet people with million dollar+ Ferraris that do drive them...and guess what,they have far fewer problems than the garage queens. Regardless of a car's value, it is still just a car meant to be driven...why save it for the next owner?

 

You guys can lable me as a snob all day because I absolutly love Ferrari and "i think" (thats a personal opinion) they are the greatest cars in the world. You guys don't know me at all, I understand that, but believe me I drive my cars as hard as anyone and I agree these cars should be driven. I can't afford to daily drive a new Ferrari maybe you can, but I certainly cannot, but that doesn't mean I can't be in heaven for 1500 miles a year and if that means i'm not a real car enthusiast so be it. Not to mention if you trash a Ferrari and put 10k on it you can kiss your chances of getting the next hot car from your dealer goodbye as they won't make jack on the trade-in. I personally like getting hot new cars when they come out for less then 100k over sticker.

As for the M6 and the M5 I really wasn't that impressed to be honest. My Father drove a Quattroporte at KizDan's dealership a few months ago and I would take one over an M car. With that being said, the M5 is amazing on the track for a car of its size. I passed one when i was tracking my 996Turbo at Mid-ohio over the summer but the car had some grunt that's for sure. I have driven both the M5, and the M6 and while they are NICE cars they don't do it for me.

For the record when I say cheap, I mean a 90k M5 is cheap compared to the 200k+ cars you guys love to compare them to.

As for the M5 vs. E63 I know you guys are going to go down this road where people who don't like BMWs arn't car enthusiasts, but I think the 63 is a better car. Mercedes really worked to improve ESP and it's much better then DSC. The transmission shifts so much smoother under WOT and under normal driving conditions. The interior of the E-class is much nicer and it looks way more professional if you ask me. At the end of the day the E is faster in a striaght line too! As for looks, I like the M5's design from the front and the back, but the side sort of bothers me. The M6 just looks horrible, I drove one while on vacation in SOCAL and while it drove ok, I just couldn't get over how round the thing is. I couldn't decide if i was in a BMW or a UFO.

I think you will have a hard time argueing that Merc or BMW have the same motorsport lineage as Ferrari. I'm not saying they havn't been in as many races or anything like that, but those companies lack the romance a Ferrari offers. I don't know how to describe the feeling of a Ferrari, but it's there. I was as anti-Ferrari as anyone a few years ago, but then someone opened my eyes and I am obsessed now. I was a Porsche guy through and through. I loved to pass Ferraris at DEs and race 360s in my TT as I beat them every time. I laughed at the fools who spent 190 grand on a car that was inferior to my Porsche. I was as German as it got guys. There was a time when we had a ton of AMGs all the time. Then I started to slowly come around and test drove a F430 coupe and it was game over.

At the end of the day though, I'm looking at M5s and E55s for my next DD. A lot of people buy the BMWs for performance and overlook the aesthetics of the car, at least that's what I'm doing

 

A thoughtful, reasoned, intelligent response.

Ferrari is unlike any other, you are right about that. Someone once asked me: "Mike, what's so special about Ferrari...?" My response: "It's like trying to explain what summer is like to an Eskimo who has only experienced winter, or what Heaven is like to someone who has never been there...!" The look, the sound, the feel, the smell, it just has "it", hard to describe in words.

Ferrari is magic. Doesn't mean I don't like other cars, it's just that when you get right down to it, nothing else is its equal, imho of course.

However, having written this, I may have purchased an M6 today. I'll know for sure in about two hours.

 

Mercedes has its own set of quality issues, esp with electronics. My SLK's dashboard died, the fuel sender contacts corroded repeatedly, door panels delaminated -- before the car hit 7K miles. There was another F-Chat'er whose S-Class had $10,000 in service bills, enough to make an '80s Ferrari sound like a Consumer Reports recommended used car.

In the year I kept it, my BMW had a failed power sunroof, both power windows failed, tranny issues, stalled in traffic once (scary, no accident though) for some reason that couldn't be diagnosed.

These are all very complicated cars now, with much to fail. I would only take one on a lease at this and then walk after the three years. Also, I suspect BMW will dump the current styling trend within a few years, and you might not want to be locked into the current body style for the longer duration of a purchase.

 

I believe they're working on getting the TT's with the VW/Audi(well I guess /Porsche) DSG system, if you could find out more I'd hold out for that.

 

Ive had my E55 for a few months and passed on the M5 for it... So far no problems on the E55. I have my fingers crossed.

As for the M6... its not ugly..but its not a looker either.. for about the same money Id get the Vantage without a hesitation.

J