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hedgegnome posted:Hey guys! So I just checked out a 2003 540i automatic with the M sport package. Its all kinds of fantastic, and with only 66k miles it drives like a really nice babied 540i with super low loving miles. Its almost flawless, its sooo nice. The automatic transmissions like to grenade in those around 100-120k don't they? Or is that exclusive to the 3 series? That could be the potential big expense. On top of that factor in a GDCS refresh if it hasn't been done yet. Also bushings if it needs it, e39s eat bushings pretty steadily.
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Jan 25, 2015 05:02
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The 5L40e is the one that grenades itself because lol life time fluid. The ZF 5HP24 in the 540i is a better unit but will grenade themselves around 150k miles because again lol sealed for life. Keep the fluid changed and use the specific fluid for it, you'll see 200k with no issues.
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Jan 25, 2015 05:39
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Viper_3000 posted:The automatic transmissions like to grenade in those around 100-120k don't they? Or is that exclusive to the 3 series? That could be the potential big expense. On top of that factor in a GDCS refresh if it hasn't been done yet. Also bushings if it needs it, e39s eat bushings pretty steadily.
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Jan 25, 2015 05:40
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If its steptronic, they got a 5HP19. Its a little small for the task if you ask me but they work well enough. All 540i got the 24s. Its sized properly, but again make sure to get the fluids changed. The biggest weakness on them is the A drum failing. As long as the shifts feel smooth, you'll be fine.
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Jan 25, 2015 11:25
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Can you adjust how far down the passenger side mirror dips in an E46, because i swear that poo poo just points straight at the floor.
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Jan 25, 2015 11:54
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Hey guys I'm in Munich for the week on business (not car related), so let me know if you need me to pick you up any spare parts or anything. Also every car is a diesel bmw.
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Jan 25, 2015 12:13
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Yes I would like one spare e30 please
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Jan 25, 2015 12:16
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warcake posted:Can you adjust how far down the passenger side mirror dips in an E46, because i swear that poo poo just points straight at the floor. I've read that you can adjust it by just using the normal control when it's in reverse mode and it'll remember, but I've never had it work for me. Might be model year or option specific.
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Jan 25, 2015 15:19
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All 3 e46s I owned had mirror dip but its like the motor for it was hosed, even setting the dip it never worked.
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Jan 25, 2015 17:15
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Ether Frenzy posted:It's insanely fun to drive - Das Volk was right, this is truly the greatest car ever made. Bring on the $1.50 gas!! Awesome, you bought it! And it's really well taken care of too, which is key to the longevity of those motors. I'm sure I've said it before but the manual transmissions on these cars don't feel that great partly because of the clutch assist spring. That really messes things up for clutch engagement feel and shifting in general.
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Jan 25, 2015 19:31
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Ether Frenzy posted:So I bought a winter beater Poormobile Congrats! I've been in the market for a few months, patiently waiting for a 6-speed E90 to popup. Your post is making it hard for me to not be hasty and just buy a coupe.
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Jan 25, 2015 20:44
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ynotony posted:Congrats! I've been in the market for a few months, patiently waiting for a 6-speed E90 to popup. Your post is making it hard for me to not be hasty and just buy a coupe. I'm thinking about urging dad to sell his 5k mile, launch edition (every possible option) E90 to get a new 'vette...
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Jan 25, 2015 22:09
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EVERYWHERE 
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I haven't really been worried about it, since I haven't been driving it during winter, but the windshield wipers on my '89 E30 (325i) have just kind-of worked whenever the hell they want since I got the car a few months ago. Should I be testing the relay and switch, or should I just yank out the stupid motor and clean/re-grease it? I just picked up an LSD and studded ice tires from a friend, and would like to be able to see when I hopefully take it out ice-racing.
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Jan 25, 2015 23:38
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meatpimp posted:I'm thinking about urging dad to sell his 5k mile, launch edition (every possible option) E90 to get a new 'vette... Dooooooo iiiiiiitttttttttttt. I love all things bmw but the new Vette is amazing. I got to track the new stingray last summer and spent three days a few weeks ago staring at the tail end of a new Z06 convertible.
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Jan 26, 2015 07:08
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Das Volk posted:Awesome, you bought it! And it's really well taken care of too, which is key to the longevity of those motors. Yeah, that was kind of my feeling too, I knew that there was a spring mod that everyone said helped with the clutch feel, but I didn't have that 'Yes, I'm a bit concerned I will definitely miss a manual on this car" thought like I've had on other cars (like the Z4 M Coupe, which I considered also) when I did do a test drive, and after a blast through some canyons down to the PCH yesterday, I'm not regretting the lack of a third pedal at all as the DCT does everything a manual does in terms of staying in the gear you want to be in and shifting exactly when you demand. An Audi R8 followed me nearly the whole run on a very tight road, and it was extremely fun to feel like I wasn't impeding his progress at all and you don't even have to really break the law to feel like you're ripping it up in this car. Grip! on turn-in... Followed by that squirm the rear does when you give it just a little juice coming out of the turn. I can't believe I lived this long without experiencing that on a regular basis.. I'm afraid my wife would likely immediately murder me if I bought your CSL wheels, those are the only mod I actually actively want right now (..and maybe an akrapovic exhaust... and, and, and) but she was also very supportive in my purchase of the car (and thoroughly enjoys riding in it) so hopefully you don't find any buyers and still have them in 6 months... She's owned two Mk1 MR2's (one LHD, one RHD) so she certainly is on board with the concept of automotive enthusiasm but I may need to finesse the time period before 'upgrading' my extremely nice toy right off the bat.  ynotony posted:Congrats! I've been in the market for a few months, patiently waiting for a 6-speed E90 to popup. Your post is making it hard for me to not be hasty and just buy a coupe. I was always thinking coupe despite always having been a saloon/sedan owner prior to this car and realized I almost never use my back seats any more. I had been trying to buy this one from the PO for a little under 2 years - he hesitated at the last minute back then on selling it due to having some real estate roadblocks so I'd pretty much given up on this one ever coming around - but when I randomly texted him to ask about some options on another similar car I'd found at a dealer 60 miles away (with 20k more miles and two owners, and no carbon roof), he says "Why don't you just buy mine?" and a couple days later I was driving it home. Since he also has a Tesla Performance S, he put less than 500 miles on the M3 in that 2 years I waited, but did put on a fresh set of Pilot Sports and kept it hooked up to the trickle charger - so I'm very glad I held out. I love knowing everything that's ever been done to the car, and knowing it was run in exactly to the letter. And that it's 100% stock. Now perhaps this post will encourage you to hassle meatpimp's dad to sell you his E90 - 5k miles is quite frankly, insanely low - 16k on this still kind of blows my mind with regard to the value I got for the level of car it is (and how fun it is to just aimlessly drive around.) I paid, including tax and DMV fees etc, about half what the window sticker suggested this E92 cost new, and about a grand less than the factory invoice on a Challenger Scat Pack in premium paint with the tech pack and driver convenience packs in my zip code. Warranties are for the timid!
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Jan 27, 2015 00:27
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Can anyone shed some light on e60's for me? My dad is looking for a newer car, he really likes my e39 but wants something newer. He's found a 6 speed 525i (he's a stickler for mpg so he's not super keen on a 545i). So how's the platform? Good? Stay away? Anything we need to be on the lookout for on specific trims/models? Transmissions? Do they kill window regulators like the older cars?
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Jan 27, 2015 02:18
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The chassis is actually has some carry over from the E39. It's super solid other than the iDrive making GBS threads itself. Otherwise it's a really good car. Same BMW caveats apply, cooling system, bushings, etc. The N62 is an oil burner though, I'd stay away from it even though it's like driving a raped ape. The autos are good boxes and they wised up and ditch GM units and pretty much use 6 speed zf autos. The only thing I didn't like was it was a bit of a bitch to park, not due to size but it was a little hard to gauge where the front was. The iDrive is loving annoying sometimes but also kind of intuitive. It's a love hate relationship. Never killed a regulator but maybe it's dumb luck.
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Jan 27, 2015 02:39
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Ether Frenzy posted:
Yea that's a great opportunity, I probably would have done the same. My problem with the coupe is purely superficial - I also live in LA and everyone has an M3 coupe. At least with the sedan I can pretend I have a more unique car. The sedan also looks less like a flashy sports car which is a plus for me.
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Jan 27, 2015 05:31
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BrokenKnucklez posted:The chassis is actually has some carry over from the E39. It's super solid other than the iDrive making GBS threads itself. Otherwise it's a really good car. Same BMW caveats apply, cooling system, bushings, etc. The N62 is an oil burner though, I'd stay away from it even though it's like driving a raped ape. The autos are good boxes and they wised up and ditch GM units and pretty much use 6 speed zf autos. The only thing I didn't like was it was a bit of a bitch to park, not due to size but it was a little hard to gauge where the front was. Thanks for the heads up about the N62! Hell, just looking up issues for it the coolant tube thing came up. F that!!! Does the idrive work or not work? Or does it heat up and quit? What do you loose when it dies? The one he was looking at is actually a 6 speed manual, I think he has finally given up on boring appliance cars. He's looking to ditch his old Avalon asap.
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Jan 27, 2015 06:34
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BrokenKnucklez posted:The chassis is actually has some carry over from the E39. It's super solid other than the iDrive making GBS threads itself. Otherwise it's a really good car. Same BMW caveats apply, cooling system, bushings, etc. The N62 is an oil burner though, I'd stay away from it even though it's like driving a raped ape. The autos are good boxes and they wised up and ditch GM units and pretty much use 6 speed zf autos. The only thing I didn't like was it was a bit of a bitch to park, not due to size but it was a little hard to gauge where the front was. a friend of mine is looking for a decent looking headunit that's compatible with the E60 and has aux in, do you have any recommendations?
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Jan 27, 2015 10:19
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The iDrive does strange poo poo then you start losing functions then it just up and quits. It will act like you lose functions like the telescoping steering or it loads CDs super slow. Then it just starts taking for ever to boot then just shits itself. In regards to replacing the head unit your kinda hosed. Its extremely integrated into the car. You can have an aux input added with an adapter from the dealer. This is a car I can suggest never loving with electronics, or it could be a huge nightmare. Edit: the N62 can be fixed on the oil burning but its involving removing the heads and so on. 3200 or so for an Indy to do the work. The idrive is integrated into the car with 6 other computers included the ecm as well. The programming takes 4 hours or something stupid. BrokenKnucklez fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Jan 27, 2015 |
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Jan 27, 2015 15:24
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I assume someone here has run continental DWS tires on an e39. I am probably going 245/45/17 all round. Any experiences with this layout or somethimg similar?
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Jan 27, 2015 17:32
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Finally put the Ventus v12s I've had sitting around for 6 months on the front of the touring. The goodrichs that were on there when I bought the car must have been poo poo because now I can actually toss the rear end out without the nose just plowing away from the apex. 
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Jan 27, 2015 18:43
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PaintVagrant posted:I assume someone here has run continental DWS tires on an e39. I am probably going 245/45/17 all round. Any experiences with this layout or somethimg similar? I've got them. Good tires. They stick.
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Jan 27, 2015 19:11
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My e90 (2011 328, 60k) has little or no heat up front. The vents for the rear seats blow fairly warm, but any combination of windshield/face/foot vents or just leaving it set to auto yields only sort of warm air. It's not as cold as it is outside, but I can drive around with the climate control set to 84 and the blower at full speed and it's still cooler than I'd like. The passengers side seems warmer than the drivers but still not nearly as hot as it should be. It's booked in on friday, the BMW extended warranty seems to cover some hvac but not all, fingers crossed..
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Jan 27, 2015 19:38
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Springtime servicing on the 540. It has not been started since August. What is my checklist before crank/start attempt? Obviously fluid change for coolant and oil, should I pull FP fuse and crank it to oilpump for a second? Half cap of oil in the plug holes? It got parked because a: we moved and b: CELs from some sort of coil or fuel pump issue. Wanting to sort out all that now that I have about a month left before its summer tires are okay to take on the road.
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Jan 27, 2015 20:21
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About to place an order for RS3 V2s for the e46 M3. Some one talk me down. It's $50 more than the old ZII. The new star spec is quite a bit more and in my experience with the ZII and RS3 V1 on my miata, the RS3 took heat a lot better.
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Jan 27, 2015 20:43
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 http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/4866092465.html Edit: Ad is shady as gently caress but it might be an opportunity to join beater 540 club. blk fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Jan 27, 2015 |
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Jan 27, 2015 22:51
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blk posted:
Super shady. Be very careful buying something from someone who doesn't have the title in his/her name. That said, with the fatigues he had on in one pic, if he's military, it could be legit. I've seen military guys throw vehicles around without a lot of concern for the title status.
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Jan 27, 2015 23:36
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meatpimp posted:Super shady. Be very careful buying something from someone who doesn't have the title in his/her name. That said, with the fatigues he had on in one pic, if he's military, it could be legit. I've seen military guys throw vehicles around without a lot of concern for the title status. That's just some random camo pants he bought. That pattern is not used by any US military branch.
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Jan 27, 2015 23:58
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Dude sounds like he'd even take a few blowjobs as payment so, I guess you should really go for it. Truth be told, there's probably a rule for 540's like the 944 rule: they always cost more than 8k, no matter what the purchase price is. It's probably a huge pile of poo poo.
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Jan 28, 2015 00:47
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oh i forgot about VANOS. ugh. yeah i dunno about a post 97 M62 if you don't want to at least rebuild the vanos -cooling system redone (600 or so?) -valley pan gasket (im getting ready to do this, $100 and a weekend or 1000 shop labor) -suspension and/or rubber poo poo (40mph wobble etc) - no idea how much but i'm sure you could spend $200-$10000 on it -vanos (think 350 apiece, ish?) -fixing the hosed up displays ($20 and an afternoon, or $250) -go ahead and do the fuel pump and filter -buy a spare drivers window regulator. it will die decent start
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Jan 28, 2015 05:01
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Jonny 290 posted:oh i forgot about VANOS. ugh. yeah i dunno about a post 97 M62 if you don't want to at least rebuild the vanos I need to start saving for the cooling system on mine, since the gf is dailying it now I want it to be ready for AZ summers. Valley pan is way more that $100. Hell the intake gaskets are like $60ish, you might as well do the TB gaskets, pcv cover, assorted vacuum lines, and the coolant o rings. I did everything but the valleypan (wasn't expecting to pull the intake) and it was about $140 in rubber hoses alone. Vanos was 9/98 build date I think. Mine is a 98 with no vanos. Where are you getting the display ribbons that cheap? Everyone says to use the silver ones, which are like $40, and I'm going to add trim rings to update the cluster. I need to do the fuel filter still... And gently caress window regulators. I've replaced all 4, drivers one twice. This time I went with the uro premium regulator as it is a complete redesign and carries a lifetime warranty. I also did the window alignment which I didn't know existed before.
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Jan 28, 2015 05:28
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The updated M62 uses vanos only on the exhaust side and its pretty uncommon for them to have issues. Not saying its unheard of but its pretty rare.
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Jan 28, 2015 05:42
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I think the biggest difference is the timing chain guides are only an issue on the non-tu motors only if the po used crap oil/did poor maintenance. They seem to universally wear out on the vanos motors. The insides of my motor are spotless, and I have no rattle on cold start with over 200k miles. Also, haven't torn it apart yet but it seems that new uro premium regulator took a poo poo today haha
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Jan 28, 2015 07:10
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That's why I always recommend replacing the timing chain tensioner right away. I know its not a "wear item" or a specified interval but it should be done.
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Jan 28, 2015 07:52
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Going to look at an e39 M5 with a friend, then driving it 800 miles home. Anything specific I should look for?
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Jan 28, 2015 11:38
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two_beer_bishes posted:Going to look at an e39 M5 with a friend, then driving it 800 miles home. Anything specific I should look for?
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Jan 28, 2015 11:39
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two_beer_bishes posted:Going to look at an e39 M5 with a friend, then driving it 800 miles home. Anything specific I should look for? If it's just you looking at the car, your friend is crazy. An M5 of any vintage should have a good PPI done on it by a good BMW shop or in a pinch, a dealer. There's so much heinously expensive poo poo to go wrong in those cars that you can't tell just by looking at it or even driving it for 20-30 minutes. That said, there are a few things you can look for, but they're not really any different than any other car; condition of the tires, brakes, etc, any visible fluid leaks, that kind of stuff. See if the guy can produce a service history; if not, tell your friend it wasn't the right car.
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Jan 28, 2015 11:46
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Found out that it's technically his already since he has the winning bid on ebay. So I guess now it's more "cross our fingers and hope".
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Jan 28, 2015 14:37
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