2000 540i Sport Project

[illirep]

Haven't posted in a while. Family and working for a startup doesn't leave much room for hobbies!

No longer have my titanium silver ZHP. Sold to another member here, made a friend in the process.

Still have my e30 M3. Will update that thread once I get it back from the body shop.

My newest project is an e39. The car was purchased from the original owner in West Palm Beach, a retired CEO of a major publishing company, that used it as a weekend toy.

Details:

2000 BMW 540i
Titanium Silver
Black Leather Interior
Sport Package
Premium Package
Cold Weather
8,920 miles (yes you read that correctly)
6 speed manual

Backstory:

I have been passively searching for 2003 540i sport with manual transmission for several years now. I have gotten very close to hitting the lottery on a 1 owner with 50k miles that was over serviced and under priced. Long story short, my deposit was received a few minutes after another buyer and I was s.o.l. I was holding out for another 2003 when I saw this one. I figured I'd likely never have another opportunity to buy a virtually brand new e39, and pulled the trigger on this car. I paid a pretty premium, but not quite the asking price that you see below. This car is mechanically the same as a 2003, just lacking some of the cosmetic enhancements, which can all be aded to the car via retrofit packages, if I feel so inclined to modify such a virgin beast!

[illirep]

hold for service history

[illirep]

hold for updates / pics 2

[fredo]

Congrats ! Man, less than 9,000 miles.

[TheFinanceGuy]

WOW. That looks fantastic! I'll be interested to hear how you like the 540. I had a 99 540 and found it too large for my every day commuting needs. Maybe I'm still too young to appreciate the size and awesomeness of the E39.

That really is LOW mileage.

How is the cluster? The lights tend to burn out, but, I'm guessing with 9k miles, they haven't had a chance to burn out.

[san]

Awesome find... Do post more pics...


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[illirep]

Thanks guys. The e39s certainly feel larger than the e46s, but with the sport suspension, they certainly know how to 'throw their weight around'.

The cluster was just replaced at dealer by prior owner for close to $1k! Not sure how a car that was never driven can have burnt out cluster, must be a major design flaw....Also don't know how BMW can justify charging a customer $1k for something they should frankly do under good will. But at least I don't have to worry about it.

The car was serviced about a dozen times, due to time, not mileage. I still plan on having my tech do a thorough fluid flush and replenishment throughout to be on safe side. He will also check out cooling system due to age. Don't suspect the car really 'needs' anything however.

Should be here this Friday!


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[QC_ZHP]

Those miles are unreal, nice find. I love 540i's...they sound so good.

[KevinC]

The cluster was just replaced at dealer by prior owner for close to $1k! Not sure how a car that was never driven can have burnt out cluster, must be a major design flaw...

It's a ribbon cable issue, about 99% of all E39's suffer from the problem eventually and have to be repaired/replaced. the fix is only about $150, many companies and Ebay dudes do it for about that price. Only the dealership would replace the entire thing at that crazy price.

That car is beautiful!

[az3579]

the fix is only about $150, many companies and Ebay dudes do it for about that price. Only the dealership would replace the entire thing at that crazy price.

That car is beautiful!

That's because dealerships don't believe it "fix it", they believe in "replace it".