1998 BMW 540i

My dream car had been a 6 speed 540 for years. i finally bought a used 2001 in 2005. only had 40,000 miles on it. love driving it; it has been a nightmare for repairs. Had one bad cylinder which required changing the spark plug every 500 miles; did the compression test; passed, did the leak down test;passed; eventually tore down engine and found out it had been 'hydrolocked'; had to replace the engine; had to replace the alternator; heating/ac system has been a joke; currently trying to figure out why the fan will not operateabove a low setting; checked the fuse(75 and 76; that was fun); it was fine; tried replacing the resistor with no effect; looking at buying a used 2004 545; just read about another unfortunate 545 owner who hydrolocked his engine after driving through a 15 inch puddle; i am a succer for punishment

We purchased are Bimmer in 2007 with 87,500 mls on it. A year later I replaced the alternator and the radiator. We went on one trip in it to Tampa, Fl and it handled superb. Overall we are happy with our 540i.

My son's 540 is a very heavy car so, use front brake pads like water. Recently the alternator need to be replace. Just $ 500 for a rebuild one!New alternator are about $ 800.00, and we found out it is a water cool alternator......!!!!!!!
With this model you need to be very carefull with no overheating the engine. Cronic problems with the cooler system. Very nice cars when they are new, but after 5 or 6 years......

The car is a great example of fine engineering - For 7 years its been trouble free - unfortuantely at the expiration of warranty period - repairs are terribly expensive - BMW brand inflation, many simple items you pay a high premium "BMW repair tax" to dealer or independent mechanic.