silberrosa

Is the new 7 series available at dealers in the US yet? If not, does anyone know when it will be available?

QuadBenz

It's already available. I've seen it in person already. I'm a big fan of the interior.

ajm0623

yeah - it's out and it's nice. real nice. i was at my local bmw dealer buying a new x5 just for a fun second car (not getting rid of the s550 mind you! never!) yesterday and they have three of them. plus they were delivering one (their first delivery of the new 7) to a long time customer. looks good.

vpoms

I am in a market for a new car and test drove the new the 750Li and S550 back to back. In my neighborhood BMW and Mercedes dealerships are less than a mile apart. The S550 felt more luxurious and comfortable, it had a lot of room in the back, and even the middle seat was usable. The 750 felt very good with plenty of power. You will not mistake either one of them for a sports car, but I felt 750 was more of a "driver's car” and Mercedes felt more plush and luxurious. I liked the cabin design of 750 little more than S550, I especially liked back up camera and parking sensors screen on 750 better. However, the 750 back seat was less comfortable and the middle seat was almost unusable with driveshaft tunnel very high above the floor, making exiting from the back seat a minor chore. Since I have to drive my three kids regularly, I am leaning toward S550. I was able to get about $2500 of MSRP on 750 without much haggling, but the sales manager would not budge any lower. The 36 month lease on nicely equipped 750 is running about $1800 a month.

NY_SG

1800 is very expensive considering 36 months.....

BMWFanboyy

The money factor on the 7 series is not as good as what MB is offering on the S550 right now. Having said that, 1800 was not unreasonable when MB wasn't offering lease incentive.s

vonbeeler

holly shiista batman!! $1800 month and in 3 years you give it back.
My finance payment is $2k month and I will own the S600 in 2.5 more years.
Paid $105k lightly used.

These lease payments arent as good as past. I was recently considering trading my Corvette for a M3 Cab d/c. The 08's were clearing out at $850mo 36 month lease. I didnt find the combo I wanted and 09's started arriving the lease jumped to $1500.
No thnx.

The 7 is nice and much better than last model. I would never have considered the last 7 but I would consider the new one if I didnt have the S.

Quadcammer

True, but that $105k will be more like $55k in 2.5 years.

mbnj

VonBeeler is saying that over the next 2+ years he pays out $60K, the 7 series shells out $64.8. beeler owns an S600 with ?? $55K resid, the other guy hands the car back and has $0.

rkao

Saw my fits F01 7-series (not sure if long or short wheelbase) in black in the wild today on 39th Street in Manhattan. Looked good...if slightly anonymous and the rear three quarter view was a bit too close to a Lexus LS460 for comfort.

AustinGuy

Not sure what to think about the new 7. The front grille/apron looks odd - it's almost like there's too much plastic or something. The integrated exhaust tail pipes? Well, I think the Lexus's design is better. I do like the console though.... and the fact that you can browse the internet! The rear seat & entertainment setup look pretty sweet too. All in all, they've definitely gone away from the sporty look- which is kind 'a odd given that it's supposed to be the ultimate driving machine...

But for shear presence, masculinity and class......there's nothing like the S63/S65

Here are some pics.

trumpet1

Thanks for the pix. The new 7 is a great looking car.

AustinGuy

The rear set section defintely looks very plush esp. with the video screens neatly integrated into the back rests....

1993_300SE

Ehh, I still like the looks of the S550 better in every way, inside and out. The S550 still looks fresh after 3 years, and the BMW looks dated as soon as it's released. I think the 3 and 5 series look much better from a styling perspective vs. the 7. Audi goofed on the A8 styling as well, IMO, but the "2010 facelift" does look better than the current one.

Quadcammer

Yeah, got it thanks, but here is the rub.

VonBeeler paid $105k for the vehicle. Regardless of how much he still owes, the loan plus the downpayment =$105k.

So in the next 2.5 years
VB pays $60k in payments
and loses $50k in depreciation
Total cost=$110k

Bmw guy pays $65k for the same time period, and has no worries on depreciation.


So, unless VB plans to keep the car forever, the BMW guy comes out ahead.


I can't for the life of me see a reason to PURCHASE a new MB or BMW, unless you plan to keep it for 10 years.

The depreciation is STAGGERING

trumpet1

Sad but true . It is staggering. I plan to keep my car regardless if I get another one in a few years or not.
I will say this, I won't buy a showroom new one again. I keep an eye on ebay almost daily, and I'm convinced my next one will be a used one with under 10K miles and save around 40% off MSRP. Even if someone bought mine with 33K miles on it, would drive off with a seriously nice car.

ajm0623

quick observation.

background: when the bmw dealer came to my home to pick me up to take me back to the bmw dealer to take delivery of my new x5, he picked me up in the new 7. he told me he was planting the seeds in my head to 'get me out' of the s550 and into his new 7. i laughed and told him 'one car at a time' lets see how things go with the x5 first. and that i had zero intentions of giving up my s550.

the observation: i felt like i was sitting in a spaceship in the 7. the center console area that bifurcates the space between the driver area and the right passenger area is raised somewhat making the people sitting in the front feel a few inches 'lower' than in the s550. it also gave me the feel of little-to-no room to move around compared to the spaciousness of our s-classes. does this make sense? i'm not sure i'm saying in correctly. i guess i just felt like i was definitely seated in the 7 and wasn't going anywhere where as in the s-class i feel like i can move about and not be so constrained space-wise. i'm sure it's just an illusion but that was my first impression of the 7.

Quadcammer

Precisely, there are tons of barely used 1-2 year old cars out there for 40% off sticker price.

Most S-class owners or leasers aren't making it a point to trash their cars.

I bought an off lease 05 last year, and it was in very nice shape.

As much as I'd like that new off the showroom floor feeling, you take a heart stopping hit when it rolls off the dealers lot.

Quadcammer

Not strange at all. That seems to fit with BMWs mantra of building more sport oriented vehicles. You sit lower in the 7.

rkao

Add me to the list of people considering a CPO'd vehicle when my lease of the E63 ends in April 2010, the depreciation on these cars (including the E63 I'm leasing now) as seen in the retail stores is staggering. I also suspect that in the current climate, there will be some leases that are ended and vehicles returned prematurely with lower than usual mileage.

As such, I'm keeping my eye out to track the pre-owned market for cars ranging from the W221 S-class, to SUVs like the Cayenne GTS and Ranger Rover Supercharged. Variety is the spice of life and certainly there could be something interesting to be purchased on a CPO program next year.

The other option I'm considering is that my E63 has only 13,000 miles after 21 months on lease, and when the lease ends at 33 months, I suspect it'll be under 20,000 miles on the odometer in total. I've heard that MB Financial is cutting deals to lower the buy out price of vehicles coming off lease to avoid taking them back on to their books - I've had no problem with this car and if they offer me a really attractive reduced price, I may just buy it since I'm the original owner and drive it for a while longer; the depreciation on it shouldn't be much worse if the deal is good.

trumpet1

The new, off the showroom feeling lasts only a few weeks. The savings in the wallet from a low mileage , slightly used car last for years.

You can actually trade more often when trading used-to-used versus new-to -new, especially if you keep the financing under 3 years (if you have to finance). 99.99% of people would never notice the difference between a showroom car and a 10K mile used.

I actually plan on buying a used WSH car when the time comes

QuadBenz

I just saw the new 7 again today at the dealer.

Gray exterior, black interior, dark colored wood, and the "ceramic" controls. Man, the interior on this thing is nice. The only thing on the exterior I care for is the rims this particular one had.

MercPlease

I still don't like the front of the 7 series interior... Yuck.

Quadcammer

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...icleId=143826#

Edmunds seems to like it. And while I couldn't care less about performance in this type of car, the standard 750 seems to put up S63 type numbers.

MBZFAN55

I care about performance, and this vehicle is quite impressive, Thanks for the link and a better than usual Edmund's article/review.