It’s a wagon kind of week. It took me some time to come around to the notion that the Germans do not make a very good SUV. It’s not their fault, they really don’t want to, but the market demand in the states is just too lucrative to turn your back on. Drive through any major, or not so major, metropolitan European city and you will find tons of touring wagons. You may see the occasional SUV but this is the exception and not the rule.
Much of this may be due to gas prices and the tight confines these cars need to be wedged into. The rest of it may be attributed to the fact that SUV’s are, well, kind of ugly. I can’t remember the last time I saw one and said, “I gotta have that.” It’s not that I have not tried, having owned a Touareg, XC90, Cayenne, and a X5 I figure I have tried more than most. But I am over it, my next German family mover is going to be a German Wagon. Something that looks a great deal like this.
2000 BMw 540 Wagon:
From the seller –
“I have worked in the automobile business in one form or another for over thirty years and this is one of or maybe the nicest 60,000 mile car I have ever seen. It is all original, unmolested, and as near new as any I have ever seen. The E39 BMW is held in the highest regard by BMW enthusiast and often referred to as the best 5series ever. Car and Driver call it the nearest to perfect automobile. This car handles with the agility of a 3series and the comfort of a 7series. One of the most satisfying cars you will ever drive. Finding cars like this is my passion, driving it will be yours. This car is clean, fully serviced and ready to enjoy.”
Beautiful car, I would like to see some better pictures and some info on service history but… what can you do. I see lower mileage examples such as this knocking around the auctions but they are never running right and always seem to have unibody damage. Do your homework here buyers. I appreciate the seller’s enthusiasm for this wagon but the listing is a bit scant on details so be careful.
Almost $16k is a tough sale, regardless of condition. Something closer to $14k seems to be more accurate. I am guessing this auction is not going anywhere until the seller comes down in price a bit.
~Aaron.
First of all, I love the E39 tourings. Second, they are even better with a V8 and sport package.
I’d be curious to know why this car has passed through 5 owners. $16K for a 2000 is a bit high, but there are plenty of people out there who will pay a premium for the lower mileage (myself included).
In the end, the big scary here is thinking about the eventual cost of maintaining that 540 sport. Everything on this car will cost a quite a bit to repair and maintain.
That said, if I hadn’t recently bought a 2003 A6 Avant with only 26K miles on it, I’d be all over this.
The price seems a bit high for a car with 630,000 miles on it.
Typo humor aside, the price seems to be pretty high. I could pick at the car, but in reality it appears to be quite nice. Just not $16K nice in my estimation.
Wagons are basically tools to be used in support of life’s activities. I am currently in the market for a wagon, but this one is too old and too expensive for me to consider.
For a little more than half of the price, you can get a newer, larger, cheaper to run Volvo V70. You can also get a smaller engined, slightly higher mileage version of the same E39 wagon, which will give you the same utility with lower operating costs.
To each their own, Kevin. Some of us *prefer* wagons over the all-too-common sedan variants. All the utility without giving up any sedan comfort – what’s not to like?
That V70 would definitely be newer and cheaper to run (not so sure about larger). But it would feel like a Volvo, not a BMW.
Yes, you can get a smaller engined, slightly higher mileage version of the same E39 wagon that will give you the same utility with lower operating costs. In fact, my 2000 528iT was exactly that for many years.
I loved it. But as much fun as I had with the 528iT, I always thought, “Imagine how amazing this would be with 100 more horsepower!”
Trust me Larry, the V70 is bigger inside. Aside from the fact that I looked up the specs when I started looking for a wagon, I have also owned an ’01 V70 in the past and been able to compare it directly to the ’01 525iT my friend used to own.
With regards to feeling like a Volvo versus a BMW, I guess so. But a lot of the luster of a BMW was taken away from me by my ownership of a E90 sedan. Plus, I find the later Volvo P2 chassis cars to be quite well built.
As far as scratching a horsepower itch, I have a Porsche 996 for that and I can always borrow my brother’s E39 M5 if I need that V8 rumble.
I’ll take your word for it on the E39 Touring vs. V70 size comparison, Kevin. My comments were based on my decidedly non-scientific observations, not measurements.
I understand your disappointment with some of the recent BMW iterations though. My E60 never measured up to the E39 that preceded it.
In case anyone is following this, less than 5 hours remaining in the auction, and 0 bids at the opening amount of $12,900.
Zero bids the first time around. The seller has relisted the car at the same pricing.
No sale, re-listed at the same price. The seller is going to have to do better.