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Knurled.
Knurled. MegaDork
11/4/19 4:41 p.m.

One of my customers has recently inherited a 540i and she is planning on selling it.  I have too many cars otherwise I would jump on it.

 

The body is extremely clean (white with black roof), no dings or dents as far as I can see.  No rust bubbles.  Rear bumper has a small crack and the front undertray is missing, but that's pretty minor to be honest.  Interior (tan leather) is in excellent condition and still has that distinctive BMW smell.  Clutch and shift action felt good on my road test, which was around town at nice-person speeds.   I don't know BMW option packages very well, but it does have staggered 18" wheels.

 

No idea what she is expecting for price, and I won't post any pictures until I get express permission, but this is like a GRM unicorn dream car.  Not a beat up POS, the previous owner clearly babied the car, kept it garaged, etc.  104k miles so it probably never saw winter.

 

Slippery
Slippery UltraDork
11/4/19 5:00 p.m.

What do you mean by black roof? Did they paint it black? The car should be all white from the factory. 

TAC_Rx
TAC_Rx New Reader
11/4/19 5:40 p.m.

Myself or a buddy of mine might be very interested in this. Would love to see pics/price. 

Knurled.
Knurled. MegaDork
11/4/19 6:04 p.m.

In reply to Slippery :

I thought it odd myself.  The roof between the rain rails is black, the pillars are white.

KonaBoss
KonaBoss Reader
11/5/19 7:14 a.m.

Also could be interested, depending on $$.

Knurled.
Knurled. MegaDork
11/5/19 7:17 a.m.

 

Breaking my rules slightly because apparently this is unusual.

Knurled.
Knurled. MegaDork
11/5/19 7:55 a.m.

 

Cleared to post pics and answer any questions you may have.

Brett_Murphy
Brett_Murphy UltimaDork
11/5/19 8:11 a.m.

The missing finish bit on the window seal means you may be able to peek under there and see how well it was done.

TAC_Rx
TAC_Rx New Reader
11/5/19 8:29 a.m.

Any indication on price?

E_NinjA
E_NinjA New Reader
11/5/19 9:40 a.m.

Definitely need an indication on price. Also, located approximately where?

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair MegaDork
11/5/19 9:58 a.m.

not a huge fan of white E39's but low-ish miles plus M62TU plus 6MT plus M-Parallels on a final-year car is a pretty attractive package.

Knurled.
Knurled. MegaDork
11/5/19 10:19 a.m.

Car is in SW Cleveland, OH, but I wouldn't hesitate to go on a long distance drive from what I have seen of it.  When I have a free moment I'll check to see if it has the black headliner.  It does have the blacked-out trim and the other things that M-Sports have.

Slippery
Slippery UltraDork
11/5/19 11:32 a.m.

The best thing when it comes to knowing what options it has it to either post the last 7 digits of the VIN or look it up and post the options. 

enginenerd
enginenerd Reader
11/5/19 12:32 p.m.

I'm sort of interested depending on more info & a price. Live within a reasonable driving distance as well...

E_NinjA
E_NinjA New Reader
11/5/19 3:55 p.m.
Knurled. said:

Car is in SW Cleveland, OH, but I wouldn't hesitate to go on a long distance drive from what I have seen of it.  When I have a free moment I'll check to see if it has the black headliner.  It does have the blacked-out trim and the other things that M-Sports have.

My wife might not be a huge fan but seems like a good fly and drive candidate. 540i/6MT cars are ridiculous out here

Knurled.
Knurled. MegaDork
11/5/19 7:01 p.m.

I have not heard any firm price but it sounds like they'd be happy with $5000.  Was not able to take any more pictures because it was dark after work and I was far too busy during the day to stop and play amateur photographist.  We're down a tech and pretty much working our butts off.

 

It does need some maintenance and repair, as it has been sitting for a while.   Most importantly, the radiator has a small crack at the top of the driver side tank. That wouldn't dissuade me from driving it but it is definitely at the top of the priority list.  There is a small power steering fluid leak at the cooler line junction block; not really enough to drip, but the reservoir was empty when the vehicle came in.  (I degreased the whole system and ran it for a bit and saw no other leaks.  The pump is apparently recent)  The front brakes are near-new but the rear pads appear to be fairly worn.   The front tires have a lot of tread but are fairly choppy and this makes itself known as road noise when you drive it.  Personally this doesn't bother me in the slightest as it has all-season tires and those are always the first things I discard on a new car anyway.  The body metal is clean of dings/dents but after paying closer attention I did see some minor rock chips in the paint on the front fenders.  The airbag light is on.  No idea if the MIL is going to be on, the vehicle was delivered with a dead battery so it is safe to assume that none of the monitors have run.  Did not have a scantool plugged in to the car at any time, as it would have been fairly pointless after a disconnected battery.

 

If I didn't already HAVE a near-300hp midsize European sedan, I'd be posting a build thread and not trying to help them sell it.  (Although, if someone offered me $6k for the Volvo, I'd have to have a think about it...)

Knurled.
Knurled. MegaDork
11/11/19 7:41 a.m.

akylekoz
akylekoz SuperDork
11/11/19 9:50 a.m.

Wait, a Testarossa, a red top 540, my head just exploded, my wife needs this.  Too bad we played to hard last summer and not have to pay the piper.

Really though, I like this a lot.  

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair MegaDork
11/11/19 12:48 p.m.

are those M5 front and rear fascias?

Slippery
Slippery UltraDork
11/11/19 1:00 p.m.

In reply to AngryCorvair :

Bumpers are factory. 

The valve covers on the other hand or the roof, no. 

bray_is_tall
bray_is_tall New Reader
11/12/19 2:41 p.m.

Gets my vote for Nice Price :)

 

ebelements
ebelements Reader
11/12/19 2:46 p.m.

Will this please sell already so I don't have to keep thinking about this?  Cleveland is just a little too close for comfort (Cinci) and even though I detest tan interiors as a rule, otherwise this car overall is one of the very VERY few I like as a whole and would probably not mess with.

OjaiM5
OjaiM5 Reader
11/12/19 6:43 p.m.

That is a good price. I would be stoked to have that car. 

yupididit
yupididit UberDork
11/12/19 10:35 p.m.

Oh if that interior was black

Knurled.
Knurled. MegaDork
11/13/19 5:01 a.m.

In reply to yupididit :

The headliner is black smiley

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