Feels good to be back!

[bossku69]

Just picked up a CPO 2011 M37x this weekend and WOW did I miss having one of these cars.

I bought a 2006 M35 new and had it for just over three years and traded it in on a BMW 750Li -- WORST mistake I ever made. I've been on the lookout for a 2011-2012 for a while and my sales guy gave me the call on Friday evening saying they just got it in.

Big upgrades from the '06 to '11, but overall very, very nice

It is a bit of a change coming from the 7 series to M, but overall it will be worth it. Only quark so far that I have is it seems the drivers seat doesn't go back far enough. I'm 6'3" so it's a little close, but looking to see if the dealer or aftermarket shop can move it back a few inches. Had a friend do this to one of his cars years ago on a Range Rover.

Regardless, my life is now better

[AZhitman]

Welcome back home!

[svard75]

Would you mind sharing the differences and what you prefer between the two sedans? If you could also mention your reliability experiences with the 7.

Thanks

[SmoovC]

Welcome home, glad to have you back!

I too kind of went the same route. Loved my 2006 M45, but it was getting up there in miles, and found a deal on a 2012 Genesis 5.0 that I couldn't pass up. The car looked good on paper (429 hp & fully loaded), but just did not have the refinement that I had come to expect in a sports sedan.

I too really liked the new series "M", and found a low mile M56S with the Aero package. What a fabulous car! I suspect I will never stray from the brand again.

I hope you learned you lesson too, after owning a BMW.

[bossku69]

Welcome home, glad to have you back!

I too kind of went the same route. Loved my 2006 M45, but it was getting up there in miles, and found a deal on a 2012 Genesis 5.0 that I couldn't pass up. The car looked good on paper (429 hp & fully loaded), but just did not have the refinement that I had come to expect in a sports sedan.

I too really liked the new series "M", and found a low mile M56S with the Aero package. What a fabulous car! I suspect I will never stray from the brand again.

I hope you learned you lesson too, after owning a BMW.

I had someone from a Hyundai dealership ask me to come and test drive the new Equus -- followed me to Target while in my BMW. He was telling me how their Equus was just as good as the BMW... not even close. I think he was a little offended when I told him they fall far short compared to the 7 series, considering it is almost a super car.

I LOVE the aero package, just asked my dealership yesterday the cost to add it on... may take a few months, but I'll have it sooner or later.

Congrats on the M56S though, that is a sweet ride. It was hard enough for me to find a M that wasn't base, or didn't have the tech package in a color I liked. I'm happy to be back and will NEVER consider anything else but Nissan/Infiniti in the future.

[bossku69]

Would you mind sharing the differences and what you prefer between the two sedans? If you could also mention your reliability experiences with the 7.

Thanks

reliability experiences with the 7

I love jokes, that was a good one!

All seriousness aside, I HATED that car and would never buy another BMW or MBenz as long as I live. My wife got an Audi A4 a while back and that was nice, but otherwise, I will stay far away from German cars.

The 7 is the flagship from BMW, to which they sat around and decided "how can we make a car that cost over $100,000 cause people so many headaches and grief?" Well, they did a great job at it! Reliability is a joke, they even refused to cover items under warranty, like the transmission. BMW won't fix anything, they replace. So the transmissions on those are horrible and not meant for an everyday car, more a long hauling truck -- so they break down around 60k miles. Three dealerships and quotes ranged from $7k to over $10k... mind you, this is a 2006!

I could go on an on about it, but I'll give you some advice, stay FAR, FAR AWAY!!! Even on a lease they are horrible, my friend bought a 2013 on a lease and hates it, constant problems and spent about half it's life at the dealership. Now you might get lucky and have one with no problems, but you also have the same odds adopting a baby tiger and not having it eat your face off within the first five years when you are sleeping.

Enough of that POS, I'm getting angry just thinking about it...

I bought the 2006 M35 right when they came out, I actually went to get an FX35 and got talked into this -- I like sedans better, didn't know this was around.

In 2006 the M was easily ahead of it's time, nothing came close. I loved the car and wished it had a few options like audio inputs, but eh, can't have it all. Navigation was still amazing, even compared to my $100k 750Li, hands down still better.

2006 M to 2011 M...

The inside is very nicely upgraded, I waited until I found a 2011 vs a 2010 because of the upgrades. When I got my 2006 I had the option for the upgraded packages, but opted just for the journey and tech package. Now they lumped a lot together into the "premium" package which is still well equipped. I don't care about 5.1 DTS surround sound in my car, but what was important was streaming music from my phone... yes, I am that shallow

A few differences... I noticed in my 2011 I don't have adaptive lights like I did in my '06, however they are so bright and wide, I don't think it really matters that much. I debated between a silver M with the deluxe touring or my black M without and half the mileage... I'm glad I didn't because I wouldn't use any of those features. My old M wasn't AWD, so this is a bit different to drive and handles really nicely, almost as good as our Audi did. The inside of the 2011 seems a bit more "cozy" then the older model. I'm 6'3" and gained a bit of weight since I had my old M, so I feel like I'm a bit close to the steering wheel than before... however I have been a bit accustomed to the 7 series which I could put the seat the whole way back and barely reach the pedals. One thing I'm looking into is moving the seat back a few inches, but I have a feeling that will be very costly, but I plan to keep this car until it hits 200k miles.

Overall, if your considering upgrading I would advise you to wait about 6 months until the Q70/Q80 comes out. The prices on the 2011-13's will drop significantly as they are no longer the current body style. If you have an older M, before 2011, you can easily still sell that on Craigslist, DON'T trade it in, you will get ripped off.

In short, major upgrades from 2006 to 2011 and very nicely done. Suspension and ride seems a bit more sporty (I dont have the sport package) and seems faster too. Few little complaints here and there, like responsiveness while stepping on the pedal going 30+ mph, but eh, this is not a sports car, so it's ok.

[SmoovC]

Welcome home, glad to have you back!

I too kind of went the same route. Loved my 2006 M45, but it was getting up there in miles, and found a deal on a 2012 Genesis 5.0 that I couldn't pass up. The car looked good on paper (429 hp & fully loaded), but just did not have the refinement that I had come to expect in a sports sedan.

I too really liked the new series "M", and found a low mile M56S with the Aero package. What a fabulous car! I suspect I will never stray from the brand again.

I hope you learned you lesson too, after owning a BMW.

I had someone from a Hyundai dealership ask me to come and test drive the new Equus -- followed me to Target while in my BMW. He was telling me how their Equus was just as good as the BMW... not even close. I think he was a little offended when I told him they fall far short compared to the 7 series, considering it is almost a super car.

I LOVE the aero package, just asked my dealership yesterday the cost to add it on... may take a few months, but I'll have it sooner or later.

Congrats on the M56S though, that is a sweet ride. It was hard enough for me to find a M that wasn't base, or didn't have the tech package in a color I liked. I'm happy to be back and will NEVER consider anything else but Nissan/Infiniti in the future.

The Equus is no BMW beater, that is for sure! While Hyundai is checking off boxes that hit on points for premium buyers, their bean counters are putting the squash on anything that remotely resembles high quality materials and construction.

Quick note on the Aero package if you decide to do it: the front is low! Be careful pulling up to parking curbs. This is something the previous owner of my car apparently was not aware of. I replaced mine shortly after purchase, and kept the old one "just in case".

From all of the reviews I read prior to purchase, there are two schools of thought on the M37 vs. M56: if you like twisties and tossing the car around, the M37 is a better choice. If you like brute force and acceleration, the M56 is the way to go. As for myself, I am a "no replacement for displacement" old school thinking guy... Probably because I cannot pick and maintain a line through corners, but I can mash the go pedal and drive straight...

Again, welcome back!