I found this car at a Carmax, which was surprising. I had searched Carmax periodically because their main website search criteria is pretty nice in that you can search for manual transmission cars at all their locations and then refine the search from there. They had a few Msport 550i 6spds, and so did autotrader, but nearly all were carbon black, black, silver, or the gunmetal gray. The deep sea blue metallic was what I was after and only a few msports were out there and always with tan interior and an automatic.
So anyway I did a search one night and this shows up on Carmax. I called within 10 minutes to put a hold on it and arrange transfer to my nearest location which was the carmax in Des Moines. Rented a car last Saturday to get down there and drove this back, with snow tires mounted and summers in the trunk and fold down rear seats. The carmax guys thought it was pretty funny that I brought my own jack, breaker bar and torque wrench, and wheels/tires to switch out. That's how BMW enthusiasts handle their business!
The car has 55k on it and this week I had it completely serviced with oil change, new Redline fluids in diff and trans, brake fluid flush, clutch bleed, coolant flush, and power steering fluid flush. This was obviously someone's very special order when it was new because the options are msport package, cold weather, heated steering wheel, active steering, lane departure warning, night vision with head up display, comfort access, ventilated and heated front comfort seats, fold down rear seats, nav, heated rear seats, iPod/USB connection, logic7 enhanced audio, and anthracite headliner. By my math on the 2008 E60 price/options list, it was about $77k with destination and over $15k of that was from options.
I've added a lighted ZHP knob from leatherz, debadged it, swapped in black kidney grilles (not shown in these pics), clear bra on the front bumper, leading edge of the hood and fenders, mirrors, and I'll do the headlights and fogs here soon with Lamin-x.
Still on the to-do list is to wire in the lighted shift knob, and hardwire in my valentine one plug.
My driving impressions are.......... what a machine. The 360hp is nice, and has more of a V8 growl than my E39 did. It's a heavy car though so I don't know that it's a lot faster than the E39 540i 6spd was. The active steering while disconcerting at first is quite nice, and the heated steering wheel may be the best option ever given the climate I live in.
I know you were determined to find blue/black and glad it worked out. I have criticized the newer BMWs on this board in the past but have to admit that the E60 has grown on me (even the slightly awkward Bangle Butt) and the quality of the fit and finish on these cars is VERY impressive. It is easy to tell they were high-dollar cars when new. I'm glad a few prior owners took the depreciation hit for me with the M5.
For a swaybar "repair?" Not to continue the newer car defamation war, but Holy, God damn.