I guess I'll add my two cents to this discussion. Ive had 735il for a few years and its expensive as hell to keep in good condition. The 7 series are a very tempermental car but the 5's tend to be more stable and reliable. The electronics on bimmers just plain suck ass, my 735 has a bit over 100k on it and the ecu is crapping out and the dashboard display is always inacurate. For instance sometimes I start her up and my tach is at 6500rpm and I'm going 160 according to the gauges. Then I fill my gas tank up and my empty fuel light will go on. Every day theres a little surprise waiting for me when I start her up. And every bimmer comes standard with an oil leak after 60k miles, mine does, my friend's 3 series does, my aunts 6 series did, you get the point. But if you feel like you have the time and money to devote to babying the car then it will treat you very very well and nothing will boost your trim rating like a bimmer. Girls love the black leather and the little light up make up mirror on the passenger side. Hope this helped you a little.