It's not even the orange, but I just think it doesn't look good. To me all the buttons look like in a Russian truck or an old Army hummer, not a $50K+ luxury car.

Whoever sat in my BMW and had been in the CL type S before said "so what's the big deal about BMWs" They felt like I went a step backwards.

But I'm sure that BMW uses better quality materials, but it still doesn't appeal to me.

 

Go with the GTO. Odly enough, my Trans Am gets better gas mileage then my TL with mods. Even more nuts is the Trans Am insurance is like 300 bucs cheaper for the year.

 

Why did you buy the bmw then

 

Talk about paying up the ass. This kid must have paid $10k in depreciation already.

 

Nope. Dealer is offering me 22.5. I bought it for 25. I will try to bring down the GTO to $21000. Not to mention I traded my Acura in for 14.5 2 months ago, while others had been trading it in for around 12-13 at that time.

 

if you bought it for 25, how are you paying $1,000+/month?

 

470 for the car payment
250 for warranty (for one year)
180 for Insurance
320 for gas (about $80 a week)

With the GTO I would totally eliminate the warranty for now (valid until 2007) and car payment would stay about the same. I would also have to make less payments. The LS1 also seems to be getting a lot better milage than the BMW V8.

 

3k for warranty?

 

Yeah, 60K miles/60 months added onto the factory warranty. And that's with a $100 deductable.

Luxury motors actually wanted to sell me one for $4500

 

While I agree 100% it's still our opinion. I also think the CLS has a pretty nice interior (seats and dash). A little plain jane but no more so than the bimmers.

On that note, I love that car! The new one has even grown on me. My bro-in-law's black on black 545/6 is

 

I test drove the GTO and wasn't impressed at all. The interior looks a little cheap and I don't really like the way the seats feel.

A twisties highway race against a C5 Vette after test driving the GTO convinced me to keep the 540i. He barely pulled on me after chirping his tires going about 80 mph. The guy didn't believe that I was stock. It was the funniest thing I've seen in my life.

 

z06??

 

I don't think it was a Z06. A Z06 would probably murder me. He waved at me after the race and we got next to each other and rolled our windows down. I was with a friend. I was like "are you stock" and he said "no..." and then he held up 4 fingers and and pointed to the back while saying something. I didn't get wtf he was trying to say, but his exhaust wasn't stock.

It was just hilarious how he said "no way you're stock" 5 times while laughing. We took this long turn at about 140 mph and I was in the outside lane. He couldn't pull away in the turn at all. He pulled a car and a half from 80 to 145.

 

FastAcura - I think you might be suffering from the same disease. I recommend test driving a S2000. It might be for you, it might not, but it will save you considerable monthly compared to all those V8's out there, plus its the best "Fun" car out there.

However, its does not give you the V8 Ummmp!!!

hope you find your ride.

Dark

 

i meant why not check out a vette

 

Sounds like the total cost of ownership is financially steering you away from the Bimmer and that's unfortunate. Maybe it just wasn't a well thought-out purchase. Hope you find something that fits your budget.

CL-S to 60 in 5.5?? With headers?? Faster than a 540i/6?? Hmmm...interesting.

 

Well, I decided to keep the 540i actually. The CLS had an icebox and springs and shocks also. I'm sure I could pull a better 0-60 now with the short shifter and modified CDV.

I could pay for it, but I decided to cancel the warranty. It's just not worth $250 a month right now. I'll wait til about mile 90,000 and then get a warranty, when something is more likely to break.

The GTO really disappointed me. I'm sure I could give a stock one a good run with the 540i, especially at highway speeds. But the 540i is just a lot more refined and comfortable, and it seats 4 comfortably. Driving the GTO actullay made me appreciate the 540i a lot more.

 

You know? I'm came from a 540. I'll tell you what. That thing was a blast to drive for the first few months. (i got mine used too).
But then... have you had the radiator go out on you yet? Besides the 1k/month payment, the radiator is a ticking timebomb on all of the e39 5ers.
It'll cost you about $600-700 to fix with just parts. The radiator will go out on you every 60k miles without fail. Plus when that goes yuo'd might as well change the water pump and resevoir because those will go out at about the same time.
Besides the reliability factor, the premium fuel V8 thingy, the expensive insurance, $80 oil services, expensive ass inspection 1's and 2's every year, the high payments, and $100 alignments, it was a blast to drive!!!

 

Also, since you have the 6 speed, did you take out the CDV?
hehe... clutch delay valve.
Basically it's a valve that limits the release of the clutch. So no matter how fast you release it in the car, the clutch will always engage at the same rate. It's mroe of a limiter to limit clutch drops for people that dont know how to drive a stick since the 540 has gobs of torque.
Besides jerking people's heads back and forth while yuo're driving, it also accelerates clutch wear.
The CDV removal mod is like night and day difference.
If you need a hand on where to find info or a write-up on it, visit

www.bimmerforums.com and search for "CDV" and ytou should find good writeups on it.

 

Yep, actually I'm taking it in this Wednesday to get a look taken at the radiator, and then I'm cancelling the warranty. There's a leak and some coolant is spraying in engine compartment.

I think the radiator is a problem in a lot of BMWs though, not just the 5 series. I've heard of a lot of E36 guys with the radiator problem.

 

If you are planning on keeping your 540 i strongly suggest keeping your warranty as well. If there's coolant spraying everywhere then chances are you have a bad radiator. No matter how many times you replace it, it'll go out on your everytime. An alternative that some members are doing is upgrading to an aftermarket brand. It's a little better, but in the end... same result, the plastic elbow peice is made only by bmw and it made only in plastic. So it WILL fail on you again. One more thing you need to look out for is the head gasket going bad on the V8 engines. It's pretty much an exclusive V8 problem. The head gasket will go bad causing oil to buildup around the sparkplugs. Eventually the plugs will be ruined and you'll have misfire which will damage the catalytic converter. It could cost thousands to replace. These were the two biggest issue to look out for. Also, your alignment. Since you have the sports package on your 6 speed, make sure the alignment in the rear is within spec as well. The inside rear tires tend to want to wear down quicker due to the camber always being off for some reason.

 

oh, how much I love the old-school 5. Shame you must depart from it. If I had the money, I'd be all over it

 

^^^^

 

Well, I'm not sure how long I will keep the 540i. I might keep it for a year or two, so if I replace the radiator under warranty now, hopefully I won't need the warranty again.

 

My Dad hasn't had a BMW since the late 1980s.
'Not fun enough considering how expensive they are'

 

It's always rewarding when you put 2-3 car lengths on someone, especially when driving a 4-door sedan. Glad to hear you're keeping the 540. Remember that most of the maintenance and inspection checks can be done yourself, and that'll save you some $$$'s.
That guy Alin brings up some known issues with the E39, but I haven't a clue as to where he's getting the pricing on parts. Like they say, a sucker is born everyday.

 

I take it back

I just had my Mass Airflow Sensor replaced yesteray and I feel like I'm driving a totally different car.

 

I felt the same way, about a CLK 500, BMW etc..JAG X8 ... drove them all but especially with the CLK 500 it felt i was paying ALOT more but getting far less with the car...paying for the name more then anything else....

I still have the CLS, and i'm glad i do.... after all my payment is only $250 a month LOL Vs a CLK 500 purchase ... $70000, $700 payment fuck that.... just is not worth the money

For me the short list is Range Rover or BMW 635I Coupe

 

interiors have never been bimmers strong points, even with the new ones.