Strongly considering a 97-98 540i Sport--thoughts?

blackcaraddict · 06-04-03, 12:42

Hey everyone,

I've recently fallen in love with the 97-03 BMW 540i Sport

. The cars styling and overall elegance mixed with the performance has me sold...Since I can't afford a brand new one, I'm looking at the 97 or 98 years (which are basically the same anyway up to '03). I was wondering if anybody had some insight about these cars as far as what to expect, personal experiences and/or an overall opinion on them.

Thanks!!

F150BOB · 06-04-03, 12:53

One of my buddies has one. It must have 100,000+ miles on it and he won't give it up. He loves the way it rides on the hiway and its power. As far as I know, he has not had any major problems.

Now, if he will just get it detailed.

Good Luck and enjoy it,

BOB

MCoupeBen · 06-04-03, 01:06

You might ask the same question at Bimmerfest, Bimmerforums or Roadfly, all good sources of BMW information.

540's are great cars, there have been some issues with oil leaks that I understand are pretty common to all BMW V8's, but I assume a good inspection would turn that up. If you find a CPO car, or certified pre-owned, you will get an extended warranty through 100,000 miles and free maintenance on the remaining factory warranty.

Just as an aside, the new 5er, the E60 is coming out this fall, so that could potentially drop used E39 5er prices an incremental bit, but I certainly wouldn't pass up a good car waiting on that to happen. Good luck searching, you should check the classifieds on Roadfly, I've seen some fairly low mileage 540i/6's on there recently.

Ben

blackcaraddict · 06-04-03, 01:28

Thanks guys, I've heard mostly positive stuff about them mechanically, and I'd really prefer getting one with the extended 100k warranty--I don't have extremely deep pockets and I don't know too much about the BMW engines. Since repairs are costly, I figured the 100k warranty takes care of that issue for me and cancels it out...

Right now I have a Cobra and recently I've just felt like a transition to sport/luxury from pure sport might be in the cards for me. There's a '03 540i sport on ebay right now with the 740i 10 spoke split wheels which is at $50k right now but damn I can't stop looking at that page....

MCoupeBen · 06-04-03, 02:08

If you feel like swinging $50k, why don't you look for a 2000 or 2001 M5, then you don't have to give up any performance? Or you could stay in the low to mid 30's for a nice 97 or 98 540i/6. Both are great cars, but the M is just a little more special.

Not that you asked, but my favorite 5 series is the 94 or 95 M5, with a 3.8 liter straight six and 340hp, they never imported them, but some have been federalized and can be found for a reasonable deal, they even made some wagons, which would be too cool!

Ben

4DSC · 06-04-03, 04:10

Quote:

Originally posted by MCoupeBen
Not that you asked, but my favorite 5 series is the 94 or 95 M5, with a 3.8 liter straight six and 340hp, they never imported them, but some have been federalized and can be found for a reasonable deal, they even made some wagons, which would be too cool!

Oh boy, would I love to have one of those

.... someday.