Your Thoughts on Super Sedans

"twinturbobmw" (twinturbobmw) 09/05/2013 at 04:00 • Filed to: Super Sedans

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Going fast for four is the idea behind most super sedans. By super sedans I'm are talking about the M5, Panamera, CLS63 AMG, ETC. Although I respect this idea, I think almost all of the higher end models are over priced. For example, an F10 M5 costs $90,900 new for the base car. The base 5 series (in the US) is the 528i which, new, costs $49,500 base price. Both cars have basically the same features, same body, and same interior. Only the engine/drivetrain and electronics have been changed. For nearly twice the price, I would want more than that. I understand a lot of time and money go into developing the cars so that they perform the way that they do, but is it really worth that much? I'm not saying that they are bad cars, I just think that if you are spending $100k on a new car, you should get more for your money. As far as used cars, (E55, E60, ETC) I can understand because after depreciation, they aren't worth much. I think buying a nice sport sedan that can take a family plus a sports car for the weekends is a more logical solution than combining the two. To prove my point, here are the kind of combinations you could get for the price of an M5.

F30 328i and Jaguar F type - $106k

Mid range A4 and Cayman S - $101k

C7 Corvette and XTS - $97k

528i and GT500 - $105k

So what are your thoughts on this?

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > twinturbobmw 09/05/2013 at 04:04

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In F10 M5, i should say it's kinda overpriced.

Plus , she's better looking in my opinion:

GhostZ > twinturbobmw 09/05/2013 at 04:22

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I completely agree with the notion of getting a moderately expensive, comfortable sedan, and a sports car for when you need it.

But I would much rather buy a nice sports car to drive all the time, and a dirt cheap sedan with someone to drive it behind me to carry my junk!

Atomic Buffalo > twinturbobmw 09/05/2013 at 04:48

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1. A non-super sedan plus a sports car does not accomplish the objective of hauling ass times four.

2. You're trying to justify that the price should be lower based on some imaginary fair markup over unit cost. (a) the price is what the market will bear, not merely a function of unit cost with a fudge factor for overhead. (b) even if it were merely a function of unit cost and overhead, no matter how aggressively they price the super edition, they won't sell as many as they will the sedan overall; thus the overhead is higher per super unit than per base unit. (c) they're out to make the most money, not make the most people happy. (d) a big part of the appeal of luxury goods is that a lot of people can't afford them, ie. what you have is better. After all, today's Accord is as well-equipped and performs as well as the super-sedans of previous eras.

(3) Cadillac CTS-V, seventy grand. "Hell, my suits are worth more than that!"

atomic8778 > twinturbobmw 09/05/2013 at 04:52

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I flippin love super 4 doors. I say 4 doors and not sedan because I guess TECHNICALLY, CLS is a coupe. I don't know if Panamera is considered one, but I would guess it's a coupe as well. I'm not good with the whole coupe vs. sedan when it comes to 4 door coupes.

Anyway, you're absolutely right; they're stupid expensive. But they do come with more than just engine/drivetrain and electronics. Suspension set ups are different, interiors and exteriors are different (ever so slightly but still different and they add up). If we look at the E60 M5 compared to the regular E60's, the engine is VASTLY different. Bespoke engine, in my opinion, is enough to justify that M5's price difference. But of course there was also interior difference (BMW sure does charge a lot for having a big 'ol M on their stuff, but they sure aren't the only ones to do so), such as the HUD. I don't know if it was optionally available on the regular E60's but if it wasn't, that alone would cost big $$$$$.

Engine differences are probably especially true for AMG, considering that it's hand built and bespoke-ish. I'll definitely miss the ol 6.2L V8 (though the C63 still carries it and the SLS has a super, super derived form of it)

Personally, with the F10 M5, I wouldn't say the engine is different enough to justify that price difference. The 550xi is $66k MSRP, M5 is $90k. I don't think the engine is, er, bespoke enough, to justify that change alone. Not that the engine is bad (it really isn't), but compared to the speciality of the S85, it sure isn't all that special considering the base engine of the F10 M5 is the same as the X5 and X6 M (or so I think...) But of course, it's never just the engine. They're so much more.

Plus electronics ain't cheap ya know? I won't go into the "BUT IT LOOKS BETTER THAN THE BASE CARS!" because beauty is too subjective.

Back to the topic, they are certainly expensive. For me, they're bordering between "too expensive to justify the price" and "for what you get, it sure is worth it!" I understand your viewpoint on combinations and that's certainly how some people do it. I don't know what insurance rates are, but I'm sure they're a lot for any of those combinations haha!

Some people probably just buy the 1 super expensive car rather than 2 moderately expensive because of size constrictions. Other buy it because of the connivence. I think the mindset of many is kind of like "Why use two tools for two jobs if there's a tool that can do both!" Of course with that, it's like the whole "jack of all trades but master of none".

tl;dr: Are super sedans expensive? Hell yes. Do I still want one? Hell Yes. There's nothing quite like taking you and your friends/family in complete comfort while going stupid fast.

delete-me-please123 > GhostZ 09/05/2013 at 11:40

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