2000 or 2001 BMW 540i 6 speed

[Elie]

Yes or no?

I am selling the maserati and the integra for one of these babies, need one all year car and thought the 540i would be a great choice since it's a cool car with tons of gadgets.

Thanks,
Elie

[KvHagedorn]

Great car, but take it to someone to inspect for repaired damage. Used BMWs are usually sound mechanically, but it's $$$ to get one repaired/serviced.

[GuchiGuh]

Yes, definately

I love the e39. And the fact that you will be purchasing a V8 means, sheer driving pleasure.

[az]

Man, you have a beautiful car and you're willing to trade it for something this ugly?

[GuchiGuh]

I don't get you az.
Please post a pic of a, in your opinion, beautiful car!

[RhinoZ]

Noooo...not the Maserati!!!!
But that's a nice looking bimmer. The ones I've seen on the road lately are not so nice looking.
I thought you bought an Audi a while back. I remember a poll or something.
I don't think you've ever posted a pic of your Maserati hint hint

[VJ]

I don't get you az.
Please post a pic of a, in your opinion, beautiful car!

I tend to agree with az...

Guchi: Aston Martin, Maserati, older Porsches (356), ...


Jörg

[GuchiGuh]

I very much agree, Aston Martin cars are beautiful.



I guess its up to personal preference? (Not really that much of a fan of Maseraties, and I like 996-7 Porsche's better than all the other older ones)

but coming back the E39. I think its one good looking bimmer. I'd take one if I had spare 70 grand

[az]

Some Maseratis are nice. That Aston Martin Guchi posted. Morgans, if you like the style. (Porsches are ugly, except maybe the Cayenne.) Some Mazdas (RX-8, but also some of the more ordinary models). The French make cars that are at the very least interesting looking of late. The new Passat is gorgeous (and all other VW models except the Phaeton and the Touareg look stupid). New Audis. New Volvos. A car needs four Seats, and thus four doors, or it doesn't even qualify as a useful car, IMHO. And yes, I know there's no four-door Morgan, I'm making an exception for convertibles.

Let's get this thread back on topic, though: It's not important what cars I like, Elie (and not even having a driving license yet doesn't exactly give my opinion any more weight...), it's important what you (and maybe your family) like, so - go for it

[Elie]

Thanks guys for your replies, here's the senario...

The Maserati for me is an excellent car, I love driving it, tons of power and most importantly a head turner, I get chicks telling me how nice the car is, and so on.
The sound of the exhaust is music to my ears, the sounds of backfiring when I ask it to (a little trick with the gas pedal as you decelerate), is simply awesome.

Now the reasons why I want to sell it is as follows (again I am not 100% convinced yet)

1-Repairs are expensive and parts are becoming extremely hard to find, it's a 1987 and my mechanic who fixes the car turned preist on us Maserati owners, so there goes the service. There are others but they are not as good, it's not that bad though.

2-I refuse to drive it in the winter, it's the only way to keep this baby clean and rust free. So I need an all year around vehicle

3-I have a 1995 Integra that reached 305,000Kmz and it's still running, but the rust is eating it alive. So I am thinking of selling both and buying just one car for me instead of two.

4-My wife drives a Subaru Forrester, which is used mainly for the kids.

I chose BMW 540i 6 speed over the Audi A4 is because the Audi's that are made say around 2000 or 2001 are rated poorly in terms of engine and electronics and various other things.
The BMW on the other hand is rated excellent as the V8 is one of the best produced, in fact the only issue with the 540i is the cooling, other than that it's great from 1998 to 2003 which is what I can afford.

I told my wife, if I were to sell the Maserati, I would want something at least close to it's perfromance and looks, the BMW fits the bill quite nicely, even though it's a rear wheel drive and looks wise not as pleasant

So again, I'm still debating but I know one thing for sure, my heart will be torn when or if the Maserati leaves my driveway "sniff"

Cheers,
Elie

[Gurm]

Great car, but take it to someone to inspect for repaired damage. Used BMWs are usually sound mechanically, but it's $$$ to get one repaired/serviced.

This is a horrible - but surprisingly common - misconception. My 325is was the cheapest car to own/maintain that I've ever had. INCLUDING THE COROLLA!

The 2000/2001 540i is a fine fine car. It's past the mid-90's engine block problems (some mid-90's 8-cylinder BMW engine blocks were cast from bad aluminum, they tended to just disintegrate after a while - EEP! BMW of course recalled them, but try getting a dealer to honor the recall on a 4th-hand car with a grenaded engine...)

[Gurm]

And a thought - the mid-80's Maserati is a FINE FINE vehicle. I had a friend with a 1984 BiTurbo. HOT ... DAMN. Most people simply have NO conception of what it's like to drive a vehicle with crushed velvet consoles that has TWO TURBOS IN SEQUENCE.

But c'mon - brake jobs got to be into the multiple thousands after a while. It's actually BETTER now than it was 5 years ago, since Maserati is once again selling cars here.

[KvHagedorn]

This is a horrible - but surprisingly common - misconception. My 325is was the cheapest car to own/maintain that I've ever had. INCLUDING THE COROLLA!

My 1980 528i wasn't. To fix the air conditioning would have been more than the car cost me used. But the drivetrain never had problems.

[Elie]

Right Gurm, and I heard that the 2000 + BMW V8's were amazing, one of their best engines, so we'll see what happens.

Hey KV, that's a 1980 528i, night and day between that and the newer Bimmers

[Elie]

I very much agree, Aston Martin cars are beautiful.



I guess its up to personal preference? (Not really that much of a fan of Maseraties, and I like 996-7 Porsche's better than all the other older ones)

but coming back the E39. I think its one good looking bimmer. I'd take one if I had spare 70 grand

Wish I had that kind of money, but hey I'll be happy with a used 540i