Eagle

Well if you want outright power then the 540i is hard to beat for the price, sounds like you should just start looking harder at them then tbh. If you dont mind sticking with the auto then i dont see why you shouldn't just buy one, throw some decent springs and shocks in it and call it a day. As for a poor mans M5 well i suppose thats technically true but since you are looking at poor man automatic m3's yourself i dont think it really matters haha. My poor mans M5 handles better and is faster than most poor man M3's ive driven, not to mention its packing the legendary M30 engine which needs no introduction. Safe to say your be in box in the ground by the time an M30 has a midlife crisis lol.

Im curious as to why you'd pick a 540i over 535i? I like 540i's and they have their advantages but a 535i manual is alot more engaging to drive than a 540i auto(which is what you want i thought) among other things.

You can always buy a nice E34, alot better quality interiors. Mark's selling a nice 535i manual. http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/47670-for-sale-e34-535ise-manual-128000-ks/

Didn't realize there are so many 328i on trademe, mostly autos sadly. Too many to list but this one looks tidy, well optioned and seems like it could be had for a good price, some better photos would help alot though. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/328i/auction-680605542.htm

Didn't know you were looking at cars in that far south?

Sounds exactly like a bad viscous fan clutch to me

540i was for my brother but ended up getting a 535is which im fixing up for him. Had so many people interested my 540i ive had to form a viewing que.

Going for a record here i think, or maybe it is one already.

As ive probably said before id be very surprised if he goes down that low, he hadn't even decided what he was replacing it with. If you willing to wait and see if he does thats all good but when do you draw the line. Like Blue said above cars appears everyday so never know what may come up.

Haha What about this one, looks ok:http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/328i/auction-684036172.htm

HB have a good one.

Nice curb free set of BBS RX's(i think) gotta count for something too. IMO if you want manual buy a manual, not worth the hassle converting unless its uncommon like a 540i etc or the conversion not going to really cost you

I loved the colour, looks purple when shaded and blue when in the light. Very nice all overall. Hopefully Graham managed to look at it also.

No he said another guy in Hawks Bay(i think) is prepared to pay 6.5k for it this weekend if he drives it down to taupo, he said hasn't followed it up and is unsure if the guy was genuine or not at this point. As i mentioned he is firm on his price of 6.5-6.7k

Good to see this tidy old beast again. GLWS

Pity its missing the iS lip. Looks very nice otherwise

If can possibly check it out if you like. Im only 15mins from Te Awamutu

I thought breaching license conditions is suppose to be a $100 fine now days not $400. One thing ive learnt is never put trust police and never admit liability, they love to scare\trick you. Option A, then B if you have to. Like Blue-540i said i they haven't got anything to stand on and will probably drop their balls.

Very tidy alright but i think it only appeals to certain people at the price probably got it at, not exactly a sort after model either. Seems it could of done with a bit more use if anything.

Are you trying to say you'd going to covert it to manual or something?. If hes wanting 7k so id be surprised if he'd accept anything less than 6k

For a 3 series Its missing a pedal.

Yeah i believe E34 and E39 540i have the ZF autos. Never experienced anything like it and im sure it wasn't normal but i didnt exactly try anything to see if it would change and only drove it once so who knows. No doubt a good service would improve it im sure.

Crappy may have been a bit strong but it depends what you are comparing it to. Japanese have far better plastics in general but thats German law for you Comparing to the E34 Interior & exterior in general - whole alot more used in the E39 to start with and worse quality, recycled plastics for you. Things like seat bases,door handles, shitty cup holders, interior trims, Cooling system- fan shrouds, expansion tanks, thermostat housings etc. Tap a E34 dash then a E39 haha. Dont get me wrong I like E39's but quality wise they just aren't as good overall.

You bet and wouldn't be surprised, least they are pretty reliable. I drove it from cold and took at least a few hundred meters to change up a gear, i was driving a 3000rpm @ 50kph for a long time which was a first for me. Sort of put me off it at that point and didnt really give it a real good drive, it handled bad compared to mine but thats to be expected.

Ive driven that green one and wasn't that impressed, exterior and interior were pretty decent but for 5k id expect aircon to work and transmission didnt shift the greatest. Thing you got to realize about E39's is compared to the E34 they are more complex so more things to replace, more things fail, not as well built and alot more crappy plastics. They are more comfortable, have more features and handle better than the E34 but they less feel less of a drivers car compared to the E34 imo.