Love to hear from the few of you who might have both, or have gone through the
dilema of the 525/530 pricing decision...
I have a limited budget, I can spend about $45K...gotta have xenons, steptronic
(I commute a lot), and I guess leather or premium. I wish I could afford sport,
premium sound, and Navigation. Here are my options:

~~525i with steptronic, xenons, cold weather, sport, leather and some options
(I can afford sport with a 525, plus I can't stand the 525 base wheels)

~~530i with steptronic, xenons, cold weather, (maybe more options if I find a
used one)

I'm also considering a used  Porsche Cayenne S (V8) used (dealer has a 2004
coming in with 30,000 miles on it, as the owner is buying up to the Turbo
model..he drives a lot as he is afraid to fly)

Whatever I get, I'm doing with the light silver or dark silver paint, black
leather (leatherette?) interior.

         I currently drive a 1997 Mercedes E420, so I'm used to V8 (275 HP)
power, but the E420 is a heavy-handler... I know I'll be giving up power for
handling, but the question is how much? I've driven all four models above, but
I'd love to hear more about everyone else's decision making process, and what
eventually convinced you to make the choice you did. I feel like I need to
"suck-it-up" and get the 525, since it's a nice car in its own right, and
allows me to afford some nice options, but I wonder if the nearly 100HP drop in
power from my Benz would disappoint me over time. I was impressed when I drove
it, but that was for 10 minutes.

Also:
Does BMW ever do over-night test drives?
Does European Delivery really save you money, if you take a cheap flight over
there and only take a short vacation?
Is the Euro Delivery price negotiable like MSRP or is it set-in-stone?

Help! Looking forward to some interesting feedback!!

Randy in Chicago
(any other Indiana University grads out there?)