mtk540

I was fortunate enough to attend a track day at Ruapuna put on by Lindsay in December for work colleagues and business associates. There were some (very) hot laps in: a) BMW 320 supertourer (ex Tony Longhurst I think). This was driven by son Matthew. LOUD. Scott drove the GT3 - amazing acceleration and traction c) Lindsay's own road car , the Ferrari 430 F1 - beautiful d) a GT3 in road trim e) a Lotus Exige The Begg was on display which was later taken out by The Stig aka Phil Mauger who owns the ex Denny Hulme Yardley McLarem M23. A fantastic afternoon enjoyed by some lucky people

RJS, it will be very hard to find a NZ new 4.4 for under $40k. I've been looking to upgrade the 540 for a facelift (2004+) model but these start in the high $50's for an import. A NZ new model has that bit of a premium. My business partner has a late 2003 NZ 4.4 in Sportpac trim with 70,000ks and it was recently valued at $60k. As kiwi535 says the 3.0 petrol or 3.0d are great vehicles and probably more in the price range that you are looking at but if you a prepared to stretch another $10k you may find a 4.4 The ML500 or a ** cough, cough ** Range Rover could be worth looking at as well although the build quality of the early M series Mercs are its downfall.

Greg, your incident reminds me of when I was a (lot) younger. I had a 1.3 Mk2 Escort and to make it go "faster" (haha) I added some spotlights - we did that sort of stuff in 1983! I put in a relay and all that but one day smoke and an awful acrid smell came out from behind the dash which quickly filled the interior **SH@T!! *** - the switch had failed and burnt out along with all the wiring for the lights. Needless to say I disconnected the lights for good after that! Good on you for sorting it out but do see an auto sparky as well.

Hi Greg When I opened the fuse box in the E39 the schematics showed that some services shared a fuse. Could be the same in the M3?

I always use BP Ultimate 98. If not available in an unscheduled fillup then I splash and dash with 95.

Thanks again guys for the tips and the research. It's due for a service soon so I'll mention what happened. Yes, I'll let the Boss drive it again but she prefers her Audi Mike

Update Took Greg111's advice backed up by Nick021 and disconnected the battery for 5 mins. Yuen, as you say, the battery would probably have died anyway. EUREKA - It's all go! All I had to do was reset the time and date on the OBC. Only lost some historical fuel consumption data on CONS1. I can sleep now Thanks guys - this forum really does work! Mike

and so the fix is .. ?????? Thanks Yuen, was wondering if you would see this post.I'll take it in to Chch BMW first thing Have just come in from having another look - it's the brake lights and centre stop light that are still on so I've tried taking out the fuse (#41) so it won't draw too much current from the battery overnight but the lights are still on ... now that's real strange! Also thought hey, let's disconnect the plug from the tail light units - the lugs won't release from the unit. Then I thought, let's just take the bulbs out - burnt my fingers!!! Lights are still on ... So I hope its just a re-boot and not a new OBC... Greg111 - thanks. I might leave it as is until the morning and hope she doesn't run flat! Thanks guys

My wife borrowed my car (1999 E39 540i) and came back and said the indicator lights wont go off... Here's what has happened: 1. When you push the Mode button the OBC screen in the centre console should give you the following options: On Board computer......Television Navigation...................Aux. vent Setup..........................Monitor Off (edited) The only accessable menu options are Television, Navigation and Monitor Off 2. The indicators don't work. The right hand indicator dashboard light is on solid as if it is activated. 3. The instrument panel doesn't work. The speedo needle is struck on 40km and the tacho needle is stuck on 900rpm 4. With no key in the ignition the pixels are lit up for all usual display options but the display for gear selection is stuck in D 5. When you push in the button on the indicator stalk you can usually scroll through the OBC display options. This doesn't work 6. The rear tail light indicators (both sides) are on but not flashing. 7. The service lights don't come up on startup I can start and drive the car but the OBC and instrument panel seemed stuffed! It's still under warranty. As its after 5 I can't even take it down to the local BMW dealer until tomorrow. Anyone have any ideas??? PLEASE ????? Mike

The shudder is possibly the E39 "shimmy" Happen at about 70kmh ? and also under braking? You need to do what Jochen suggests but failing that get the front thrust arm bushes replaced Worked a treat on mine and others on this forum - MattA for one Mike

Never heard of 3. but hey, always willing to learn something new every day. Probably not the only one who mis-took your quote but big enough to admit it

His 5 year old son died as well you idiot - where's your respect? RIP Col

Welcome Darren Looking forward to some pics.

Welcome mate. If you do go for an E39 528 look for a Motorsport version. The little extras are worth it if you can afford it - or else if its pure power and cruising ability you want go for the 540. There's little difference in price nowadays. I don't do twisty roads in Canterbury , just long fast flat cruises so its well suited to the conditions.

That makes me feel a whole lot better !

Allan , good to see you went for a bigger engine. I'm jealous you get 700k per tank when I'm only getting 430k from about 64 litres (all Chch city driving). On resetting my OBC immediately after a fill my predicted range is only 480k max. Yes, steering is different - the V8s have recirc ball while the 6 cylinder models are rack and pinion. Something to do with the available space in the engine bay. Apparently motoring writers/testers favour the 528 over the 530/540 in the handling department due to the preciseness of the steering and less weight. I would imagine ///MSport options on the 530/540 make a huge difference. Mike

Hi Jochen I'm going crazy trying to clean my polycarb units as they are scratched and hazy. Did you just replace the lens with glass ones? Where did you get them from and is it an easy job for someone thats not very DIY (!) I'd rather replace the lens cover than spend $450 - $750 on new units. Mike

Hi there and welcome. Don't settle for a 520 - for a little more $'s get greater bang for buck with either a 528 530 or 540. As far as body kits go there's a chap who sells some on Trade Me every now and then. Mike

I've still got hazed lenses after trying to give them a good clean with a low friction cutting compound. No, didnt make them worse.So before spending big $$$ I might chase up your cleaning product Is that the Diamondite or Meguiars brand you bought? Perhaps Repco or someone has it rather than order off the net

Hey Jochen (or anyone else who may know) .... We also have a 1999 Audi A4 (B5 model). My wife is making noises about fitting a band expander but is there a similar fix for the standard Audi head unit ??? Yeah I know they are cheap as chips but when fitted the actual frequency is out of whack with the displayed frequency. Cheers Mike

Just adding to the thread from my experience and from I've read from other owners overseas. I think I know what I'm talking about as my vibration/shimmy is now gone. Just because you haven't had it doesn't mean its a figment of someone elses imagination. When your shimmy turns up just remember where you read about it and how to fix it.

You've got the famous E39 shimmy. I've just got rid of it but it took a while to eliminate all the possibilities. While most would say wheel balance or alignment (did both) and I also did the following: - shaved the front rotors (made no difference) - replaced thrust arm bushes (50% better but vibration was still there) - replaced front rotors with Brembos (they were poor quality not OEM and warped) You may as well upgrade the pads at the same time Another possibility is a bent rim. The US BMW E39 owners forum http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e39/ has many many threads dedicated to how some owners have tried to solve "the shimmy". Good luck

Welcome fellow E39 540 owner. Have just read your thread re headlights. Mine are fuzzy as well but yours don't look too bad compared to mine! Will follow it with interest...

Agree. Would be interesting to see the results.

Hope it turns up soon and in one piece. Feel for you mate as I've had a car stolen as well.