RE: SOTW: BMW 540i Touring
Discussion
I had one of these 2 years ago when I was 20, it was quick enough for me! I clocked 60mph in the book time of 6.7 seconds so not too shabby. It would do 70 mph in second and just over 100mph in 3rd.
Piccy here:
One problem worth mentioning - nearly all have cooling system problems. Expansion tank etc. Not detrimental but worth watching.
I am currently running an E34 525i saloon which I have converted to a 4.0 with 6 speed manual. People need to stop bringing up the Nikasil issue as in the original post, it is simply not relevant now.
Piccy here:
One problem worth mentioning - nearly all have cooling system problems. Expansion tank etc. Not detrimental but worth watching.
I am currently running an E34 525i saloon which I have converted to a 4.0 with 6 speed manual. People need to stop bringing up the Nikasil issue as in the original post, it is simply not relevant now.
TurboLizard said:
This isn't a shed fail, this is the best SOTW ever! Simply for the comedy value of the current owner of the car proclaiming it as his worst car ever on this very and then lo-and-behold it ends up being the most talked about feature car of this week! You couldn't make it up! Might as well scrap it now pal! 
Made me smile this morning 
probably worth more in parts anywaydrchris said:
On reflection.
Those alloys look mint and other parts would be worth more that the money paid for it if sold separately. .
Drive it til it breaks then make profit on the bits
Win.
Yeah, except you might struggle with that one.Those alloys look mint and other parts would be worth more that the money paid for it if sold separately. .
Drive it til it breaks then make profit on the bits
Win.
I broke my 540i Touring a while back when it, er, broke, and getting value from it was hard.
What WAS worth a lot of money on mine were the manual gearbox, clutch, flywheel and pedal box - basically everything someone needed to convert their automatic car to manual. Start with an auto and you'll struggle to see much back from it.
Also bear in mind that these engines can suffer timing chain guide problems at high mileages (mine did, others I know have) and that's a £1k fix.
Personally I wouldn't touch this with a double-wrapped, asbestos-lined stunt cock, if you're doing it with the idea of covering costs by breaking it.
Canningmister said:
CampDavid said:
Yes and no. In reality 290BHP these days isn't much at all but then we've moved on so much in the passing years. At the time it was acceptable, no more.
I have the same lump in my 740i and it won't really set the world alight in terms of pace but most importantly it is quick enough. It has bag loads of torque and it's quiet at idle and extremely smooth. My 7er only feels lacking above 140mph, which is fair enough.
Don't get me wrong I have always loved the idea of an E39, I have just never been decisive enough on what engine. i always fancied a 530i M Sport manual, but I would love a V8 model. What sort of MPG would you normally see in the 7series? Low 20s? Are the engines relatively easy to maintain and service for the home mechanic?I have the same lump in my 740i and it won't really set the world alight in terms of pace but most importantly it is quick enough. It has bag loads of torque and it's quiet at idle and extremely smooth. My 7er only feels lacking above 140mph, which is fair enough.
Take my small engined Megane. A mix of beating the crap out of it and driving in town should see you hit 25mpg. Normally it hits 32 to the gallon and 35 is possible if you're a saint.
The 7er will do about 9mpg or even less if you boot it about town while 30mpg is doable if you're sensible, in fact, on a long trip the difference between Megane and 7er is probably under 5mpg at 90mph.
In practise I get about 22-25mpg from the 7. I don't really drive it hard as, although it's surprisingly good at country lanes, it's much more enjoyable to drive it smoothly than to late brake for everything.
Home servicing wise, I wouldn't know too much as I don't do much myself these days. The engine bay is spacious enough to allow you to work on it though and it's sensibly put together. I took the rear door card apart and the logic with which it's put together would astound the good people at Citroen.
Personally, I think these big engined BMs are a superb buy. They're cheap, offer a great mix of refinement and performance and the running costs, while not cheap, are certainly reasonable. They also drive brilliantly and handle with competence lacking in nearly all their rivals
Edited by CampDavid on Friday 9th November 09:53
funkyrobot said:
Ahem. This has been discussed on the smoker barge thread.
Click on the advert owner link, then look at the recent postings from the user. This car has issues
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Bit of a sale failure really.
PH really should do their homework with these things
I suspect that a lot of SOTW motors will be in a simuilar state with serious issues.Click on the advert owner link, then look at the recent postings from the user. This car has issues
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Bit of a sale failure really.
PH really should do their homework with these things
As someone who has spent quite a bit of time looking for cars are the lower end of the market, a motor can sound great in an advert and look mint in the pictures but be absolute rubbish when you view it in the flesh. In fact i'd say that more than half ot the cars on sale at the vottom end of the market fail to live up to the advert.
Garlick said:
drchris said:
On reflection.
Those alloys look mint and other parts would be worth more that the money paid for it if sold separately. .
Drive it til it breaks then make profit on the bits
Win.
Thank you. Those alloys look mint and other parts would be worth more that the money paid for it if sold separately. .
Drive it til it breaks then make profit on the bits
Win.
The E39 is probably the best-built 5 Series ever. I love them. You can do a long journey in it, without taking a break and arrive refreshed at the other end.
Everything is just so well put-together.
Quiet, smooth and comfortable.
The pre-facelift Tourings are better looking than the saloons IMHO, and alot more practical.
And those V8 engines are solid - just keep on top of regular servicing, keep an eye on the cooling system (water pumps can fail), but apart from that, nothing major on them. Oh, it will naturally like a drink!
The Touring models have the self-levelling rear suspension, on which the airbags or compressor can fail.
But if all these are good, it's a lot of car for the cash.
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