About to trade in my 1994 540i E34 - what is a reasonable value?

[Jun 208]

3 hours ago, larry26 said:

Since I seem to have generated a bit of interest in the car in terms of potential purchase I thought I would include the following in the interests of full disclosure. Excuse the length of this posting but it provides the background to the issue.

The other day when out and about I got back to the car and the remote in the key didn't work. I turned the key in the door and all hell broke loose with alarms going off and lights flashing. And the car was effectively immobilised. With no other options had it towed to my mechanic late at night. The next day he called me to say the IR sender in the remote was dead and I needed a new key. I did have a spare but I had not been able to pair it so it was never used.   I gave it to them and left it with them.

A day later they called to say they had managed to get the car to run but they found the immobiliser module had failed so they removed it. They had spent a lot of time diagnosing the problem unplugging modules until they got it to start.

This module

https://www.ebay.com/itm/283504956363

But when I picked up the car I also found that the OBC display was no longer working and since it was closing time all they could say it was probably because the immobiliser module was gone.  That did not make sense to me so after some reseach somebody mentioned that the OBC is powered from the immobiliser module and if that module is really dead I could bypass it and just power the OBC directly from the power feed going to the immobiliser.

I plan to take it back to the mechanic next week to have them try that.

Also I actually wonder if the immobiliser is bad or it's just because the mechanic, not being a BMW dealer does not have the equipment to program a new key when this process is not available.

https://www.justanswer.com/bmw/30pvk-re-initialise-1994-e34-540-remote-key-opening.html

I wonder if I took the car to the BMW dealer they could program the key using their equipment? I don't mind paying for their service. 

 

 

Jon of Auto 38 has closed now, he was our independent mechanic for our M5.  Most people here with BMW use him in Wellington.  I have used Powerhaus afterwards, I have used them before for our Cayenne and now M5 is looked after by Reuben of Powerhaus.  They are very good with several jobs I did with them, a bit on the expensive side and wait times are long.  Mike Page is also a very good one if you at Kapiti.  I didn't see good reviews of Continental dealer in the service dept, so even with routine jobs for the M5 I didn't use them.

Don't expect much for the trade-in value, I gave our Cayenne a try.  Was only offered $4k for it, since I have put a lot of parts already for it and no known current issues.  We do use it for off-road occasionally which an EV can't do,  so I think our Cayenne will do more off-road duties as we try to sell it privately.  In my opinion I think sell the car as is, pretty sure the enthusiast who gets it next will figure things out.  

[Jun 208]

a bit off-topic my reply above is the 100,000 post 

btw would be curious to see BYD Atto3 in the flesh, especially the interior.  It's a bit funky for our taste, but I guess maybe it would different on the flesh.  The $50k after the rebate is very good value... maybe.  You can buy 2 Atto3 and have change for the price of 1 i4 

[larry26 24]

I guess it's a little funky but that is a personal thing. Drives great and is very well appointed with all the latest driving tech. 

[Bandit 187]

18 hours ago, str8_6 said:

You’d be giving the local BMW dealer credit thinking they could pair a key. I doubt they could program a reset of the service lights.

We have owned BMW's since 1976 in New Zealand (And the UK) and must say that we have enjoyed exemplary service from the BMW main dealer network, including Jerry Clayton in Takapuna, McMillian BMW in Auckland, Coombes Johnston in Hamilton and Christchurch BMW.

The owner have substantial investment in their business and the brand, and deserve support from posters on this forum not the continual "slagging off" that happens far too often

Showing our age here, aware that most of the outlets named above have been rebranded, but you get the drift surely?😁

Edited August 20, 2022 by Bandit
sp

[aja540i 1901]

34 minutes ago, Bandit said:

We have owned BMW's since 1976 in New Zealand (And the UK) and must say that we have enjoyed exemplary service from the BMW main dealer network, including Jerry Clayton in Takapuna, McMillian BMW in Auckland, Coombes Johnston in Hamilton and Christchurch BMW.

The owner have substantial investment in their business and the brand, and deserve support from posters on this forum not the continual "slagging off" that happens far too often

Showing our age here, aware that most of the outlets named above have been rebranded, but you get the drift surely?😁

I disagree, I try to support my local BMW dealer as much as possible, but not because I believe they "deserve" my support. Like any local business they have to earn my support and they won't do it just by investing money in their business. I have had mostly excellent service from my local (Continental cars BMW) but others on here may have had different experiences and they are quite justified in sharing those experiences.

[str8_6 270]

1 hour ago, Bandit said:

We have owned BMW's since 1976 in New Zealand (And the UK) and must say that we have enjoyed exemplary service from the BMW main dealer network, including Jerry Clayton in Takapuna, McMillian BMW in Auckland, Coombes Johnston in Hamilton and Christchurch BMW.

The owner have substantial investment in their business and the brand, and deserve support from posters on this forum not the continual "slagging off" that happens far too often

Showing our age here, aware that most of the outlets named above have been rebranded, but you get the drift surely?😁

I disagree. My comment was a reflection of the experience at my local dealership which isn’t listed in your post.
There is context, I’ve had exemplary service from the local dealer when it comes to their vehicle sales and parts teams. Their parts team in particular are outstanding to deal with. The service I’ve received from the local service department has been nothing but average and arrogant. Damage caused, failing to complete service updates, refusing to acknowledge faults. It’s a shame because the rest of the dealership works hard to ensure customers are looked after often going to extra lengths.

There are great independents around Wellington who are enthusiastic about the work they do and their customers. 

[Bandit 187]

1 hour ago, str8_6 said:

I disagree. My comment was a reflection of the experience at my local dealership which isn’t listed in your post.
There is context, I’ve had exemplary service from the local dealer when it comes to their vehicle sales and parts teams. Their parts team in particular are outstanding to deal with. The service I’ve received from the local service department has been nothing but average and arrogant. Damage caused, failing to complete service updates, refusing to acknowledge faults. It’s a shame because the rest of the dealership works hard to ensure customers are looked after often going to extra lengths.

There are great independents around Wellington who are enthusiastic about the work they do and their customers. 

Sound like you, and aj540i may need to work on things like interpersonal skills and try to build relationships with the core people within the businesses we are discussing, you may find your objectives suddenly become far easier to achieve. 😕

Really aj540i, with a comment like this, "Like any local business they have to earn my support and they won't do it just by investing money in their business." get off your high horse.

And btw I'm not decrying the independents, but they would not be here without the main dealer network. 99% of the owners and staff acquired the skillset from the dealer network remember.

[KwS 2376]

You do know all dealerships are different and often owned and run by other companies, right? Not all dealerships are created equal. 

In my experience, including working for them, dealerships tend to want nothing to do with old cars. They aren't worth the time as they don't tend to bring in quick money like late model cars. Parts are harder to get, and diagnostic takes longer and can be more complex. 

There will also only be one or two technicians at the dealership that have ever even worked on something like an E34 and it wouldn't have been for years. 

[aja540i 1901]

2 hours ago, Bandit said:

Sound like you, and aj540i may need to work on things like interpersonal skills and try to build relationships with the core people within the businesses we are discussing, you may find your objectives suddenly become far easier to achieve. 😕

Really aj540i, with a comment like this, "Like any local business they have to earn my support and they won't do it just by investing money in their business." get off your high horse.

And btw I'm not decrying the independents, but they would not be here without the main dealer network. 99% of the owners and staff acquired the skillset from the dealer network remember.

Not sure why you are assuming i don't have a good relationship with my local BMW dealer, i do, but it wasnt because they spent a whole lot of money and somehow deserved it, but because they hired good staff and management, and put good practices and systems in place, and worked hard to earn my support. If they change things and that relationship falls apart i will take my business elsewhere and stop recommending them to others no matter what brand they represent or how invested they are in their business.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2915]

I see plenty of E30s, E34s, E39s, E46s in for service work in the franchise dealerships. Even a couple of 2002s. All of which I think would count as “old cars”.

However, these have all been pretty mint and valuable examples.

I would suggest the issue is more that the average owner of a $3k E34 is not going to consider taking their car to a main dealer for service work, even though it may not be much more expensive than independent.

[larry26 24]

1 hour ago, Twistee said:

Go to a reputable BMW independent and get them to resolve it. No one likes fixing another shops problems, but most will take pity if it's a straight forward fix and sort you a good price. That has been my experience anyway. I'm sure that other members here can point you to some non main dealer service centers in your neck of the woods. 

I have been Page European in Wellington who have been pretth good up till now but perhaps this problem was beyond their knowledge so tjey just mucked around. Not sure if an independent

 

On 8/19/2022 at 11:30 PM, KwS said:

Id buy that for 5k in a heartbeat if it didnt spend all my money on broken British cars already.

Want an 09 Swift Sport to trade in instead? 😅

No I am trying to get down to two cars after  I buy my EV 🙂

[larry26 24]

On 8/20/2022 at 6:24 PM, Jun said:

Jon of Auto 38 has closed now, he was our independent mechanic for our M5.  Most people here with BMW use him in Wellington.  I have used Powerhaus afterwards, I have used them before for our Cayenne and now M5 is looked after by Reuben of Powerhaus.  They are very good with several jobs I did with them, a bit on the expensive side and wait times are long.  Mike Page is also a very good one if you at Kapiti.  I didn't see good reviews of Continental dealer in the service dept, so even with routine jobs for the M5 I didn't use them.

 

I take my car to Page European which sounds interesting given there is also Mike Page in Paraparaumu.

I am going to give them one more chance to fix the OBC (on their dime since they apparently disabled it) and if they can't fix it I am going to give Powerhaus call.

if it gets resolved I might do a road trip to Auckland leave it there with a rel to see of I can sell it up there - even on TM.

There is a similar car on TM with 234K and he wants $8K! And I have an upgraded car audio system and much lower k's.

 

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/540i/listing/3725428597

Edited August 21, 2022 by larry26

[Twistee 405]

Good luck, I hope it all works out. There is a Monaco blue one that was a barn find that I missed out on that sold for under 2k, it needed the fuel system refurbed and a clean. It has been for sale for the past 6 months on and off with no takers since being cleaned up. The e34 market is a bit all over the place at the moment. That said, you have a low km car which will help - BUT it came from HK and that can stand against it as many buyers see that as a long term electronic nightmare due to high humidity exposure. I'm sure what ever happens you will get more than what you would have traded it for, and if it's still around in a couple of months I'll be in touch. 

[Gaz 1042]

On 8/20/2022 at 3:10 PM, larry26 said:

 

https://www.justanswer.com/bmw/30pvk-re-initialise-1994-e34-540-remote-key-opening.html

I wonder if I took the car to the BMW dealer they could program the key using their equipment? I don't mind paying for their service. 

 

 

This process is only for the remote locking side of things and has no impact on the ability to start the vehicle or if the immobilizer is working or not. Anyone with any sort of experience should be able to pair the key with the remote locking.

 

Off topic - dealers are franchises and run by different companies. Much like your local pizza hut so if you don't like the service at one, you go to another. Having worked and still do at a dealership, not BMW one anymore, here are where things go wrong;

sh*t staff - sadly unavoidable once they are in, it's hard to get them out. Unfortunately they taint the good ones who work there.

Customer expectations - being a dealer the customer expects anyone who works there to know everything about everything which isn't possible. I've been cussed out because I didn't know that the e90 323 had a software update in Sept 2009 for some random issue he was having. Said I'd need to look it up and plug the car in to check but wasn't good enough.

(Insert car manufacture) enthusiasts and the internet - just because you read it on some internet site doesn't make it the truth. More than once carried a repair a customer self diagnosed it via the internet wrong and somehow our fault that it didn't fix the issue. 

Older cars - call up Microsoft and ask them to fix windows95 and they'll laugh. Eventually they fix it but it's not always as easy when you don't work on something all the time. 

Most people I've had as customers are awesome but those are usually the reasons why things go south but ultimately it comes down to point 1. Good staff are hard to get, and sometimes you just need to employ someone to fill a hole so the good staff don't burn out and leave

[Eagle 1524]

1 hour ago, larry26 said:

There is a similar car on TM with 234K and he wants $8K! And I have an upgraded car audio system and much lower k's.

Very unlikely to sell for 8k, its probably been re-listed many times. Even the 4k one has been for sale for months. 

Mileage doesn't mean much given the age of these cars, its all about condition at this point. A higher k looked after example is usually the better buy than a average low k's one which are mostly on old original parts ie: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/540i/listing/3729330877. Its fairly common for these engines to have over 300,000km on them because they don't have any major issues. NZ new examples tend to have the more fresher engines in my experience and have less emissions gear too.

The main value your car has above others is the wheels. I doubt a serious buyer is going to care too much about an audio system. 

[Jun 208]

1 hour ago, larry26 said:

I take my car to Page European which sounds interesting given there is also Mike Page in Paraparaumu.

Page European and Mike Page are not the same.  Yes Mike used to own Page European years ago, he sold it, then it got sold again.  From what I gather after the 2nd sale things started to get a bit spotty.  Mike opened shop again in Paraparaumu because is lives nearby, I guess he can't tell them not use his name anymore as selling it gave the name as well.

[Kees 581]

28 minutes ago, Eagle said:

Very unlikely to sell for 8k, its probably been re-listed many times.

Yes that green car was for sale dollar reserve a while ago. Sold for 4.4K (which I did think was a bit of a deal, but probably an indicator of what the market thinks its worth) and the person who bought it immediately relisted it trying to make a quick buck to no apparent avail so far. 

I watch E34 540s sales quite frequently, there was a red NZ New 2 owner example with 160,000km for 10K which sold in 48 hours. Other than that the sales are rather slow. Even an NZ New 118,000km E34 540i with a factory almost "iS" spec (aside from the most important bit... the manual) with all the M-tech goodies including an LSD, sports seats, shadow trim etc sat on the market for ages recently. Pretty sure it didn't pull much over 10K which really surprised me as that car was a bit of a unicorn. All it needed was the 420G and it's an un-official iS....

29 minutes ago, Eagle said:

Its fairly common for these engines to have over 300,000km

Maintenance is a very big thing, mine has done very high ks but was serviced religiously every 6 months from 2003-2019. Today mine actually clicked over to 376,000km! M60 B40 is a great engine if maintained properly. I honestly don't understand why 540 values are so poor, they are awesome cars. They have the classic BMW look but pack some pretty decent performance, great build quality and are relatively reliable if looked after. FAR superior to an LS400 of the same age imo. 

29 minutes ago, Eagle said:

NZ new examples tend to have the more fresher engines in my experience and have less emissions gear too.

All NZ New cars up until 1996 (so basically all of them aside from a handful) are factory cat delete which is a nice bonus imo. 

 

[larry26 24]

9 hours ago, Kees said:

 

 

 

All NZ New cars up until 1996 (so basically all of them aside from a handful) are factory cat delete which is a nice bonus imo. 

 

 

What is factory cat delete? Does that mean the catalytic converter as been removed?  My car is from Hong Kong where I bought it when I was working there (second owner) so no idea if the cat was removed for that market and I do have a copy of the manual. Plus  I also have the full service manual in electronic form if I can find it in my emails.

[Twistee 405]

If you put up the vin into one of the online vin docoders it will give you the build spec. Or put it up here and we can help out. Cat delete removes the factory catalytic converter / smog kit. Why? Expensive and not required everywhere by law. I bet when this was new a cat was quite a pricey piece of kit. I would be surprised if this had the delete.

[KwS 2376]

17 minutes ago, Twistee said:

If you put up the vin into one of the online vin docoders it will give you the build spec. Or put it up here and we can help out. Cat delete removes the factory catalytic converter / smog kit. Why? Expensive and not required everywhere by law. I bet when this was new a cat was quite a pricey piece of kit. I would be surprised if this had the delete.

I believe the NZ new cars not having cats was due to us having sh*t/leaded petrol at the time, which would kill a cat. My M3 was NZ new catless and didn't even have o2 sensors. 

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2915]

Correct, the sh*t fuel standards for NZ still mean we don’t get the new stuff. 99% of the fuel supplied is fine, but the fact that the suppliers could bring in a batch of crap stuff means there’s a risk.

[Twistee 405]

26 minutes ago, KwS said:

I believe the NZ new cars not having cats was due to us having sh*t/leaded petrol at the time, which would kill a cat. My M3 was NZ new catless and didn't even have o2 sensors. 

Cheers for the correction, I had forgotten all about the wonders of leaded fuel. 

[larry26 24]

2 hours ago, Twistee said:

If you put up the vin into one of the online vin docoders it will give you the build spec. Or put it up here and we can help out. Cat delete removes the factory catalytic converter / smog kit. Why? Expensive and not required everywhere by law. I bet when this was new a cat was quite a pricey piece of kit. I would be surprised if this had the delete.

I don't think this is confidential information so here's the VIN

Wbahe62040gf21296

[KwS 2376]

It's an ok spec; nothing particularly special (no sport options or LSD) and isn't a catless car. I feel like pdc isn't a common option. 

Would make a nice weekend cruiser.  

[larry26 24]

19 minutes ago, KwS said:

It's an ok spec; nothing particularly special (no sport options or LSD) and isn't a catless car. I feel like pdc isn't a common option. 

Would make a nice weekend cruiser.  

There is a switch on the console which seems to select select some driving mode. I recall S and N? What's PDC?