As evident by some of my threads lately, chatter about reliability, E39's, etc. There is an opportunity to purchase a 540/6, second owner, around 170k. I've recently sold my MS3, and the 540/6, E39's in general, have always been on my bucket list.
I'm about 40 (March), with two kids, 4 years and 1.5 months, wife, stable operations job, moderately short commute. In short, everything chugs along really well, we're financially stable, own our home, can afford to save and have fun all at the same time.
Most of our driving is around town, or not at all. We occasionally have to jaunt down the interstate to go on a road trip or catch an island ferry. But realistically, we don't drive that far very often, and use our bicycles for a lot of local travel
The current vehicles are a 2006 Sienna with 150k miles, and a 2000 LX470 with 320k (not a typo). Both are as reliable as an anvil. These choices weren't a mistake, we love both cars, and have no need or want to replace them.
So here I am now, knowing full well that a E39 540 is really not an ideal daily driver, which is how I would want it to be used, but also understanding that they are not making any more of them, I am not getting any younger, and I have an incredible safety net backup of two near bulletproof Toyota platforms.
This one isn't a very expensive example, is pre facelift, and with some better marketing and photos, could sell for more than the purchase price. It has been well maintained and has the chain/guides done in the not so distant past. Sure it has some small issues to fix, AC doesn't work, instrument cluster is a little twitchy, probably other things. But it's complete, runs well, and looks great. I have a longish history of euro cars, E36s, Volvos, VW's, and am no stranger nor do I mind turning a wrench to keep a car on the road.
I got here, about to pull the trigger on the E39, from simply thinking about the unknown unknowns around any potential vehicle purchase, and the scarcity of time. I could purchase a more practical choice, an Outback, or a Prius, or some other appliance. And then my mind would swim with when the HG's may go, or the hybrid battery may fail. Volvo was on my list too, but that also has it's own challenges, of course.
In truth, I understand that I am trying to rationalize what I understand to be a fundamentally poor choice for a daily driver as labeled by the masses. And then I read about an owner with a quarter million miles on their E39 and I ask why they are different. They may be different because they dump money into the car, but is that any more unique than someone with a 200k mile Outback that needs an engine out reseal and a transmission made of glass? I dont' expect to keep the hood closed for a year, that's not my expectation with any of my vehicles, nor is it the way I think about cars.
I want to own, experience, and possibly grow to hate a 540/6. People say it's a bad idea, I trust some of those people, but like a girlfriend you met at a punk show who you're just a little afraid of, you still might make the choice to go down that road because you're only on this stupid rock once, and you better try and get what you want done or get slapped in the face trying.
What about you? Do you have a "I know this is a bad idea but I just don't give a damn." car?
