# 2003 "M Package"???



## mqueen (Sep 26, 2003)

I have been looking at a 2003 530i. I have contacted a dealer who has a car with 24,000 miles on it. Manual transmission. The dealer claims it has an "M" package on it. This is "M" suspension and wheels. I told him that it was the sport package. He claims it is different. Before I tell him he is full of it, I wanted to be sure there really was no such thing. This is Chevy dealer btw. He was asking 34,500 and I offered 30,000. We are at 32,500. Fair price? 

If this falls through I started looking at Acura RL. Nice car.


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## BMW528i_Bilal (Jan 17, 2005)

*Good Price !*

VERY GOOD PRICE !The dealer might call this an "M" package cuz it has the "M" on the steering wheel. All and all its good price, these days in my city a 2003 costs with sports package $50,000(CDN). The 5 speed manual is an added bonus, but would cost $1000 less than automatic. By the way what colour is it?
check this link out:

http://www.trader.ca/VLotsEnlarged....Com/images/logo.gif&trader=1&CAT=1&unitcode=K

is that what the car looks like?


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## mqueen (Sep 26, 2003)

Thanks, The M on the steering wheel indicates a sport package and that is all, correct?

The color is gray and I guess that is fine not my first choice but it will do. It is hard to tell from your link but it seems to look the same. See attached.


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## BMW528i_Bilal (Jan 17, 2005)

*check these out !*

A few examples of the market values of the cars down there, i think ur ur getting a good deal, does the car have any other packages besides the sports package?
check these out i found in ohio, u can see for urself.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...oth&advanced=&isp=y&start_year=2003&cardist=8

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...th&advanced=&isp=y&start_year=2003&cardist=24

( The black car with the sports package is a good car, a little high on the millage but i bet u can get a good deal on that)
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...th&advanced=&start_year=2003&isp=y&cardist=14

(only 7,000mi, on that one, good price bet u can get that one for $34,500 easy)
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...h&advanced=&start_year=2003&isp=y&cardist=300


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## BMW528i_Bilal (Jan 17, 2005)

Black or silver/black is a good combo for that car, but grey is also very nice. Do you really want a sports package? I see great here, a little on the price but with only 6,xxxmiles

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...nced=&start_year=2003&isp=y&cardist=14#vdptop

THIS BLACK ONE LOOKS AMAZING, SOMETIMES ITS ABOUT COLOUR, AND THIS BLACK ONE STANDS OUT MORE THAN THE GREY ONE !

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...th&advanced=&isp=y&start_year=2003&cardist=24

:drive:


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## mqueen (Sep 26, 2003)

That was very nice of you to do. I think Black is the sharpest and would be my choice if I ordered it new. For about the same price I would take the grey one with less miles over a black with 53k. I think I do want sport pack and manuals are just more fun. I get bored driving autos. Take care


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## BMW528i_Bilal (Jan 17, 2005)

mqueen said:


> That was very nice of you to do. I think Black is the sharpest and would be my choice if I ordered it new. For about the same price I would take the grey one with less miles over a black with 53k. I think I do want sport pack and manuals are just more fun. I get bored driving autos. Take care


True say, the price is good for that car


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## tsbrown (Apr 25, 2003)

mqueen said:


> Thanks, The M on the steering wheel indicates a sport package and that is all, correct?
> 
> The color is gray and I guess that is fine not my first choice but it will do. It is hard to tell from your link but it seems to look the same. See attached.


That gray car in the picture is a Sport Package equipped car. It is not some special "M" package different from the Sport Package as the dealer thinks. But the 5 series Sport Package *makes* the car. I've owned one (well, ok, it was a '00 528i Sport with 5 speed manual). I'm kinda biased on the sport package...I had a '98 non-sport slushie and traded after 18 months for the above. The SP and manual dramatically change the character of the car and there is very, very little ride penalty for the sport. As for whether or not the price is right, I'll defer to others.


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## mqueen (Sep 26, 2003)

Thanks for the assistance. I am waffleing on it now. Mostly because of the color. I have heard that the new 3 has similar size as the old 5. I need a back seat for 3 kids. I may wait and see. If the 3 will not work for me because it turns out bungled, I may revisit the Acura RL. Or find a black old 5. Its not as if they are rare.


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## sidneyj (Dec 12, 2004)

*price*



mqueen said:


> I have been looking at a 2003 530i. I have contacted a dealer who has a car with 24,000 miles on it. Manual transmission. The dealer claims it has an "M" package on it. This is "M" suspension and wheels. I told him that it was the sport package. He claims it is different. Before I tell him he is full of it, I wanted to be sure there really was no such thing. This is Chevy dealer btw. He was asking 34,500 and I offered 30,000. We are at 32,500. Fair price?
> 
> If this falls through I started looking at Acura RL. Nice car.


I just bought an '03 530 silver/gray, auto, sport, cold weather, cd changer w/8500 miles for $37500. 32,500 sounds fair as I thought mine was a very fair deal due to the low miles. I think it really depends on the condition. Door dings, scratches, smoked in, has it been garaged kept, condition of wheels, tires, any body work etc all add up in my book. There are tons of "off lease" cars that are sold at auctions and enter the marketplace at good prices but you never know where they have been. I would buy from a 1owner individual but your call. No such thing as an "M" 530.


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## tsbrown (Apr 25, 2003)

mqueen said:


> Thanks for the assistance. I am waffleing on it now. Mostly because of the color. I have heard that the new 3 has similar size as the old 5. I need a back seat for 3 kids. I may wait and see. If the 3 will not work for me because it turns out bungled, I may revisit the Acura RL. Or find a black old 5. Its not as if they are rare.


I have 2 kids in car seats and the back seat of my '05 330i is smaller than the E39. On paper the cars appear to be similar size with a slight edge to the 5 series. In reality, the 5 series is bigger, not by a huge amount, but noticeable - more knee room, more foot room and if multiple car seats more hip room will make a difference in the 5er. I don't believe the new E90 3 series will be much bigger in reality, but I don't have much basis other than specs on paper to say that.

I went from a 5er to 3er for better handling and because I didn't need the back seat space since we also have an X5 in the family (plus I wanted a new car  ) If I used the back seat more, I'd definitely go with the 5er.

As for color, it's all personal preference. But the gray is a very nice color and will usually look cleaner than black. My 5er was Ti Silver and my 3er is Mystic Blue...the blue is harder to keep clean. Black is worse, and we had a 7er in jet black...always dirty. As you can probably tell, I'm a fan of the 5er (and most BMWs). Do what's right for you. This is all food for thought, but I think you would really like the 530i.


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## vexed (Dec 22, 2001)

mqueen said:


> Thanks for the assistance. I am waffleing on it now. Mostly because of the color. I have heard that the new 3 has similar size as the old 5. I need a back seat for 3 kids. I may wait and see. If the 3 will not work for me because it turns out bungled, I may revisit the Acura RL. Or find a black old 5. Its not as if they are rare.


I carry three kids, one in a car seat, in the back no problem. I can't comment if the E90 will be as roomy. If that car is Sterling Grey you should jump on it--it's a great color and would have been my first choice if I had a choice.


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## BMW528i_Bilal (Jan 17, 2005)

mqueen said:


> Thanks for the assistance. I am waffleing on it now. Mostly because of the color. I have heard that the new 3 has similar size as the old 5. I need a back seat for 3 kids. I may wait and see. If the 3 will not work for me because it turns out bungled, I may revisit the Acura RL. Or find a black old 5. Its not as if they are rare.


The Acura RL, is nothing infront of BMW, if you want something big, go for a 2000-2001 740i/il, nice car and i am sure you can get it for a good price for it. The (E39) is kinda tight for a person like me anyways 6'2" 290lbs. And no room in the back for 3 people for them to sit comfortably. I hate saying this, and trust me i do, but My 1999 Mercedes--Benz E-320 W210 is more comfortable.


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## markseven (Apr 30, 2004)

BMW528i_Bilal said:


> The Acura RL, is nothing infront of BMW, if you want something big, go for a 2000-2001 740i/il, nice car and i am sure you can get it for a good price for it. The (E39) is kinda tight for a person like me anyways 6'2" 290lbs. And no room in the back for 3 people for them to sit comfortably. I hate saying this, and trust me i do, but My 1999 Mercedes--Benz E-320 W210 is more comfortable.


Yeah Yeah, E38! RL? Good choice, but I'd stick with a bimmer.

-Mark


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## Robert A (May 18, 2003)

If the car came from Canada it could possibly have the "M-sport" package, which is indeed different than the Sport package offered in the U.S. The biggest tip off to this is if the car looks like an M5, with a larger front air dam, exposed exhaust, "M-sport" inscribed in the door sills, etc.


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## tsbrown (Apr 25, 2003)

Robert A said:


> If the car came from Canada it could possibly have the "M-sport" package, which is indeed different than the Sport package offered in the U.S. The biggest tip off to this is if the car looks like an M5, with a larger front air dam, exposed exhaust, "M-sport" inscribed in the door sills, etc.


This was available in the US but I think only on the 2003 540i. It had M-sport suspension II (more firm like M5 suspension where most US sport pkg use M-sport suspension I), 18" M-parallel wheels (like 740i/L Sport), plus front and rear M5-style bumper aero bits as you describe. Exposed exhaust is on driver-side only rather than dual exhaust like M5. Again, I don't think this was available on US 530i's in 2003, but was in Canada.


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## BMW528i_Bilal (Jan 17, 2005)

*In Canada........*

In Canada our BMW's come pretty well equipped. For example, the 325i Xenon lights, multifunction steering wheels, fog lights, headlight washers, and many more other options come standard. I thought before these options were also standard in the U.S. 325i model and I have also noticed that in the U.S. that the 99 and 00 323i models with sport pkg got the same rims that came standard in 2000 323ci as sport package rims. We get the 5 spoke 16" which look better and sportier. Over here we only have two major packages that give us all the important options on 320i, 325i, and 330i Premium, and sport pkg. In the U.S. you have the convience pkg, premium pkg which doesn't come well equipped as the one in canada, and the sport pkg, and oh yea the cold weather pkg. so many packages  Are packages are cheaper too. As for the 5 series models, we do get the "M" sports pkg, I have just released the U.S. doesn't get the same Sports pkg we do, which is sad :bawling: 
I guess the Germans like us Canadian Better    :angel: , Just kidding :thumbup:


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## dchen (Jul 2, 2002)

tsbrown said:


> This was available in the US but I think only on the 2003 540i. It had M-sport suspension II (more firm like M5 suspension where most US sport pkg use M-sport suspension I), 18" M-parallel wheels (like 740i/L Sport), plus front and rear M5-style bumper aero bits as you describe. Exposed exhaust is on driver-side only rather than dual exhaust like M5. Again, I don't think this was available on US 530i's in 2003, but was in Canada.


This is correct. Here is a picture of my 540i in the showroom.


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## andrewcbho (Feb 17, 2005)

tsbrown said:


> This was available in the US but I think only on the 2003 540i. It had M-sport suspension II (more firm like M5 suspension where most US sport pkg use M-sport suspension I), 18" M-parallel wheels (like 740i/L Sport), plus front and rear M5-style bumper aero bits as you describe. Exposed exhaust is on driver-side only rather than dual exhaust like M5. Again, I don't think this was available on US 530i's in 2003, but was in Canada.


Actually, that m-package was available to canadians from 2001-2003 on all 530s and 540s. From 2001-2003, the m-sport package came with the 17" m-parallel wheels. In 2003, there was a special 540i "executive edition" offered, which came with the 18" m-parallel 7 series wheels.

Andrew


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## ketchup (Jan 14, 2005)

mqueen said:


> He was asking 34,500 and I offered 30,000. We are at 32,500. Fair price?


I think you can still do better than $32,500. still a good deal tho, $30,000 $31,000 is pretty obtainable but don't expect them to like you very much after.


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