Ralph Newman

When I am not driving my 928 I have been using a my trusty old 1994 Lexus LS. It is time to retire it and I am thinking about a 2003-2005 BMW 540 or 545. Anyone out there have any input. Thanks, Ralph

AO

Get a minivan. That's what I drive. It's.... AWESOME!

ShawnSmith

I use an Acura TSX for daily-driver duties. Completely different creature than the S4, but a good balance of practicality, and decent around-town driving dynamics in a sedan package....

Jim bailey - 928 International

The 3 series BMW is a far, far better value plus retain value much better and the straight 6 is a GREAT engine. OLD big BMW 8 cylinder 12 cylinder or Merc just get KILLED on resale when several years old. Too complicated and too expensive to fix !! Besides why lug around a big sedan when probably at most times it is just you in the car ?

Rob Roy

Ditto Jim, or get an E39 with a straight six - the prices should be pretty decent by now. I loved my 530

leperboy

The new Volvo S30, Ralph.

Have you looked at the prices of two and three year old Jaguar XJs? Man, those things are fantastic cars that lose about half their value right away. I've seen some Vanden Plas for mid $20s with less than 50K miles.

Or, since you're a friend, I can get you a line on a really well-maintained 2000 Volkswagen Passat.

Matt

underdog928

Go test drive all the other cars, Volvo, Passats, whatever. Then go drive a BMW. You'll buy the BMW. They are great cars. My wife has a 3-series with 150,000 miles on it (bought new) and runs like it's new. I do all the work on that car also and we've had no maintenance issues with it whatsoever.

my .02

thal

How patriotic. Red, White, and Blue... Porsches???

Why not look at a *cough**cough*, Cadillac CTS?

fabric

I got an '03 540 wagon for the wife, and we both love it. I did a lot of research about Jim's issue, and the only thing I could really find was that the V8's weren't too good on the radiators, only going about 50-60K before they crapped out, but it wasn't that much better on the sixes, and the problem is the radiator is crap, not so much anything inherently wrong with the engine. Lot of people said the V8 was less reliable, but nobody really had any proof to back it up. The first BMW V8's were horrible, but that was over 10 years ago, and I think people are just going on that. For the models your looking at, you should be able to get a nice CPO, and I'd go for the extended warranty - mine's just about paid for itself with the radiator and some A/C issues, although an '03 might be getting just too old for that.

I think the 540 and the 928 complement each other really well. I'm never wanting for power, and it's getting slightly over 18 MPG in all city driving, and I'm not convinced the 525 would have done that much better (yes, it would do much better on all highway trips), but I would have been constantly irritated by the lack of go. A new 530 sedan might be a good compromise, it's got 255HP, which is only about 30 less than mine, and I can certainly say after driving one it's plenty quick, but a new 545 has 345HP, and that might be hard to pass up.

Although everybody else seems to disagree, my 540 feels every bit as fast as my 928 up to about 130. My only realy complaint is the suspension is on the floaty side, so if it's mainly your car you might want to look for the sports suspension.

Chuck Z

My wife and I have had a 540iT (1999), 740iL (2001), 550i (2006), 750i (2006) and 650iC (2007) and what I'll tell you is BMW builds an awesome V8! We didn't keep any of them long enough to experience the rad problems Chris mentions but there is nothing like BMW V8 power. We have not owned any 3 series cars but a friend has an M3 convertible and when he drove our 650iC he wanted to through rocks at his M3 becuase of how underpowered it felt. I dorve his M3 and agreed that it felt weak compared to the 650iC. By all means if you go the BMW route buy a CPO car and get the warranty.

Mike Frye

I can't believe no one has suggested another 928. One should be an OB and one an S4. Then you just need a track car for the whole set.

JHowell37

I would suggest another Lexus or perhaps an Infiniti G35. I don't know how long you've been driving your current one, but I'm going to assume it's been reliable. People can say what they want about BMWs but I certainly wouldn't want to own a current 5 series when the warranty runs out.

laneskelton

I have a a friend that is a BMW mechanic at the local dealership, and another friend that works at a BMW shop, and they both say that it's not worth buying any BMW that doesn't have an inline 6. The V8s have some problems, and the straight 6 is a really strong engine, although the 3 series that I had nickle and dimed me to death, and a lot of things we kinda cheesy about it. I don't mind spending money on the 928, but the BMW is just a car that takes you from point a to point b, and you don't want deal with plastic waterpump impellers, or crappy pot metal window mechanisms

RicerSchnitzzle

Late model camaro. You'll appreciate the Shark that much more...

Jfrahm

My Audi A8 is quite stellar. With ESP, AWD and snow tires in the winter it is really great in the snow. Not good for hauling stuff, but I have a beater Saab 9000CS for that. The A6, as a wagon or with a fold-down rear seat, would be better for hauling but the A8 is nicer inside. I am considering a S6 wagon, MY 2002 or so, to replace both the A8 and Saab in 2009. That's when both of those cars are up for evaluation.

-Joel.