brucelinc Posted September 22, 2021 Share Posted September 22, 2021 (edited) I have been seriously considering a BMW M550i to replace my Continental. They both have a 117 inch wheelbase and the BMW is just a bit shorter overall. The M550i has a 523 HP twin turbo V8 so it is quite a bit more potent than the Conti. I test drove one but it was not equipped as I would want. I was surprised and impressed with the ride comfort and quietness. It was a bit better than the Conti in those areas. The powerteam is also very impressive...refined, ultra smooth and quite potent. The seats are not quite as supportive or comfortable as those in the Lincoln and the rear seat is not as roomy. Material quality and fit/finish was very good....at least equal to the Lincoln and maybe a bit better in some areas. The instrument cluster is no more configurable than the Lincoln and that was a bit disappointing. It is OK but not exceptional....not nearly as good as a Mustang, for example. The 12 inch center screen is nice, though. If I could order one with the features I want and that are normally available, I would be very tempted. Unfortunately, with the chip shortage, some key items are not available. That is a deal breaker for now. Edited September 22, 2021 by brucelinc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 15, 2021 Author Share Posted November 15, 2021 I sold my Continental this week. Not that many people care about sedans anymore but the Conti was a very good one. If I were to write an exit interview after 5 years of ownership, I would say it met most of my expectations and exceeded a few. The 30 way massaging seats were excellent and the car was just extremely user friendly. The seats and ergonomics deserve an "A." While not exceptional, it would get a solid "B" in ride comfort, quietness and handling. Performance with the 3.0 would be more like a "B+" but was let down by the transmission calibration. I had corrected that with a tune but after returning to stock for the sale, it reminded me how acceleration was cut so drastically between shifts. As I have said many times, the Continental styling was conservatively bland and really doesn't make much of a statement. That was fine with me at all but it would not appeal to those looking to impress the neighbors. There are still some sedan buyers out there. A nice low mileage used Continental makes a very good buy in today's market....especially for those loyal to Ford products. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice-capades Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 20 minutes ago, brucelinc said: I sold my Continental this week. Not that many people care about sedans anymore but the Conti was a very good one. If I were to write an exit interview after 5 years of ownership, I would say it met most of my expectations and exceeded a few. The 30 way massaging seats were excellent and the car was just extremely user friendly. The seats and ergonomics deserve an "A." While not exceptional, it would get a solid "B" in ride comfort, quietness and handling. Performance with the 3.0 would be more like a "B+" but was let down by the transmission calibration. I had corrected that with a tune but after returning to stock for the sale, it reminded me how acceleration was cut so drastically between shifts. As I have said many times, the Continental styling was conservatively bland and really doesn't make much of a statement. That was fine with me at all but it would not appeal to those looking to impress the neighbors. There are still some sedan buyers out there. A nice low mileage used Continental makes a very good buy in today's market....especially for those loyal to Ford products. A close friend bought a used 2019 Lincoln MKZ AWD from a local Lincoln Dealer that had three is stock. I don't remember whether they were Select or Reserve models but two had nearly similar equipment in different colors but one was priced at $1,000 more, with several additional options but also had 10,000 less miles. The customer bought the lower priced vehicle with the 10,000 additional miles! Go figure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 23 hours ago, ice-capades said: A close friend bought a used 2019 Lincoln MKZ AWD from a local Lincoln Dealer that had three is stock. I don't remember whether they were Select or Reserve models but two had nearly similar equipment in different colors but one was priced at $1,000 more, with several additional options but also had 10,000 less miles. The customer bought the lower priced vehicle with the 10,000 additional miles! Go figure! I would have preferred to trade so I could save some money on sales tax. However, the BMW dealers really low-balled me on trade-in value. I advertised the car on Autotrader and other sites and every dealer in the Minneapolis area contacted me. I didn't get a single contact from an individual, though. I sold the car to the Lincoln dealer from whom I originally purchased it. They paid me $6000 more than the BMW dealer offered on trade. That more than made up for any tax savings. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daytona Posted November 16, 2022 Share Posted November 16, 2022 On 11/16/2021 at 5:03 PM, brucelinc said: I would have preferred to trade so I could save some money on sales tax. However, the BMW dealers really low-balled me on trade-in value. I advertised the car on Autotrader and other sites and every dealer in the Minneapolis area contacted me. I didn't get a single contact from an individual, though. I sold the car to the Lincoln dealer from whom I originally purchased it. They paid me $6000 more than the BMW dealer offered on trade. That more than made up for any tax savings. If it's not a secret, how much they gave you for your car? PS: Congratulations on purchasing a BMW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 17, 2022 Author Share Posted November 17, 2022 16 hours ago, Daytona said: If it's not a secret, how much they gave you for your car? PS: Congratulations on purchasing a BMW They paid me $38,500. They then certified the car and listed it for $40,995. I have no idea what they got for it but it wasn't on the lot for very long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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