I found a 1998 e39 540i with 6 speed manual with 145k miles. I know for a while BMW are known for being money pits, but is this old enough to were it's good? Don't know much about it, looks clean. I guess as a scale, are they more reliable then say a 02 mustang gt?
While they may have been made better than today's Bimmers, they're still money pits. And good luck finding a '02 Mustang GT that wasn't raced and driven hard. Both are good weekend toys. I've had both years ago and the Mustang is easier to work on. And you will be working on either one of them being 20+ years old.
This might be okay for a toy , but nothing else.
Driving 6,000 miles a year for a year or two, it might be fine. If not, it's weekend toy material only. It depends on what the previous owner did and did not do.
Standards will long outlast automatics, if they were taken care of, but even a return hose for the power steering is going to cost you $70+. I don't know what they changed between the E34 and E39 mechanically, but in order to access the power steering in my '94 540i, an E34, the engine had to come out to replace that stupid hose. Probably a similar setup, their aim was/ is to ream you as much as possible, if you can afford a brand new at the time $50k car, you can maintain it or it's a toss out car.
My E34 had a remanufactured transmission a few thousand miles before I bought it, a new radiator, hoses, etc. Had all the paper trail, the previous owner was a BMW collector. He mentioned it leaked power steering fluid but otherwise was decent. It got me through 2 years of close-to-home driving and a few distance trips, but I passed it on down the line because of that hose. I didn't much care for spending $40 a month on power steering fluid, BMWs only take one kind. Yes, they're endless money pits.
24 year old European sports car with high millage - reliable?? NO.
old enough to were it's good
what? It's a car, not wine. It doesn't get better with age.
BMW’s are money pits. Relatively reliable but money pits.
I had a 2006 X5 from 160K to 200K miles, from 2016 to 2020. I spent more $$$ on that car maintaining it and repairing it in that 4 years than all 22+ years of my Honda Accord 1999 with 275K+ miles.
I personally love BMW’s. But I don’t love what it did to my pocket. So if you have the extra cash to spend, go for it. But if you are looking to minimize repair and maintenance costs, pass.
No.
