Mike Hawk

Hey all,

Well to be honest I never even gave the 5 series a second glance. Mainly cause of 2 things... 1) PRICE! and 2) SIZE! Well I have a co-worker that is needing a replacement sedan, so after doing a few searches, I come upon the little hidden nugget in the BMW lineup.. the used 545i! I mean, how great is this car? 0-60 mile in 5.7sec... that's as fast as an LT1 F-Body... yet is still able to sip gas on the highway and get 28+ mpg.

When I saw that the 04 and 05s were going for low to mid $20k I about fainted. This seems really do-able with everyone dumping their lease 545i and whatever else because of the economy.

So anyway, I'm seriously considering a 545i. And here's where I'm coming from. Back in Dec 2004 I wanted to get something comfy, so I ended up getting a brand new '05 Accord Sedan EX V6 Auto. This was great as a cruiser, but holy god is she boring to drive. This car has NO soul!!! April 2007 rolls around and I finally had had enough and got into a car I've been wanting for a long time... the E36 M3 Sedan 5-speed. Well fast forward another 2 years to 2009 and although my M3 has been a blast, she's getting pretty old and the creaks and parts starting to need replacement are starting to be a chore.

That's why I think the 545i is such a perfect match for me.. it's a blend of the Accord (nearly identical dimensions exterior/interior) for size/comfort, yet a bit of the M3 for power and "soul". I do about 90% highway 10% street, so the 28+ mpg will be a nice improvement from the 22mpg I'm getting now.

Has anyone done the unorthodox jump from an E36 to an E60? Thoughts?

Oh and here are the rides I'm talking about:

'05 Accord


'97 M3

monsterj34

go for 550i and stay away from 04 545i...

CWS530

Give it a go. I came from an e46 coupe. This is the first sedan I've ever owned, and definitely the biggest car. It took some getting used to, but it's been a nice change.

craigm1841

i hardly think it is fair to compare a 5 series to an F-Body. the 5 series is far superior in every way. I have owned 3 F-Bodies. I know you only did it from a numbers standpoint, but it just didnt feel right

I have a 535 and it is by far the greatest car I have owned, and it has soul. I think any car you come from you wouldnt be dissapointed with a 5 series. straight line performance, the 535 is quicker than the E36 M3. cant speak for the 545, so I can only speak for the overall awsomeness of the 5 series. I bet if you went over to some mercedes E class forums you might get a different point of view. i think the 5 series offers great value and driving satisfaction at a reasonable price (for a used one)

akfirepro

I think 28+ might be a little generous. My commute is about 60 miles one way one the freeway and I would be lucky to get 26, even with conservative driving. But still do it, I love this car more that I have ever loved anything in my life ( family excluded )

BMWBen

Reason?

Mike Hawk

Well of course it isn't fair to compare

I too have owned 3 F-Bodies. Grew up w/ an '89 V6 Camaro RS (what a dog), then a '95 Z28 6spd, and currently a '01 Formula Firehawk. Which btw I never drive cause it's such a friggen pig. Even after springs, shocks, sway bars, pan hard bars, LCAs, etc etc... the Hawk still feels like a tank. My friend's Mustang Bullitt is much much funner to drive. Granted, whenever we get on the highway, my Firehawk says SEE YA to his Mustang because the Hawk has so much more HP/TQ but I've come to realize having monster hp/tq isn't all it's cracked up to be unless the car has "soul"

Here's my Firehawk... also where I get my user name. Get it? Mike.. Hawk yuk yuk..


Anyhoo.. once the Firehawk is sold I'm going to be looking into getting an '05 Manual 545i for a nice pimp highway cruiser. Oh and yeah, I had an e-boner for the 135i a year before they came out. Then once I saw one in person I just lost my lunch a little Looks + the fact it's only 200lbs lighter than a E9x + the minimal cost savings over an E9x made me completely not want one. So then it was onto the 2009 LCI E90 sedan 335i... but then again, after looking long at the numbers ($42-45k), I just can't justify spending that kind of money on a new car.

If I ever have an itch to speed like a madman, I always have access to this (my pop's weekend toy)

mofares

I just purchased a '05 545i with 43k miles and sold my E36 M3 coupe last month. Even though the M3 was more tossable, raw, fun and easy to work on, I could not be happier with the 545i. You can definitely feel the size but it's a nice luxury car with amazing performance. In my opinion it's hard to compare the two as they are totally different cars with different purpose. With prices being in the low twenties, I think it these cars offer a great value. Sure, up keep will be more than your E36 M3 (mine was more reliable than Honda) but hey if you are a DYI, you can definitely save some money. The thing I dislike the most is that it is too computerized and the build quality of trims and such are not as good as the E39. I use to own an E39 M5 as well. Mine even came with CPO warranty and you can get a nice BMW for the price of a Toyota Camry.

Phantom Mark

I moved from a track prepped E46 which was super stiff etc..........very happy with my car except all the crappy build quality issues tbh

Mike Hawk

mofares,

Nice.

So if the M3 was a 10, what would the 545i rank in things like: acceleration from a dig, from a roll, at highway speeds, a highway cloverleaf, emergency lane changes, 'solidness', braking, etc etc?

I drove my manager's '09 335i Coupe the other day and it just amazed me at how SOLID the car was. Nice thuds when the doors were closed, nicely insulated from the road noise... which can be a turn off at times. So I'm making the assumption that the E92's character would translate somewhat well to the E60.