carmudgeons.com - View Single Post - (My wife's waffle...) New Volvo V60R/V70R or Used BMW 540i?

TD · 08-03-2005, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JST

Quote:

Originally Posted by TD

Actually, the Volvo comes with summer P Zeros. So you'd still need a second set of wheels/tires to be truly safe in the snow.

The on-the-cusp-of-major-maintenance thing is something I have already metnioned to my wife. And she has always given me a hard time when I've sought to replace worn shocks/bushings/etc (things that aren't explicitly "broken") questioning the actual *need* to do so. So I sort of dread going through all of that again. And I can't stand driving a car where I can feel the wiggle/squish of worn suspension bits.

To me, I also really like the slick interior on the Volvo over the dated, staid interior on the E39 (and, no, the E60 is not an improvement in any way).

The fact that the 540 will be much more rewarding to drive is really the only major point in it's favor. But it's a BIG point.

BTW, my wife saw an E90 in the flesh for the first time last night and commented that it looked a lot like a Tiburon.

I'd just take the Volvo straight to Radial Tire...wait, no, I'd take it someplace else, but the point stands--take it straight from the dealer to a tire shop and get some decent all-season touring tires mounted. Throw the PZeros in your garage to swap back on at the end of the lease. You don't need summer rubber on a nose-heavy, AWD family car, and that way you only have to buy tires once.

I dearly love the 540--I think it's a great car. I would not be able to stop myself from obsessing over it, though. I'd have to get new shocks and bushings, put on new (better) brakes, and (most urgently) have to get a new exhaust so I could actually hear the V8 once in a while. I'd also really want an LSD, but don't think I could ever justify it. In short, I could not simply have one as a basic family hauler.

As my wife likely wouldn't let me mod a single thing on it, this is not an issue. But I would have to repalce the shocks/bushings. And that would definitely be an early point of contention.