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      04-28-2014, 08:17 AM   #1
virtualbong
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Experience Requested: 2011 550i Driving Characteristics

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Hey guys,

I wanted to get everyone's opinion on how a 2011 550i M-Sport should feel when driving it. This past Saturday, I went to a small BMW dealership and test drove the following:

2011 BMW 550i
32,000 miles
Full New Car Warranty until September 2015
CPO Warranty
M-Sport Package
Premium Package 2
Heads Up Display
New Run-Flat Tires
They are also including the previous owners winter wheels and snow tires.

During my test drive, it was pulling to the right, which most likely is a misalignment but my main concern was that there was a consistent vibration (minimal but it's a $40K+ vehicle) under my seat. The Client Adviser also felt it. I know BMWs are not known to have that comfy feel like a Lexus but do you guys feel this type of vibration when driving? I don't know if it's because of the new run-flat tires or maybe imbalanced wheels. Note, there is no real steering wheel vibration and it was set at the "Comfort" setting.

Is this something I should be really concerned about? I had negotiated the price prior to arriving for the test drive to $43,750 but I am thinking that it is not worth $40,000 but just under. There was also some slight scratches on the front of the bumper right at the nose but they mentioned they would fix it or deduct the cost of fixing it from the price. The dealership was also 5 hours away so the Client Adviser and Sales Manager were very apologetic that they had me drive all the way over and did not notice these issues. I told them there is no way I would move forward with these issues so they have told me that they would look into this today and try to resolve the issue before Wednesday and drive the car to me to test drive if I was interested. It looks like they are trying to close the deal prior to month end so I definitely feel like I can squeeze some more out of them.

What do people think? What are your experience with the drive of an M-Sport packaged 550i? Am I safe since I still have full new car warranty?

Would love to hear everyone's input on this. Thank you!
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      04-28-2014, 09:13 AM   #2
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The 2011 550i is a first year design model, those problems you describe are common issues. Pulling to the right can sometime be fix with an alignment, if not, its most likely a suspension issue. Did the vibration occur at all speed, or just certain highway speed?
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      04-28-2014, 09:20 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The X Men View Post
The 2011 550i is a first year design model, those problems you describe are common issues. Pulling to the right can sometime be fix with an alignment, if not, its most likely a suspension issue. Did the vibration occur at all speed, or just certain highway speed?
If I remember correctly, it was happening at all speeds even on nicely paved highway roads. It was this consistent vibration that I felt under my seat.

Wow...so the pulling to the right was a mechanical issue with the 2011s? That's crazy to think that something like that would be a common issue even if it was a 1st year design.
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      04-28-2014, 09:32 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by virtualbong View Post
If I remember correctly, it was happening at all speeds even on nicely paved highway roads. It was this consistent vibration that I felt under my seat.

Wow...so the pulling to the right was a mechanical issue with the 2011s? That's crazy to think that something like that would be a common issue even if it was a 1st year design.
Well, it is not a common issue but one of the issues that some owners had with the 2011, but like I said earlier, it might be just an alignment issue. If the vibration is at all speed, then it is not the issue that many owners have with the F10. That issue was vibration at around 65-70mph, if I were buying a used car, I would take it out on the highway and drive it at those speed.
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      04-28-2014, 10:17 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The X Men View Post
Well, it is not a common issue but one of the issues that some owners had with the 2011, but like I said earlier, it might be just an alignment issue. If the vibration is at all speed, then it is not the issue that many owners have with the F10. That issue was vibration at around 65-70mph, if I were buying a used car, I would take it out on the highway and drive it at those speed.
Well...that could be the case too because we did take it on the highway and I did feel it mostly on the highway. The backroads were so messed up that I couldn't tell if it was the bad roads or the car itself. On the highway, we were going 65-75 and that's when I definitely felt it.

So maybe this is the issue that everyone is reporting. Was there a resolution or did everyone just "accept it" as is?

And the newer years do not have this issue?
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      04-28-2014, 10:25 AM   #6
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The vibration is possibly a bent rear rim. If you do not feel it in the steering but you feel it in the seat that is normally the culprit. When I purchased my 535xi I had the same feeling. It wasn't until I went with aftermarket wheels a week later did I discover it was bent, and no issues with vibration to date.

You have a couple days to decide, the will definitely move on the price. After the 30th you may not have as much room to negotiate on price as you do right now.
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      04-28-2014, 12:15 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by virtualbong View Post
Well...that could be the case too because we did take it on the highway and I did feel it mostly on the highway. The backroads were so messed up that I couldn't tell if it was the bad roads or the car itself. On the highway, we were going 65-75 and that's when I definitely felt it.

So maybe this is the issue that everyone is reporting. Was there a resolution or did everyone just "accept it" as is?

And the newer years do not have this issue?
There are tons of threads on the vibration issue, here is one of the longer ones:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...ight=vibration

Sound like this 550i has all the first year issues, I would stay away from it if I were you.
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      04-28-2014, 03:27 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by virtualbong View Post
Hey guys,

I wanted to get everyone's opinion on how a 2011 550i M-Sport should feel when driving it. This past Saturday, I went to a small BMW dealership and test drove the following:

2011 BMW 550i
32,000 miles
Full New Car Warranty until September 2015
CPO Warranty
M-Sport Package
Premium Package 2
Heads Up Display
New Run-Flat Tires
They are also including the previous owners winter wheels and snow tires.

During my test drive, it was pulling to the right, which most likely is a misalignment but my main concern was that there was a consistent vibration (minimal but it's a $40K+ vehicle) under my seat. The Client Adviser also felt it. I know BMWs are not known to have that comfy feel like a Lexus but do you guys feel this type of vibration when driving? I don't know if it's because of the new run-flat tires or maybe imbalanced wheels. Note, there is no real steering wheel vibration and it was set at the "Comfort" setting.

Is this something I should be really concerned about? I had negotiated the price prior to arriving for the test drive to $43,750 but I am thinking that it is not worth $40,000 but just under. There was also some slight scratches on the front of the bumper right at the nose but they mentioned they would fix it or deduct the cost of fixing it from the price. The dealership was also 5 hours away so the Client Adviser and Sales Manager were very apologetic that they had me drive all the way over and did not notice these issues. I told them there is no way I would move forward with these issues so they have told me that they would look into this today and try to resolve the issue before Wednesday and drive the car to me to test drive if I was interested. It looks like they are trying to close the deal prior to month end so I definitely feel like I can squeeze some more out of them.

What do people think? What are your experience with the drive of an M-Sport packaged 550i? Am I safe since I still have full new car warranty?

Would love to hear everyone's input on this. Thank you!
Run for the hills my friend...I have had so many issues with my 2011 550i...steer clear...mine is under warranty also but it has had issue after issue...and the issues never seem to get resolved....just some friendly advise...good luck
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      04-28-2014, 04:03 PM   #9
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This is so depressing but glad there is a forum like this to help potential buyers become aware of major issues like this.

I will review that thread X, thank you for forwarding it over to me.
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      04-29-2014, 06:26 PM   #10
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My 2011 550i is perfect in every aspect besides the fuel injector problem but it was a poor design. I don't have the pull to the right or vibrations at all. Ask the dealer to do a wheel alignment and see if it's better.

Edit:
The pulling to the right was a problem on F10 535's, it didn't affect the 550's
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      04-29-2014, 07:03 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kthankzbye View Post
My 2011 550i is perfect in every aspect besides the fuel injector problem but it was a poor design. I don't have the pull to the right or vibrations at all. Ask the dealer to do a wheel alignment and see if it's better.

Edit:
The pulling to the right was a problem on F10 535's, it didn't affect the 550's
The dealer reached out to me stating that they addressed the issue and is ready for me now. They are willing to have someone drive the car to me to do another test drive and then make a decision. I have already set the expectation in my response stating that I do not believe it is a car that is worth over $40,000 but I told them that I would be willing to take another test drive. That will give me some room to play with if the issues were indeed resolved.

Lets see what the General Manager says.

Thanks guys!
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      04-30-2014, 07:30 PM   #12
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So what was the problem that they were able to correct so you can test drive the car again? I would walk away from that one and try to find another one that looks and feels perfect - mine is

My 550 has been flawless and I have not had any issues at all. It only has 21K miles on it but still . . I've owned it for over three years and I have never had a single problem with it. I suggest you buy your 550 from a one owner private party, and get the service history from the dealer the owner used to service his car.
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      04-30-2014, 09:04 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1HOT BMR View Post
So what was the problem that they were able to correct so you can test drive the car again? I would walk away from that one and try to find another one that looks and feels perfect - mine is

My 550 has been flawless and I have not had any issues at all. It only has 21K miles on it but still . . I've owned it for over three years and I have never had a single problem with it. I suggest you buy your 550 from a one owner private party, and get the service history from the dealer the owner used to service his car.
It was the new tires. They were not balanced correctly so they redid it and then performed an alignment again. They brought the car to me today and I test drove it again. Drove much, much better. No vibrations and it didn't pull to the right.

With the test drive being a success...I pulled the trigger and signed the papers. Right after the deal was done, I went right back to work!

This was a one owner 550 and it was purchased from this dealer. It was a long time customer of theirs.

Here was the total deal:

2011 BMW 550i
31,800 miles
New car warranty until 7/2015
CPO warranty until 7/2017 or 100,000 miles
M-Sport Package
Premium Package 2
HUD
Brand New Run-flat Tires
Rial Winter Rims w/ Snow Tires
Final Sale Price = $43,750

I also got a decent trade-in price for my 2007 328xi e92 that had like no options. Just Nav and heated seats. No power seats, etc.

I cannot wait to go for a nice long drive.
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      05-01-2014, 07:53 AM   #14
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Congratulations! I have a 2011 550i and I have not had any issues with the car. It has been one of the best cars I have owned up until now. Enjoy in good health.
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      05-01-2014, 08:04 AM   #15
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virtualbong

Congrats, did they install the infamous Good Year Eagle runflat on your 550i? If so, I would get some tire and rim insurance if you are going to drive it around in the Boston area with those 19" Good Year tires.
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      05-01-2014, 08:20 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The X Men View Post
virtualbong

Congrats, did they install the infamous Good Year Eagle runflat on your 550i? If so, I would get some tire and rim insurance if you are going to drive it around in the Boston area with those 19" Good Year tires.
Ha! Not sure. I'll take a look when I get home tonight. I drive my 1999 Ford Ranger to work every day and it's almost nice enough to take my motorcycle into work so it will have low miles each year. I will be maxing out the years and never hit the mileage warranty.
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      05-01-2014, 05:50 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XLR8_24/7 View Post
Congratulations! I have a 2011 550i and I have not had any issues with the car. It has been one of the best cars I have owned up until now. Enjoy in good health.
That makes 3 with a 2011 and no major problems!
I, however got new fuel injectors and new spark plugs and it's running like new again. This is common with the 2011's but the new fuel injectors are suppose to be better.

OP, enjoy your new car! take some pics.

Last edited by kthankzbye; 05-01-2014 at 05:58 PM..
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      05-02-2014, 11:11 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The X Men View Post
There are tons of threads on the vibration issue, here is one of the longer ones:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...ight=vibration

Sound like this 550i has all the first year issues, I would stay away from it if I were you.
Why do you jump to a bent rim as the cause? It could simply be rear tire balance issue
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      05-02-2014, 12:12 PM   #19
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Read my frist two post:

Quote:
Originally Posted by The X Men View Post
but like I said earlier, it might be just an alignment issue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The X Men View Post
Pulling to the right can sometime be fix with an alignment,
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