Michiganmike

For a car to be collectible it has to be in great demand relative to supply. This typically means it evokes an emotional response in many prospective buyers, is rare and/or is viewed as a state-of-the-art or pivotal car in the evolution of motor vehicles. The 545i is not in short supply, about 8,000 545i cars were sold annually in the U.S. for the 2004 and 2005 model years. It was replaced by a vehicle similar in appearance with a more powerful engine. If you were seeking a rare car that may be collectible, take a look at the BMW Z8 of which only slightly more than 100 were sold in 2004.

Perhaps if you have one of the first 5 series produced (low serial number) and keep it in pristine condition it may begin to appreciate someday, but if this were to be realized you probably need to stop driving the car and put it in storage. My suggestion is to drive your BMW and enjoy it.

Here's a cautionary tale on the difficulty of predicting collectible cars from http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/d...-21720/?page=2
"As with stock IPOs, purchasing a car made today that you believe will be the classic of tomorrow is a risky proposition. Just ask the investors who in 1990 bought up new Corvette ZR-1s for $60,000, thinking in five or so years they could sell them for $100,000 or more. That never happened. Over the next five years Chevrolet improved the performance on its standard Corvettes ? which cost half as much ? to the point where spending a premium on a ZR-1 didn't make sense, DiPietro explains. Today, a 1990 ZR-1 could be had for less than $30,000 on eBay." Only about 1000 ZR1 Corvettes were built each year from 1990 until 1995.

rick circeo

Guys, they bumped the engine up after 2005. That's the only difference between a 545 and 550. Saying the 545 will some day become a collector car is akin to saying that the Mercedes E500 will someday become a collector car. These are mass produced and fairly fungible products.