Pricing help please...

[BEAMNN 0]

Hey Simon,

Thanks for the info! I didn't see your post when I wrote the post above (odd/blind?!).

You're right. The car looks just like what your car does in the pictures posted - less the rear spoiler. Other than that you wouldn't be able to tell them apart (although I have a feeling the wheels may be different but that could be early onset alzhemieirs).

I appreciate your offer to be PM'd and I will likely take you up on the offer later this week - I'm trying t arrange to get some pics of the car & have a 'chat' with my uncle

It has been really helpful being able to post the thread here and I do appreciate everyones input. I'd be stoked to bring the car 'into the club'... Its just a matter of time (him being able to mentally part with the car) and a price.

So, easier said than done but we'll get there.

Edit: typo

Edited July 6, 2009 by BEAMNN

[Greg111 13]

Hey there

There's another one! Woohoo From what I've heard BMW NZ sold 6 or 7 540iS'es new in '94-'95 and I they might all have been Technoviolet too (the Purple was an M5 colour).

The car you describe sounds almost exactly like Ray's (HellBM) when he bought it from Tauranga last year or year before. Mileage, condition and basically one owner since new. Without saying too much he paid substantially more than 13K and it was a private sale between enthusiasts.

Always tricky when you're buying from family or friends and I don't envy your situation there, especially as you both know that the car is pretty special and worth quite a bit. If you uncle agreed to let you have it for $10,000 you have done VERY well. In saying that, considering its mileage and condition at $15K it's still very good buying.

Not helpful I suppose Sorry about that! Mine has double the km's as your uncle's and is no longer 'mint' but I still would not sell it for $15K regardless.

There were only 250 RHD 540iS ever manufactured so in reality they are much rarer than the E34 M5. Maintenance is not bad at all as they share so much with the 540iA, with the exception of clutches! Ask me how I know

I'd be willing to bet it looks exactly like this - mine under previous ownership, before wheels, suspension, LSD, etc

If you have any other questions, etc you'd like answered feel free to PM me. I don't mind telling you what I paid for mine and under what circumstances too.

Cheers

Simon

Why did you ever get rid of those wheels? They're soooo good looking..........not that the ones on now aren't

[Guest Simon*]

Why did you ever get rid of those wheels? They're soooo good looking..........not that the ones on now aren't

Don't start all that sh*t again You know I never owned those wheels they were long gone before I bought the car

[ssbmw 220]

Hey there

There's another one! Woohoo From what I've heard BMW NZ sold 6 or 7 540iS'es new in '94-'95 and I they might all have been Technoviolet too (the Purple was an M5 colour).

The car you describe sounds almost exactly like Ray's (HellBM) when he bought it from Tauranga last year or year before. Mileage, condition and basically one owner since new. Without saying too much he paid substantially more than 13K and it was a private sale between enthusiasts.

Always tricky when you're buying from family or friends and I don't envy your situation there, especially as you both know that the car is pretty special and worth quite a bit. If you uncle agreed to let you have it for $10,000 you have done VERY well. In saying that, considering its mileage and condition at $15K it's still very good buying.

Not helpful I suppose Sorry about that! Mine has double the km's as your uncle's and is no longer 'mint' but I still would not sell it for $15K regardless.

There were only 250 RHD 540iS ever manufactured so in reality they are much rarer than the E34 M5. Maintenance is not bad at all as they share so much with the 540iA, with the exception of clutches! Ask me how I know

Hey there Simon,

Nice car ! I know of 2 Avus Blue examples of these cars and 2 red ones. I live in Hamilton now and today I saw one of the red ones! I was shocked - I hadn't seen one in ages and it looked fantastic. It had the plate M5r. Funnily enough, one of the Avus blue examples has the plate BluM5. Kind of bizarre - I guess the cars kind of were kind of the pseudo M5's for NZ back then because we didn't get any 3.8 6 speed manuals. All of the 540is's in NZ seem to have had the Style 5 wheels.

One of the Avus blue examples regularly gets work done at my friend Ross Lamb's BM Workshop in Botany. It is sadly very tired these days.

The interesting thing is that on 3 of them that I have seen, there was no 540i badging, simply a M badge.

Techno violet is a fantastic colour.

I once saw a 840 in the same colour in Auckland.

Edited July 7, 2009 by Penry

[BEAMNN 0]

Okay, I'm about to eat a little humble pie (and am prepared for the potential flaming) as a few of the original details I posted are a bit off... I hadn't seen the car in a few years (3-4) and during my recent conversation with my uncle we were skipping around between a lot of the cars he has owned so I got my wires crossed.

The correct details are:

1995 540iS 6 speed manual with 92,000km on it. Purple in colour. 1 owner, NZ new. Black leather interior, sunroof and all the expected options. It has a 5 spoke style wheels (16") with 225/55/R16 tyres. It is completely factory standard.

The interior is in very good condition and the exterior fairly good considering its age - there are a few scraps and a little scuffing but nothing major or overly obvious.

It is currently registering 3 faults codes: Right Brake Light, Dip Beam & Number Plate Light (not exactly correct wording) however none of the 'faults' are actually faults which is weird...

Other than that it is pretty mint and IMO suffering from under-use and should be passed on to me But I would say that.

HELLBM, my apols, its not so much like yours as my original description was off. However it's still pretty cool & once mine you will definitely be seeing as I'm told there is only one place to take a BMW to.

I do have some photos but I don't have any hosting, etc to be able to link to them... Any help here?

So, any revision on the $10 - $15k mark given the above change in details?

Thanks again to everyone who has let me know their thoughts.

EDIT: Typo.

Edited July 10, 2009 by BEAMNN

[BEAMNN 0]

I think I've finally got this sorted and hopefully the photos below will show up...

Edited July 11, 2009 by BEAMNN

[1rotty 40]

That is sooooo nice

[kiwi535 538]

So, any revision on the $10 - $15k mark given the above change in details?

Thanks again to everyone who has let me know their thoughts.

EDIT: Typo.

price basically the same..maybe a fraction less without the wheels but some may prefer the black leather to the lighter colours...nice car mate

[turbolizard 38]

Hey there

There's another one! Woohoo From what I've heard BMW NZ sold 6 or 7 540iS'es new in '94-'95 and I they might all have been Technoviolet too (the Purple was an M5 colour).....

.....know that the car is pretty special and worth quite a bit. If you uncle agreed to let you have it for $10,000 you have done VERY well. In saying that, considering its mileage and condition at $15K it's still very good buying.

Not helpful I suppose Sorry about that! Mine has double the km's as your uncle's and is no longer 'mint' but I still would not sell it for $15K regardless.

There were only 250 RHD 540iS ever manufactured so in reality they are much rarer than the E34 M5. Maintenance is not bad at all as they share so much with the 540iA, with the exception of clutches! Ask me how I know

Cheers

Simon

There is at least one 1994 NZ new that is not technoviolet - it is in my garage...

Mine is Oxford Green with light grey interior, rear spoiler, shadowline etc and on Style 5's with the stagger. Similar to others, it has no badges. It is a nicely speced car and still feels tight as a drum. I have put over 100,000km on it since I bought it with 140k on it.

It is a really great car, easy to maintain, easy on gas (in my opinion - uses less than my turbo Legacy) and worth more to me than to the rest of the market so is not for sale. In the past I have had thoughts of selling it to buy an e39 M5, but for the 10k I might get today I would keep mine.

I think the estimates of 10-15k are probably about right - but just try finding someone (other than your uncle) who has one they are willing to sell. Not easy.

[HELLBM 1557]

Looks like a tidy example. Pics taken up the road from me at Gulf Harbour.

Missing front and rear M Bumpers, clear indicators and the style 5`s or throwing stars.

Swap out the LCM module and the faults will be sorted.

Have those things done, with the low K`s I would not sell for less than 20,000.

Call anytime if I can be of any assistance.

regards Ray

[BEAMNN 0]

Looks like a tidy example. Pics taken up the road from me at Gulf Harbour.

Missing front and rear M Bumpers, clear indicators and the style 5`s or throwing stars.

Swap out the LCM module and the faults will be sorted.

Have those things done, with the low K`s I would not sell for less than 20,000.

Call anytime if I can be of any assistance.

regards Ray

Hi Ray,

Nice work on the geography (we went for a bit of a drive from where my uncle lives and that is where we ended up).

Do you (or anyone else) have pics of the M bumpers? Were these cars meant to come with them? I don't think they have been changed...

Whats the LCM & what does it cost to replace?

Also, I tried searching (google) for pics of throwing stars or style 5's but the pics were a bit ambiguos - does any one have pics?

I totally agree with the clear lights package but I'm not sure I want to go changing the bumpers or wheels... In time who knows.

Thanks a lot.

PS: Don't worry, once my uncle decides on a replacement car, you'll certainly be inspecting this so I have an idea of maintenance (current & future). Too many good reports about your service quality, etc to ignore.

Edited July 12, 2009 by BEAMNN

[ssbmw 220]

Hi Ray,

Nice work on the geography (we went for a bit of a drive from where my uncle lives and that is where we ended up).

Do you (or anyone else) have pics of the M bumpers? Were these cars meant to come with them? I don't think they have been changed...

Whats the LCM & what does it cost to replace?

Also, I tried searching (google) for pics of throwing stars or style 5's but the pics were a bit ambiguos - does any one have pics?

I totally agree with the clear lights package but I'm not sure I want to go changing the bumpers or wheels... In time who knows.

Thanks a lot.

PS: Don't worry, once my uncle decides on a replacement car (who knows when...), you'll certainly be inspecting this so I have an idea of maintenance (current & future). Too many good reports about your service quality, etc to ignore.

[Guest Simon*]

Great stuff Geoff it looks fantastic. Nice option the black leather too. Even lower km's than you thought what a bonus!

Here is a thread showing Cain's very recently departed 540iLE which has the staggered throwing star wheels or more correctly Turbine 2's Link to BS thread

[BEAMNN 0]

Thanks Simon. It was interesting to read that the 'hub caps' (bit of a lame term) were a cover to the 5-spoke wheels.

My uncle said that the wheels on the car were a 540iS option only - does this seem correct? And I might have early onset memory loss but I could swear that it had the Style 5's when I first saw the car some 14 years ago and up until the last time (a couple of years back) but who knows...

The throwing star wheels are nice!!!

[ssbmw 220]

Thanks Simon. It was interesting to read that the 'hub caps' (bit of a lame term) were a cover to the 5-spoke wheels.

My uncle said that the wheels on the car were a 540iS option only - does this seem correct? And I might have early onset memory loss but I could swear that it had the Style 5's when I first saw the car some 14 years ago and up until the last time (a couple of years back) but who knows...

The throwing star wheels are nice!!!

Hey there,

I am pretty certain that nearly all of the 540is's in NZ arrived with the style 5's. There seem to be different specs according to different countries, but in NZ they seemd common. Onething I can I can recall is that when these wheels arrived on the 540is's and the E31 840 ci's circa 94'- everyone with E24's wanted them because they suited the period of the car but offered modern dimensions. The problem was the price - I once had a Highline 635csi and wanted to up-date to the Style 5's, I was quoted $6k + rubber by TMBMW!

I know some owners who had these wheels ended up peddling them off. Is there a chance that could have happened here?

Irrespective, i do find it interesting that the front and rear spoiler definitely differs on this car to other Motorsport Spoilers on other 540is's I have seen.

Good luck with the purchase. That is incredibly low mileage for one of those, and it looks beautiful.

[kiwi535 538]

Hey there,

I am pretty certain that nearly all of the 540is's in NZ arrived with the style 5's. There seem to be different specs according to different countries, but in NZ they seemd common. Onething I can I can recall is that when these wheels arrived on the 540is's and the E31 840 ci's circa 94'- everyone with E24's wanted them because they suited the period of the car but offered modern dimensions. The problem was the price - I once had a Highline 635csi and wanted to up-date to the Style 5's, I was quoted $6k + rubber by TMBMW!

I know some owners who had these wheels ended up peddling them off. Is there a chance that could have happened here?

Irrespective, i do find it interesting that the front and rear spoiler definitely differs on this car to other Motorsport Spoilers on other 540is's I have seen.

Good luck with the purchase. That is incredibly low mileage for one of those, and it looks beautiful.

i wonder if this is actually a 540 manual and not actually a 540 is......just wondering!!!!!

[Guest Simon*]

There is at least one 1994 NZ new that is not technoviolet - it is in my garage...

Mine is Oxford Green with light grey interior, rear spoiler, shadowline etc and on Style 5's with the stagger. Similar to others, it has no badges. It is a nicely speced car and still feels tight as a drum. I have put over 100,000km on it since I bought it with 140k on it.

It is a really great car, easy to maintain, easy on gas (in my opinion - uses less than my turbo Legacy) and worth more to me than to the rest of the market so is not for sale. In the past I have had thoughts of selling it to buy an e39 M5, but for the 10k I might get today I would keep mine.

I think the estimates of 10-15k are probably about right - but just try finding someone (other than your uncle) who has one they are willing to sell. Not easy.

Am really pleased to hear of more popping up, and nice to have another on the forum. Haven't seen a Green one in the flesh only TV, Black, Red and a Silver one on TM years ago. Not to mention the Avus Blue that Mr ssbmw mentioned above - we may be close to accounting for all of the NZ New ones.

Would have to agree about gas mileage too - it's just so easy to tool around at just under 60km/h in 6th at about 1000rpm

[Guest Simon*]

Looks like a tidy example. Pics taken up the road from me at Gulf Harbour.

Missing front and rear M Bumpers, clear indicators and the style 5`s or throwing stars.

Swap out the LCM module and the faults will be sorted.

Have those things done, with the low K`s I would not sell for less than 20,000.

Call anytime if I can be of any assistance.

regards Ray

Mine has the same arrangement as this Ray - just colour-coded brake ducts and lip on front, no rear apron. Spoiler on mine is the only difference outwardly between this one and my car.

Clear light kit is a great look but an aftermarket option that Ray and I both added.

LCM = Light Control Module (LKM in some literature). Geoff you could call or PM Ray to chase this part up if need be.

The BBS Style 5's were an option box ticked at time of sale by the original owner of mine

[BEAMNN 0]

i wonder if this is actually a 540 manual and not actually a 540 is......just wondering!!!!!

Hey, as far as I am aware it is the 540is - that is what it has always been registered as and it is a 6spd, manual, etc. The documentation all adds up...

ssbmw, it is very unlikely the old wheels were sold or anything else. My uncle is not someone who would have needed to do that for the money or otherwise... I'm wondering if he was 'down sold' at some point by someone at BMW who recognised their value although even this is unlikely as he is pretty hard to pull teh wool over.

From the coversations that I have had this as good of a spec as was available to buy at the time... Perhaps they were out of Style 5's or just not my uncles cup-of-tea...

[SRacin 44]

Digging up and old thread here for a first time poster. Long story short, Geoffs my big bro, Uncles finally selling this car, Big bro moved to Aus, and now its time for this car to head south with me

I look forward to being involved in the club.

Cheers

Logan

[kiwi535 538]

Digging up and old thread here for a first time poster. Long story short, Geoffs my big bro, Uncles finally selling this car, Big bro moved to Aus, and now its time for this car to head south with me

I look forward to being involved in the club.

Cheers

Logan

cool.be warned that some replaceable items will be very expensive.Regular maintenance is like any other car but keep up to date on your coolant and brake fluid changes.

[SRacin 44]

cool.be warned that some replaceable items will be very expensive.Regular maintenance is like any other car but keep up to date on your coolant and brake fluid changes.

Thanks for the heads up!. I am super excited about road tripping with the car next weekend (auckland to christchurch).

I am under no illusion that that maintenance will be expensive to be carried out correctly, but hey, after all it goes with the territory. I have vast experience with preparing and maintaining competition cars (mostly toyota's).

Cheers

Logan

[HELLBM 1557]

I have techno- violet 540is in Silverdale not far from this ones old home in Gulf-harbour. Call by if you have time and are in the neighborhood when you pick it up.

On another note, the no`s of these in NZ are lessening by the day. A silver 540 6spd has its motor and manual gear destined for an E30 racecar.

That`s got to be good for the owners of the few that remain.

Regards Ray.

[SRacin 44]

I have techno- violet 540is in Silverdale not far from this ones old home in Gulf-harbour. Call by if you have time and are in the neighborhood when you pick it up.

On another note, the no`s of these in NZ are lessening by the day. A silver 540 6spd has its motor and manual gear destined for an E30 racecar.

That`s got to be good for the owners of the few that remain.

Regards Ray.

Hi Ray,

I'm not sure which day I am picking the car up, it may be Friday night which would mean we wouldnt have time as we have to leave first thing Sat morning to get to Wellingtion for the ferry. If we pick it up sooner I will drop in and say hello. I will post up some pictures and intro after our road trip. What better way to get to know a car than a road trip!

Do you know if this will have an LSD? Is this sort of information included on the build plates on BMW's?

Cheers

Logan

[Guest Simon*]

It's very unlikely to have an LSD I'm afraid. It was a factory option not often ticked by BMW NZ when the dozen or so of these were brought in. Mine and Ray's only have them as they were retrofitted later.

Good news is, that large case diffs aren't too hard to find and work without interfering with the (switchable) traction control.

Congrats on the buy Logan. I have the third of the three Technoviolet 540iS'es