I am debating between a brand new car and a used car. I never owned an Audi and the S5 has caught my eye. I drove the stick, but rather have the Auto when it comes out. The O&B sound system in the Audi was amazing.
My situation is to decide between the S5 for $58k or 2006 M5 with 10k miles for around the same price, like $59k.

Please help me and shed some info on my decision.

Thanks a lot Audi members.

at the time of purchase and passed them all up to chose the S5. The M5 is a great car don't get me wrong but it has been out for awhile now and it's yesterday's news. It has great performance but the exterior design and interior leave a lot to be desired IMO. The S5, while not quite as fast, is still very quick (4.8sec to 60) and is arguably one of the hottest cars on the European car scene right now. It is the all-around package that even BMW hasn't been able to replicate in their entire line of cars. If you can sacrifice the utility and people carrying ability of the M5, the S5 really can't be beat. it gets amazing attention, and everything from the interior, design, engine, to the chassis works together very well. I, like many here had to wait months for our S5's, and I definitely don't regret the decision.

but the 6 series is one of the few contemporary bimmers that doesn't look like doo-doo... IMO.

but the 80K dollar M5 is an incredible car. If anything I would consider in a year that buying a used $39K dollar S5 will be a better value then a used $60K dollar M5.

Spent a day with a manual 650. Very vague tranny and a very soft ride. Not my cup of tea. M5 is a GREAT car but it doesn't have quattro, that is the main reason I ordered an S5. This will be my winter car.

I hade the same issue also. But I decide against it because of BMW not offering a factory cpo warranty, that smg gearbox is 15k to repair when the pump fails if not under warranty.

My Cousin has an 06 M5. Didn't even consider it after I saw pics of the S5.

so yeah. that's what happens.

The RS4 didn't drop at all the first year, sure its an RS4 but there's a premium on the S5 and supply is not even close to demand. Audi also doesn't discount the leases on their cars now like BMW does. Look at an M5 now, great new deals on that car at the dealership level which is why the used ones are taking a huge hit. Banks are forcasting excellent residuals for the S5 and current (AFS and non-AFS) loans are at 60% in 36 months which is likely the ball park for a decent mileage used example 3 years down the line.

Even the the M3 is overpriced , you will get the M3 out the door for around 80-85k depending on options, that's total including gas guzzler/etc.

Audi S5 seems to be priced perfect, but 20k drop , i don't think that will happen.

cause if it does, there will be some unhappy Audi owners out there.

but here is a 2006 Audi S4 for only $37K dollars right now (it even has navigation). I agree it is steep for a year but for basically two years (or a year and a half) I am willing to wager you can find an S5 for $39K. I bought my S4 that was two model years old for only $33 grand. Right now it is 3 model years old and worth only 23 grand. It was a 50 thousand dollar car.<ul><li><a href="http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=233253930&amp;dealer_id=565576&amp;car_year =2006&amp;model=S4&amp;num_records=25&amp;systime=&amp;make2=&amp;star t_year=2006&amp;keywordsfyc=&amp;keywordsrep=&amp;engine=&amp;cert ified=&am

It wasn't as expensive as the S5, it started at $46K, more over, the S4 has really high residuals believe it or not, it actually made top 10 list for cars which hold their value the best, for '06 year i believe.

assuming the only thing the person added was the nav package and the required convenience package to go with it. Residuals and what the car brings are two different things. I cant get more then 23 grand for my S4. My residual on my 2006 A4 ended up being 5 grand more then market would have brought. It was BS. Something like 72% after the lease.

When talking of BMW, people, talk of high residual values, all these cars take huge hits in the market, because, the next best thing is around the corner. Only the cars that are a little rarer, maintain their value well, such as M, RS, S cars etc ... it's just the name of the game, my friend.

either. I actually made out on the lease because the inflated the residual. I'm just responding to people thinking it is crazy a 2 MY old S5 could be worth 39 grand on the market and I will bet $5 bucks I can find one in a year and a half for that price. Not upset about it, just a fact of life. I made out getting my S4 that booked out at $51,000 when it was new and got it for $33,000 less than 2 years later.

to be in a different condition than it appears in the advertisement. It really is difficult to tell why a vehicle is priced the way it is until you see it for yourself. On that same list are S4s that sticker for more than 45k with the same amount of miles.

Regarding the S5, it is even more limited than the S4 and it's an entirely new model. The banks that I have talked to (including AFS) have specifically mentioned that residuals for this car are higher than the current S4. I doubt you see a noticable drop until the second year. Even the 335 did great the first year and it's a much more high-volume model which had discounted lease specials, compared to an S5.<ul><li><a href="http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=222399038&amp;dealer_id=58132017&amp;car_ye ar=2007&amp;model=S4&amp;num_records=25&amp;systime=&amp;make2=&amp;st art_year=2006&amp;keywordsfyc=&amp;keywordsrep=&amp;engine=&amp;ce rtified=&

I had an M5 and, until that experience, had been a loyal BMW customer for 11 years, owning at least 12 BMW's through those years. The M5, while an absolute beast and amazing ride, was by far the least reliable car I have ever had. The issues were not minor, they were issues that caused the vehicle to be simply undriveable several times and out of commission for days and sometimes weeks. To me that was simply unacceptable in a 100k car. If you do look at the M5, make sure it is a later production car and research the service records thoroughly. Good luck.

my boy just got 08 6 speed hawt

seems odd to me that the M6 and M5 are the only two cars BMW will not sell CPO'd. I asked the question at my dealer and they told me it was "a cost thing". If they won't cpo the car because they are worried about repair costs why would i want to own one out of warranty????????