hqstu

I had a set powdercoated and they are flaking, possibly due to poor prep I had no control over. Guy was making excuses for not doing them and in the end was probably rushed.... Since then, I've had a further two sets gently sand blasted and then I painted myself with the wrinkle paint you can get from SCA or RIPCO. No primer. Good lasting results so far....

Correct on all counts

As a e38 740 owner, and been around e39's and now e38's for a while I can't add to what Jared has said - at all

I've just bought a 40d 2011 msport, UK import, 160,000km when bought a couple of months ago, now 166,000km. $13k. Buyers' market atm although had to offload the older X3 for nothing despite spending a sh$t ton on that refurbishing. Things to look out for; Shock mount bushes pulverised (easy fix), water leaks in rear of trunk (still looking for source of my small intermittent leak) can damage wiring loom / modules and unleash hell (caught in time and managing it)..., inner tail lights on tailgate can fill with water and fail (new off aliexpress - can't tell difference from genuine), sunroof drain blockages (not on mine), bad tail gate rattle (easy fix), surface corrosion underside (not a major), as good a service history as possible, watch for upper timing chain stretch on 40d, replace at dealer for $2.5k before it destroys guides etc, resulting in a much much larger bill... (planned). Do oil changes every 10k and replace all fluids, incl transmission (all in progress), Tyres will be $$$, get a space saver spare, jack etc. Mine has extras like full leather dash, soft close doors, full comfort sports seats, etc. I like it, tows a caravan as if it wasn't there. 950k on a tank if you're not stupid.

To give them credit, at least it's $1 reserve so the market will truly determine... but yes it should be illegal to WOF tyres that old.

These people in Manukau also do this, did my M5 cluster a few years ago. Auto Electrician | Thecircuitspecialist | Auckland

Yes, this car is on our e39 M5 register. Typical erroneous dealer listing. It is not the very last of the 6 speed manuals for NZ (actually mine is lol) and it isn't at the low point of its future value, that was back in 2015-17. But I suppose you could argue they could only go up (hopefully) from here, well they arguably have been up, but eased back a bit.... Different spec with the basic comfort seats and chrome trim.

Just the one spare for the two cars... yeah not great news. Hopefully someone might "own" the problem...

Schmiedmann has the most randomly useless shipping calculator IMHO. One can add two items to cart and get a stupid shipping price, delete 1 item and the shipping actually goes up !! I have 0 trust in it, and I've never been emailed to adjust shipping.. and when I have them on about it - the response is less than helpful...

Just installed B4's all round on the e83 X3, it's doing a fair few km atm so will be interesting to see how they go/last... I'm hoping they should be good for a longtime...

Couple of shots of the engine tidy up, the headlights also got a tidy up, including removing the blingy aftermarket halo's, polishing the lens, sorting some wiring, and also new foglights have gone in. I have got new covers for the headlights but I was originally sent two of the same side, so will replace them when I repair and paint front bumper over summer.

Well it's been quite a while so time for a bit of an update... M5 - driving it when I can and trying to get from A to B as "efficiently" as I can whilst doing so... 540 - going really well. Just done a couple of good trips including the BMW Car Club run to Whangamomona. What a blast. Just recently I've painted the instrument needles again. A PO had painted them red, so I just re-did them in red again, would prefer the white but needle changing is a nightmare, and cluster even worse... Also put on a new steering column leather cover (that was a mission) and a new cluster surround. Got it all back together to discover a backlight bulb had blown.... out it all comes... Still, it all looks great now. I've also decided to fully paint the 540 early next year so preparing for that, new rear MSII shocks whilst the interior is apart as well, rear parcel tray needs a re-cover. 740 - I've done a major gasket etc replacement on the engine and the oil leak has reduced considerably, it was the valve covers mainly, no surprises there. The engine was a real RTV special, why don't people just renew... But it appears there is still a minor weep suspecting the top oil pan gasket. I had thought originally rear main seal... However I happened to scan the transmission one day and a code for slipping lockup clutch is up on the torque converter. So I'm going to get my spare msport TC refurbed and sometime in the next few months I'm thinking an upper gasket, RMS, and TC changeout is coming up... I haven't really noticed any symptoms driving it, but now I know the code is there, my mind is playing silly buggers with me... Other items I've changed on the 740 are the rear door rear rubber trims, transmission mounts, trans fluid and filter (code was up before this), fuel filler hose, centre console rear controls, and a new LCD screen for the Bordmonitor. Being a newer screen it is compatible with polarized sunglasses so that is a great improvement, as well as generally looking heaps better. Will be looking to do a bit of paint on the 740 myself over Summer if I can find the time...

I've had a weak battery bring up Trans Failsafe on a 5HP19 in the past. so fingers crossed... I'm getting a lockup clutch slipping code on the 740 5HP24 but no real symptoms I can detect as yet. I will get my spare torque convertor rebuilt I think... it's sitting with the spare trans under the bench... what every '24 owner should have... 😁

@Eagle ?

That's standard. Can scroll other info or have it blank. With a little more effort on simple cosmetics they could ask that sort of money, but the louder vanos noise could get expensive...

I'm pleased it's going well for you Taylor, albeit a few coils and a RLS... great photos. Keen to keep updated, and yes there is always something... but I think you've started from an OK base 😎 Cheers.

Changed the title of this thread to be more reflective of what goes on in the shed... Been a bit busy with life etc, attended the Holden Nationals with a mates car I've been helping restore, then a brief visit to Australia, followed up by a BMW Car Club South Island road trip in the M5 which was just fantastic, cruising down and up the country with @hunter and 20 or so other owners. The 740 msport has been the focus otherwise. Bought a large chunk of a 735i msport part out with the same interior, and set about swapping out seats, parcel shelf, under dash trim etc etc to significantly lift the interior (sold the now second full msport interior seats / doorcards for a massive $1.50 on the open market...), replacement steering wheel I had in stock, wiring loom tidy. Also decided to replace the 4 shocks with genuine BMW msport like for like. It was the larger jar of vaseline... Also have done some suspension arms, ball joints, engine mounts, sway bar links and bushes, tie rods, brakes tidy up. A wider insert for the boot to accommodate the "BMW711" plates which have just gone on. The radio was playing up so I scored another C23 Oceania module which a member in our e39 M5 group was offloading. All sorted now and a bluetooth module is on the way to replace the CD changer. Ripped out all the old Nav gear as well. A bit of paint work went on before it got too cold, mirrors, top of passengers door. Next summer there will be more to come... But up next is the rear main seal oil leak fix, which means transmission out. There will be a bit of other "while you are in there" preventive stuff like driveshaft bits and cleaning. Not to forget a few engine gaskets and fluid changes. A power steer hose was leaking so a home fix was enacted saving a few hundred dollars for a new pipe/hose. Still lots to do but coming along nicely....

I'd say drink your beer now so it's not wasted... but let me know when you've found it...

Just sold for a bit more than I was prepared to pay, $50 actually :), but sets a good market benchmark for something of this quality. Relatively low KM with very good history, NZ new, Le Mans Blue Individual. 2002 BMW 540i M-Sport | Trade Me Motors

[ Paint Society ] for those like me stupid enough to attempt at home...

This one's going straight to the pool room... I'd say you'll have your hand in the air for a considerable amount of time...

The Topaz Blue 540 is now sold and off next month to its new home in Christchurch. I painted the rear bumper again myself and the result came out good.

Peel back the outer tape etc, splice in new wire etc, check fuses and see what happens…

Time for a bit of an update... The OxfordG 525 turned out very nice and has now been sold to a lucky recipient, excluding my labour I even turned a very rare $299 profit lol... If it weren't for the fact that the X3 is the ideal daily for my work/play at the moment it would not have gone anywhere... Being rather time poor I farmed out the painting of the Topaz 540 to a mate of a mate who did come well regarded... the result was OK, but there is a bit of orange peel correction to be done at some point. It has been assembled, a replacement windscreen fitted, WOF'd and the a/c regassed. Lots of other stuff has been done when assembling such as rear parcel tray re-dye and interior clean, rear windscreen trim, side trims, M5 mirrors. Things to do include repairing an assembly scratch on the rear bumper I just can't unsee, perhaps alloy wheel refresh and new tyres maybe. I can't make up my mind which 540 msport to sell so I just may advertise both and see which one goes first... As a refresher this 2002 topaz one has had a fair bit done, just review this thread... timing chain guides and all stuff in there is the main feature (as is with the Biarritz too), and now the paint and interior. If anyone is interested now in either the 99 Biarittz Individual 540 or the 02 Topaz 540 then please message me. Prices negotiable and will depend on how much more I throw at these cars.... and I can fully expand on the extensive work done... The dark M5 style 65 wheels on Biarittz will not be sold, which ever car sells will come with style 66's as pictured. Oh yeah.. in other news, a 2000 e38 740i Msport has found its way here... much to be done in the e39/8 rescue centre... although my business model /community service of "buy cheap / spend heaps / sell for a massive loss" I realise is unsustainable... just ask the missus... 😂