[krnnerdboy]

Originally Posted by kabawi91

my opinion would be to get an e60 m5 in manual if he's okay with driving a 6mt. i made the mistake of purchasing a used 06 m5 with 45k for a very decent price at carmax. first off i wasn't happy with the transmission. when you drive it in auto mode it really holds your rpm to roughly 4k. the gear changes weren't all that bad however it was a bit jerky when driving in auto mode. i preferred controlling the gear changes myself with the smg and felt that the gear changes were much better. the e60 m5 has much smoother changes due to the driver controlling. aside from that i went with the m5 because it was cheaper than the m3's that were available in my area. however that was pretty much offset by gas. i personally have a tendency to be very liberal with the accelerator and i was getting i kid you not 11.5 mpg. the other issue for me was the gas tank coming from a 335i where i was getting 20 mpg and 300 miles a tank was the e60's gas tank. i would fill that darn thing every 3 days and the tank only lasted me roughly 250 miles. if cost is not an issue the e60 in 6mt will be a great car for many reasons. more spacious, more luxurious, and more power! the e90 m3 is a great car as well in either dct or manual. for me it was more of an issue with money however if that is not a factor - e60 m5 in 6mt all the way.

Euro smg tuning would've helped that quite a bit. And my road trips to and from track averaged 20mpg.
And yes, his clients will still hate him for the smg shifting.

My extended warranty cost 6k with a lot of limitations so that cost should place it above the m3. Not to mention the smg clutch is known to last anywhere between 8-40k mi. Aside from the clutch and smg pump issues the throttle valve actuators are also an issue, but the m3 has the same actuators so that's a wash. The m5 is definitely one of those cars where just bc you can afford to purchase it doesn't mean you can afford to drive it cars. If that doesn't phase you, have at it and enjoy the only mass produced v10 ever produced by BMW. And that v10 wail makes the s65 feel like it pails in comparison...