BMW 540i

>>16977882
Generally the last years of any model car are going to be the best because electrical and mechanical issues in previous years have been hammered out.
This is not always the case, but usually a good rule of thumb.

>>16977924
In addition to that:
With any newish car that would be "facelift+6months" because that's late enough to get a car without baby issues of a new model and early enough to not get a car that gets all the hidden cost cutting measures

>>16977882
Don't buy a 540. A 530 has better fuel economy, handling, and reliability. It'll be a giant money pit either way, but a 530 will probably be less trouble. If you need more performance, it makes more sense to save up and buy an m5, since the performance difference between the 530 and 540 is negligible.

last year, 2003 540i, look for the Msport package in stick shift.
it's like 75% of an m5 without the m5 parts costs

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First model year of the 540i. Timing chain guides are known to fail less.

>t. 03 540i wagon and M5 owner

>>16979253
Its funny because in my experience the M5 is cheaper to maintain. S62 has no catastrophic faliures where as the m62tu has serious problems. IE Chain guides and waterpump.

OP if you have the money, cough it up for an M5. Less headache in the long run.

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None. Just get the ultimate Grand Sport Sedan

>>16979291
the chain guide is annoying and an involved job but you do it exactly once for the life of the engine, and do several other things at the same time.

the water pump is just a matter of replacing it with a metal impeller, what;'s more annoying and frequent is the coolant expansion tank

i own a 2003 540i

the thing has been sitting for a month because it cranks but doesnt start

changed the fuel pump and battery per what bmw dealership told me was the problem for the car not starting

still does not start

>>16979303
>automatic only
>fat
>can't handle well at all
>no steering feel

fucking shit

just give me the unreliable bmw or a comfy e430 w210 merc

>>16980002
>per what bmw dealership told me was the problem for the car not starting
you'll need to drop by the forums and give them as many details as possible, they'll recommend some diagnostic things to do to get to the real root of the problem.

keep in mind, assuming you're talking about a bmw dealership, most of them aren't really trained on older bmw models

>>16977882
Get a 530i or M5. Only buy a 540i if the cooling system, timing chains and guides and tensioners and vanos have been replaced.

Pre-vanos e39 imo

>>16979291
except for that youtube channel e39source where they have dozens of M5 owners blogging about how their M5 has cost them 5-10k in repairs during the first year, with no labor costs as they did the work themselves

>>16985081
>did nothing but an oil change and new tires in my first year

They bought shitty examples then

>>16985081
5k isnt a lot lol
why are you on this board
surely theres a commuter forum you'd be more interested in