I have owned the car three years now. Had some deferred maintenance when I bought it. Has 216,000 miles, compression is on par. When you drive an older car, you accept that instead of making a car payment, you have maintenance. if you cannot accept that, just buy a Corolla. I put Bilsteins on it. did some suspension work, new cat converters, other things as the mechanic says. make sure to not get too deferred on maintenance. Do these things and the car will reward you. The V-8 is a sewing machine that pins yountomyour seat like a rocketship. Do warn your passengers before you open it up. Sadly, the fun does not last long, as the car will rocket past 100 real quick. The Bilsteins were jittery for first few months but now, the car is silky on the freeway, and just turns into a tiger in corners. Quiet, good room. big trunk. arresting hook brakes. be careful, as other cars cannot brake anywhere near as good, I have been almost rear ended several times until I learned to give people behind me better warning. had it three years, should be good for at least another 5. Averaging maintenance over months and I am driving one of the top1% cars for about $250 per month. A good one will run about 5k. A good choice.

It's a 4 litre 5 Series BMW. Nothing else needs saying.

Bought as a short term solution for a month to sell on, now planning to keep it 6 months. Excelent car, bought it for a bargin price (£500) and has served me well so far. Fiirst automatic car i've woned and its wonderfully lazy. Big 4.0l V8 just keeps going and going. Keep wanting to take it to the Nurburgring, but it'll be an expensive trip there and back. Performance - Incredible for the size of car, 5 series estate isnt small, but the 540 had the biggest engine and loads of torque. 7.7 seconds to 60 and something in excess of 150 top speed. Build Quality - Very few problems, a few pieces of trim in the boot which i've caught loading or fixing have come off, otherwise, perfect. Might as well be made of old Tanks, its that tough. Apperance - Classic looking executive estate, looks better than the saloon in my optinion. almost a GT Tourer. Purposeful on the road with performance to match. Cost of Ownership - Parts can be expensive, fuel more so. 20mpg on average, sometimes less, sometimes more (27mpg is the best on a long run). Bought for £500, so it cant really depreciate further, roll on the service... Fun Factor - Amazing, a proper wolf in sheeps clothing. Sumptous luxury, and more extras than some new cars of similar class today. Everyone needs to own a V8 once, theres no better feeling, short of perhaps a V10 or a V12, but nothing sounds the same.

I love the car! People say its an old man car but I toast ricers all the time. Interior is very nice, all leather and lots of options that still work. Handling is great for such a large land barge.

Great Marque , performance , styling, speed! Even the Valet's were impressed ! OK 40 words.. BMW's are for car guys, they require attention, but return performance and styling, excellent build quality, but like all German cars, and I am a German guy, they are over engineered, making maintenance a "interesting" task