BMW 5-Series Sedans

john01

I have seen someone put this on from another board, and there is no way it will cost $1,000. Whoever quoted you that deserves a "crook of the year" award. Apparently it is not difficult to put the shadow trim pieces on. Search around, if you do not get the SP pkg and end up putting on the shadow trim.

shipo

Another perspective on the Sport Package. I just drove in and out of Paris in my new 530i with SP, a little over a week ago. I do not know if you have ever been there, however, many Paris streets are made with Paving Stones that were placed decades ago, and then, when they started to become too irregular in their surface, the Parisian DOT (or whatever they call it) decided to lay black-top over the stones. Now, decades after the black-top was applied, much if it has worn off, creating (if possible) an even worse surface than the original paving stones. With all of that poor pavement, I was concerned about how my car would fare when entering the environs of Paris. My fears proved to be unfounded; the suspension of the 5-Series SP was able to deal with the Paris streets with perfect aplomb.

My suggestion to you, order the SP, and when the tires wear out, replace them with a high quality All-Season tire like the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, then you will have most of the best of both worlds.

Best Regards,
Shipo

multiplechoice

If you haven't decided yet, here is an option to consider. First of all, decide if you like the sport seats. It sounds like the main reason for not opting for the sport package is the stiffer ride. I'm sure that if you got the sport package you could find someone on the boards that would swap you for the "stock" springs, or someone who has upgraded their suspension set-up would sell the "stock" springs for cheap.

snagiel

See the following link for parts ($250) and installation instructions:

http://www.540i6.com/shadowline.html

Still seems like a PITA to me, but if you really like the look and don't want to get the sport package, this is your ticket...

ek5

Vishnu11 & mcq7159 - Congrats on the new cars!

Just got a call from our dealer and our new 530 is in, so we'll pick it up tomorrow! (Alpine White, black int., step, prem. pkg., prem. sound, cold weather pkg. - $983 over invoice).

Thanks to everyone for all your great advice and insight!

div2

Well, for what it's worth, on Saturday an elderly lady in a POS-is there any other kind?-Topaz ran into the back of my better half's 528i. The damage to the 5er was confined to a gouge in the bumper cover as well as a cracked lower skirt; the cover wasn't even knocked out of place. The repair cost will be just $630. The Topaz looked MUCH worse. The old bag lied and said my wife wasn't using her turn signal but her adjuster gladly agreed to pay our full repair cost once he heard how cheap he was getting off(My M6 got rear ended a month before I bought it. The entire exhaust including cat and headers needed to be replaced- to the tune of @$5000(!) I was happy; I got a new exhaust). So anyway, the 5er goes into the shop for repair in about a week. It's no big deal, as the sled is essentially the commuter/vacation hack; had the blue-hair whacked my Club Sport I'd almost certainly be in jail on a manslaughter charge...

pap5

On your ED adventure and the Ultimate Souvenir Machine. It brought back good memories of ours last summer. Mostly good, anyway. We drove essentially the same route into Paris at the same time of day -- the Peripherique, exiting at Porte Maillot to find the Harms agent on Ave. Foch. It was nerve-wracking in the new 530, though much more fun later when driving Paris in a Parisien-size rental.

Unfortunately, we never got past break-in mileage before dropping the car off, and I tended to follow break-in restrictions religiously -- perhaps too religiously. Never really opened it up. This led to a couple of interesting experiences on the autobahn, when I'd swing into the left lane to pass a string of slower (by German standards) traffic while trying to stay under 100 mph. I'd think I had plenty of time to get around and back over, only to have some S-Class come bearing down on us from out of nowhere. It's hard to be prepared for how truly fast the big dogs run over there! Keeping just enough pressure on the throttle to hurry things along without causing the Steptronic to kick down was a tough balancing act. Oh, how I'd love to have another crack at it with a post break-in Bimmer! Maybe someday . . .

nyca

That's a very good price, what dealer/geographic region are you in?

sjmurray2

Where did you purchase your vehicle? I finally called Passport BMW today in MD and the best I could do was get $1500 off MSRP for a 530! Just curious?

dabimmer

Just got back from a 3600 mile trip to Nevada,Arizona,New Mexico,Utah and Colorado
on our 530I with PP,SP,Step, Xenons; what a great ride! Made short 400 mile trips each
day and arrived perfectly relaxed and ready to roll. Cruised at 85mph with AC on and
managed 31.3 mpg on best leg and slightly over 30 mph overall. The worst was the tankful in Denver city driving which yielded 22 mpg, still not bad! On the road ran into
some obstacles on the road but managed to swerve and avoid said debris rather easily,
the car ran fabulously and didn't use a drop of oil, unbelievable. The best statement I can make about this car is that power is seamless and seemingly unbounded throughout the driving range. I have the 10 speaker sound system which is the standard one and it
left me feeling that it is probably inadequate at high speeds on a long roadtrip, but if I
needed better sound I'd stay home and listen to my home system. Now with just slightly
fewer than 10,000 total miles on dabimmer I can realize how each of you feel everytime
you take this car out on a jaunt, whether it's 5 or 10 miles or in this case 3600 short miles.

shipo

Hmmm, I have never really thought about having to account for the "Kick Down" when trying to keep a car under the prescribed RPM limit during break in, that must have been a total pain.

Them "Big Dogs" really do run fast, at one point (post 1,200 mile limit) I was moving along at about 125 and saw a whole string of cars catching me FAST. I moved over in plenty of time, and as the first car passed us (Porsche 911) with a 40 MPH advantage, my wife, who was reading at the time, jumped and said, "What the hell was that?" I said, "Just a Porsche" at the same time as the S600 went screaming by. She responded by saying, "That's enough of that, I'm going to sleep!" And she did, at 125 MPH!

Best Regards,
Shipo

530bmw

Is there a speed limit on autobahns? I believe, based on Shipo's posting, there is a minimun speed limit of 100 and the maximum limit is whatever your car can do.

john01

Contrary to popular belief, speed limit is strictly imposed on most sections of the autobahn. There are SOME sections where such limitation is removed, but it is often congested. Speed limit is usually 80km/h, 100 km/h or 120 km/h, depending on the area. They have speed cameras on most overhead passes and some random locations. The fine is then billed to the driver's address, or the rental companies in case of rent cars, who then bills the customers credit card.

nyccarguy

In Paris (especially) did you feel as if you were driving the largest car around? Were there lots of 5 series BMWs on the autobahn?

shipo

Hmmm, I must have been lucky; most of the Autobahn that I drove had no speed limit (except areas of construction or urban areas). Admittedly, most of the areas where I was driving were in the southern half of Germany, where, it seems to be a little less populated than the northern half. As for a minimum limit, I don't ever remember seeing any reference to a minimum limit, and have seen plenty of cars that would have a hard time keeping up me on my bicycle, driving the Autobahn (in the far right lane of course).

I also noticed that in Austria and Switzerland, there were unrestricted areas on their Autobahns as well, France however, has a 130 KPH limit (about 80 MPH). The thing about France though, is that most folks drive at an easy 160/100 (KPH/MPH), so, you still get there in pretty good time compared to here in the States.

Paris is a funny place to drive; I saw a lot of HUGE tour buses, many thousands of cars in the VW Golf class (and smaller), a surprisingly high number (hundreds) of Chrysler MiniVans (and Renault Espace vans as well), and enough large BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Peugeot cars to keep it interesting. Probably the most common sight would be the two small Mercedes built cars, the A-Class and the Smart car, which are literally small enough to park perpendicular to the flow of traffic in a normal parking space where ever they can fit. I saw one parking spot filled with three Smart cars side by side, nose pointing into the street.

On election night, we were driving around in the 4th, 6th and 8th Arrondissement, and we saw several Cadillac and Lincoln Limousines, complete with diplomatic plates, driving around.

As far as how many 5-Series cars I saw on the Autobahn, I saw way too many to count, however, like ButMyWife, over on the 3-Series board, I saw even more blown Audi wagons screaming around at well over 140 MPH.

Best Regards,
Shipo

john01

It is true that you have more open road down south. In the north, A9 from Berlin to Munich has some sections unlimited, and as it is the main artery from the north to the south, the unified German government seemd to have worked on it first. Berlin to Dresden is still under construction and some sections are quite dreadful. However, the rush hour traffic is not as bad as Frankfurt or Munich.

There are some sections where "recommend speed" exists. Usually it is about 130km/h, which most people tak it as "whatever you want". Perhaps this is what some think of as the "minimum limit"

shipo

"There are some sections where "recommend speed" exists. Usually it is about 130km/h, which most people tak (sic) it as "whatever you want". Perhaps this is what some think of as the "minimum limit""

I love that:

Officer: "Sir, I am writing you a ticket for driving 50 kph UNDER the 130 kph (80 mph) minimum limit."

Driver: "But Officer, I am driving a Citroen 2CV, and it will only do 80 kph (50 mph), downhill, wind to my [non-permissible content removed], and everybody in the car rocking back and forth as fast as they can!"

Officer: "I'm sorry Sir, da Rules is da Rules, no Butts about it."

Oops! Back to reality... ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

P.S.

For those of you who don't know what a Citroen 2CV is, click on the following link for a shining example:

French 'mobilehome'

ek5

We got ours at Prestige BMW in Ramsey, NJ (NE NJ). My husband was negotiating a lease deal, but then we decided to buy.

Shipo - Belated congrats on your car, too. Unfortunately, we don't have the autobahn to try out and will have to putt-putt on Chestnut Ridge Rd.

shipo

Chestnut Ridge Road? Which one, the one in Montvale/Woodcliff Lake or the one in Saddle River?

This is a small world, I live on Glen Road, less than a mile from the Chestnut Ridge Road/Glen Road intersection (right by BMWNA).

Best Regards,
Shipo

bluewater5

Per my dealer (Park Ave./NJ), dealers were informed yesterday of the following on the 5 series transition:

2003 E39 will run most of the model year.

New 525 (E60) begins production in July 2003, with cars available around September. New 530 begins production about a month later. These should be 2004 model year.

BTW, a while back we talked about bi-xenons on the 5. It appears that the bmwusa.com web site may say "Bi-xenon" in error when tracking orders. Per my dealer and the ED package I got yesterday (for June 24 pickup), you just get low beam Xenon.

-Bob D.

woobah

I have heard that the new 5 Series 525 and 530 will both be availabe in the fall. If you read the German web site from an earlier post, that is what that indicates as well. Also, it looks like you will be getting more for your money. Pretty Sweet!

nyca

The fall? Yes, fall of 2003, not this fall.

My salesman told me there was some kind of national BMW meeting in June, where they would get the readout on what was happening with the 2003 E39, and when the "program" to move them would begin. I will ask again. Sales of the 5 are actually up significantly since last year. I think BMW would be hurt alot more by having a sales hiatus between the E39 and the E60 then between the one for the E38 and E65 7 series, they just can't afford that given the number of units this model sells. Mercedes is dealing to move the last of the current E Classes, but the new E is a big improvement over the current E so people are waiting, and doesn't have some of the styling issues that the BMW faithful fear in the E60. Hell, there may actually be a run on the 2003 E39 from people who want the last of the line. I wouldn't buy the first year E60, too much new stuff, too many bugs to shake out.

bluewater5

The above from my dealer does match with http://www.bmw2002.co.uk/news.htm, which says September 2003 for the UK debut. I have seen the rumors of a model year 2003 E60, also, so hopefully we can confirm one way or the other soon.

-Bob D.

shipo

It is not at all unusual for the German manufacturers to release a car in Europe six months to a year before its North American debut, just to get some close at had real world experience with the car before sending it across the pond. Case in point, during my recent ED trip, I saw a couple hundred of the new E-Class Mercedes-Benz cars (W211?) on the road, including what looked to be an E500 that blew by me on the Autobahn at around 150 something.

That said, I would not be at all surprised to see the new E60 released in Europe some time this coming fall, and then have a six month lag before the same car reaches our shores.

Best Regards,
Shipo

woobah

According to this German Article, the new 2003 5 Series will debut this fall, fall of 2002. Here is the link:

http://mitglied.lycos.de/bmwfanpage/id44.htm

nyca

I posted that link. I translated it, it says:

" With completely new headlights and turn signals those are transparent present themselves
the new ër sedan (E60) on the IAA 2003 in Frankfurt and then in the autumn 2003 with our
BMW dealers."

My German isn't too good, where does it say fall of 2002 in that article?

If the car debuts at the 2003 Frankfurt show, that's September 2003. It could be in Europe (like the new E) in summer 2003. But I just can't see how it's possible for fall of 2002. That would mean there would only be 2-3 more allocations of 2002 E39s to dealers this year, and that would be the end of the line.

rube51

If you read the article correctly , it states that
the new model will be introduced at the IAA in
Frankfurt ,Germany in 2003 , and to the German Dealers in the Fall of 2003. Meaning that we might
not see it here in 2003.
Best regards,
rube 51

bluewater5

Okay, it says:

"Mit völlig neuen Scheinwerfern und Blinkern die durchsichtig sind präsentiert sich die neue 5er Limousine (E60) auf der IAA 2003 in Frankfurt und dann im Herbst 2003 bei unseren BMW-Händlern."

So it will be at a 2003 auto show usually held in September and then at German dealers in Fall 2003.

A subtitle "So wird der neue 5er Modelljahr Herbst 2003 aussehen" (This is how the new 5 modelyear in Fall 2003 will look) is a little confusing, but it still looks like a world-wide release in Fall 2003 to me.

-Bob D.

reorge56

Looking to get into my first BMW in a few months and I am torn between CPO 528 or a new 525. The 530 is way out of budget and my biggest concern is a lack of power. I currently have a 200 Maxima SE which I love but I am afraid a 525 w/ 184 hp will be a little lame as I am used to 222hp with the Max. Any feedback would be appreciated. (seems to be a lot of former Maxima owners here as well - guess it's true - the poor man's BMW...) Would defintely get the sport package if I bought new and I also need an auto for the wife (who obviously can't drive a manual....) Thanks all

snagiel

As is my (and most others') usual response to this question: go test drive it and decide for yourself, since "power" is a relative and subjective term, and its importance varies with people.

For example, my last car was a '98 Passat 1.8T 5-speed. With 150 hp, it was reasonably peppy (0-60 in 8.1 seconds). After a while and some research, I decided to buy a performance "chip" (modified ECU box which manipulates the turbo's pressure and increases peak output to 195hp), which--according to Car and Driver--brought the 0-60 time down to 6.6 seconds. It definitely felt much quicker (although it did eat the clutch by 30k miles). Now, my new 530i sprints to 60 in roughly the same time as the chipped Passat, but do I feel like it's not much better? The Passat was a comfortable and competent sporty family sedan, but the 530i is better than it in every conceivable way. Its handling is far better, the manual more precise, the engine smoother, better sounding, more linear, and torquier, the ergonomics better, better luxury, etc etc etc.

My point is, I suspect you'll be so satisfied with the car as a whole, the relatively inferior power to your Maxima probably won't wipe that grin off your face. But if you find the 525's power "lacking," (and, by the way, most DRIVERS usually do no matter what they drive), you'll likely appreciate the 528's greater output. Good luck.

snagiel

I know several others have posted about this above, but I thought I'd chime in as well with what I've read and observed...

There's no way the E60 is being released this fall, short of BMW pulling off the greatest developmental secret in automotive history. It looks almost certain it will debut at the Frankfurt show next September, and start selling in Europe shortly thereafter. Shipo, it's more than just "not unusual" for models to appear in Europe for several months before coming to the US: it's practically a given. If I were a betting man, I'd say US dealers will begin receiving their allocations (in limited numbers) in January 2004.

shipo

I was trying to be the voice of moderation, however, I totally agree with you. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo

The pictures on the link posted by Woobah look to be more production true than anything I have seen so far. That said, the E60 is now less objectional looking than it had been, maybe it will eventually "Grow on Me", then again, maybe not. I am glad I ordered my E39 when I did, in three years time, I will have the option of keeping the E39 that I clearly like very much, or, if the E60 has grown on me by then, moving to it.

Best Regards,
Shipo

riez

reorge56... snagiel is absolutely correct. You must take a sufficiently long and thorough test drive to see if the car is right for you and your wife. Drive it on the roads you drive at the times you drive in the type traffic you drive. With at least the weight you normally have in it. If you pass a lot on 2-lane roads, make sure to see how the car does that. Or merging onto interstate. Or going up steep hills/inclines.

But don't expect a 525iA to seem overly powerful. Smallish engine in a biggish car plus a power sapping slushbox isn't a combo to light the rear tires.

Here are some (conservative) BMW estimates for 0-60 mph acceleration times:

1998 528iA 7.7 seconds
1998 528iM 7.0 seconds

2002 525iA 8.3 seconds
2002 525iM 7.8 seconds

2002 530iA 7.0 seconds
2002 530iM 6.8 seconds

Top speed in each case is 128 mph (elec limited).

Whether these numbers will mean anything to you will depend upon your expectations, the type traffic you normally drive in, and how you drive.

merckx

Shipo,what do you think of the new E-class? Just looking at the photos,I can't make up my mind.
Snagle,as a 150hp Passat driver,I like your thinking! A lot ask about power here,considering the wide range from 525i to M5. I would say it's purely a function of money. A 525i is down on power compared to a Maxima,but as you said,IN WHOLE the Bimmer makes up for this discrepancy in so many ways. I considered a manual 525,and found it reasonably peppy. I mean,who wouldn't want the M5's Corvette-like acceleration,but I wouldn't feel cheated if I didn't have it.
If power is an issue,get as much as you can afford. But if one is already stretching for the base 525i,I can't imagine the car utterly pleasing to own.

shipo

The new W211 E-Class? Hmmm, well, visually I like it, a lot (I think I might have even drooled on one in Luxembourg ;-)). However, until I get my fill of driving cars with manual transmissions (I have driven them for 26 years while living in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago and now New York, and I STILL like them, so I dont think that is going to change anytime soon ;-)), I will not even consider a U.S. spec E-Class, regardless of its other fine attributes.

Best Regards,
Shipo

snagiel

Amen, Shipo! I've only been driving manuals since '98 (you've got a few years on me), but I'll never go back. I'm even skeptical about the coolest high-tech 2-pedal manuals (e.g. the M3's SMG2, the F360's F1), and hope BMW and other performance-appreciating manufacturers will continue to cater to the ever-dwindling cohort of drivers who refuse to part with their manuals.

shipo

Don't give up hope yet, according to a study I read somewhere, the number of cars sold with a manual transmission in 2001 actually went up to over 10% in the U.S. for the first time since the late 1980s or early 1990s.

I have always maintained that given the "Keep up with the Joneses" mentality here in the U.S. that there was only one sure fire way of making folks want a Stick Shift more than an Automatic transmission, simply, make the Manual transmission an EXTRA COST OPTION! Gasp, what am I saying? Relax, hear me out, I have told this story here at Edmunds before, however, I think it is relevant once again.

In the mid 1980s there was a period where the only 5-Series available here in the U.S. was the anemic 525e, which, if I remember correctly, was a low HP peak, high torque (relatively speaking) motor, and not too much fun to drive. BMW finally got the message that the “e” motors were not very well received by the enthusiast crowd, so they started offering the 533i, with an honest to God, high revving BMW motor in it (I am giving BMW the benefit of the doubt, thinking that maybe some old Rambler I6 motors were put in the “e” cars by accident ;-)).

I was on a business trip to Los Angeles shortly after the 533i was released, and much to my delight, a friend of mine who I had made lunch plans with, showed up in his brand spanking new Black/Black 533i 5-Speed. This car was fully decked out with every other option that BMW offered on said car, and when I came out of my clients’ office, he simply tossed me the keys and said, “Let’s go!” Needless to say, “Away we went”. I drove up to the “Valley” and then down Mulholland Highway into the town of Malibu. Wow, what a great car that was, easily as great as the 525e was mediocre.

Once in Malibu, we found the restaurant that he wanted to take me to, and as we were turning into the parking lot, there, right in front of us was another brand new Black 5er, however, this one was a 525e (further examination revealed this to be a 525eA). The lady driving said 525e parked, and I parked right next to her, and as we were all getting out of our cars, she looked over at me with a very haughty, disapproving look, deliberately walked past the 533i giving it a quick once over in the process, turned to me and said, “Couldn’t you afford the Automatic?” My friend and I were so stunned that all we could do was laugh at her, so hard in fact that we almost fell to the ground. Wow did my stomach and smile muscles hurt after that.

Anyway, long story short, if the auto manufacturers make the manual transmission an extra cost option, then folks couldn’t say “Yep, I got her fully loaded, every option”, unless the popped for the third pedal as well.

Best Regards,
Shipo

snagiel

Interesting theory; I haven't heard that one before, although I've certainly been puzzled over why the auto fetches a premium. I wonder if simply making the auto a no-cost option would have an effect as well.

Your story about the woman in the 525eA is hilarious, if only because I had a somewhat opposite experience last year. I had a nice meal at an upscale restaurant here in Atlanta, and as I was waiting to hand over my valet ticket, I heard a distinctive rumble from around the corner. I gazed over and spotted a gleaming 911 Turbo pulling up to the 40-something guy and his trophy wife. As the valet opened the door to exit, my reverent awe quickly gave way to disgust and horror as I spotted the automatic gearshift lever. I just shook my head and--probably the only person amongst the small crowd that was drooling over the car and its fortunate owner--actually felt sorry for him.

shipo

When I was in school in San Diego, a friend of mine and I would always notice the choice cars tooling around with the "Take your breath away" type of young lady driving it. Our standard comment was, "Rag, as usual".

As I was building a mental image of what you saw in that 911 (the good and the bad), there were just too many snide comments that came into my head to even keep track of them all, much less write them (not that any of them would have been acceptable to our most generous hosts here at Edmunds anyway). Great story. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

ab60190

I might be able to add a little insight here (although as others have correctly stated - you have to drive them both yourself to decide). I currently own both a 2002 525iT and 1999 528i, with manual transmissions. The 525 has the sport package, while the 528 does not. Note that the wagon is slightly heavier (I don't know how much) than the sedan. For day to day driving around town there is very little difference. When driving hard, you will notice that the 525 is just slightly slower, but for the most part I find that I just end up running it at higher RPMs and have not really found it lacking. The fact that the 525 has the sport package actually makes it the preferable car to drive due to the vastly superior handling.

Before purchasing the 525, I did drive the automatic version and found it to be unacceptably slow feeling - much worse than the numbers would suggest, and much slower than my 528.

ek5

We live a few towns away (Closter) and are familiar with Chestnut Ridge Rd. from the Tice's Farm days. Just recently took a Sunday drive that way and passed by BMW HQ. Why don't you work there...you could walk to work!

dl7265

Its interesting that in Euro the rental cars Shipo posted you can get a 725i! And yet most here want more than a 2.5 liter in a 3er.having not been to Europe yet, i would speculate that high speed crusing and fuel mileage is the determining factor not 0-60.

DL

merckx

I'm never really enticed on the bigger engined version. For example,if I had more to spend than a 325i,I'd not consider a 330i;I'd go right to a 525i. And before I put a lot of money on a 5-series,I would want a 7.

pap5

Despite predictions of the demise of manual transmissions for at least the last 20 years, they continue to be sold in a variety of cars. I agree with Shipo and Snagiel that a stick is the preferred way to go, especially in a car of sporting character like a BMW. It enhances the driving experience from the standpoint of connectedness and control. Therefore it is that my 530i is. . . an automatic.

Why? I could invoke the blame-the-wife factor, but that would be copping out. My wife can drive a stick, but is of an age where she'd rather not. If I wanted to sell her on the idea of bringing a BMW home from Europe as a nice vacation souvenir, her condition was that it would have to be an automatic. In the end, I accepted that condition.

My Minimum Standards for Accepting an Automatic Transmission are that the car not be (a) small, (b) 4-cylinder, or (c) a sports car. Especially Standard C; my feeling is that a sports car without a stick is not really a sports car. As a former Corvette owner, it drives me nuts that most Vettes are sold with automatics. When shopping for my midlife crisis Vette a few years ago, it was hard to find one that met my requirements (good shape, low mileage, and cheap as hell) that didn't have an automatic. But since a 4-speed was also a requirement, I persevered. As a former Porsche owner (many years earlier, but same requirements), it drives me nuts that ANY Porsche is sold with any form of automatic.

A BMW 5 series is not a sports car. It is a sedan, albeit the finest mid-size sports sedan on earth. Although I would prefer a 530iM, I thoroughly enjoy our 530iA. If BMW didn't offer the choice, I would have no bimmer at all.

I also have my venerable '82 Datsun 280ZX 5-speed to fall back on. I have had at least one manual transmission car in the motor pool for 33 of the 36 years I've been driving -- including the last 30 straight -- and intend to continue doing so until my left leg atrophies.

chesdin4

Haven't read the board here for a few days, but 20 or 30 posts ago there was talk about photo radar in Germany. I set one of those off on a secondary road last year (on my ED trip); didn't know what it was until too late.

Never did get a ticket. Thought it would be a cool souveneir (sp?) if I did. They may have figured out via the temp tags that I was a foreigner and didn't bother to send it.

Re: high speed testing on the autobahn: You really do need a long stretch of 6-lane autobahn... the fact is that people don't move over as quickly as they should. There's a good stretch just south of Mannheim (SW part of the country; A-5 or A-6, I can't recall). My friends in Frankfurt find excuses to go there for a test run when they get their new cars...

john01

Actually, that photo was seen on another board couple of weeks ago, and most agree that the photo is more than likely to have been photshoped. It is pretty good, but there a details that just does not fit from one picture to another, like the rear light assembly. Then again, maybe it is the real thing.

woobah

What do you think would be a better choice, the 2000 year 5 Series, or the 2001 5 Series? Thanks

sergeym

Small cosmetic changes were made for MY 2001. Not evrybody likes them but I do. See for yourself.

cmr530i

Your stories are always so amusing, but please do clarify what "Rag, as usual" means. You've got my curiosity up.
P.S. Congrats on your new 5er. Hope the time passes quickly!