|
The 540 has been an excellent car for highway cruiser. Not the best gas mileage obviously but enough beans to have just enough fun without getting yourself into too much trouble. I used to drive from FL to SC every month for nearly 3 years straight and it never left me stranded.
Mine is pre-vanos as a '97 6spd and had it's fair share of refreshment parts. Coolant bits, timing chain/guides, associated parts and nearly every gasket I could reach, engine mounts, control arms, CCV, etc etc. Nothing that should be a surprise for a car of this age. That being said, mine has 297k miles on it and has been in the family since 2000.
As long as you can wrench on the car and can get familiar with the platform, the m62 is tough as nails at it's core and generally speaking will slowly show signs of fault before having significant issues.
This has been my experience and I dabble daily with the idea of getting an e39 M5 to replace it but since the 540 is so solid, I haven't been able to commit. Even back in 2021 I bought a '20 M550 to replace the 540 as I thought it was time to upgrade and try something new....fast forward 5 years I sold the M550 and kept the 540.
|