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If you're looking at 540s then there's a whole other list of things that go bad on those, but everything's well known about them now, just make sure you get a good inspection done before buying. As for price, a decent 99-01 3 series can be had within your budget.




Thanks for the Bimmer input.

I'm not a big fan of the E46 3-Series, personally. Just looks-wise. That and I see the things everywhere. But that does make selling the thing easier, so they are an option.

Purely from an aesthetics point of view, I'd MUCH prefer an older E36 M3 over a newer E46 3-Series. Again, having no experience with what that entails as an owner and maintainer and what I'd be possibly getting myself into.

What problems are the E39 540s known for? The more I looked at them last night the more I was being swayed towards them. The only concern I have on initial glance is gas mileage, and that's only a minor concern. But if they tend to have significant/expensive problems, I'd certainly like to avoid that if possible.

EDIT: Actually, I just found a good E39 site that has a page specifically devoted to common problems. http://www.540i6.com/probsfixes.html none of which seem major, but I think that's because the page seems more devoted to small, annoying things that are common.

2003 Mazda6s 3.0L MTX Webpage 2004 Mazda3s 2.3L ATX