BMW 545i (E60) review: the two-year V8 flagship almost nobody remembers
3.5/5MotorsSouq Editorial Team
The 545i occupies an odd niche: rarer than the 550i that succeeded it, quicker than any inline-six E60, and cheaper than any surviving E60 M5. That rarity cuts both ways in Bahrain — good examples are genuinely hard to find, and when one turns up it needs the same specialist-level pre-purchase inspection any 20-year-old German V8 deserves, with particular attention to the automatic gearbox's adaptation values and the Valvetronic system's electric motors.
Pros
- Genuinely rare on the Bahrain used market, unlike the far more common 550i
- N62 V8 with Valvetronic gives crisp, direct throttle response unlike later turbo engines
- Quicker in a straight line than any six-cylinder E60
- Shares many mechanical components with the more common 530i/545i-era 5 Series, easing some parts sourcing
Cons
- Two-year production run means genuinely hard to find on the Bahrain used market
- Valvetronic electric motor is a known, non-trivial failure point
- Overshadowed by the 550i for parts and specialist familiarity
- No factory warranty exists on a car this age
BMW replaced the 545i with the 550i after just two model years, in the 2006 facelift that also brought a larger 4.8-litre V8 and revised styling. That short run means the 545i is genuinely uncommon on the Bahrain used market — most E60 V8 sedans that survive here are the later 550i — but it is not a lesser car for it. The N62B44 V8 makes 333 hp and pulls to a 6,500 rpm redline with a directness that the eventual twin-turbo replacements traded away for outright torque.
The Valvetronic variable valve-lift system, shared with BMW's six-cylinder engines of the era, removes the conventional throttle butterfly and gives the N62 a crisp, immediate throttle response that feels genuinely different from a normal naturally aspirated V8. It is also the system's known weak point: the electric Valvetronic motor can fail, usually announced by a rough idle and a warning light, and while not catastrophic to the engine, it is not a cheap part to replace.
Buying one in Bahrain today
Because so few 545i sedans were sold before the facelift, sourcing one on the Bahrain used market usually means importing from elsewhere in the GCC or accepting a higher mileage example than you would tolerate on a more common model. Either way, budget for a full pre-purchase inspection focused on the automatic gearbox's adaptation values (a transmission that has never had its oil changed is a genuine liability by this age), the cooling system, and the Valvetronic motor.
Who should buy one
This is a car for a buyer who specifically wants the rarity and the naturally aspirated V8 character, not for someone shopping the E60 range generally — a 550i will be easier to find, easier to get parts for, and only slightly less charismatic. If you find a genuinely well-documented 545i, though, it is one of the more interesting used-BMW purchases available in Bahrain.