Continental vs. BMW M550i

[MarkX]

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The button to turn off the stupid start/stop feature is directly under the start button. I quickly got in the habit of first pressing the button to start the car and then the button to turn off the start/stop button.

I'd bet there is a code to default that to always-off through the service port. Your dealer may not want to do that but an independent garage with a plug-in device might be able to find it.

 

[brucelinc]

I am sure the start/stop can be coded to always off. I just haven't pursued it since the off button for it is just under the start button. It is easy to turn off and I have gotten in the habit of doing so.

My BMW dealer really low-balled me on the value of my Continental. I advertised it on Autotrader and every other dealer in my area contacted me with offers. I only had one private individual look at it but he was 200 years old and concerned about having a car with turbos. I sold my Conti to the Lincoln dealer where I bought it for $6000 more than the BMW dealer offered on trade.

The dealer where I purchased mine had already ordered one for their stock but it had not been built. We were able to change the color and options on it and I agreed to a deal on September 28. It was built in mid-October and I took delivery on December 13. There was not a lot of wiggle room on pricing-around 3.7% off MSRP. Two other dealers I spoke with would not take ANY off MSRP. No one within 500 miles had a new one in stock that wasn't sold. I had to go to a dealer in a smaller town 90 miles away to get any discount at all.

One other little tip: The dealer is able to add some things that are not shown as available on the build & price site. For example, the build/price site does not show the parking assistance package. It includes the 360 degree camera and some other goodies. My dealer got it added. Also the hands free trunk is not shown on the site but I got that, too.

 

[brucelinc]

On a 600 mile round trip at Christmas time, I averaged 27 MPG. That was mostly highway driving. Just driving around here, commuting, horsing around, etc, I average around 20-22 MPG. Overall, the mileage is 1-2 MPG better than I got with the Continental. The BMW has a 2.81 axle ratio and the Lincoln was 3.39. The BMW turns quite a bit lower RPM at highway speeds than the Lincoln did.

 

[MarkX]

On a 600 mile round trip at Christmas time, I averaged 27 MPG. That was mostly highway driving. Just driving around here, commuting, horsing around, etc, I average around 20-22 MPG. Overall, the mileage is 1-2 MPG better than I got with the Continental. The BMW has a 2.81 axle ratio and the Lincoln was 3.39. The BMW turns quite a bit lower RPM at highway speeds than the Lincoln did.

Sounds good! The BMW can run at lower RPMs with lower diff gearing as the extra torque it has ( compared to the Conti) can handle driver demands adequately (or better). My dealer is hounding me to buy back my Conti, but I am not biting.

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[silverydragon72]

I am still considering. I am waiting for them to get me the full lease breakdown. I think currently they are trying to screw me on the price "without me knowing" as they are only providing the monthly. I asked for the full lease breakdown as I think its higher than it should be which isn't exactly making me want to switch (also them taking this long to get back to me on it makes me think I'm right). I am averaging 23-24.6 on my current conti with my daily commute. I'm leaning towards keeping unless things improve. Hate to also downgrade in terms of sound quality too bad the upgrade isn't available. Also want to lease if I do go with it incase its a basket case. However if I do decide to order next steps is selling my current one while the new one arrives which I always hate doing.

 

[silverydragon72]

So figured it out they finally got it to me and the lease rate is terrible. Seeing what's going on there. I often got much better lease rates.

 

[brucelinc]

So figured it out they finally got it to me and the lease rate is terrible. Seeing what's going on there. I often got much better lease rates.

I haven't leased a car for many years but I know my BMW dealers would not dicker like my Lincoln dealer always did. Maybe even the Lincoln dealers don't dicker as much now, either.

 

[silverydragon72]

Basically looks like a combination of depreciation, no discounts, bad lease rates are making it very expensive to lease right now. Still very tempting but I'm leaning towards just keeping the conti since its more than I expected. Also have some general concerns based on reading around about the longer term reliability of the v8 as I will probably want to keep it if I like it.

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[brucelinc]

Not to totally disrespect the Continental with its 3.0 twin turbo engine but I recently confirmed what I suspected with the BMW twin turbo V8. I drag raced my Continental when stock and ran 13.5 @ 101 mph in the quarter mile. After tuning, it ran 12.7 @ 107 mph. I just returned from the track where my stock BMW ran 11.6 at 123 mph. In addition to the vastly stronger performance, the BMW consistently gets better highway fuel mileage. It is also smoother and quieter.

Many Continental buyers will not care about engine performance, behavior or efficiency. Definitely, the Conti has some positive attributes in other areas. However, from a mechanical perspective, it is not in the same league as the BMW.

 

[silverydragon72]

I think we all know the v8 in the bmw along with the transmission is better than the one in the conti. The bmw compared to a similar equipped conti at the time is also costs more so I would expect as much. Id say if you have to get a new car the bmw m550 is a great replacement if you can purchase it in cash considering interest rates are terrible atm but I would say the seats are better in the conti, same with the fully upgraded sound system compared to what bmw offers now, and the lack of soft close doors annoyed me on the bmw. Otherwise great car probably would have gotten it if interest rates weren't terrible on a lease.

 

[brucelinc]

I think we all know the v8 in the bmw along with the transmission is better than the one in the conti. The bmw compared to a similar equipped conti at the time is also costs more so I would expect as much. Id say if you have to get a new car the bmw m550 is a great replacement if you can purchase it in cash considering interest rates are terrible atm but I would say the seats are better in the conti, same with the fully upgraded sound system compared to what bmw offers now, and the lack of soft close doors annoyed me on the bmw. Otherwise great car probably would have gotten it if interest rates weren't terrible on a lease.

I also miss the soft close doors. For me, the seats are about equal. Not being an audiophile, I find the H/K system much better than the base Revel that I had.

A BMW 540 would be a closer match to the Continental price-wise and from a performance perspective but would still be missing the soft close doors and the high end audio system.

I am probably more into performance than most. My 550 replaced my Continental AND my Mustang GT. The BMW is faster than the Mustang even when it was tuned but also has comfort and luxury more in line with the Lincoln.

 

[Action]

Many Continental buyers will not care about engine performance, behavior or efficiency. Definitely, the Conti has some positive attributes in other areas. However, from a mechanical perspective, it is not in the same league as the BMW.

From a market standpoint (IMO) the two cars are not in the same market segment either.
The competition for the BMW would be Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Audi A6, Genesis G80, Jaguar XF

For 2020 the last year of Continental, the MSRP (base) was $46,300 for Continental and $53,900 for BMW 5 Series.

And I know little about the BMW which may mean my numbers above are off. But I would guess few shoppers of a BMW in that segment would have considered a Continental. And since Continental is no longer made it may not make much difference anyway.

Action

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[silverydragon72]

I also miss the soft close doors. For me, the seats are about equal. Not being an audiophile, I find the H/K system much better than the base Revel that I had.

A BMW 540 would be a closer match to the Continental price-wise and from a performance perspective but would still be missing the soft close doors and the high end audio system.

I am probably more into performance than most. My 550 replaced my Continental AND my Mustang GT. The BMW is faster than the Mustang even when it was tuned but also has comfort and luxury more in line with the Lincoln.

For me the 30 way seats on the conti are more comfortable. If you had the base version of the sound system that would be the difference. Mine was the ultima which is the 3rd level in the conti which is probably on par to the upgraded sound system in the bmw which they no longer offer. For me I mostly use mine for commuting and I can't even open the taps on the conti much there so not a major reason to upgrade except for the fact that I do love the v8, transmission, infotainment system on the bmw, and the exhaust note.

 

[MarkX]

I also miss the soft close doors. For me, the seats are about equal. Not being an audiophile, I find the H/K system much better than the base Revel that I had.

A BMW 540 would be a closer match to the Continental price-wise and from a performance perspective but would still be missing the soft close doors and the high end audio system.

I am probably more into performance than most. My 550 replaced my Continental AND my Mustang GT. The BMW is faster than the Mustang even when it was tuned but also has comfort and luxury more in line with the Lincoln.

Thanks for the update. I am glad to see you have residual affinity for the Lincoln family. The car seems to be working well for you and I am also glad that you are enjoying your new car. Keep on smokin' those Vettes.

I don't think anyone doubts that the M550 is at least a step ahead of the Conti. But it seems to me you really have to hit the BMW option list to get many of the features that were standard on the Conti. And that's when the price ramps up which it should when you're getting more car.

I remain glad, on the other hand, that I have no reason trade out of our Conti. I certainly don't see anything out there that meets our needs as well as this car. As for providing a car-ownership experience, I find it hard to imagine anything beating it. Other than gas, I have not put a nickel beyond the original service contract I took into the car. Contrasting that to the decades of my Mercedes ownership with the constant bills has been refreshing.

I look forward to further updates, Bruce, as you get deeper into BMW ownership.

 

[silverydragon72]

One thing I would say is if I was in the market for a new vehicle and either didn't already have my conti or God forbid something happened to it I would be picking up a M550.

 

[brucelinc]

I agree that not many would have cross shopped BMWs and Continentals. I wouldn't have considered a BMW if Lincoln had created a new Continental instead of abandoning the upscale sedan market, altogether.

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[NicTLg]

Thank you for asking! I have about 1200 miles on the Bimmer. I will first share the things that I miss about the Continental or where I think it is superior.

The BMW is very tight and the doors need a good push to close on the first try. I really miss the Lincoln soft-close doors. The BMW has no way to activate the heated seats when doing a remote start. The Lincoln did and that was very nice in Minnesota weather. The Lincoln cross traffic alert was MUCH more sensitive than the BMW. The BMW has more safety technology in general but the cross traffic alert requires you to nearly back into traffic before it provides a warning. The ergonomics were better for me in the Lincoln. Some of the BMW buttons for the climate system and seat adjustments are very small and difficult to see. The rear seat of the Conti was MUCH larger and had climate controls for the rear seat passengers. The BMW rear seat is much smaller and only has seat heating....no individual temp or fan controls.

Things about the BMW that I think are better:

The car is much superior mechanically in my opinion. It's 523 HP V8 far outperforms the 400 HP V6 in the Conti and also gets better highway fuel economy. The 8 speed ZF transmission in the BMW is much smoother. The BMW is remarkably quiet.....almost eerily so...much quieter than the Conti. The BMW brakes are much larger and provide better feel and stopping power. The ride is probably a tad firmer but there is less impact noise or drama when hitting bumps. I love the I-drive controller (sort of like a computer mouse) in the BMW. Even though you can operate the larger BMW screen by touch, the controller on the console is handier and you avoids fingerprints on the screen. Voice commands work very well but they also worked well in the Lincoln. About the only difference is that there is no need to press a button with the BMW. It responds by just saying "Hey, BMW" and telling it what you want.

I would say the following areas are equal: Fit/finish, build quality, material quality and seat comfort. The BMW offer some distinct mechanical advantages as you would expect, given the price. However, the Continental was a pretty darn nice car, too. If Lincoln had continued offering a large sedan and kept it updated, I would not have gone to a foreign manufacturer.

Thank you for the thorough comparison analysis. I priced out an M550 just for giggles, and it was almost $100k! That to me is ludicrous, but I've been spoiled by having a father and grandfathers that retired from Ford (my father was Exec level). I usually pay around $250 - 280 for my leases, and that includes my loaded 2017 and 2019 MKZ's. My Conti is a bit more, but I purchased that CPO, since they are no longer produced.

I feel like Lincolns are an amazing value for what you get. I'd love the extra HP of the M550, but in SoCal traffic I wouldn't benefit as much from it as I do the luxury features like the HUD, soft close doors, and the rear seat package. When I 0ick my kids up from school in this car, everyone calls it the limo, haha. They do use these as limos at airports, I remember a vendor picking me up in Chicago in a black Conti once, and it was a comfy ride after a long plane trip.

It's too bad the marketing is so horrible (or non existent) for Lincolns. Everyone I run into here says they've never even seen a car like mine. In the OC successful ppl drive a BMW or MB, and consider them a status symbol. More dealerships are adding Black Label showrooms however, so I think things will start changing.

 

[brucelinc]

Thank you for the thorough comparison analysis. I priced out an M550 just for giggles, and it was almost $100k! That to me is ludicrous, but I've been spoiled by having a father and grandfathers that retired from Ford (my father was Exec level). I usually pay around $250 - 280 for my leases, and that includes my loaded 2017 and 2019 MKZ's. My Conti is a bit more, but I purchased that CPO, since they are no longer produced.

Wow...you must have added every available option to arrive at that price. Mine has the upgraded leather, cooled massaging seats, premium package, driver assistant pro and parking assist packages. After discounts, it was just under 80k before tax and license. I avoided the 20 inch wheels and the handling packages because I didn't like the ride or handling as well with those.

With the M550 likely being the last V8 powered BMW, the resale value appears to be quite good on these....much better than other BMWs. It is still a pretty spendy vehicle but after 11,000 miles, I am extremely pleased with mine. It is really in a class by itself in terms of luxury, performance and tech....especially if you value the acceleration, handling and overall driving feel.

 

[silverydragon72]

Wow...you must have added every available option to arrive at that price. Mine has the upgraded leather, cooled massaging seats, premium package, driver assistant pro and parking assist packages. After discounts, it was just under 80k before tax and license. I avoided the 20 inch wheels and the handling packages because I didn't like the ride or handling as well with those.

With the M550 likely being the last V8 powered BMW, the resale value appears to be quite good on these....much better than other BMWs. It is still a pretty spendy vehicle but after 11,000 miles, I am extremely pleased with mine. It is really in a class by itself in terms of luxury, performance and tech....especially if you value the acceleration, handling and overall driving feel.

I love mine as well its an excellent vehicle however I wish they offered the upgraded sound system as the HK sucks. I ended up replacing all my speakers to make it decent. I however did get 20in rims and the DHP which Ironically I love on the twisty roads. Run flats are a little hard and it definately rides harder than the conti but I think its a good compromise between performance and comfort for me. Also for me I just really wanted a V8 in a decently comfortable sedan as they wont be making it after this year unless you want to go for the hardcore M5.

 

[MarkX]

Thank you for the thorough comparison analysis. I priced out an M550 just for giggles, and it was almost $100k! That to me is ludicrous, but I've been spoiled by having a father and grandfathers that retired from Ford (my father was Exec level). I usually pay around $250 - 280 for my leases, and that includes my loaded 2017 and 2019 MKZ's. My Conti is a bit more, but I purchased that CPO, since they are no longer produced.

I feel like Lincolns are an amazing value for what you get. I'd love the extra HP of the M550, but in SoCal traffic I wouldn't benefit as much from it as I do the luxury features like the HUD, soft close doors, and the rear seat package. When I 0ick my kids up from school in this car, everyone calls it the limo, haha. They do use these as limos at airports, I remember a vendor picking me up in Chicago in a black Conti once, and it was a comfy ride after a long plane trip.

It's too bad the marketing is so horrible (or non existent) for Lincolns. Everyone I run into here says they've never even seen a car like mine. In the OC successful ppl drive a BMW or MB, and consider them a status symbol. More dealerships are adding Black Label showrooms however, so I think things will start changing.

Nic, I tend to agree with you. Some of my brain would like Bruce's M as well but I like my Conti (coming u to 3 years with it) okllkml;kj;qwioueqeoqwioiu

Thank you for the thorough comparison analysis. I priced out an M550 just for giggles, and it was almost $100k! That to me is ludicrous, but I've been spoiled by having a father and grandfathers that retired from Ford (my father was Exec level). I usually pay around $250 - 280 for my leases, and that includes my loaded 2017 and 2019 MKZ's. My Conti is a bit more, but I purchased that CPO, since they are no longer produced.

I feel like Lincolns are an amazing value for what you get. I'd love the extra HP of the M550, but in SoCal traffic I wouldn't benefit as much from it as I do the luxury features like the HUD, soft close doors, and the rear seat package. When I 0ick my kids up from school in this car, everyone calls it the limo, haha. They do use these as limos at airports, I remember a vendor picking me up in Chicago in a black Conti once, and it was a comfy ride after a long plane trip.

It's too bad the marketing is so horrible (or non existent) for Lincolns. Everyone I run into here says they've never even seen a car like mine. In the OC successful ppl drive a BMW or MB, and consider them a status symbol. More dealerships are adding Black Label showrooms however, so I think things will start changing.

@Nic, part of my brain would love to have a M550 like Bruce's and the other part loves the Conti plus the tens of thousands of dollars difference. But I don't drive as much as I think Bruce does so I think I can get a longer life out of the Conti. I personally would not want to own a high-mileage or high-years BMW as I would be terrified of the maintenance costs but I am sure the first few years are a joy. But for longer-term, lower mileage use, lower maintenace costs, I favor the Conti. Whereas the Lincoln can be serviced reasonably, even by Ford shops, BMW shops own you.

I, too, was in Ford management fifty years ago and, therefore, I knew what former X-Plan cars (ask your dad if you don't know what that is) were like so when I saw one, CPO, optioned the way I wanted, under 10K miles, it was a no-brainer. And, before I bought, I had multi-week comparison rentals (in SoCal) of both the Conti and the top Caddie and you will know how that came out.

Until this car, I had been a chronic M-B user and I still have one that won't let go but the Conti club is much more exclusive. Too bad for FMC the car was so under-appreciated.