andrewm

Been on there a while, dont imagine it will sell at that price as the car on its own is probably worth 17k (its a 2000 reg) and the supercharger wont add much value for fear the car has been abused.

Decided if im going to wait a while, I wont settle on a silver e39. Black, white, imola red, le mans? blue are the big picks, i would love a manual but I dont have much hope of finding one reasonably priced in the next 5 or so months.

Looking for a very good condition preferably 2002, motorsport 540i. Not a big fan of silver, most other colours acceptable. Must have under 130,000km. I am watching everything on trademe and in no hurry to buy, waiting for an immaculate one with the right specs at the right price, if you were considering selling yours soon (1-6 months) then id like to hear from you.

I found the terms were clearly laid out in my contract. For my previous insurer BNZ with the premier care comprehensive insurance i have nothing but praise, after my accident they asked few questions, 10 minutes on the phone and a tow was organised and my claim approved, no forms no waiting. Agreed value paid out minus excess in under a week.

Im actually somewhat interested in this car, although obviously not at that price, hmmmm.

I thought you were going to say honda, boy am I relieved.

Its prob the same people looking at those cars hundreds of times a day, I know a few people with nothing better to do than dream about old skylines.

Said he's not keen to DIY, although i would urge you to reconsider, the application of the paint is far easier than any flat panel as the highly textured surface holds paint on, i literally did it in one very thick coat just kept spraying it on till it was hugely wet, i put another one on only cos i had the paint but for coverage one did it, no runs. I did them on my car, 3 minutes masking per caliper after brakleen and toothbrush, sure i couldnt get the rear side too well but you cant tell that from any forward angle and you sure as hell cant tell when the wheel is on. I suppose then you wont take them off the car? That would make things very easy and any most paint places should do it. Else just ring a panelbeater type place and im sure one of them will do it, prob charge a fortune as they will likely take the calipers off to clean them to ensure the paint job is excellent and you dont come back upset.

Which ppg line? My last bill was 800 ish for 4l primer, 2l base, 4l clear. Also bear in mind where I got my stuff the 4l was only just over double the price of the 1l's.

Varies wildly, 2k will get you a mates rate cashy with little in the way of repairs. 4k will be an approx standard price with a few small repairs, 6k+ if you want inside boot, door jambs and need rust removal and dent fixing. Depends on condition of car and quality desired.

My 1998 540i, automatic unfortunately, but reasonably specced with nav, tv, edc, multifunction steering wheel, memory seats etc, grey leather interior. 119,000km now and immaculate. I spent a good 8 hours detailing it the 2 days after i got it, not that it really needed it. Here it is as i got it. However I like to tinker and the stock look was too plain for me Did the calipers blue as I got bored one day. Yes the wheel is dirty, brake dust is phenomenal. 255's front and rear. Not sure what i'll do, everything works and nothing needs touching up or fixing, maybe an ipod integration or wait and see how those dynavin units turn out. Will probably get some good tints at some point though. Apologies for the cellphone pics. Took my time getting these up haha.

I just sprayed mine, high temp paint, blue. Doesnt take long, with an exquisite masking job i didnt even need to take them off, looks mint. You sure your not up to the diy, took about 40 mins to do both my fronts.

My e39 540i with 255's is very reserved when it comes to lost traction, the traction control kills anything before it happens, a little too premature on a motorway onramp, but for a blast arround in the rain its hella reasurring. Give it 3/4 throttle in second out of an intersection in the wet and bam traction control gotcha, instant loss of power.

Looks like someone sat on the 7 series as it ate the front of an evo. Im sure the real version will look better.

Just a real quick chop for you guys, looks not bad. Yes i realise the wheels are at the wrong angle etc. Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Was set to wrong traffic side as I suspected, auto electrician and euro specialists failed to pick this up even when I informed them of my suspicion. When i got home i had a nosey myself, flicked the switch, lo and behold fixed.

The 540i is only starting at 8000, reserve is probably 12-14 grand and it is the far better car.

South Auckland, could pop out to yours, just to confirm its not an issue with vertical adjustment, the current two mechanisms work fine.

Orange, is this a part you stock? or order, approx damage on that?

Failed my WOF today, 1998 e39 540i - the right hand headlight beam is level as opposed to angled. The tech showed me on their equipment and the left has a gradient whereas the right is a level beam, in high beam the right is also out of focus compared to the left. The euro place I took it to played with the adjusters and then said nope cant fix it. Is it time for me to get those angel eyes or is there actually a way of doing this that theyve missed? Surely if it was set to wrong side traffic the euro place wouldave picked it up?

The lacquer colour along with the 2k primer and clear was obviously not the best idea, however thats done now. Im assuming its not a metallic? As far as your ratios, that will depend largely on the paint due to the amount of solids, you may need to do test panels. Either way, before primer have the car sanded with 320-600 grit, after priming sand with 600 grit before basecoats are applied. Dont bother sanding between basecoats unless they come up really bad. You may find adhesion issues applying the clearcoat to the colour, if you do your option will be to sand the final basecoat 800-1000 grit before applying the clear. Dont sand with your hand use a sponge and dont press hard or scratches will be deep and show up in the paintwork. Paint ( not primer) doesnt hide flaws it magnifies them and if you can feel a bump or scratch, you will definately be able to see it. An issue you may face is lacquer takes ages to let the solvents off (weeks) although it is touch dry in minutes and this may cause issues with the much faster sealing 2k clear, it may not though. The hardener is an isocyanate, it contains cyanide so make sure to have a good chemical filtration mask and leave the garage or whatever often. Finally if you get no issues applying the paint then put plenty of clear (4 coats) so you can sand 800,1200,1500 and then powerbuff with 2 stages of cutting compound, this is upto you, if the clear is coming out of the gun good then no need. I hope your compressor is 3hp+ with atleast 50l of air tank or else you will have a small fan pattern and it will making painting more difficult. Any less and you may need to paint a panel at a time. My first few cars came out pretty average but i was handy with a buffer and high grade sandpaper and fixed them up quite nicely.

Ya what? haha

The Knight XV armoured vehicle is another option.

With the front grill black Id have it.

I have the e39 540i and dad has an xr6 turbo sedan and has had it from new, 130,000km no real problems. His is faster than my car by a reasonable amount and is very easy to get an extra 50kw although the 4speed gearbox I believe is not happy at that stage. Between our two cars mine seems to handle a bit better, less roll and mine is much quieter as well as being a more comfortable ride.