Hello BMW Guys-

I am new here and thinking about purchasing my first BMW. I am currently an Infiniti guy, I have had 3 G35s, 2 coupes, and now an 07 Sedan. I am looking at trading the sedan on an 06 550i, black on black with sport package, premium, nav, and the SMG transmission. What can you guys tell me about this car.

My initial impressions from the test drive were mostly positive. The car drives great, had plenty of power, and handled well. I was having a lot of difficulty with the controls of the i-drive system and navigation. Is it possible to set it to just display the map on the full screen while driving, I could not figure it out. The nav also appears to be a big downgrade from the system in my Infiniti.

Another concern is warranty, the car I am looking at purchasing has 53k miles on it. Its not certified through a BMW dealership, can you have a car certified and the warranty extended if its not bought through a dealership?

Could someone please explain the SMG transmission to me? The car I drove didn't have it, but the one I am considering purchasing is 6 hours away, and does have it. I have heard a few different stories about how it works and what the pros and cons are, so please enlighten me.

Do you guys think I would be smart to trade me 07 G35 sedan, with 21k miles on it, loaded up with 306HP, voice activated/touchscreen nav, intelligent cruise control, music HD, back up camera, adaptive headlights, etc etc etc for this car? I attached a couple pics of my G35 as well....

Thanks!! :buttrock

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/semerrym/07%20Sedan/1.jpg

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/semerrym/07%20Sedan/5.jpg

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/semerrym/07%20Sedan/8.jpg

I would strongly suggest test driving an SMG model locally before driving six hours to check out that car. They are different than an automatic and a manual with a clutch pedal.
There must be a reason why you are considering a car that is six hours away. However, have you considered checking out the BMW website? They list the CPO, certified pre owned, vehicles available at all dealers.
But there are independent companies which sell extended warranties up to 100,000 miles.
I have a manual transmission so I do not have any experience with the SMG.
Good luck with your decision.

Thanks. They seem to be fairly difficult to find. There aren't too many within 100 miles of me, and the few that are out there are priced a little higher than I am able to go at the moment, so, I am looking 6 hours away at this car. It is also the only one on my radar with the SMG transmission. I don't think its a necessity for me at all. I would like a manual myself, but the soon to be wife wont have it.

Any idea if the logic 7 sound system plays MP3 cds, or if the car has an accessible Aux input??

ok here we go.

yes, you can make the nav map display on the whole screen, just go to the navigation menu and select map facing north or map facing direction of travel... your choice.

even though it is not a CPO, most BMW's past thier warranty still apply for the CPO warranty, you would need to go to a dealer and get the warranty, it is 100,000 miles/72 months i believe, and costs about 1500 bucks, if you can give me the VIN number of the vehicle i can let you know if it qualifies, and also let you know of any service the vehicle has had.

the SMG is essentialy a manual without a clutch. there are 6 comfort settings depending on if you want a smooth shift, or if you want to really feel it, for more aggressive driving. you would shift with the paddle shifters, which is also a good time.. bit of an F1 feel, but i does take some getting used to. most people have a little trouble with it to start, but end up loving it, i know i do!

i would absolutely reccomend trading up to a 550, they are incredible cars, 360hp, so a bit more than you G35, and amazingly comfortable, the idrive is very easy once you get used to it, and i personally think it is much better looking than the infinti.

i hope this helps a bit... god luck!

wow.. just noticed a bunch of typos in there... my bad

Thanks for the review! The SMG sounds intriguing, seems pretty rare too. I think the car I am looking at is a good deal, they just arent giving me the value on my trade, so, I am looking at selling it outright, then going to buy the 550. I think I figured out the nav procedure you referred to, I thought it only used 2/3 or so of the screen, display wise- the Infiniti Nav is much better. As long as its functional though, its all gravy. How hard is it to get the updated discs?

Dont worry, no one is grading you on spelling and grammar! Thanks again!

yes, the SMG is very rare in the 550, i think it was only one year that it was available, then they went to the electronic automatic transmission, which also has the paddle shifter option, with a sport and a manual sport mode. the logic 7 does play MP3 cd's, and as far as i know, all of them have an AUX input in the glovebox, and you can easily get an IPOD adapter cable at any dealer for it if it did not come with the car. the updated nav discs are also easy to get at any dealer.

THANKS!!! You are making my life so much easier. These are the things I forgot to check out when I had a car in front of me. Its looking like things are falling into place and I might be making the jump... maybe as soon as this weekend.

ok here we go.

yes, you can make the nav map display on the whole screen, just go to the navigation menu and select map facing north or map facing direction of travel... your choice.

even though it is not a CPO, most BMW's past thier warranty still apply for the CPO warranty, you would need to go to a dealer and get the warranty, it is 100,000 miles/72 months i believe, and costs about 1500 bucks, if you can give me the VIN number of the vehicle i can let you know if it qualifies, and also let you know of any service the vehicle has had.

the SMG is essentialy a manual without a clutch. there are 6 comfort settings depending on if you want a smooth shift, or if you want to really feel it, for more aggressive driving. you would shift with the paddle shifters, which is also a good time.. bit of an F1 feel, but i does take some getting used to. most people have a little trouble with it to start, but end up loving it, i know i do!

i would absolutely reccomend trading up to a 550, they are incredible cars, 360hp, so a bit more than you G35, and amazingly comfortable, the idrive is very easy once you get used to it, and i personally think it is much better looking than the infinti.

i hope this helps a bit... god luck!


bowmang, you sound like you know what you're talking about, so my question [read: plea] to you is: please, explain to me why every dealer that I talked to did not offer me an extension of the original warranty citing that I'm not the first owner? and I never told any of them my VIN either, so they couldn't have known whether the car qualifies... uhmm, actually, scratch that question, just tell me how to get the warranty PLEASE!!! I got an 06 530 which is approaching 50k miles (at some veeery unreasonable speeds) and I'm NOT HAPPY about that. So, please, don't let a fellow forumer go unhappy! LOL

HokieSean24: what I think you're trying to do with the nav screen is make it stop displaying the small "secondary" screen and put the map up on the entire screen. The way you do that is by going into the very first menu in iDrive, by hitting the "menu" button. Next you press on the iDrive knob to get to the "i menu". In the i menu, scroll over to (i think...) screen options or something like that and find the option to disable the secondary screen. This way your map will show on the entire wide area of that screen... (Go figure! I actually had to search how to turn the secondary screen on when I got the car LOL)
BTW, as complicated as iDrive may seem at times, I actually looooove the fact that it is that way - ever since I got mine, not one person messed with my settings, bc they couldn't figure out how to get to them hahaa:buttrock
I've never driven an SMG, and wasn't opposed to purchasing it, but happened to come by a manual car. But I did hear that there are as many haters as there are lovers of that tranny, so it may be a bit hard to unload when you're gettin' ready to upgrade to a new car (for example, that new twin turbo'd V8 with 400 horses might make it into a 5 soon...)

and finally, of course sell your G35 privately! That is, of course, if you have the time and patience. You will - no question - get more money for it privately. How long will it take you? - I can't say. It looks better than most G35's I've ever seen, but how "sellable" it is today is something you're going to have to find out on your own... or have someone else find out for you for giving up some of the money you expect to get for it. I personally traded my car in when I was buying the car, but I did get hit for about $1500 on that. For me it was well worth it bc my old car was an Audi with turbos in need of repairs, so losing 1500 was preferable to having a buyer lemon law it back to me or something...


just my $.02

Thanks for the input. I am trying to sell in outright to Infiniti dealerships at the moment, I have an offer that is pretty solid from a local high end used lot, I dont want to see it driving around locally though. I would rather sell it a little ways away, haha.

I am pretty excited to see what the SMG tranny is all about, I hope I dont hate it!

bowmang, you sound like you know what you're talking about, so my question [read: plea] to you is: please, explain to me why every dealer that I talked to did not offer me an extension of the original warranty citing that I'm not the first owner? and I never told any of them my VIN either, so they couldn't have known whether the car qualifies... uhmm, actually, scratch that question, just tell me how to get the warranty PLEASE!!! I got an 06 530 which is approaching 50k miles (at some veeery unreasonable speeds) and I'm NOT HAPPY about that. So, please, don't let a fellow forumer go unhappy! LOL


ok, i have looked into the warranty thing a bit. from what i can tell it is entirely up to the dealer, the ones that i have talked to that do offer it work like this. you would bring the car in, and get the CPO inspection, which is a very throrough inspection, and if everything passes, they will sell you the warranty for about $1695.00, and you would also have to pay for the inspection, i don't know the cost of that but if i had to guess i would say somewhere around $300, but that is just a guess! it is about 50/50 on dealers that do this from what i hear, so you may want to call around to any local dealers and get their input, unfortunatly, you may just be out of luck with your location...

and as for the N63 (twin turbo V8) it is making its debut in the X6 5.0, and will also be in the F01 7 series coming soon. it has been delayed because of some technical issues, because this is like no other engine, it is absolutly incredible, and they are just fine tuning it, but i have been told that it will eventually take the place of the N62 (current V8) in everything V8 equipped.

ok, i have looked into the warranty thing a bit. from what i can tell it is entirely up to the dealer, the ones that i have talked to that do offer it work like this. you would bring the car in, and get the CPO inspection, which is a very throrough inspection, and if everything passes, they will sell you the warranty for about $1695.00, and you would also have to pay for the inspection, i don't know the cost of that but if i had to guess i would say somewhere around $300, but that is just a guess! it is about 50/50 on dealers that do this from what i hear, so you may want to call around to any local dealers and get their input, unfortunatly, you may just be out of luck with your location...

and as for the N63 (twin turbo V8) it is making its debut in the X6 5.0, and will also be in the F01 7 series coming soon. it has been delayed because of some technical issues, because this is like no other engine, it is absolutly incredible, and they are just fine tuning it, but i have been told that it will eventually take the place of the N62 (current V8) in everything V8 equipped.


THANKS for all of your help!! I am getting really really close to being able to pull the trigger on this deal. I am going to miss my G, but I think I will be happy I did it-

I think you will be happy with the 550i.
Good luck!!!

I currently own a hard to find 06 550 with the SMG. Like you probably here all the time, the i drive takes some time to get used to but once you do it is very simple. I personally love the SMG although it can be jerky at times in 1st. If you don't know there are actually two modes for this transmission, the manual shift mode and the automatic shift mode. Both modes are self explanatory. The only thing you should know is that it does not shift like a normal BMW steptronic it shifts just like you were actually shifting with a manual clutch so you will feel yourself be placed well into your seat with the power of the V8. Unlike a manual transmission were you have to release the gas pedal when you are shifting, the SMG releases it electronically. In other words whether you are in Automatic or manual shift mode, you can the metal on the pedal and the car will electronically depress the gas as you shift. The only other setting there is the Sport mode which can be used in either transmission shifting mode, The Sport mode actual gives you less of a pause between gears and I believe actually provides a lower gear ratio.

It's funny you mention you are trading up to a 550 cause a couple of months back I found myself side by side with a G35S on I20 heading west toward AZ. Til this day i still don't know which can can out perform which but I guess he wanted to see for himself and so did I. I think he thought he was running with a 525 when I came up on his rear view mirror and passed him. By the way I debadged my car so he really didn't know :devillook. Needless to say he never did get to see the front of my car again.

Go luck with your purchase and I hope this helps

Hello BMW Guys-

I am new here and thinking about purchasing my first BMW. I am currently an Infiniti guy, I have had 3 G35s, 2 coupes, and now an 07 Sedan. I am looking at trading the sedan on an 06 550i, black on black with sport package, premium, nav, and the SMG transmission. What can you guys tell me about this car.

Welcome to Bimmerforums and maybe BMW should you buy the 550i. The black on black is a good color and the options are nice. Sequential Manual Gear (SMG) is an awesome tranny. BUT if you are looking for an automatic fit and feel, SMG is not it.

SMG has a hydro-electric clutch and the shifting is near F1 style (Jerky in 1st and 2nd) for the beginners. Start another post or run a quick search on non-M BMWs SMG trannies. You will learn quite a bit.

My initial impressions from the test drive were mostly positive. The car drives great, had plenty of power, and handled well. I was having a lot of difficulty with the controls of the i-drive system and navigation. Is it possible to set it to just display the map on the full screen while driving, I could not figure it out. The nav also appears to be a big downgrade from the system in my Infiniti.

Interesting... Just remember that the G35 compares with a BMW 3 Series, not the BMW 5 Series. This would mean that the driving experience is very different and though you can compare them, well I will leave it there; I am sure you get my point.

Another concern is warranty, the car I am looking at purchasing has 53k miles on it. Its not certified through a BMW dealership, can you have a car certified and the warranty extended if its not bought through a dealership?

Have the dealer buy the 550i for you and go from there.

Could someone please explain the SMG transmission to me? I have heard a few different stories about how it works and what the pros and cons are, so please enlighten me.

Wonderful tranny for the driving enthusiast. You have to enjoy feeling the car versus the lofty feel you get from other cars. More on SMG, see my first response.

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Yeah,I have two vehs with the SMG,and I love it,I do find the M5 is a lot smoother than the M3 for shifts.A friend of mine has a 550i,in the carbon black with the M package,and its one beautiful car,you won't be disappointed.