StanF18

Interesting post. No matter what kind of advice you get you
will never satisfy everyone. While it may be true that
most people are not going to know the difference between
the X5 and the M version, what they will conclude is it's not
some cheap car. So it will be noticed.

You could drive a beater to work. After all if it's a career hazard
no need to let your ride get in the way of paying the bills. Keep your
job and enjoy your ride. Both can be accomplished with some
skillful reasoning, and prudent decision making.

Reagards B&R

I can def relate here guys.

i worked my ass off in highschool so luckily i was able to have such a great car that i do..

anyway i worked for a Marriott and i would show up at work surrounded by a sea of 90s era hondas, toyotas, subarus, nissans. With some newer nissans and hondas.

anyway, my GM drove the nicest car in the parking lot..a A5. But, mine was second best, sh!t, my assistant GM was driving a 2001 mountaineer...anyway i'm sure they hated me just because of my car. (plus on breaks id be out there wiping it down!). I did def feel like a jerk alot of the time showing up in my BMW--but hell screw it, i'm happy with it and thats all that matters i guess

I have couple of buddies who work at pharma in NJ and they keep a beater for going to work and leave their Bimmer or Porsche at home. I am sure in the sea of Accords, Camrys at your lot there are some who have nicer cars at home.

Good thread Stan! Though hard to define the mentality of the casual colleague/observer.
I had Company Cars for almost 3 decades, with a good car/m'cycles tucked away,
that only good friends saw. Some of my wealthiest Geezer Buds have beaters that
are beyond description, along with quality other rides...hard to know, but it is a fine line,
out in public, seeing customers, etc., though I doubt anyone but X spotters could casually
pick out an "X///M".

BMW does retain its aura to a degree for some observers, regardless of model, imo,
but drive whatchalike.

I like Quicksilver/LeMans' idea about driving a beater to work.

Corporate America is full of people who judge on the superficial. Better to let them feel bad for you than to blow your next promo/raise because you out-classed your boss.

That said, if I worked in Corporate America anymore, I'd probably say f**k it and roll up in the ///M anyway.

Come to think of it, that's probably why I don't ;)

Hmm....

Interesting.

The same scenario is going on at my company. I've been there for 6.5 years, and have a good rapport with everybody there. They know I am a car enthusiast, and would hear it every Friday as I rumbled into the parking lot in the car, twin turbos breathing for air as the 4" downpipe expels it. On any other given day, I would roll in with the '94 Explorer with rust along the running boards. It blended in with the masses of sedans and "practical" cars. One day, the Explorer acted up, and I fixed it and bit the bullet on having a car payment again. Bought the X5. When the playful jokes came about "oh look at Mr. Bimmer man driving the X5, haha" came around, I just shrugged it off and joked that I rocked the Explorer until the wheels fell off, and had to get a reliable truck. And they (knowing my character for so long) understood.

Hopefully the history of your character shines through the negative thoughts that jealousy incites, and people will remember.... hey, he's a good guy. You know, a goodfella. :)

Edit: On the superficial note, first impressions are everything, and the X5 could be a career enhancer when attending interviews. "Oh hey, lets talk more about these opportunities over lunch (my treat), I'm parked right outside!"

I don't have an M, but can understand the posts made here. I have had numerous 'issues' over the last couple of years. Owning an expensive car is not easy amid people who tend to be jealous by nature. All my BMW's have been keyed so far, my current X5 even twice in a 2-month timeframe. So I bought a 'beater' as to make most of my trips, because the risk of yet another scratch is too high. My X5 barely gets 200 km a month on the odometer, so one might argument why I even keep it in my garage and don't sell it. Truth is, when I drive, it's always a pleasure.

If the car 'might' be a career blocking factor, I would be very carefull, to say the least. It's sad, but that's the world we live in these days ...

Dress for the job that you want. ;)

ROFL:thumbup: Going to be a long, cold winter. I'm thinking November we get the same posse together, squeeze off some more rounds at that range.

No doubt bro...just as long as there are no more layoffs. Official big pharma policy is to lay off those with ///M badges first, followed by AMG. Hyundais and Kias should be safe. Other than that I should be a-OK!:D

I'm going to regret saying this, but I'd rather get laid off than spend 90% of my driving time in a beater.:( My long commute was my reason for crossing over from Honda to BMW in the first place. I figured if I'm going to drive 90 miles each weekday, I may as well enjoy it. Plus, I have neither the time nor the inclination to maintain 3 vehicles (X5///M + suggested beater + wife's car).

Glad to see I'm not the only one pondering this "career vs. ///M" annoyance.

But you can't really relate a doctor or someone who is in business for themselves vs. the corporate environment where you have bosses, management, etc. I think even adding more fuel to the fire is the the fact that you are buying a fairly nice car (like $60K and up) in this economy where people are supposed to be hurting. Co-workers will think 'Wow, he/she must be pretty confident that they will have their job" or "That's a dumb decision what happens if they get laid off". There's always the initial re-action from co-workers when you get a new car--unless someone really asks you how much it is (and that will happen) I don't think they will know much difference from another X5. It helps, too, if you take them out to lunch with you so they can appreciate what you bought and the performance.