Ahh. When I was trading in my 370Z, it was E92 M3 Coupe, C63 AMG Coupe, 550i M-Sport or M56S RWD. I had no preference as to which I wanted, they were all high on my list respectively. But the 550i was quickly tossed aside after I test drove a few, what a pitiful excuse for a BMW 5-series. The E39 would be figuratively rolling in its grave, if it could. 550i base or M-Sport is just a sloppy all around car. Powerful and torquey, with a terrible open-diff that'll sway you a little sideways even on a highway at cruising speed. Brakes were adequate, but it floats like a boat...it's clear that this running on the same platform as the 7-series. The 5-series as we knew it is dead.
I liked the M3 a lot (but I'm biased because I had a 335i Coupe in NYC), but the fuel efficiency was awful - I like to take trips down to Palm Beach or Miami and prefer to do it on one tank, including the way home. And the lack of low-end kept bugging me, but dammit...they're just so fucking gorgeous, especially with the LCI tails. Still, I couldn't even find the right one with the right options:
DCT, Navi, Competition (which was the least important). I found a lot of DCTs with no navi. Or a lot of 6MTs with no navi. The ones with navi had awful interior colors, or were 2013 models that were spec'd out to be $75K. Some were too high mileage and too old. Some had poor paint. Etc. It wasn't worth it, imo. So I ruled out my M3 search.
The C63 AMGs were easier to find the way I wanted, but the Benz dealers were kidding themselves with how much they wanted for these cars used, even though they were low-mileage cars. Loved the car, the power, the handling (especially the coupes), even if the interior wasn't as grand as I liked for it to have been, it was still pleasant. Plus dat noise. Again, too costly, didn't feel like spending too much coin on a car that may potentially not be that reliable.
I got to the M56S last because I couldn't find any. I only got to test drive one M56S, because the rarity was well beyond what I expected. There were a few AWD models scattered about within Florida and Georgie, albeit still rare, but the RWD S-model is the absolute go to car because it comes with a different look, boasts a bunch of mechanical, suspension, and aesthetic enhancements. The one I test drove I didn't even bother with because it was crashed from the rear previously, so I just used it to gauge performance and I was in love. And the interior was just wonderful.
It took me a while, but finally a unicorn M56S Black/Black came up, 2013 with 5K miles on it at a Maserati-Jaguar dealer in Sarasota. It was a unicorn because this one wasn't a regular Sport, it was the extremely rare Sport-Aero (has a different front fascia). I called them up, and over the week we worked out all of the details. They gave me the trade-in I wanted on my 370Z, and took off 4-grand from the M56S. They assured me the car was 100% clean, so I bought it sight unseen (although they did send me 60 hi-res 1080p pics of it from every angle). They delivered the car to my house, and drove my Z away once I approved of their car.
I'm superbly happy with the M, the 5.6L V8 is an animal stock...and I just started tuning it with UpRev and the expectancy is another 30WHP, 35WTQ and a lot more response (nearly 500HP crank). The car is a fucking animal basically...should be running mid-12s after the tune on crappy OEM Bridgestones.
