4runner or 540i
 

so my wife is in the market for a new ride, she currently has a 1998 ford windstar. I know I know... but it has been a model family vehicle. We bought it second hand ( 2 months old, so practically new) with 3750 kilometers on it. It now has 250,000 kilometers. and has only needed an alternator. I take very good care of our vehicles, nearly all scheduled maint. And if I hear or suspect anything with a vehicle I own, I take care of it as soon as possible.
Her mother has an '03 4runner with around 60,000 kilometers. And she will give us a pretty damn good deal on it, ( my father in law will buy an H2... blah..) A 6 or 7 year old 540i would be around the same price (roughly) with easily 140,000kms on it. Now I dont think anyone here can argue that a well taken care of toyota will probably last forever, but so will a well taken care of bimmer, (or even a really well taken care of ford) so I dont know what to do, she likes bimmers, but we have 2 young children, and a 4runnerwould probably fit a little better for now, but I feel like Im going against the grain of my faith if we dont get another bimmer. It might seem silly to some to have 2 BMW 5 series in the driveway, but Im not some.
any input you guys have would be greatly appraciated.

I would get the bimmer. Enough space for the children, wife likes it, and you can have a lot of fun with it. What more can you ask for?

Both sound like good choices, what's financially "right" for you? Insurance, etc... you know you're going to get a majority "biased" vote here. That's a tough choice - who's going to be primary driver? I suspect the "better half" - have her drive both and decide.

Tough choice but I would go with a 4runner. You already have a bimmer anyways. The 4runner would do better in the winter and insurance would be cheaper.

Well do u even have to ask? 540i all the way (but my opinion is hella baised lol). Only thing with the 540 is your wife may have a faster car than yours. It should also depend on what ur wife wants since she will be driving it. I personally hate toyotas and will never own one.



PS. If u need help getting rid of the windstar in the funest way possible lemme know and ill come up and give u a hand......lol

unless you ski or snowboard and go to the mountains in the winter or go off road, i would get the bimmer. yeah, it is older, and has more miles, and will be more expensive to fix, but it sounds like you can handle it. Plus it's a good sized car and a hell of a lot of fun to drive!

540i, my mom has it, she loves it

The Toyota would be a more reliable car, however you'd enjoy the 540 more. Cars are meant to be driven, so I'm also going that direction. You'd be getting an e39 though, right? So it's not the same body style as your 5er... basically a completely different car. :p

I'm not going to take sides here because you know that BMW is the main gig here. But guys don't forget, Toyota's quality is what got them to #2 in the US. They DO make a hellava product. We may not like their designs or their target markets but they do build a super reliable product. One of the major things that alot of their owners are guilty of is "low to no maintenance" {Also look at their high end sister co = Lexus} That's one of the reasons they are popular with US car buyers.

That's what got them into the US market in the first place, quality. Something US car buyers were not "catered" to 20 years ago.

yeah komodo, e39, but it would be for my wife. even if she did get the 540, i would never let her drive my baby. no matter how much i enjoyed the 540. but i guess that would be the worse thing about getting a 540, if i did like it more than my 535, there would be trouble. even though that would not be possible.
??????
ill let you guys know soon. thanks for the input.

I thought they were #1 now?

My dad has an 04 4 runner, they are awesome. I dont know if 03 is the newest bodystyle if so, they get about 20 mpg, so I guess a little better than a 540?

They're #2 in US just behind General Motors and it's based on sales not quality. Toyotas quality runs circles around "genital motors"

My wife has an '04 4Runner...and I love it. It's a great for winter driving, and I feel better knowing she's up off the ground some in the 'Runner. It's heavy, and keeps her from being too much of a lead-foot.

I love my Bimmer...but my recommendation for the wife would be the 4Runner. Easy getting kids in and out, safe, good in all weather conditions, etc. etc.

Toyotas are reliable, and the 4runner is a great platform that has been around for years. I love the 540, a bit biased, but you have your 535.

So we went with the 4runner, and i have to say im happy with the choice. my 535 is going to cost me around 3-4g's this year. So i dont want to have to putz around getting 2, 5 series up to perfect condition.
Thanks for all your input guys.
And I should have known what kind of responses I was going to get here, but I appreciate your honesty.