BLACKASH

Well, first there was cheating and remorse and now I've gone and done it....
Traded my 05 LS 430 for a Monaco blue 06 CPO BMW 750IL. Now, before you start approaching my home with torches...hear me out. I bought the 05 on the spur of the moment one day without really knowing much about LS 430's. It was 49k miles black with ash and was a premium package. No navi, no bluetooth. In retrospect, I probably paid a little too much for it, too.
Being a former Florida car, the previous owner didn't take the necessary precautions against bug damage and it had some paint scarring. Also someone apparently used the wrong tool to scrape the frost off the windshield one morning and put light arcing scratches in front of the drivers position which would appear when the sun hit the glass just right.
Still, the ride and comfort was terrific and the stereo, even though it was standard was amazing. I was really in love. Next thing I know, my brother goes out and buys a 2006 UL. Black with Ecru, low mileage, Gorgeous, all the toys and he practically stole it from a dealer during the December economic panic.
Suddenly my baby was looking a little weak by comparison.
So, I took my first foray into a BMW dealer (Memorialized in my thread on "Cheating and Remorse" ) and came away still in love with my LS.
But, one sunny Saturday morning not too long ago, I was lured to another BMW dealer by a very well written internet ad accompanied by some intoxicating photos of the king of all BMW's....the vaunted "7."
The seduction began with an offer of clean book for my warty by comparison LS and continued with a promise to cut the selling price of the CPO "7" to the bone.
The smooth powerful acceleration during the "7" test drive flushed me with excitement and my ardor elevated as I glanced in amazement at the miniscule mileage reading on the odometer. Inhaling the perfume from the tan leather as the drivers seat massaged my glutes, I was plunged into a fit of passion and realized that any resistance was futile. This was one velvety beautiful beast....with navi and bluetooth. In no time I was signing papers that featured a ridiculously low bmw financing rate.

So there you have it. The sordid tale of a conflicted yet satisfied soul.
I gotta tell you though, everytime I catch a glimpse of an LS on the road...I can't help but wonder....did I do the right thing? and... is that a UL or just a premium package?

KILLERGS4

if you had a base LS430, it's good you got rid of it for a 7. good luck!

gs eddy

Hope you got a warranty with that. All my friends who have owned BMW's always complained about something, auto windows, sunroof, ac controls, etc...
BMW's should be leased never bought.
GL with the new ride though. Farewell, don't let the door whoop your *** on the way out! ; )

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

The 7 is an awesome machine. Handles extremely well for a big boat thanks to the active suspension It's a little stiff over choppy freeways and other roads for my taste.
However, I prefer the AMG abc suspension's over BMWs, smooth on flat road and flat on curvy road

My brother in law "bought" a bmw 745i and I made sure he gets all the warranty that bmw can offer

Me, I'm done "buying" German cars. It's lexus smooth sailing and trouble-free (so far) all the way

Good luck and don't be a stranger

AlexusAnja

Cheaters will always end in remorse... you'll love your new baby for a while, then you'll start having guilt and that guilt will build in hate for what you have and what you should have stayed with... and then you'll probably just end up killing yourself one day by driving your BMW off a bridge or something... ha ha. Oh wait, wasn't that movie or something? Just kidding there...

Like others have said, hope you got the full CPO that BMW has to offer and get ready to get rid of it around the time the warranty expires. No BMW is going to hold up through the test of time like a Lexus will... but you'll enjoy it much better for sure while it's running good. Also, honestly, for my love for Lexus, it just still doesn't have the namebrand "snob" appeal of a BMW or MB, with most people.

For me, I'd rather live luxuriously in quiet silence at the corner with my wife... hee hee.

Good luck.. and may the Force be with you...

So Philly1

<----Guilty of 7 series envy also. Never went out & even test drove one for fear that i might get weak and drive off the lot with one. Let us know how you enjoy the 7 in a few months.

Tee

I say congrats since that is what your heart desired so! We will see you again a few years in another LS model but until then enjoy your new toy and like GS3tek said don't be a stranger.

sojah

iTrader: (1)

i didn't realize that you had the base model, i'd prolly have done the same thing. congrats and enjoy it. see you back in a couple of years then

rcpeters

I have ridden in and driven BMW, Audi, VW and Mercedes; they steer nicely but the ride is too hard in my opinion. Maybe you should have borrowed your brother's LS430 for awhile, then you might have bought a Lexus instead.

AlexusAnja

It's really simple physics and engineering because if you want a more "better" handling vehicle on corners and steering, you need stiffer suspensions and more response by having higher resistences. As for Lexus, they don't handle around corners as well because their suspensions are tuned to be softer and absorb your normal everyday bumps and roughness.

Depending on what you think you need in life... a nice corner handler that will come into play 20% of the time perhaps, or a cruiser for the remaining 80% of the time?

Me, I just wanted reliability...

sojah

iTrader: (1)

i've been talking to a few euro lux owners lately (audi, bmw, mercedes) and i hear that they are not having many reliability issues like we all think they have, but now that i think about it these vehicles are usually 1-4 years old so how about after that range, say from 5-8 years old??

what does the bmw offer in terms of warranty on that vehicle, anything come included??

duncan73

You'll be back.

BlackUltra

Well, I knew it was inevitable ... after all my brother (AKA BlackAsh) has had probably 60-80-90? cars in his life so far. Maybe 20 in just the last 10 years. If he made a list it would take some of us down an impressive memory lane. So I knew it was just a matter of time before he bought another automobile to feed his eclectic automotive addiction. I tried to keep him in the Lexus fold as we even drove an 06 LS430UL. But neither of us were fond of the color and it had a poorly patched up paint ding right under the driver door handle. Imagine seeing that ding everyday before getting into it so we passed on that car. Before we could find another UL he found the great deal on the CPO 2006 BMW 750Li.

In his defense, he set the family Lexus bar with his 2005 LS430 acquisition. It was his first Lexus, an impulse buy, albeit a base model with an excellent interior but it did have some buggy paint issues on the front end as well as those eerie windshield scratches that showed up unexpectedly on particularly sunny days like the Aurora Borealis. It didn’t help that after his purchase, my 06 LS430 showed up and happened to be a UL with a new windshield installed around 16K miles and a rather pristine front end. I am more of an analytical buyer and after seeing and driving his car I performed due diligence in finding the Lexus of my dreams. Of course he gets full credit for introducing me to Lexus. If not for him I would still be driving my 06 Infiniti M35 and therefore am forever grateful.

So on with my comparison of my 06 LS430UL and my brother’s 2006 BMW 750Li.
So he drives the very dark blue (and I mean almost black) 06 750Li over to the house last Wednesday to show it to me. As he pulls up I am impressed with its exterior especially the wheels and tires and immediately label it the “beast”. I find the exterior reminiscent of the 07 LS460 body style that has been increasingly piquing my interest. He throws me the keys and I get into the beige leather drivers seat and find it to be way much firmer than my LS even though it has the perforated leather. The plentiful seat adjustments are located conveniently on the left of the center console and provide myriad options including a two part seat back adjustment (upper and lower) that provides extraordinary back support in addition to a very subtle seat bottom vibrator for derriere relief on those long drives. The steering wheel seems much larger and more massive than mine and is all leather. No wood on this “beasts” steering wheel. I noticed that the BMW leather seems thicker and therefore stiffer and has what I can only describe as tiny ***** on non-seating areas. Like those found on a good leather basketball. Over all the “beasts’” interior is nice, I mean very nice, BMW high tech impressive nice and really makes the LS interior look sadly dated. However, I will take my soft supple leather and make do with my dated interior thank you.

I start the beast by inserting the pseudo “key” into the dash, step on the brake and push the start button that brings the 380 horses roaring to life. Again very impressive but lets see what the ride is like? I am taken aback by the strange 6 inch shifter located on of all things the steering column. It takes a bit of getting used to getting it into drive and then we are off. As I pulled away from the house I noticed a different un-Lexus like feel to the steering and could only guess it is the “BMW feel for the road” that I was experiencing. After a few turns I accelerated onto the freeway and could feel the complete brute power of the “beast” going through the 6 speed tranny. I find it to drive “heavier” than the LS and the feel of the pavement quickly comes through both the steering wheel and cabin seats but cornering is a dream and produces no body lean whatsoever. Cabin quietness between the two was as far as I could tell a wash. Quite the impressive ride but ultimately I’ll take my UL’s cushy ride without the road feel and with the effortless steering.

Arriving back at my house we exit and I ask to see the trunk. Big, spacious but not designed for golf bags he says. Later I read where it will accommodate only two and not three. No so bad bro. Then he pushes the button to show me the self-closing feature. Chalk one up for the “beast“. We go through the iDrive and it does not seem all that complicated as people say. It is actually quite intuitive. The navigation screen splits in two for added functionality and the sound system has very sophisticated treble, bass, etc. settings. Alas, the cup holders win hands down and the auto rear and side window shades also win. All in all the “beast” is quite an impressive, and I might say rather intimidating automobile that produces a very different kind of pleasurable driving experience. Combine the look of opulence and the prestige reserved for buyers of high end everything and you have the Ultimate Driving Machine. Unfortunately, I prefer the feel of sliding into a comfortable pair of old slippers and the sheer joy of unadulterated comfort compliments of the Pursuit of Perfection.

Tee

Nice story BlackUltra, I agree with your thoughts between the LS & 750. Both cars are aimed at two different type of drivers, so there is room in the lux flagship class for them both.

BLACKASH

BMW CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) provides coverage for 6 years or 100,000
miles. Mine is still way shy of it's original 4 year 50,000 mile milestone.

Interesting thing happened to it this week. The BMW "roundel" logo on the right front wheel disappeared. What remained was the plastic lug cover with an ugly, brown glue spot where the logo should be. I've heard that people like to steal these and sell them on ebay and I assumed that something of that nature had occurred. Then I thought perhaps it was simply a quality control issue and the glue just wasn't up to the task. Took it to the dealer and they gave me another under warranty. Service mgr said they tend to come loose in automatic car washes when passing by the high pressure wheel cleaning station. It's just a disk with double back tape that you peel and stick. (Kinda cheesey) I went home, took he lug cover off the wheel, removed the old glue residue with mineral spirits, roughed the surface, peeled the tape off the disc and evenly coated it with superglue gel. Centered it, clamped it and let dry overnight. It's now back on the car. We'll see what happens.