Phil-540i

You've got the NZ new edition tho ae............. Not the 'ex the mother-land' UK edition............

Looks great....................wouldn't be much hardship in having to use that as wheels for work............. beats a Camry, haha

I stand corrected, & apologise............you're right - the E34 M5 was faster / quicker than a E39 540. You couldn't buy that new when E39 540's were being sold new though, but yes, theres probably Merc's, & even a 4 door Maserati that were quicker @ the time........

And...................that's the best pic you've got?? Wheres the rest......??

There - fixed your bad English for ya................

Well yes, unless you're a 3 series owner most people think that's quite nippy (like wtf's with this sudden 3 vs 5 stuff anyway........ ) And ya can load it up with gear, its a proper 5 seater, chuck a towbar on the girl for yanking round 'toys' like bikes / jet boat / concrete mixer.............. Totally agree with ya here Jamie. And yes, you're correct in that the 540 was the world's fastest 4 door production car in E34 / early 39 timespan.........both in acceleration & top speed I'm lead to believe (250k speed limiter on them....... )

Glad ya laughed at that. I agree with ya re servicing intervals - my ute is supposed to be done every 15,000kms, but I tend to go 10,000kms, even from new. I'm a big believer in 'sooner or later you pay', so stretching them out doesn't really 'cost less' long term IMO. (Unless you're only keeping it for 5 yrs / 150ks sorta thing). I'm intrigued with the weekly kms you're doing with this little beast - lets run it till it dies I reckon, see what it'll do when properly looked after...

I agree with where you're coming from in lots of ways, but IMO, theres also a very valid difference in being able to build / butcher / tweak something yourself, & also have the skills & / or money to fix gremlins as they appear down the track, & not having the skills / money for doing so. Stuff like that is found all over the place in this forum - its one of the things I like bout it....& theres always some self-satisfaction on having something you've built yourself, that's a bit different from what every-one else has got..........

Kiwi blokes south of Hamilton tend to have 'Action Man' rather than 'barbie' - Action Man tends to be fairly dirty from fixing stuff all the time, so he tends to run through a shower rather than use the kitchen sink......... And if he had a bbq - on the odd occasions that it might genuinely maybe need a clean (usually after some-one with funny bumps on her chest has maybe suggested it'd be a good idea........), he'd probably use the water-blaster to clean it. Please note - water-blaster must be petrol powered, as those silly little 240V things don't count...... Welcome to NZ........... Southern land style...........

Been for sale for a while - really nice car IMO, & its just had a price-drop on that ad - I'm picking it won't be for sale long now........ What bout that 540 you're bidding on.........??

Its not the more appropriate comparison at all IMO. You've gone off on some sorta tangent now - you're comparing 3 series cars with 5 series.............& a newer chassis vs the older class car............. By the time we chuck a M3 motor in the 523 here, its still gonna owe the poor guy far more than what a 540 will. In terms of 'bang for buck' & how to best use his money, in my opinion the best solution is as I already posted - sell the 523 & get a 540. Bearing in mind also, original indication at start of thread is he actually wants a V8............... Not some ba$tardised orphan love-child thing that he'll forever have teething issues with probably........... Edit. I'm with Jooles - I'd be picking the M5 keys too..............

If this load of $hit is even remotely true on some planet - how come BMW in their completely f#cked up wisdom, with all the German engineering expertise in the world at their call, designed the E39 M5 with a V8 powering it, not a 6 cylinder boat anchor instead.............??? A car that got, & still gets rave reviews for its power & handling............ Lets think about that for a milli-second - theres keys to a 6 cylinder manual E39 & a E39 M5 sitting on the table - what set would ya honestly take first choice..........???

I'll swap yours for his if you leave a bag with $10k in non-consecutive $100 bills in your boot. Probably be on different rims by time you get it tho.......

I'm amazed they let you boys out into the big world outside Speight's Country without Laurie Mains or Jeff Wilson supervising ya...........theres another good camera on the downhill into Wellington too, that 80k area. By time you cursed a bit, kicked tyres, muttered a bit more, walked to Bulls, & got to Welly, traffic woulda been virtually stopped, so you're probably safe on that one.........

Exactly........^^^^^^^ Its not as if we're talking white Toyota Corollas here...........

6 hrs to Bulls & a non-perfect possum silhouette means ya probably weren't going fast enough........ya woulda got to Bulls Mobil sooner, thus not run outa fuel.... Double bonus points lost because it wasn't yours & ya weren't going fast enough............ Bonus points gained though if Justin gets a ticket from NZ's busiest speed camera, @ Sanson 50kph area............

It doesn't stop any good with 'that' as current set-up?? Truly?? I'm picking there's maybe a pad, pressure or leg problem somewhere in the equation.................

I'm told its fine lines between hilarious , f#cking funny, & honest............. Coupla guys here been giving me lessons lately, haha. Yea, you'll be alright - ditch what you've got I reckon, then hang out for the right 540 - check it out properly first, then chuck some love at it........... On the E39's - IMO buying anything less than a 528 is just pi$$ing in the wind false economy overall really, unless you're solely doing urban running with no passengers etc....

That, is rather gorgeous!!! Well done, on the build, & the pics dude!! Bring on more................

I've heard that drugs in some quantities are wonderful things, so yes, I guess there is a chance that you'll find some-one somewhere that will want to swap their premium model staggeringly fast great handling 540i for the poverty pack model that's slower & uses just as much, if not more fuel..............high odds you'll get a stampede of 540 owners wanting to swap keys............. Easy as to put a M60 in your car tho - with the heads off & spare wheel removed, it'll easily go in the boot. If you want to put it anywhere else on your current wheelbase - think of it as lots of brain-damage for nothing, & being the equivalent of standing in shower for 15 minutes ripping up $100 notes.......... Not that I'm trying to put ya off or anything...........

Welcome to the site. And agreed - nice wheels - rest of it is 'a E36 thing' - you'll be alright, each bridge as ya come to it sorta thing - you'll learn lotz............ Besides which none of it matters so long as it looks gooood & the wheels still go around on it.....

Funny - I've heard that all my life too, & touch wood - never had a problem with hips / joints on either males or females. All 100% purebred, first was from Tapanui - next from Oamaru, Auckland & Bizzy from Palmerston North breeder. I think breeding & the environment / upbringing has the most impact on what sort of GS / dog you've got after first 2 yrs is up, & theres certainly some GS breeders & sellers on TM that I wouldn't touch with a barge-pole. I've no doubt, that with a compatible female, Bizzy would have great off-spring.....which is something I'll look into 1 day.

Thanks guys - yea, they are awesome, I've always loved them since I was a kid - police dogs still fascinate me. He's just turned 5 a while back, & he's far bigger than any other one I've had - just over 40kg!! All pure intelligence & loyalty, coupled with dashes of slow motion, dyslexia, deaf-ness, & short attention span. Very koool though. Besides me & his food bowl, heres some pics of Bizzy with his fav things. (We call his rugby balls 'Wilson', as much like on Castaway, he'll cart them around all day)

Good find Westy............... (Ironic in some ways, as I'd heard 'westies' rip out back seats & use empty pi$$ crates instead.........)

WTF???!!! Wiring isn't supposed to look like that?? Hmm, ok.............. Few nights ahead in the shed for ya...........looks great in that last pic!!!