[wilbmw]

Hi folks, I am new to BMW.

I am currently looking at 550i and have seen quite some 2014 550i m sport CPOs available through local dealers in Bay Area and I guess most are lease returns.

Is there any known issues that I should be aware of?

I read about the N63 engine issue on 2011-13 550i and 2014 LCI's new N63TU(sp?) is supposed to have all issues resolved?

I tested 3 550i m-sport in the past few weeks and I really like the one with adaptive drive package/option that offers nice ride in comfort mode.

Any advice is appreciated.

[xxpanipuri]

i recently purchased a 2014 550i and from my understand the n63tu motor solved alot of the issues in the n63.

mine now has 18k miles (i purchased with 12k) and haven't had any issues.

I've never been a fan of changing the oil once a year (every 10-12k miles) so i'll be changing my oil twice a year (once every 6 months).

I'll also make sure i change other fluids (trans/ Rear diff / brake / coolant / power steering) every 2-3 years.

Fluids are the life blood of any car, and changing them at regular intervals is cheap insurance. Maybe its overkill but gives me peace of mind

I followed that regimen on my 2003 e39 540i and had a trouble free 80k miles (for my ownership time) in that car!

How much are the 550i's going for right now? the lease returns.

Also if you're interested in a Euro Car Meetup pm me your email address or cell # i'll send you details on that we're getting together on oct 7th and planning on going for a drive and then lunch etc..

Good luck in your search and here's a pic of mine for some inspiration! (just needed a chance to whore out some pics)

[wilbmw]

Thanks xxpanipuri for the info. Your ride looks super!! especially the rear M5 diffusor and quad exhausts! (I will pm you about the Bay Area meet up.)

I have seen couple in Weatherford BMW and Stevens Creek BMW. Mileage are ranging from 23K to 34K miles and priced from 48K to 50K. What do you think about the asking price? I checked edmunds.com and kbb.com and they both estimated higher suggested CPO price than dealers. Any idea if typical BMW dealers are willing to deal on CPOs? I heard that dealers are willing to deal on new car, like 10-13% off MSRP, not sure how CPO deals would work.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...7717/overview/
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...9403/overview/


I read someone's 550i (not sure which MY) are burning oil like crazy. Is it a serious issue or just top-off every few thousands miles will work?

[Sylverlee]

Originally Posted by wilbmw

Thanks xxpanipuri for the info. Your ride looks super!! especially the rear M5 diffusor and quad exhausts! (I will pm you about the Bay Area meet up.)

I have seen couple in Weatherford BMW and Stevens Creek BMW. Mileage are ranging from 23K to 34K miles and priced from 48K to 50K. What do you think about the asking price? I checked edmunds.com and kbb.com and they both estimated higher suggested CPO price than dealers. Any idea if typical BMW dealers are willing to deal on CPOs? I heard that dealers are willing to deal on new car, like 10-13% off MSRP, not sure how CPO deals would work.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...7717/overview/
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...9403/overview/


I read someone's 550i (not sure which MY) are burning oil like crazy. Is it a common issues?

I only got ~3% off my '13 535i CPO from Stevenscreek. Just seems they don't give much off CPO's at all, and the market is somewhat efficient.

[RSBro]

The TU motors are supposed to have fixed everything. I would buy without hesitation.
My '12 550 is fully loaded with all the packages and I think had 23k miles on it, I bought it Jan 2014 for 50k and change maybe? So 48-50k is pretty much right on for a 2014 in that mileage range. Plus a factory CPO, that's a good deal. I bought an extended warranty for mine when it passed 50k miles.

Definitely get the adaptive suspension package, it makes a big difference in the modes, especially if you get out on track sometimes with your beast like I do.

[Nalod]

Originally Posted by wilbmw

Hi folks, I am new to BMW.

I am currently looking at 550i and have seen quite some 2014 550i m sport CPOs available through local dealers in Bay Area and I guess most are lease returns.

Is there any known issues that I should be aware of?

I read about the N63 engine issue on 2011-13 550i and 2014 LCI's new N63TU(sp?) is supposed to have all issues resolved?

I tested 3 550i m-sport in the past few weeks and I really like the one with adaptive drive package/option that offers nice ride in comfort mode.

Any advice is appreciated.

Your question has been asked a lot over time and you should have a good data base. The happy owners chime in and the unhappy owners do as well, and then they bail from the site.

A lot of what you have to decide is something that is not, or can't really be discussed and that's your financial situation to deal with repairs out of warranty, and if you turn a wrench to do a lot of the maintenance.

If you can do a lot of it and like to do it, then you have a different perspective than someone who does not. If your like me, I like to buy used to save a ton of money but am established and can very much handle financially repairs, but I just don't like to. I did not get "Established" by spending freely. Im not knocking anyone here.

So basically you have to balance and understand "Active Suspension" is a great feature, but also understand when those bad boys break they are expensive to fix. If the Msport suspension is good "enough", then its a trade off of sorts. Same for active steering, HUD, soft close doors, etc......all wonderful things and things that add to the experience both good and sometimes expensive.

Me, im not looking for the ultimate experience and keep modding to achieve it. Im happy for those that do and enjoy their cars and money.

We all got to pay to play. While I come off as perhaps "Frugal", im sure my brother in law who has a 3 year old Honda with V6 and keeps it in great condition might think my penchant for BMW's is a excessive. That's cool, we all have our own value system and where we like to enjoy our money.

So look in the mirror, look at your wife or those you answer to about money and make the best decision. To enjoy a car everyone needs to be on board with your decision. If you fly totally solo, than its easy. I say that because my wife and I love to travel and she has asked me years ago that to not buy toys (home theatre, cars, computers....) to excessive that if we want to travel I can't say "Well, we don't have the money because I bought that new toy."
Other than that, I can do what ever I want. All said, for 30 years we save 12% annually as well. Things are very easy now but Im still 10 or so years away from retirement but adhere to the very things that got me here. Having a discipline in achieving a balance for owning a home, cars, toys with a saving/investment plan has always been paramount to impulse purchase. Raised two kids and paid for their college in full. Happy to do it. My recent BMW was "MY" graduation present when the youngest graduated last spring!

My search was not easy because of the transmission and was open to cars that were equipped with things I did not want. I made a short list in priority:

1. Car with less than 30,000
2. Manual Transmission
3. M-sport
4. Multi contour seats
5. Not white (wife has a white car)

After that, Premium HI-FI. That was not a deal killer because I could get a BSW package to do that. I got one with it, so it was easy. It took me three months to find my car and it was only 50 miles away. Good price for a fantastic car!
Was I open to a 550? Yeah I guess. I was not scared about the engine but he thing is I had a max budget of $40,000 and basically I did not want a pre "TU" motor and the parameters as I listed above to get the proper motor would have exceeded the budget. The N55 motor and the idrive upgrade in 2013 along with them coming off lease sort of took care a lot of decisions. Sure I wanted the new steering in the LCI refresh in 2014 and that Msport steering wheel is great, but all told I set my budget and was not willing to exceed it one penny. Coming from a 2007 e92 coupe I was very happy with the F10 goodness, comfort and performance. If I want more power, a Dinan package can be added and perhaps the motor is still more reliable than a pre "TU" motor long term.

Find you own beach. Good to acquire opinions but in the end your going to own not just the car, but the finance and maintenance. Good luck!

[Risky_analyst]

Originally Posted by Nalod

Your question has been asked a lot over time and you should have a good data base. The happy owners chime in and the unhappy owners do as well, and then they bail from the site.

A lot of what you have to decide is something that is not, or can't really be discussed and that's your financial situation to deal with repairs out of warranty, and if you turn a wrench to do a lot of the maintenance.

If you can do a lot of it and like to do it, then you have a different perspective than someone who does not. If your like me, I like to buy used to save a ton of money but am established and can very much handle financially repairs, but I just don't like to. I did not get "Established" by spending freely. Im not knocking anyone here.

So basically you have to balance and understand "Active Suspension" is a great feature, but also understand when those bad boys break they are expensive to fix. If the Msport suspension is good "enough", then its a trade off of sorts. Same for active steering, HUD, soft close doors, etc......all wonderful things and things that add to the experience both good and sometimes expensive.

Me, im not looking for the ultimate experience and keep modding to achieve it. Im happy for those that do and enjoy their cars and money.

We all got to pay to play. While I come off as perhaps "Frugal", im sure my brother in law who has a 3 year old Honda with V6 and keeps it in great condition might think my penchant for BMW's is a excessive. That's cool, we all have our own value system and where we like to enjoy our money.

So look in the mirror, look at your wife or those you answer to about money and make the best decision. To enjoy a car everyone needs to be on board with your decision. If you fly totally solo, than its easy. I say that because my wife and I love to travel and she has asked me years ago that to not buy toys (home theatre, cars, computers....) to excessive that if we want to travel I can't say "Well, we don't have the money because I bought that new toy."
Other than that, I can do what ever I want. All said, for 30 years we save 12% annually as well. Things are very easy now but Im still 10 or so years away from retirement but adhere to the very things that got me here. Having a discipline in achieving a balance for owning a home, cars, toys with a saving/investment plan has always been paramount to impulse purchase. Raised two kids and paid for their college in full. Happy to do it. My recent BMW was "MY" graduation present when the youngest graduated last spring!

My search was not easy because of the transmission and was open to cars that were equipped with things I did not want. I made a short list in priority:

1. Car with less than 30,000
2. Manual Transmission
3. M-sport
4. Multi contour seats
5. Not white (wife has a white car)

After that, Premium HI-FI. That was not a deal killer because I could get a BSW package to do that. I got one with it, so it was easy. It took me three months to find my car and it was only 50 miles away. Good price for a fantastic car!
Was I open to a 550? Yeah I guess. I was not scared about the engine but he thing is I had a max budget of $40,000 and basically I did not want a pre "TU" motor and the parameters as I listed above to get the proper motor would have exceeded the budget. The N55 motor and the idrive upgrade in 2013 along with them coming off lease sort of took care a lot of decisions. Sure I wanted the new steering in the LCI refresh in 2014 and that Msport steering wheel is great, but all told I set my budget and was not willing to exceed it one penny. Coming from a 2007 e92 coupe I was very happy with the F10 goodness, comfort and performance. If I want more power, a Dinan package can be added and perhaps the motor is still more reliable than a pre "TU" motor long term.

Find you own beach. Good to acquire opinions but in the end your going to own not just the car, but the finance and maintenance. Good luck!

Awesome advice from this gentleman.

[wilbmw]

Great advice!! Thanks Nalod!

[NV GUNS]

I would jump all over on the white one, I just picked up one (WBAKP9C52ED692212) thursday with 30k on it and it was 49k! but that is the chicago area prices. The white one has some more options more than mine. I have been waiting for months to find a Alpine white 550ix M if I would have saw you post earlier I would have flew out there and checked it out.