ease2underpants 0 Report post Posted October 9, 2013 Hi all, Finally got the car I'd always wanted in Jan this year. I have been hanging my nose over E39s since driving a friend of my brother's 535 back in 2001. A 1$ no-reserve auction on trademe finally got me there. It's a 2000 540i. Seems to have had a fairly easy life, with only 78,000km on it when I got it. A bit of Vanos noise and some dead pixels on the OBC but that was about it. I've replaced the OBC panel, fitted a grom audio unit to replace the CD player and upgraded the rear anti-sway bar. Apart from a seized alternator it's been pretty reliable so far. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twisted 45 Report post Posted October 9, 2013 Welcome! Does yours have the high or low obc? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeffbebe 1560 Report post Posted October 9, 2013 Sounds like you lucked in with a low kms 540i. I am extremely biased but they are awesome cars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil-540i 166 Report post Posted October 9, 2013 Welcome to the site Mark.............I'm a bit biased bout 540's too....... Wanna go for a drive on Saturday with the Wellington guys?? Heres a link............ http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/45869-expressions-of-interest-lower-north-island-meet/page-1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ease2underpants 0 Report post Posted October 9, 2013 Welcome! Does yours have the high or low obc? It's the high one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ease2underpants 0 Report post Posted October 9, 2013 Welcome to the site Mark.............I'm a bit biased bout 540's too....... Wanna go for a drive on Saturday with the Wellington guys?? Heres a link............ http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/45869-expressions-of-interest-lower-north-island-meet/page-1 Unfortunately it's still at the workshop getting the alternator replaced. May be back on the road by Sat, but I doubt it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ease2underpants 0 Report post Posted October 9, 2013 Looking through the Tui Brewery link, it is the Upper Hutt Caltex at 8:45am on Sat if I do get the car back on the road? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil-540i 166 Report post Posted October 9, 2013 Looking through the Tui Brewery link, it is the Upper Hutt Caltex at 8:45am on Sat if I do get the car back on the road? Yip, sounds right - Paul has organised that side of things. Hopefully it'll be back, or some-one might have a spare seat..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liyi_92 37 Report post Posted October 10, 2013 Aren't we all a bit biased to 540i's Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr2low 57 Report post Posted October 10, 2013 I hate mine at the mo but i also love it too. Still unsure on which to sell wagon is more practical for me but the 540 is a 540 lol 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil-540i 166 Report post Posted October 10, 2013 I hate mine at the mo but i also love it too. Still unsure on which to sell wagon is more practical for me but the 540 is a 540 lol Lols - 'ditch the hearse!!' cos umm, its a hearse, & its only got half the motor that your 540 has got.................... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lord_jagganath 421 Report post Posted October 10, 2013 mr2low, swap internals. = happy camper. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeffbebe 1560 Report post Posted October 10, 2013 mr2low, swap internals. = happy camper. +1... E39 540i touring = 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted October 10, 2013 hows the cooling system, has it been replaced? pretty common at that milage and age combination that it hasn't, not a bad idea to get it over and done with before it leaves you stranded. but sounds like a good car, hope to see you Saturday, should be a great run Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ease2underpants 0 Report post Posted October 31, 2013 Missed the Saturday run - unbelievably the car is still off the road with alternator dramas. Cut a long story short, opted for a rebuilt one off trade me, started grinding and wailing on start up so pulled it out again, sent back to AKL for another rebuild, tested it today out the box and can still feel bearings or something dragging as I rotated it by hand. Going for a new one now at $$$$$$$. Thanks for the tip on the cooling. The radiator looks in amazing condition but the shrouding etc. is very perished which probably means all the other plastic components are on the way out. BTW, mulling over getting an E30 for the 2k race series..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3 SERIES 93 Report post Posted October 31, 2013 Welcome. Well done getting hold of a low km example. Would lile to see some more pics. I've been looking into fitting a grom in my e39. Where did you get yours you from? Did fit it yourself and does it have bluetooth capability for andriod? Cheers Brett Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ease2underpants 0 Report post Posted October 31, 2013 Bought the grom from grom audio themselves off their US website. They ship to NZ. I don't have the Bluetooth one, just the android compatible one and my music is on a USB stick. It's not the most reliable bit of kit - needs frequent reboots and the display is crap. It does the job but it's hard to recommend. Very fussy on formats too - you can't mix mp3 and wma in the same folder for instance. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted October 31, 2013 Missed the Saturday run - unbelievably the car is still off the road with alternator dramas. Cut a long story short, opted for a rebuilt one off trade me, started grinding and wailing on start up so pulled it out again, sent back to AKL for another rebuild, tested it today out the box and can still feel bearings or something dragging as I rotated it by hand. Going for a new one now at $$$$$$$. Thanks for the tip on the cooling. The radiator looks in amazing condition but the shrouding etc. is very perished which probably means all the other plastic components are on the way out. BTW, mulling over getting an E30 for the 2k race series..... BMW use a particularly crappy plastic which can be recycled,i think its some euro regulation.Look the ssytem over carefully.Give it a complete flush if it looks old and keep the anti freeze(anti corrosive properties) at the correct ratio. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
