Personal Experiences with 540i?

[Idratherbsidewayz]

Has anyone owned the 1998-2003 540i? Im looking at the 6 speeds and I was wondering how these cars are maintenance wise.

I don't want to hear "Omg t3h BMW is h1gh maintenance!!!1!!1111". I realize the costs of parts is larger, but how much does this car have to go in and what are some common problems?

Thanks.

[Kloubek]

The major issue I've heard about is electrical. But then - welcome to the wonderful world of BMW... that's not unusual.

And don't just think the cost of parts is "larger". It's a LOT larger in some cases. You can expect to pay 3-5 times the price for something you'd buy for a domestic, or even some imports.

For example: I have a friend who has a Bimmer and his HVAC unit died. Since there were none used/salvage, he had to buy it from a dealer. Price for similar units on a domestic: About $350. Price for his BMW: Over $1500. He ended up selling the car and swearing he would never buy another BMW again.

Same with my Audi that I had. Power steering pump died. Installed price for a domestic: About $300. Price from Audi: $1150.

It's nuts man!

[tc3]

They are awesome cars. If u take care of them, should last you 300K+. My old 91 535 had almost 300k when i sold it and still was running strong.
The rad has a weak point, I think it where the hose meets the plastic inlet on the rad, Cheap and easy to do yourself.
Front thrust bushings, along with a poorly balanced wheel or incorrect hub sized wheel can cause a bad shimmy.
Not sure what else really, Mine has been awesome.

If you might consider an 5 speed auto, I may be selling mine. Only reason is to upgrade to a M5.

[J@Tuner]

If you buy one that has been maintained properly and keep on the maintnence, you won't have too many problems. If you buy one that from the looks of it only needs a little work, it could end up turning into a huge headache.

My 735 had over 340xxx km when it left my possesion.

As tc3 said... The cooling system was weak on the BMW's because of the plastic inlets on the rad, plastic fins on the water pump. Most owners have taken care of it by now so just ask for a reciept when you goto look at it.

Here is a site that will help you out...
http://www.540i6.com/probsfixes.html

Good luck on your purchase! Keep us updated with what you ended up getting!

[Mitsu3000gt]

We have a 2000 540i 6-speed sport with a DINAN chip. It has been excellent. No maitenence needed so far other than scheduled/regular maitenence. Everything works flawlessly, with no electrical problems or burnt out pixes on the displays. The drivetrains are bullerproof, and as others have said, will last hundreds of thousands of KM if not abused. The biggest problem with the E39 is a cracked radiator, but that isn't overly expensive to fix and hasn't happened to us.

The M sport package appeared in 2001, as did clear/red taillights (2000 and older had orange in the rear lights and the side marker lights). A lot of people upgrade to the 2001+ style lights as they look significantly better to most people. The M sport package was pretty well just cosmetic (M wheel & badging, 17" wheels (2 main styles) lip spoiler, exhaust ports in rear bumper) until 2003, where you got 18" wheels (instead of 17") and the car is lowered I believe 0.3". I believe every 2000 540i 6-speed includes the sport package (I forget if this is true for all 540s)

There are 2 kinds of seats, the "comfort" seat and the "sport" seat. The sport seats hold you in better, but offer less adjustment. The front part (Under your thigh) is not adjustable on the comfort seat, but is on the sport seat, but the comfort seat includes an adjustable upper back portion on the seat where the sport seat does not. There are 2 steering wheels available, the M wheel and the regular wheel. You could not get a heated wheel with the M wheel but you can with the standard wheel. A combination of the M sport package and comfort seats is extremely rare. Also you will know if the car has an audiophile sound system if it has a "DSP" button on the dash.

Hopefully that helps a bit, if you have any more questions let me know.

[canuckcarguy]

I had a 1998 528i automatic, I owned it 2 years (from 2002-2004), and it didn't cost me any money on maintenance, aside from tires and fluid changes, in the 45,000 km I put on it. I have a good friend with a 1998 540i 6-speed, it's a great car and he drives it aggressively. So far, he's developed a noisy catalytic converter (some kind of rattling heat-shield that he has yet to track down) and he's replaced brakes. His car has about 180,000 km on it, he's owned it about 2 years and 40,000 km.

I think the maintenance on these cars is affordable, and repair costs are exaggerated. Sure, parts are more expensive, but if you're computer-literate, you can easily get parts on-line from the US and avoid the expensive dealer network here. Case in point, I needed a pressure accumulator for the brake system on my 1984 533i 5 years ago, and even after the crappy exchange rate and shipping costs, I got the parts for 50% less than I was paying locally.

Good luck.

[bobby_lu]

Go read up on some forums like bimmerforums.com for more specifics.

My only advice would be to go for '01+ so you get all the updates (int/ext) and, likely a car in better condition.

[Idratherbsidewayz]

Wow, thanks for all the useful tips and link guys.

My decision is between the 540i and a 2002 WRX. Totally different cars, and I had been leaning more towards the WRX. But hearing all this is slowly swaying the favor back to the BMW.

Who knows, maybe by the end of the summer i'll have the pleasure of being just another douchebag BMW owner...

[ekguy]

wrx is going to be funner but bmw is more grown up.

[J@Tuner]

From what i heard, AWD is fun for the first bit, then u get bored of it because your used to it. Can never go wrong with RWD. ;)

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by J@Tuner
From what i heard, AWD is fun for the first bit, then u get bored of it because your used to it. Can never go wrong with RWD. ;)

Yes, i would get tired of awesome launches too...

[E36M3]

A couple close friends have owned the 540, and the most important thing to ensure is that you get the sport package.. makes a tremendous difference, especially for the enthusiast driver.

These cars are very reliable. If you are willing to spend five minutes searching on the internet, you can get very good deals on parts, and can have the cars serviced by a non-dealership mechanic without breaking the bank.

I think they are very exciting yet practical cars. The WRX is a hopped up economy box, and unfortunately it isn't in the same category.

To speak to the AWD/RWD issue, I completely agree that AWD is boring. I have two AWD cars at the moment, and wish I had RWD again.. should be able to remedy that this summer.

In any case, sounds like a fun decision to be making. Good luck.

[Fcuk]

My cousin and I both own one and i can tell you something important also. The thing chuggggs gas =]

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Idratherbsidewayz
Wow, thanks for all the useful tips and link guys.

My decision is between the 540i and a 2002 WRX. Totally different cars, and I had been leaning more towards the WRX. But hearing all this is slowly swaying the favor back to the BMW.

Who knows, maybe by the end of the summer i'll have the pleasure of being just another douchebag BMW owner...

Drive them both back to back or take them on long test drives and I bet you pick the BMW. It's a lot more car in pretty well every way IMO.

[GTS Jeff]

Hmm even my boring Legacy is a blast to drive with AWD. I think AWD slides are way more nuts than RWD slides. Wayyyy higher entry and exit speeds.

[Idratherbsidewayz]

Yea I've owned a RWD turbo car for the past 5 years. I want to try something new, but on the other hand I REALLY love RWD. Ive never driven an AWD car. I guess ill test drive them when summer gets here.

[tc3]

Regardless is u get the sport package or not, your options for suspension upgrades is vast.
You can make these cars handle anyway u want them to perform.

[GT4rally]

Originally posted by Fcuk
My cousin and I both own one and i can tell you something important also. The thing chuggggs gas =]

Only if you constantly have your foot in it... I commute to the SW from Chestermere every day in my 540 and get around 10.3L/100km, according to the on board computer. That's equal, or better, than my old 325is!

[ricefarmer]

Originally posted by Idratherbsidewayz
Who knows, maybe by the end of the summer i'll have the pleasure of being just another douchebag BMW owner...

you'd have to be looking at the 3 series to be considered a douche bag


:thumbsup:

[canuckcarguy]

Bought a 545 a couple of weeks ago. Seems like a stiffer ride than the 540, or the 1998 528 I had a few years ago. Very fast, super comfortable, and the interior quality / fit and finish make Subaru look like a Yugo.

A friend works at the local BMW dealership, he says they almost never see those cars back for anything other than basic maintenance, that despite all the electronics, they're very reliable. More so than the 3-series, apparently.

[Idratherbsidewayz]

Originally posted by canuckcarguy
Bought a 545 a couple of weeks ago. Seems like a stiffer ride than the 540, or the 1998 528 I had a few years ago. Very fast, super comfortable, and the interior quality / fit and finish make Subaru look like a Yugo.

A friend works at the local BMW dealership, he says they almost never see those cars back for anything other than basic maintenance, that despite all the electronics, they're very reliable. More so than the 3-series, apparently.

Unfortunately BMW is t3h gay and I won't be able to afford bringing it in from the states. It would cost me more than 5g's just to bring it over.

[canuckcarguy]

I didn't know what your budget might be, but the E60 body style is coming down in price. I paid mid 30s for mine, I think an '02 or '03 540 would have cost me mid to high 20s. I figure better resale for the new body style.

[GT4rally]

Originally posted by Idratherbsidewayz
BMW is t3h gay

?????
Don't have a clue what that means... but if you can't afford to import one, just buy a '97 or '98 locally, they can't be that hard to find, and they are cheaper than a WRX.

[Idratherbsidewayz]

Originally posted by GT4rally


?????
Don't have a clue what that means... but if you can't afford to import one, just buy a '97 or '98 locally, they can't be that hard to find, and they are cheaper than a WRX.

The internet owns you.

The ones in the states have never seen winter, are 6 speeds, sport package, under 100,000kms, and you can pick any color you want (For around 12g's before stupid BMW Canada fees). For some reason everyone in Canada bought auto 540i's. DEFINITELY not cheaper than a WRX (Imported around 10g's).

[GT4rally]

Well, a cheap 540 with under 100,000km will be almost impossible to find, but there are a couple in the autotrader with 160-180k for around 14,000 dollars --that's pretty reasonable.
The E39 isn't prone to rusting, but if you are still worried, why not get a BC car?