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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum First 5 series
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      04-05-2014, 03:27 PM   #1
0_steve
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First 5 series

For the record, I have never wanted a 5 series. There is just something about a car I personally grew up seeing as a middle life car (possibly the middle management sedans for under $40k Car & Driver article I read as a kid in the late 80s) that made me never want to get there. I came as close as ordering one in 2012 only to cancel it days later and end up with another X5. Well, after 38 years of fighting it, I've accepted my fate and frankly couldn't be happier!

550i
Jet Black
Black Dakota
M Sport
Driver Assist
Executive Pkg
Lighting Pkg
Luxury Seating
464m Wheels
5mm & 15mm spacers
M5 spoiler
Performance Grill
30% ceramic tint
Air Blue 80% windshield

It wasn't yet ready when I arrived yesterday but as if out of a Hollywood film it debuted leaving the wash. It was soon ready for delivery. I immediately put the spoiler on and went back and forth on the black grill as it really looked good stock. A few hours later (call it boredom) I pulled the stock grill off and liked what I saw. Tint came first thing this morning. And here is the final product! Overall I am extremely pleased with how it came out. Its a business car so this is as far as my modding goes.

It is an absolute thrill to drive (coming from 9yrs of SUVs). Looking forward to a few years in this thing!

Here are a few iPhone pics (excuse the haze, its another hot and sunny day in Central Florida):
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Last edited by 0_steve; 04-05-2014 at 03:45 PM..
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      04-05-2014, 04:28 PM   #2
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Looks great on those wheels, congrats.
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      04-05-2014, 06:28 PM   #3
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Very nice
Congrats
What kind of rear spoiler is that
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      04-05-2014, 06:31 PM   #4
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Nice, congrats! Don't ever let them do that again with that carwash!
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      04-05-2014, 07:56 PM   #5
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Car looks great. Love the wheels
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      04-06-2014, 11:05 AM   #6
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O Steve......Love your 550i!!! Congrats. I see you bought it at Fields BMW Winterpark. ;-) Nice choice. I did as well. Would love to meet up with you sometime and look at your wheels in person. I have a 2013 535- M-Sport. On my third 5-series now :-)
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      04-06-2014, 09:31 PM   #7
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Congratulations... old man! Just kidding... very funny reading your story as mine has been a similar journey in fighting off "escalating" to the 5-series. But similarly, I'm glad that I did. I don't have any desire to go back. Now to fight off going to that 7 series for 30 years or so.
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      04-07-2014, 08:05 AM   #8
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Congrads, nice rims, is that a touchless carwash?
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      04-07-2014, 02:39 PM   #9
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Beautiful.

Please don't ever run it through a carwash like that again. EVER. =)
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      04-07-2014, 03:13 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezmaass View Post
Congratulations... old man! Just kidding... very funny reading your story as mine has been a similar journey in fighting off "escalating" to the 5-series. But similarly, I'm glad that I did. I don't have any desire to go back. Now to fight off going to that 7 series for 30 years or so.
+1
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      04-07-2014, 03:21 PM   #11
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Congrats!!!! Never ever ever ever ever do that carwash again.
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      04-07-2014, 04:12 PM   #12
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Very Nice! I love the wheels!
Congrats man
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      04-08-2014, 10:15 PM   #13
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Love it!!!

Stunning car...but how did you send it through that car wash voluntarily????
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      04-09-2014, 07:04 AM   #14
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I have owned a Jet Black BMW in the past (2007 335i). While it is a really pretty color, it's a bitch to keep looking good. A carwash of the type you just went through will leave paint damage. I sold mine after 6 months because the paint had deteriorated so much, and I am an anal retentive detailer. I recently picked up a new F10 and immediately had pant correction done followed by Opti Coat 2. Find out if you have a detailer close to you who could perform this service, it will make keeping your car clean and looking share a whole lot easier.
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      04-09-2014, 07:45 AM   #15
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Thanks for all the compliments. I find it both interesting and humorous that like myself, a few of you struggled with the thought of this car while discovering yourselves enjoying the milestone.

As for the carwash - the dealership runs them through before they detail (notice chronological pics of 24hr pick up period). This is a company car and a lease so I'll do my best but reality is (due to weekday time constraints) this will be occasionally run through the wash. I went back and forth on this color for a while as I MUCH prefer the far easier to maintain sapphire black but prefer black and this is what is offered on the M Sport. It is stunning - for now.

Now, my jet black mid life crisis 911 on the other hand gets babied on weekends!
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      04-09-2014, 07:55 AM   #16
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Loving the wheels, and the Porker
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      04-09-2014, 08:36 AM   #17
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I find it funny that the issue of jet black maintenance keeps coming up time and time again in these threads. I'm on my 13th (almost 14th) year of owning exclusively jet-black BMWs. And get this... I've run them through the car wash! *GASP!*

The jet black paint is no less resilient than (and it has the same clear-coat as) all of the other BMW paint colors (minus the frozen/matte paints). The only thing that differs here from sapphire is that jet black doesn't have the little flecks of metallic bits in the paint. Despite myth and lore, the jet black paint will not scratch easier, will not "degrade" easier, nor will it damage easier than any other paint color. It's of consistent quality and application to all of the other paint colors.

However, because it lacks those little flecks of metallic bits mixed-in, it's 100% pure black. That means that little bits of dust, dirt, and micro-scratches are going to show up much easier on jet black than they would on sapphire, where there's plenty of "camouflage" in the paint to reflect the light away from imperfections. This is equivalent to having a pure white carpet in your home versus one that has little pops of a differing color (like a light gray) to help mask imperfection. Both carpets can be made of the same material, same manufacturing quality, etc - but the pure white one will show issues much easier.

Take the car to the car wash all you like. It won't die. The paint won't suddenly fall off. Give it a good wax on a regular basis. There are products out there (or that can be applied by a detailing service) to treat any kind of micro-swirling, too. And at the end of the day, it's a daily driver. If I expected my F10 to look perfect, I couldn't drive it anywhere. Like all of my previous BMWs, it's going to take me on business trips and deal with slush, mud, snow, potted roads, city streets, rocks flying up on highways, coworkers... you name it. I say go ahead and baby your weekend car... but if you're actually using your weekday/business car for some serious travel, I don't see the cost/value/time benefit of freaking out over things like minor paint imperfections from regular usage or insisting on hand-wash only.

Buy and use your jet black BMW with impunity!
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      04-09-2014, 12:27 PM   #18
0_steve
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezmaass View Post
I find it funny that the issue of jet black maintenance keeps coming up time and time again in these threads. I'm on my 13th (almost 14th) year of owning exclusively jet-black BMWs. And get this... I've run them through the car wash! *GASP!*

The jet black paint is no less resilient than (and it has the same clear-coat as) all of the other BMW paint colors (minus the frozen/matte paints). The only thing that differs here from sapphire is that jet black doesn't have the little flecks of metallic bits in the paint. Despite myth and lore, the jet black paint will not scratch easier, will not "degrade" easier, nor will it damage easier than any other paint color. It's of consistent quality and application to all of the other paint colors.

However, because it lacks those little flecks of metallic bits mixed-in, it's 100% pure black. That means that little bits of dust, dirt, and micro-scratches are going to show up much easier on jet black than they would on sapphire, where there's plenty of "camouflage" in the paint to reflect the light away from imperfections. This is equivalent to having a pure white carpet in your home versus one that has little pops of a differing color (like a light gray) to help mask imperfection. Both carpets can be made of the same material, same manufacturing quality, etc - but the pure white one will show issues much easier.

Take the car to the car wash all you like. It won't die. The paint won't suddenly fall off. Give it a good wax on a regular basis. There are products out there (or that can be applied by a detailing service) to treat any kind of micro-swirling, too. And at the end of the day, it's a daily driver. If I expected my F10 to look perfect, I couldn't drive it anywhere. Like all of my previous BMWs, it's going to take me on business trips and deal with slush, mud, snow, potted roads, city streets, rocks flying up on highways, coworkers... you name it. I say go ahead and baby your weekend car... but if you're actually using your weekday/business car for some serious travel, I don't see the cost/value/time benefit of freaking out over things like minor paint imperfections from regular usage or insisting on hand-wash only.

Buy and use your jet black BMW with impunity!
For the most part I agree. In my opinion the jet looks FAR better than Sapphire from close up but from a few feet away its barely recognizable except for the slight haze.

The difference I've noticed (having had several of each) is the clear coat scratches on jet seem to be more pronounced. As an example a rock slid up the hood of my 911 and put about a 2 foot clear coat scratch on it. Hardly noticeable (after a 2 coat buff job) but still there. Had it been sapphire it would have hidden it.

I'm ok with either. I agree that as long as its taken care of with decent wax (I use both Zymol and Chemical Guys) it should be fine.
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      04-12-2014, 07:01 PM   #19
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Nice, congrats! Don't ever let them do that again with that carwash!
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