should I let my 4.6is go?
 

I've had my 4.6is for 1 year now, and I really love it. It is a great combination winter driver, ski tripper, gear hauler and business trip vehicle for me. I have no complaints about it whatsoever. Great winter ride with snow tires on, and hauls all of my gear perfectly - I am an active musician playing both drums and keyboards in a few bands and such, so the X5 gets the call for hauling gear on a weekly basis.

My primary summer driver is a 2007 C6 Corvette coupe. Excellent sports car and very good 2 person road trip car that gets upwards of 26mpg on the highway and ~19 in my mixed around town commuting and visiting my customers (in outside sales in the high tech field).

So it's a pretty good combo, and I don't really have a huge drive to make a change. But. The wife is now involved in a couple carpools for our two kids that go to different schools both fairly far away from home 15-25min range. And she could really use a 6-8 seater from time to time. And I think that need will continue and grow into next year especially if both kids end up going to the same high school.

So the thought has crossed my mind to give up the X5 in favor of a bigger mid-sized or full sized SUV with seating for at least 7. The Pilot seems pretty hard to beat in that segment, or maybe the 05+ Pathfinder - I have been a big fan of Nissan cars and trucks over the years. I would be buying something used and basically swapping aprox even value with my X5.

About the only thing that would get me excited to replace the X5 would be to also replace our G37 with a nicer and larger sedan that would cover my business use and also become my main winter driver here in the northern CA bay area. No snow use - the SUV would still get the call for that.

E39 M5 comes to the top of my list...
Followed by a 2002-2003 Audi S8 / A8L or maybe even a E38 7 series.
Budget would be in the $20K range give or take.

I would certainly miss my X5, but also would likely enjoy one of these excellent sport uber sedans just as much if not even more. Leaning towards a E39 M5 with folding seats so I can carry my bike or keyboards in it. Although the big Audi and E38 are large enough that I could easily fit my music gear into it when needed. Plus I'd have the SUV available when needed and the wife would still have a larger car than her little Mazda hatchback availble for her use as needed too. So that is a tempting option as well.

Any thoughts? Would I regret selling the X5 if I can pick up a nice uber-sedan of some sort for my driving pleasure when I can't be driving the vette?

I can't see owning both the X5 and a E39 M5 btw - two rather expensive and risky cars to own. I'd prefer to limit my liabilities in that respect. But moving from a X5 to a E38, Audi 8 or E39 seems a fairly lateral move in that respect.

Here is a picture of my X5.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2570/...b84_z.jpg?zz=1

We own both...and more! If you need more space, skip the M5. If you want to have a fun 4 Door, get the M5. You need to see if the M will fill your requirements. Make sure the woofers on the back shelf allow enough room for what you need to carry. If you need to carry a couple of kids who will soon be in HS, they will probably want a car when they turn 16! Can't you see it coming?! Actually a 15 -25 minute commute/run isn't too bad...especially in the Bay Area. The only downsides are gas mileage (don't check it anymore) and insurance. We pay just as much for the M as for the X with no points. Go figure. Good Luck!

dont do it ! just look at it!

the e39 is one of my favorite cars of all time, i almost bought one over my 4.6is back in the day but i wanted more room, so the 4.6is came home.
Keep it! lol

i love the E38 too but it feels dated now, anything around 03' in bmw land was cool in my opinion. the a8 you mentioned i think it should have more room than the 7er.

Nissan - no comment

The move for additional room would be from the X5 to a Pilot.

The move to the E39 M5 is just because I do still love those cars - I had one before and always wanted another one. That would replace the G37 so is effectively a sideways move in space but a huge step up in fun and overall quality.

Ya - my oldest turns 16 in 8 months. She will be looking for a car to drive. We are not sure quite what to do about that just yet. I don't really want her driving the X5. If we keep the G37, I guess she could drive that sometimes but that is a waste of a very nice and expensive car on a teenage driver... So that doesn't make much sense either. I've been thinking my wife's 8 year old Mazda would be a good candidate for teenage drivers. That is also part of the rationale for swapping the X5 for a Pilot - to give my wife a vehicle that gives her more space for passengers and cargo plus something to drive when the kids need to borrow her Mazda.

The X5 could also be used by her in the same mode, but it is a rather expensive vehicle to log lots of miles in when factoring in gas, tires, brakes, maint and etc. Currently I drive it 10-12K miles / year, but if she started driving it more that number would likely climb to 15K or higher. I guess that isn't that bad.

I would like to have a larger sedan like a E38 or Audi 8 series. My ideal 4 door is the M5 of course. I guess in many ways I am probably more honestly looking to get something else in place of the G37. I bought it originally as a family car to be shared between me and my wife and wanted something reliable after experiencing an engine failure in her Mazda. But as it turns out she never drives it. I replaced the engine in the Mazda and she has been back to driving that one and has logged 10K miles on the Japanese take-out engine that replaced the original. If she ever wants or needs to drive something besides her Mazda she takes the X5. I guess she prefers an SUV to a sedan. Or maybe just doesn't like the Infiniti too much. Her favorite of my sedans was the '94 Infiniti Q45. I'm guessing she would like a E38 or Audi 8. I don't really need 2 AWD vehicles either, although in many way the Audi A8 is a better performer than the E38 and has a nicer interior too. Has 40 more hp, is lighter, and more back-seat space plus a lot bigger trunk too.

Ya - every time I look at it or drive it these thoughts do get quiet...

for one thing I am a huge sucker for Estoril, even tho my kids say it is way too brite!!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2535/...0f1_z.jpg?zz=1

There is a timelessness about the latest pre-bangle BMW designs, IMHO. I actually much prefer just about everything about the E38 to the new 7 series - I like the seating position better, the seats better, dash layout / ergonomics, steering, brake and chassis feel. Plus they look way better than the banglized 7. 2000-2001 E38 with the sport package is the pinacle of the big executive sized sports sedan, to me. A8L and S8 are in the same vein too - I prefer the older ones to the newer A8. Although I will say that I do like the newer A8 a lot better than the 745i/750i.

As a fellow Estoril owner, I say keep it, or sell it to me. The only thing better than one Estoril Blue SUV are two.

You should get rid of the corvette for the e39 m5, and buy the 7 seater with the left over money, ;)

absolutely make sure you get fold down seats in the m5, my m5 did not have fold down seats and that was pretty much the reason i bought the x5 on a whim:cool: i havent looked back(since the m now belongs to my brother, which i live with, so i can drive it if i ever want to)

estoril blue 4.6 is such a unique suv, bright blue, great style

oh, I absolutely love the vette and no chance I'll sell it right now. If push came to shove I would forego the sedan altogether and just keep the X5 and the vette. That is another little thing that is telling me not to sell it - in the future if I do need to shed a car, I would be much happier shedding the sedan so I could keep the vette, and I really do need a SUV for ski trips and hauling my drum set at a bare minimum. So if anything sedan is more the "extra" car for me since the X5 covers everything I really need a sedan for.

Wife can live with the X5 as her go-to vehicle when space is needed. Carrying more than 5 isn't a hard requirement just yet. I talked to her about it today and she doesn't want to trade in her Mazda for a SUV or minivan or even a wagon, and also doesn't want me to have to sell my baby either. Said we are good with what we got - no worries.

So that kinda seals the deal for now on keeping the X5. But now that I'm thinking about it, I really would be a lot happier with a sedan with a lot more soul. The G37 is a good car, but it really lacks a soul. The Japanese do a pretty good job with sports sedans for the average folks, but us hard core car guys are left disappointed. If I get something with fold down rear seats it would cover my utility needs about 90% of the time which would free up the X5 for my wife to use more often. So if that can put me in a more interesting car to drive than the G37, maybe that is the direction I should be considering here!!

In sedans about all I can think of that would satisfy my needs for true soul at my price range (call it sub $25K) is the E39 M5, E60 545i, E46 330i ZHP or E36 M3. I might be able to make things work with a E36 or E46 M3 coupe, but since the vette is a coupe it would "look better" if I stuck with a sedan. Although once I go manual the wife pretty much won't want to drive it either way. M3 or 330i would be a better car to teach the kids to drive stick too. Still - E39 is the ultimate sports sedan so that is pretty tempting especially considering what the are going for these days.

That works! The x and m make a great gas guzzling duo :rofl:
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j3...7-16082241.jpg