I am interested in a 2002 540i. Consumer reports has it listed under worst cars, year by year.
What kind of problems plague the e39 540i?
I tried posting in the e 39 section, but, it is DEAD over there.............

 

All cars have problems. It really comes down to preference buy a car cause you like it at the end of the day you driving it.

 

You could try posting on the roadfly board (http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e39/) -- it's a much more active E39 board. Good luck!

 

I dunno, I think (as with ANY used car) get one with a full service history and you should be fine. If not you will ALWAYS be worried about it breaking. Good luck the E39 is a very nice car

 

That was getting towards the end of the E39's era, I'd imagine the later E39's were largely the best ones BMW built. As pjinca says, take the time to find a good one and it should serve you well. That said, I do tend to pay attention to Consumer Reports recommendations for the simple reason that they don't take advertising and generally speaking they just tell it like it is. There may be something specific about the 2002 model year that's worth some investigation. Anyway - I suspect the right E39 is a great buy right now.

 

Those cars are really picky with the cooling system....expect to do a mild overhaul at 60k-80k miles and a complete overhaul at about 100k...maybe earlier.

 

Consumer reports says all 540s....2000-2003

 

I would never trust Consumers Reports on any of its car recommendations. Since Ralph Nader infected it, many many years ago, with his leftwing liberal bias, Consumers Reports has not been balanced IMHO.

http://forums.motortrend.com/70/6774...-re/index.html

 

That's funny, in its day the E39 was considered the best car/sedan "in the world".. no kidding that's what I read.

The 540i is known for cooling problems, dash pixels and a few other things but nothing a few grand and a good independent garage couldn't fix. I had and E39 525 and if it was a 540 I might still have the car. The E39's are awesome cars.

I think the key is a solid service history, oil changes, trans fluid, coolant, brake fluid and Rear Diff changes. The only way you get really hosed on a 540 is if the motor or trans lets go. That is a painful bill.