looking for a new-to-me car. need some advice

zilla · 07-29-06, 11:55

've been kicking the tires and shopping for a new-to-me car and I've managed to make a short list of 2 cars:

2001.5 Audi S5
1999-2000 BMW 5 series E39

My basic requirements are: 4 doors, power, manual tranny (6 speed would be nice - dunno if this is an option on the 540i or only on the M5) and if possible under 30k Canadian.

Admittedly, I don't know as much about the 5 series as I do about the S4. Is there any difference between the 540i and 528i besides engine size? is the 2.8 straight 6 powerful enough for a car of that size? which are the good years that E39's were made? I know that 2001.5 is the year to get for the S4

am i missing any cars in this class? I'm not THAT keen on mercedes.

I know of the S4's issues with turbos blowing up due to owner negligence, but do the 540i's have any issues? how's the maintenance on them? What about tuning potential?

Thanks

Tim

Way2SSlow · 07-30-06, 06:32

If it were me, living in Canada.....I'd get the S4. If you plan to drive this car in the snow then I think the AWD will serve you well. They are both nice cars and I have driven both. Ya cant go wrong either way, but I think the S4 is the way to go in your situation. Audis have the coolest interiors out there as well.

My .02

martinager · 07-30-06, 07:04

That is one of my all time favorite bimmers. Nice engine with a 5spd mmm..

The audi however will help you out in snow with AWD.

Fun over function ? =p

Scormunch · 07-30-06, 09:27

E39 540's have a 6spd manual, 525/528/530's have 5spds. My dad went from e39 528i/5spd to a e39 540i/6. The V8 was definately more powerful and is a force to be reckoned with on the highway, but the I6 isn't horrible... its fine and still does 0-60 under 7 seconds; I was side-by-side with my friends GTP from 5-90ish.

The 540/528 is the same chassis, different engine. The 540's are usually better optioned and usually have a bigger wheel/tire combo.

Also, as with most cars a good set of dedicated snow tires does wonders, paired up with DSC. Granted you won't have the 4 wheel straight-ahead traction of the S4, but it shouldn't leave you stranded anywhere either. Good Luck on either, they're both great cars. (Buy CPO

)

rydawg · 07-30-06, 09:54

I know both cars very well as I am interested in both cars. I would go with the bmw 540. 98-2001 were the best years. Most of the parts are now cheap straight from bmw too. I fix bmw's and they are a very well built car. Audi's are nice cars, but can cost a lot to fix and have quite some issues sometimes. edmunds has a great review on a 98 bmw 540i and they rated it the best of all. They screw and handle like nothing else for the money...hope this helps

Accumulator · 07-31-06, 10:51

Kinda apples/oranges IMO. The S4 of that vintage is a *lot* smaller than the E39 5-series. An A6/S6 would be a more directly comparable car. I'd say the S4s are more comparable to E36/E46 3-series.

The Audis and the Bimmers are *very* different from behind the wheel, I'd drive both as I suspect one will appeal to you a lot more than the other.

zilla · 07-31-06, 11:03

i do realize that there is a significant size difference between the two, but there isn't anything in the 3 series that fits my budget and has the power I want.

Regarding the E39 series... are there any known major issues? i spoke with someone who thought that there was some problem with the headgasket letting go.

BTW, is the engine that is in the 540i the same one that's used in the X5?

Accumulator · 07-31-06, 11:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by zilla

i do realize that there is a significant size difference between the two, but there isn't anything in the 3 series that fits my budget and has the power I want...

Ah, OK...sorry to have pointed out what you obviously already knew

FWIW, I just bought a '97 E36 M3 sedan (and note that I'm a die-hard Audi nut), lotta car for the money but maybe not what you're after.

Watch for throttle-response issues with the Audis, some are fine, others aren't

audicoupej · 07-31-06, 11:46

The B5 S4's have great tuning potential for realitivly low $$$ since it is bi-turboed.

A simple chip makes a huge difference in the power of the 2.7. I went for back-to-back rides in a heavy modified S4, stock S4 and Chipped S4. The chipped car felt much better than the stock car, it really made me want to get one. It also felt not so slow compared to the modifed one (The modifed S4 puts down like 297 AWHP). That being said both cars are nice. As was pointed out, with good snow tires either car will be fine, you can just smoke people in the snow with the S4. It also comes in handy in snow emergency situations, just throttle and go, not much thinking involved.

I think features should be very similar. If you care about gas mileage the Audi would be on par with the smaller engine Bimmer but would do better than the V8, at least city driving anyways. Straight highway should be close.

If you need the room than the 5 series wins.

03DubU R EX · 08-04-06, 10:05

A good thing to do if you dont know much about the 5-series you are interested in, is to check out some of the BMW forums and find people who own the vehicle and ask them about the car.

bimmerforums.com
http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e39/

Edmunds.com is a good resource as well

Also maybe try going to repair shops that specialize in BMWs and ask them about how the car has held up over time.