And do not say the year

1997 til 2003 was the era of the e39 brand of the 540i. In 1997,
BMW improved on its 4.0 engine slightly by adding a bit more torque with its M62 4.4 litre engine. In a nutshell, the e39 is improperly numbered as it 'technically' should be the 544i. The true difference in a 2001 & a 1998 would hardly be noticed by a driver. The M62 engine in pre sept of 1998 540i is had 'non vanos' engines. VANOS operates on the intake camshaft in accordance with engine speed & accelerator pedal position. At the lower end of the engine-speed scale, the intake valves r opened later, which improves idling quality & smoothness. At moderate engine speeds, the intake valves open much earlier, which boosts torque & permits exhaust gas re-circulation inside the combustion chambers, reducing fuel consumption & exhaust emissions. Finally, at high engine speeds, intake valve opening is once again delayed, so that full power can be developed. VANOS enhances emission management, increases output & torque, & offers better idling quality & fuel economy. It is also just one more thing that can fail on a 540i. Having both cars, l can not quite tell the difference in torque, & on some days l believe my 98 is faster than my 2002. The headlights r also different, a secondary air pump on the later 540's, more sensors... really not much in performance gains. If on a budget, consider the 1998. l personally feel its a more reliable car.

Okay, l wo not say the year. the 1998 is 1095 DAYS older.