535-e34 to 540-e39

[tollytuff]

? going to try and skip work tommorrow and go look at a 540, "1997 BMW 540 4.4i Auto Tiptronic" to be precise. chap wants £4750 for it, it has a FSH, 92000m and is apparently, immaculate (arnt they all!),

anyhow, will i have as much fun with a 540 as i have had with my faithful 535, or are they a bit heavy? what are the problem areas i should be looking out for? do i need to ask him about that 'N' word?

will the gearbox be on the way out with this kind of mileage, or are they 'bombproof' like the e34

gonna do some internet research tonight, but in the meantime any opinions gratefully received.

cheers tt

[pitsnow]

If it were FSH, I would not worry about the engine or automatic gearbox for the next 100’000 miles. The car will please you no end. As for weight, the E39 4.4 V8 is in the same league as your straight 6 E34. Not much difference in it.
Is it a Sport? I prefer the Sport version as it makes for better driving in my opinion.
Anyway, the price is a steal since this was a £40’000 car new.
My advice, go for it. E39 is the best BMW ever. Again, my humble opinion.

Cheers Peter

[tollytuff]

thanks peter
i dont think it is a sport, although it looks like its been lowered and has very wide wheels/tyres which i guess would help the handling some. my e34 has sport suspension, so i agree about it being a real benefit. i didnt realise you pick up these cars at this price (at least not the larger engined ones) , so even if this one doesnt work out i can start looking around for others.

thanks for your time, going to ring the chap now

[off_again]

Yeah the price does look a little cheap. What's the spec? If its a bit low then this will be reflected in your buy but also subsequent re-sale price. Mind you, 286BHP for less than £5k - bit of a bargain eh?

I have a 535i (E39) and its great. Not as powerful as the 540i obviously, but nimble and fun to drive. The steptronic is excellent and it mixes the limo / sporting characters well. It should be quite a bit faster than the 6 cylinder 535i, though the steering might not feel as good - a compromise for the UK RHD market I am afraid. Other than that the E39 is a cracking car in pretty much all types!

[tollytuff]

i dont have a lot of info on it at the moment:

1997 BMW 540 4.4i Auto Tiptronic,
P reg. 92000 miles, full leather, M5 seats, aircon, fully loaded, 18 M5 alloys, alarm, fBMWsh, MoT 1 yr, long tax, immaculate condition, silver. £4,750

going to see it on friday.

just realised, i dont know what tiptronic means!!

[silverback mike]

tiptronic, that means you can shift up and down the gears by moving the selector either up or down. It can be surprisingly efficient when done properly.

I had an E39 540i, and was one of the best cars I have ever owned, if it is as good as it sounds and the service history is all there, you can't go wrong (other than it liking a drop of the old juice). Tiptronic suits the torquey engine perfectly (imo)

The e39 is a marvellous car (I'm back in one) and I would definately have another 540

[Darth Dave]

silverback mike said:

The e39 is a marvellous car (I'm back in one) and I would definately have another 540

I'm sure you will, you've owned everything in the world at least twice.

[silverback mike]

Darth Dave said:

silverback mike said: The e39 is a marvellous car (I'm back in one) and I would definately have another 540 I'm sure you will, you've owned everything in the world at least twice.

Now don't exaggerate, not twice.