kevs

I've got a friend looking to buy around a 2000 BMW 5-Series, but I have yet to master what all those letters mean.

Can someone help me out?

I know that, in 2000, BMW had a 528i that was stick and and 540i that was stick too. But then there's a 540iA and I have no idea what that means except for a higher price tag.

Thanks in advance for the explanation!

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kevs

brain

You can buy any BMW model in manual with the exception of the 7 series. The A stands for automatic.

epoxi

i believe the last to digits represent the size of the engine, 528 having a 2.8liter engine, and the 540 having the 4.0.


and the opposite for mercedes...the first two numbers representing the size of the motor.

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it wasnt me.......

RHMMMM

This applies to the 3, 5 and 7 series BMW's:

The first number is obviously the class car.

The second and third number refer to the displacement of the engine in liters if you put a decimal point between them (except for a couple circumstances).

For example, a 528i is a 5 series BMW with a 2.8L I-6 engine.

The 540i is a 5 series with the 4.4L V8 engine, BMW did not change it to 544 because, initially, the 540's actually did have 4.0L V8's from 93-95, but those years were the old body style. I guess 540 was a nicer number than 544, so BMW left it. Same thing with the 7 series, which I have :-), the '95 model year had the old 4.0L V8 and in 1996 it was upgraded to the newer 4.4L V8 engine, but retained the old name.

540iA - the A means it has an automatic transmission. The 6-speed version of the car is specifically called the 540i6. You can get the Sport version of the car, which has a better suspension, sport seats and in some years, the Steptronic automatic transmission. All of the cars are labeled as 540i on the exterior, however, and the only place you will find the full name is on the sticker inside the driver's door.

In the past couple years, BMW replaced the 528i with the 530i, which has the newer 3.0L I-6

The 5 series, no matter what the engine displacement may be, is a very nice car overall. Great fit and finish - I would encourage your friend to visit the Roadfly BMW Messageboard for the E39 (BMW's name for the '97-'03 5 series) they have great info on everything:

http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums/e39/

Hope that helps.

RHMMMM

The A does not mean AWD - currently only the 3-series and X5 are offered with AWD. The notation for AWD in the 3 series is "xi," ie: "325xi" or "330xi."

dave

Eh... no the "A" stands for automatic.

dave

Nice write up. BMW recently has not been putting the right engine size on some models (e.g. 540, 323) for probably marketing reasons.

Just to add to what RHMMMM said, steptronic transmission, I believe, was introduced in MY2000. It's basically a manu-matic transmission and it still carries the letter "A" at the end of a model name.

I also recommend roadfly.org, but because it doesn't require registration to post, you will see some obnoxious posts by trolls.

brain

Oops. Forgot the the X stood for all wheel drive. My bad. I'll just go crawl back to www.mbworld.org

spigidygak

Just a side not. The E39 5 series gets updated end of this year.

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kevs

Thanks for all the info. This is really helpful!