jonesrp 63 Report post Posted December 7, 2013 $2700......$2700 ???????? I`m going off for a sulk. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deeveus 81 Report post Posted December 7, 2013 I was at a friends place yesterday for the national crate day. Had the E39 & we were having competitions to see how much people thought the car was worth. I had people pegged for 7-10k mostly. When I told them it was 2700 they were blown away! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil-540i 166 Report post Posted December 7, 2013 In fairness, part of it is due to where ya live though.............. The other thing is, people 'see a BMW badge', & just assume theres lots of $$$$$ involved & assume you're a knob-jockey golf player with a goldfish personality, when reality is often the opposite of all that......... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted December 8, 2013 its also the fact that a 20 yr old 5 series started life as a very well looked after car , there are lots of older BMWs that look a lot newer than they are.Peple used be amazed at the age of my old e34 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingkarl 136 Report post Posted December 8, 2013 +1,A lot of people think I paid 10-15k for the e34 lol... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil-540i 166 Report post Posted December 8, 2013 +1, A lot of people think I paid 10-15k for the e34 lol... E34's are a bit funny, cos if you add some nice wheels, & ditch the amber indicators for 'clears', it instantly modernises them a fair bit, going off pics I've seen anyway......... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yng_750 247 Report post Posted December 8, 2013 E34's are a bit funny, cos if you add some nice wheels, & ditch the amber indicators for 'clears', it instantly modernises them a fair bit, going off pics I've seen anyway......... and if you loosen the intake bolts slightly then swap in a v12 they turn into an epic cruiser. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil-540i 166 Report post Posted December 8, 2013 and if you loosen the intake bolts slightly then swap in a v12 they turn into an epic cruiser. Lols - that could be true, and I dunno why, but the V12 doesn't really spin my wheels for me like the V8 does............. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 1953 Report post Posted December 8, 2013 $2700. Nice buy. That's the exact amount of my last bill for my old 540 E39. Was just looking at an old invoice yesterday thinking I am so glad I got rid of it. My one was a money pit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lord_jagganath 421 Report post Posted December 8, 2013 och vey, did you chat up an old lady who was selling her 540i to get such a BARGAIN? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apex 693 Report post Posted December 8, 2013 $2700. Nice buy. That's the exact amount of my last bill for my old 540 E39. Was just looking at an old invoice yesterday thinking I am so glad I got rid of it. My one was a money pit. Ha, that's nothing bro, try and invoice for over $20,000 on a new block and rebuild when the cooling system failed on ours with less than 40,000km on it out of warranty in the late 90's... then try and and stomach the fact it happened again a few years later. POS. You could not pay me 2,700 to take one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deeveus 81 Report post Posted December 8, 2013 Ha, that's nothing bro, try and invoice for over $20,000 on a new block and rebuild when the cooling system failed on ours with less than 40,000km on it out of warranty in the late 90's... then try and and stomach the fact it happened again a few years later. POS. You could not pay me 2,700 to take one. As I said to Glenn - @ $2700 if it goes bang, chuck the whole car in the wheelie bin & walk away! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil-540i 166 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 Ha, that's nothing bro, try and invoice for over $20,000 on a new block and rebuild when the cooling system failed on ours with less than 40,000km on it out of warranty in the late 90's... then try and and stomach the fact it happened again a few years later. POS. You could not pay me 2,700 to take one. Unreal......................I woulda been unhappy to the extreme, at the first time............2nd time would put me off for life.......... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apex 693 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 As I said to Glenn - @ $2700 if it goes bang, chuck the whole car in the wheelie bin & walk away! For sure, its a disposable V8, that's gotta be fun while it lasts. Unreal......................I woulda been unhappy to the extreme, at the first time............2nd time would put me off for life.......... Ha, na, it can happen to any brand of car, I have seen one year old Toyota's blow up , it was not my BMW (parents) and not my money so not so hard on me, I am still farting around with cars that cost way too money at times. It did teach me not to drive a car you can not afford to fix though, hence I prefer a new to three year old basic car with a warranty over a showy 3 or more year old flash car, I could be driving a 3 year old M3 or M5 or any other luxury car for that mater if I wanted but I know I could not afford to fix it when I blow it up. The fundamental problem with the car was its cooling system and the lack of local knowledge at the time, had the now readily available cooling system upgrades been available it would not have blown up a second time. Still, it was a massive design failure on the manufacturers part and totally unacceptable based on how much the cars cost new, you should be getting something engineered much better based on the cost of the cars new. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 1953 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 As I said to Glenn - @ $2700 if it goes bang, chuck the whole car in the wheelie bin & walk away! Yup just don't get attached to it. You should get near that for parts if it ever did go bang. Good score. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1870 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 Ha, that's nothing bro, try and invoice for over $20,000 on a new block and rebuild when the cooling system failed on ours with less than 40,000km on it out of warranty in the late 90's... then try and and stomach the fact it happened again a few years later. POS. You could not pay me 2,700 to take one. That sucks, what year was the 540i ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1870 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 OP - did you get the car checked out mechanically ? At that mileage, if it hasn't been done already, id expect the timing chain guide rails to be on their last legs. So long as those don't go, the cooling system has had plastic and rubber things replaced, and the trans is still butter smooth, you should get a good run out of it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr2low 57 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 Would the timing chain guide make a clicking noise when due for replacement Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1870 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 Would the timing chain guide make a clicking noise when due for replacement Yep, sure will. If the guides are completely gone, you will see wear on the timing chain (remove oil filler cap) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deeveus 81 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 That sucks, what year was the 540i ? 2000 OP - did you get the car checked out mechanically ? At that mileage, if it hasn't been done already, id expect the timing chain guide rails to be on their last legs. So long as those don't go, the cooling system has had plastic and rubber things replaced, and the trans is still butter smooth, you should get a good run out of it. Nope, but drove the car for half the day before I bought it. At $2700 I wasn't really too worried, it doesn't make any noises, it has been fully serviced ontime, transmission works perfectly, engine runs & starts perfectly, new rotors/pads front & rear, registered until November 2014, fresh WOF.. The only issue I have left (at the moment) (have fixed the boot myself) is the smell of burning oil which is just the rocker cover gasket. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil-540i 166 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 Nope, but drove the car for half the day before I bought it. At $2700 I wasn't really too worried, it doesn't make any noises, it has been fully serviced ontime, transmission works perfectly, engine runs & starts perfectly, new rotors/pads front & rear, registered until November 2014, fresh WOF.. I would'nt have d!cked around getting a full check etc done either Clinton - as you've already said, at that price ya just can't lose really, & 'if ya snooze ya lose' - some-one else woulda grabbed it probably if ya sat on the fence too long...... Kool car......... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deeveus 81 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 I would'nt have d!cked around getting a full check etc done either Clinton - as you've already said, at that price ya just can't lose really, & 'if ya snooze ya lose' - some-one else woulda grabbed it probably if ya sat on the fence too long...... Kool car......... Well yeah, no point taking it to the AA because IMO their checks are or at least used to be as good as a knob of goat sh*t. Take it to a BMW pre-purchase and you'd be up for 10% almost of what the car is worth! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil-540i 166 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 Ahhh, so you've had AA checks done in the past too huh............ I can remember a time, when I thought the AA was good for NZ motorists (that's a fair while ago.....!!!), but IMO, they've turned into a limp-wristed gutless organisation these-days that's maybe forgotten where its origins & core-values were / are. They're just a joke now, which is a real shame......... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deeveus 81 Report post Posted December 11, 2013 Ahhh, so you've had AA checks done in the past too huh............ I can remember a time, when I thought the AA was good for NZ motorists (that's a fair while ago.....!!!), but IMO, they've turned into a limp-wristed gutless organisation these-days that's maybe forgotten where its origins & core-values were / are. They're just a joke now, which is a real shame......... I had a 986 Boxster & the guy buying it from me wanted an AA check. They almost f**ked the sale with comments like "brakes 50% worn will need replacing" "cannot access engine" " tyres 30% worn may need replacing" sh*t like that. I said to the guy, if you're interested, I'll take it to Porsche and pay for the pre-purchase myself. I did that, gave me a good report, only issue was "weeping" rocker cover gasket, was absolutely minute. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deeveus 81 Report post Posted December 16, 2013 Ok, so I've found the first fault on the car. Whilst towing this weekend I noticed that on hills (up or down) the car seemed to hold in third gear, switch to manual mode to force it to change up but it just won't. I haven't noticed this before on the car but this was the first time I was towing with it, wasn't a heavy load, just a trailer with two mattresses on it. Any thoughts? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
