540i vs 525i

[manley1]

Hello, I currently own a 1985 528e with over 240k Miles. Great car. Despite the California oxidation, it drives like a champ. I am considering purchasing either an '03 525i (Chevy Dealer) with 47K Miles OR an '02 540i (BMW Dealer) with 71K Miles. The prices are only a few hunder bucks apart. I'm leaning toward the 525 because of the lower mileage, but the 540i has so much more power that it's making for a hard choice. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[sidewinder69]

Go with what you want to drive is the best advice I could give.

Look you've tried out the mini beamer and it worked for you, now do you want to stay with that or upgrade? It's up to you.

They both auto or stick? If you do a lot of traffic jams you are gonna hate standard in grid lock, you'll get home and your leg will be all cramped up from clutching.

Also you have to consider the cost of insurance, if you're young like me all that extra power is going to come with extra cost. But let's not kid ourselves blowing the doors off someone at a traffic light is always fun!

[arks]

Consider the gas mileage as well. With the 540 you'll be lucky to break 20 MPG on the highway, but the 525 will get 20+ around town and over 30 on the highway. My car has some performance upgrades and I've seen 37 MPG.

The V8 cars have recirculating ball steering because there's not enough room for a rack to fit in there with the big motor. The I6 cars handle better because of better weight distribution, too.