Bmw 540

Muscle750

Ive owned this car for three years and it only gets used every other weekend if that due to its fuel thirst, I dont want to sell it but after seeing the fuel drop to 8mpg on the Evesham by pass watching the fuel gauge move faster than the rev counter think it may be time, yet there again the sound effects when it will kickdown into 2nd gear at 80 mph plus is "quite entertaining" to say the least as is the wife sat going very pale with the back trying to overtake the front off the roundabout. She loves her Audi A6 estate and thats beginning to get thirsty as well going up and down the M5 everyday.....................................I cycle to work !!

worried_jim

You've paid for it and you enjoy it- Keep it forever, one day it will start to apprecialte in value.
How much is the grin on your face worth!

gilbert_and_sullivan

Take a long hard realistic look at your excellent car.

Will it see another 5 or hopefully 10 years without major surgery, obviously rust or lack of it features in this but Waxoyl and associated TLC can extend its life considerably and make springs, brake pipes etc last far longer.

If its good for years LPG it, enjoy it as your daily driver, in another 5 years theres every possibility cars like this will be rare as hens teeth.

I have done exactly this with my older MB with a proper engine, costs about the same to run as modern shoebox with a buzz box engine.

Makes an affordable daily driver on LPG and puts a smile on my face every time i look at it and a grin every time i drive it.

Performance on gas not quite as sharp as petrol, though smoother, but the car in question, lke yours, has more than enough power for any overtaking i attempt.

MB and BMW take well to LPG, valves hard enough to cope, but i run flashlube for peace of mind.

leosayer

Your may get richer by selling the BMW, but you will be poorer for not having a V8 in your life.

Muscle750

I waxoyl under the car every year and have renewed all the front suspension arms bushes brakes etc Its got a custom built stainless cat back exhaust which has "opened things up" There is no rust anywhere on the car has a preminum Alpine sound system in it and a switchable box which as it states in the book "S" mode is for and i quote "more enthustastic driving"
Cant beat coming off The local Asda roundabout on the opposite lock to where you want to be heading with bananas flying out of her shopping bags with her hanging on for dear life.

mgdavid

don't appear to be asking for advice, so

...troll.

CrazyRed

mgdavid wrote: »

don't appear to be asking for advice, so

...troll.

Ooh, that was a bit harsh!

The OP came on here for an opinion - keep a minter V8 BM, or let the head rule the heart, and ditch to save money?

OP, I can empathise with you. Fellow BM owner, but a 'mere' 520 estate. Like you, my head says 'ditch' because it is thirsty, no doubt about that, but the heart says 'keep - they don't build them like this anymore'.

I went with my heart in the end and kept the old girl. Never regretted it. Sure, a Euro buzz-box would have saved me money short term, and maybe a little bit of fuel, but when it went wrong (and it would...) the costs of repair would far outweigh any savings.

+1 for the 'gas it and run it till it dies' brigade - if you can afford it. A proper conversion's the sharp end of a grand, and you'll need to do your sums as to whether it's worth it. If you're planning to run it for another 5-10 years, and clock up enough miles to make the conversion pay for itself and put you in profit, then I'd say go for it.

On the other hand, you've got the issue of depreciation with a buzz-box, too - something the BM's unlikely to be suffering too much from at it's age. Factor in that as a per-mile cost and you'll probably find that the BM's actually the cheaper overall ownership - looking over a 3 or 5 year term.

Mine's cost an average of 31p a mile, including fuel, to run ever since I've had it - and that's now 24,000 miles and two years. Stomped over the quarter-million-mile mark recently with very little additional expenditure over and above standard servicing costs - which on something that relatively simple, I could do myself.

CrazyRed

Muscle750 wrote: »

seeing the fuel drop to 8mpg on the Evesham by pass watching the fuel gauge move faster than the rev counter

the sound effects when it will kickdown into 2nd gear at 80 mph plus is "quite entertaining" to say the least

as is the wife sat going very pale with the back trying to overtake the front off the roundabout.

Cant beat coming off The local Asda roundabout on the opposite lock to where you want to be heading with bananas flying out of her shopping bags with her hanging on for dear life.

All perfectly good, valid, heart-ruling-head reasons to keep.........

The grin factor!

agrinnall

I also sniff troll, there is no Asda in Evesham, the only supermarket near the bypass and a roundabout is Morrisons!

Sgt_Pepper_2

agrinnall wrote: »

I also sniff troll, there is no Asda in Evesham, the only supermarket near the bypass and a roundabout is Morrisons!

Pershore Evesham are close.

Asda is on king Georges way

harveybobbles

8mpg? Not surprised in 2nd gear at 80mph... Fool.

My boss ran a 540i for a few years and managed mid 20's. He then replaced it with a 535d and that does less lol.