Possible Trade for BMW 540. Your Knowledge of Them Appreciated

[Dan in Pasadena]

What's good/bad about the BMW 540? I have heard they are an enthusiast's car especially if they have a manual trans. I am sort of interested in this guy's offer. I don't know if he's interested in my truck but if he is I MIGHT want to make the deal; depending what good/bad you tell me. Please advise.

Here's the link to the Craigslist ad:

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/car/666845963.html

Notice he doesn't mention what year it is (Do you know?) And he doesn't say why "w/newer engine" was necessary? Mechanical failure or high mileage rebuild? If rebuild, was any particualr operation/parts critical on these cars? Anything else a knowledgeable BMW
guy would notice about this car?

Here's a picture of my truck. 2002 Dodge Ram Quadcab 4x4, Sport option and polished 20's with the small 4.7 engine (Hemi didn't come til '03), cloth interior in perfect condition. It is in pristine condition for a 6 year old truck. Has JUST turned 80,000 miles. Bed liner. Shell might be included in the deal.

If I did this deal, I would look for a used Chevy 3500 or F350 4x4 (possibly dually) to keep to tow my ski's and carry a camper.

Here's my truck (sorry, only picture I have at hand)

[RANDY P]

That one in the pic I believe is a pre-2001. Foglamps is the difference, as well as non LED taillights. I believe the other difference is that the engine in this thing is a single-VANOS per bank motor, I believe the 01 and newer have double VANOS.

Kind of curious why the newer engine, but I'd guess probably due to overheating. These cars are notorious (all BMW's of the last 15 years or so) for blowing the plastic radiator or expansion tank. Common.

Look for leaky valve covers.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks Randy. Every bit of info helps.

I have no idea what "VANOS" is but a guess would be a variable valve timing acronym? If not, please advise. Is this single vs double a desrirebale or undesireable difference? I will assume it is either a performance difference or possibly an emissions difference?

Thanks for the overheating/radiator and leak info.

[RANDY P]

VANOS is variable valve timing - on that car it changes the exhaust valve timing - double vanos does both.

Double VANOS has a higher output rating and better TQ numbers (unsure off the top of my head) You can tell if the VANOS is ok when the car is dead cold- when it starts to fail due to internal leakage the car wants to run real rough and hunt cold- you have to start it, and basically drive off easy. If that is starting to fail be prepared for big $$$. Not a common failure, but it happens time to time. No difference in reliability really between the two.

ONE LAST THING- make sure you get a flashlight and have a good look inside the oil filler hole and around the inside of the valve cover. If it appears sludgy and everything is coated- walk away.

BMW was doing 15K oil changes based on the oil life meter, and usually the oil goes bad after 7-8K- the result was a lot of cars were sludging up and motors were dying. If the PO followed the service indicator light for oil changes that car is in trouble.

rjp

[Wickd89]

The BMW 540 is a very nice car. One of my managers has one and it is quite nice. For some reason, although I thought the body was simply perfect back then, seems somewhat dated to me now. I find Audis age better, but just my perspective.
Is it worth as much as your truck? That is one nice truck!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Wickd89

...Is it worth as much as your truck? That is one nice truck!

Luis,
First, thanks for the compliment. That is an old picture but it still looks EXACTLY the same. I washed, clayed and waxed it last weekend. Its like doing a small house!

I never would have thought I'd buy a Dodge truck but '02 was the first year for that bodystyle and I loved it, I still prefer it. It has served me really well and I wouldn't consider changing except we have been thinking of a camper and a half ton just isn't going to cut a full sized Lance camper (I still need to be able to tow two jet skis). With the 4.7 it only has about 235-240 hp and frankly get lousy mileage. The first Hemi of '03 had 110 more HP AND it got better mileage...doh!

Anyway, right now with gas the way it is, I would get nothing for it if I traded it and no one is buying trucks....which makes it an excellent time to do this trade and a great time for me to buy an even bigger truck. Its a Buyer's market to the extreme!

I really like that BMW bodystyle but I don't know if the guy will do the deal. If it happens, I'll post pix....post wash, clay and "wax to death" of it, of course!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Dan, I had a '95 (E34) 540 6 speed, it was a awesome car. Very smooth V8, with torque everywhere. Handled nice, so it was fun around town, but the highway is really it's element. I got 25 MPG pretty easily on the highway, I think the E39 gets more like 27. Comfy inside, with space for 4 adults. Great cars, I miss mine.

Look for cooling system replacement (radiator, water pump, often expansion tank) around 100k, that's about all they last. Suspension bushings about the same time, especially in front.

[javadog]

Apart from the sludge problem mentioned earlier, some aluminum BMW engine blocks had problems. BMW blamed it on the crap quality of our gas, too much sulfur if I recall correctly. Anyway, the end result was the engines needed to be replaced.

Look into this VERY carefully. There were a lot of bad V8 cars out there at one time.

JR

[89911]

That is probably one of the worst ads for a car I have seen in a while. Could he be more vague? I just bought a 2003 540iA about a month ago. The "newer engines" had slightly more horsepower and fixed up some of the earlier problems that might of arisen. I am not sure of the dates, something like 99-2003? Chances are this is a later model. Notice the Dinan cold air intake? Seems to have some upgrades. If he went with Dinan products, chances are he is an enthusiast. The car also is a sport model since all 6 Speeds are packages with this. The price seems good if the car is in nice shape, but more details are needed. The V8 problems were there initially in the earlier cars 97-99. By 2003 all the issues where resolved.

[the]

The V8 engine block problem was with the V8 produced for 1993-1995. These used Nikasil cylinder coating, which had a problem with the fuel in many parts of the US.

A new V8 came out in 1996, was an Alusil block, and the problem was solved.

[Dan in Pasadena]

I can't thank all you guys enough for the help and advice.

If there's anythin g more leave nothing out because you think "everyone knows that" - I don't. I've never been a BMW guy.

I reponded to this guy late last night. I have not yet received a response but if I do I will post it here for you guys to "read between the lines" for me. I love my truck and even though it is a small motored 1500, it has a LOT of utility left in it...and I like the way it looks too. I won't be letting it go unless I think I am getting value for value.

I agree that is a poorly worded ad. The "w/ newwer engine" makes more sense to me now that I've gotten your input. There MIGHT be a factory related reason for it that might not have been the owner's fault. In the past I almost seem to have a sixth sense about used cars. I can usually tell from both the car and the owner's manner and what he says about it if he is conscientious, or a "beat-the-schit-out-of-it-and-polish-it-to-sell-it" type.

If that IS a Sport model, I am even more stoked. If my understanding is correct, "sport" for bmw isn't just trim, its lower suspension, lower final gearing, an actual performance diff. Still unsure what year it is but about '99-'01 sound about right?

Matt, A special thank you to you because your advice has helped me in the past (the 951) and I really appreciate it. More to come....maybe! If this deal does NOT go through, maybe I'll run a want to trade the other way and see if anything comes of it!

[onewhippedpuppy]

No problem Dan, I hope it works out. I somewhat agree with Wayne on the trade thing, it can be pretty sketchy. I traded my 951 for the 540/6, the guy drove from TN to make it work. I came out ok on the deal, but had I been paying cash I'm not sure I would have bought the car. However, I understand your issue. We've been trying to sell my wife's Cadillac SRX for 3 months now, I'm yet to get a test-driver. $4/gal gas is a b!tch. We almost traded it for a local Nissan Armada (what she wants), but the "like new interior" was trashed.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Matt,
I had never thought of a trade before this Craigslist ad popped up. The guy still hasn't reponded to me so maybe he has no interest or has already done a deal, I don't know.

I kinda/sorta need a heavier truck to carry a Lance camper and tow 2 jet ski's simultaneously. So my thought has been it may as well be an F350/3500 since they are very similarly price to
F250/2500's on the used truck market. Plus I think this trade (if it happens) would give me something I love as an enthusiasts car while also addressing my truck needs. I would most likely sell the 911.

Since I have largely finished the 911 (as much as I love it) I find I am not as intersted as I once was. I need a project to work on and the truck would be "it" for awhile. Anyway, take care. Best, Dan

[Dan in Pasadena]

Just an update for anyone interested. The 5540i owner has dropped out of responding to my questions via email once I started asking hard ones like...What year is it? How many miles are on the car, not just the engine? And does it have the Sport option?

Turns out he dropped his price from $12,500 to now $11,000 on CL. Subsequent ads have dropped the trade for a four door truck to a trade for a Suburban and have revealed the car is a '98 made to look like an '02. It has 130,000 miles on the clock but the engine has 55,000 miles. All in all, I'm just fine this deal went away. But he did tell me it has a $3500 stereo system! Like I care.

In doing my research this car is valued about $7700 where my truck (theoretically) has a value in the mid $11K's. Oh well, its a buyers market in trucks these days so I will be keeping mine for the forseeable future.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Sounds like a good one to back away from. There's a lot of 100k+ E39 540/6 for under $10k. If the maintenance stuff has been done the miles aren't scary, but it sounds like the current owner cares more about looks and a stereo.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Matt, Youre right on the money on this one. My thought was, this might be a good car, might not...but there are lots of them so why would I take this chance.

I was not and am not really looking for these cars but I admit to liking them a great deal and you guys have peaked my curiosity. There is a local '99 one on CL today with about 180K+ miles on it but it is a clean as a whistle APPEARING. Its a white car with tan interior. All looks meticulously maintained. It has M5 rims on it and the owner admits he put an M5 badge on it but it is otherwise stock. I'm not going for it, but if I were that strikes me as a much better prospect. A lot of car it seems to me for about $6000. matt, What is the life on these engines when properly maintained? Do they go north of 200K with any regualrity?

[the]

Very hard to get $6K for ANY 9 year old car that has 180K miles on it.

[Dan in Pasadena]

the - Yeah, particularly an originally high end car that is NOT cheap to fix if anything more than minor gives you trouble. If you're not "hands-on" with this type of car you're gonna be "wallet-out" with it!

[Seahawk]

Too bad, Dan...I liked the look of the car. There is always a story, though

[onewhippedpuppy]

Dan, I think any BMW motor will go 200k+ IF taken care of. I've seen a few E39 540s with 200k+, but there's quite a few E34 540s with that mileage and still going strong. My old 540 is back up for sale with 165k and no mechanical issues. I think the lack of super high mileage E39s is because they're still pretty new, I haven't heard of any common catastrophic mechanical issues on the E39 540. They're damn good cars, I think if you drove one you'd really like it. If you can find one nearby, even if it's too expensive, take it for a test drive.

Honestly, when it comes to BMWs I greatly prefer the enthusiast owned car with high miles and lots of maintenance vs the low mileage car owned by a moron. It's like Porsche, maintenance is everything. The same things break at the same time (relatively speaking), so it's great to get a car with more miles that has these issues addressed.

Really, this goes for any european car. Except for needing a new blower motor, my 226k 15 year old Saab is more reliable than my wife's SRX, not to mention it burns less oil and leaks less fluid. Kudos to Saab, FU to Cadillac.