Driftit 2078 Report post Posted March 8, 2009 (edited) Well I was in need of a tow car for hauling the series car around. And can't keep using the E55. So I decided to buy a 540 to replace my 180 and 325 which I have sold. Went and drove a few of them. First one I jumped into was a 00 540M that was out of my price range. But we thought we would take it for a drive to get a feel. What a pile of sh*t it was. Massive misfire which wouldn't let us rev it out. Nearly everything was worn out. And the gearbox clunked away. So not a good start. Second one was a 97 that had a facelift front. Was very low though. Looked great but would not suite being a tow car. Found this one to be very bouncy. And it had steering issues as well as a clunky gearbox. 3rd one we drove was the one I purchased. A black 1997 540i. Had only done 86,000kms. And drove like it had only done 86.000 kms. Smooth all round. Only let down is that she is from Singapore. Which straight away put me off a little. Took a mate of mine who has an extremely expensive scanner around to see the car. And after checking nearly everything (nearly ) we found she had no major faults. Reserve was set low so I decided to bid. And just as I was about to steal it. Some prick tried to outbid me in the last 50 seconds. Bumping it right up to my maximum price. Changing it from a great deal to an ok deal. But anyway here she is. 1997 540i Black with Tan interior 18" what looks to be replica E60 M5 wheels (must be as the M5 wheels are 19's, these are 18's) Face and ass lift. Someone has spent some money converting it to the Halo and LED lights and newer bumpers. No doubt an insurance company. All in all she is in pretty good nick bar the heater problem I am having. Smooth and quiet with a sweet stereo system. I think I am showing my age. 3 years ago you could not wrestle me away from my noisy tuned 180SX. Now I am happy with this and the race car. Edited March 8, 2009 by driftit Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Simon* Report post Posted March 8, 2009 Nice! Well done on what looks to be a very tidy and low km example. Hope you get many trouble-free years of towing and hooning out of it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Simon* Report post Posted March 8, 2009 It's a bit of an Egg though Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apex 693 Report post Posted March 8, 2009 Nice. Good colour combo + F/L and wheels. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silver Fox 43 Report post Posted March 8, 2009 I'm guessing it's the one I saw you in today Dan? Looked nice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
byza213 1 Report post Posted March 8, 2009 need a good clean and some better pics Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 2078 Report post Posted March 8, 2009 Cheers. Yeah it is the one Dave. Still love your 5 series though. Spotted you a mile off and knew it could only be one of yours. I am going to tidy her up even more. I want it 100% perfect. Everything must work as it did when it left the factory. Wheels need a bit of a tidy up. And yes a good clean. Bloody road works just by my house that I can not avoid at the moment. As for towing. Would it be a good idea to get an aftermarket cooler for the trans? Or is the stock one fine for lugging around a 1200kg E30? And this "Life Time" fluid. How often should I change it? As I know towing puts some good stress on the box. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deane30 30 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 Looks very cool. Love the black and the interior. AND the wheels. Some europlates with the black sides would look good. Dean Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 2078 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 Yeah will be getting some Euro plates asap. Hate the EGG plate. lol. Plus there is a few scratches where the longer Euro plate has once been. I really like the contrasting Interior/Exterior colors. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1rotty 40 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 Nice!!! Definitely one of the better ones thats been on TM recently The black & tan rocks. Surely we must outnumber the e30s now Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darkwolf 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 Jesus, from the outside it looks like the spitting image of mine. Minor differences (fjord grau mettalic vs black, 19" wheels vs 18") Nice find though. Then again though I'm a little biased on the 540i. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 2078 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 Can't out number the E30's yet. I alone have 3 E30's. Haha. Six BMW's in our Family now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mackt 1 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 The black & tan rocks. Surely we must outnumber the e30s now Yeh great to see another 540, love the interior too. Great looking tow car! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1rotty 40 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 Can't out number the E30's yet. I alone have 3 E30's. Haha. Six BMW's in our Family now. 4 in ours-how fast do yours breed? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 2078 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 Well I had none two years ago. So the breed pretty quickly. lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 (edited) The oil cooler should be built into the bottom of the gearbox Dan. Retro fitting an after market cooler would be very expensive. Lifetime trans oil should be changed at 100,000km, along with filter and pan gasket or you can do it earlier (personal choice). Give me the chassis # and I'll check for you..or you can pop in and I'll have a look for you. Edited March 9, 2009 by *Glenn* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 2078 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 The oil cooler should be built into the bottom of the gearbox Dan. Retro fitting an after market cooler would be very expensive. Lifetime trans oil should be changed at 100,000km, along with filter and pan gasket or you can do it earlier (personal choice). Give me the chassis # and I'll check for you..or you can pop in and I'll have a look for you. Will pop in at some stage Glenn. Will get you to give her a full service and point out potential problems. Can't change the oil myself. I dont have anything to catch the 7.5ltrs of oil it holds! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aliluya 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 Well I had none two years ago. So the breed pretty quickly. lol our family has gone through 9 so far. lol... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Creaver 55 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 Can't change the oil myself. I dont have anything to catch the 7.5ltrs of oil it holds! Buckets work well :-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 (edited) jeez i thought 6 was enough, but you need something LOW as well Edited March 9, 2009 by kiwi535 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Creaver 55 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 I just jacked the car up pretty high and put axle stands under it. Plenty of room for a 9.6L bucket and us to move around...same thing goes for the oil changes! haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 I just jacked the car up pretty high and put axle stands under it. Plenty of room for a 9.6L bucket and us to move around...same thing goes for the oil changes! hahai have got a low tray but i still have to jack the car up a wee bit to get it under for an oil change(thats what i though you were talking about when i said 6 L) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike 1 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Very nice I think I am showing my age. 3 years ago you could not wrestle me away from my noisy tuned 180SX. Now I am happy with this and the race car. ] I know what you mean, would have said the same thing about my e30. I was looking at e39's too, only decided against it as I probably wont be around long enough to justify buying something decent. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mitchE30 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Can't out number the E30's yet. I alone have 3 E30's. Haha. Six BMW's in our Family now. welcome to 540i family,and I have 4 E30 ,haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Will pop in at some stage Glenn. Will get you to give her a full service and point out potential problems. Can't change the oil myself. I dont have anything to catch the 7.5ltrs of oil it holds! It should be 8 litres Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
