19k Miles BMW 540I Japanese Import

19k Miles BMW 540I Japanese Import

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Somerset Jim

Original Poster:

161 posts

62 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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I have been lurking here for some time but never really had the motivation to post a new thread but I think that having just taken the keys to a BMW E39 540i saloon imported from Japan, I thought this might be useful to some people considering the same.

The company I used I came across from a member of the g wagen forum (I have a healthy obsession with Mercedes W463’s) who used them to import his G wagen. The chap he put me in touch dealt with me by email and was quick to respond and it sprouted from there. I agreed to register and send over a deposit which enabled me to be able to bid. My initial reason for singing up to the Japanese car auctions was to find a clean RHD G500 and after seeing a few go through it was obvious that these cars are sought after and their prices reflected this. So my attention turned to other models and one evening I registered what I thought was a relatively low offer on a BMW 540i which had a great score. When I woke up in the morning, to my surprise I found out that I had won the auction.

Once the invoice for the car, agent fees and auction fees had been covered the car was transported to the dock ready for shipping where some photos were taken before it was put on a ship.





I was lucky to find a space on the last ship of the year and the car was loaded on Christmas Eve in Tokyo and the long wait for the boat to be shipped to the U.K. began. Interestingly after the ship this car went on there was a severe shortage of ships to the point where the company had to stop bidding on cars since their 30,000 car parking spaces were all taken! Pretty much every day I would look at AIS to see how it was progressing. At the point when it was passing Somalia for a few days the AIS was switched off and no updates happened which I guess was a safety measure but made for some worrying thoughts!

Mid February the car arrived and I used a firm called ship my car to do the customs documents. I settled the duty and VAT on the car a couple of days before it arrived at Southampton. Next was to find an agent to seal with the shipping company. They promptly produced the bill for shipping as well as a couple of other costs to move the car in the yard and it was ready for someone to come and collect.

Rather than going down and collecting the car myself, I used a chap who moved a car for me previously during the first lockdown in March 2020. He was able to collect the car from the dock and bring it up to my local BMW specialist who I have used for the last 15 years or so. They were very accommodating and asked if I wanted to stay while doing the MOT and they showed me what they looked for and commented on how clean everything was.











After an advisory for the rear tyres cracking (they look like they are the originals and have no date stamps!) and a bushing the car had an MOT. It is booked back in for a month later for the garage to change the tyres and sort out the bushings for new and then the car will be ready for the road.

The paperwork has been sent to the DVLA and I shall just have to wait while they hopefully accept the paperwork I have sent and in return give me a v5 so I can make up the number plates. In the meantime I have started to remove the electronics that are useful over here in the U.K. and cleaning/feeding the leather seats.











After this is done then the next stage is to underseal the usual areas that attract the dreaded tin worm on these cars. This has absolutely no rust what so ever and seemingly has had an enthusiastic owner prior to me so I think I’ve been lucky.





I have removed the instrument cluster and sent it off to AKSpeedo in Stirling who converted the speedo to a U.K. spec and converted the digital display from kms to miles. He managed to turn this around in a day and only 2 days after removing, it was all back together, fitted and working perfectly.

Before:



After:



I plan on using dinitrol 77B since this gives a more or less clear wax seal and is not difficult to apply. Just waiting on an attachment for a compressor I have in the garage to enable me to do this. If people are interested then I will update here periodically when I have done anything.

Aluminati

2,475 posts

57 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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Yes please . cool

S100HP

12,645 posts

166 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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19k eek

MisanoPayments

314 posts

41 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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That's a nice car there!

I've often thought about doing the same but I'd be looking at something slightly smaller in the form of a Lupo GTI, but I don't think they offer great value at the moment compared to the Mk1 TT I'd be selling to get one.

helix402

7,832 posts

181 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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Looks good. If it was mine I’d take the boot lid M badge and the front bumper lip off.

trails

3,624 posts

148 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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Looks lovely, M badges are bit itchy teeth for me though, what’s that one on the boot doing over there? biggrin

Would you mind sharing the company you used? Ta smile

Fury RS

463 posts

181 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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Bloody nice that Fellasmile
Well done on a great purchasethumbup

LankyMcTally

303 posts

96 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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That's lovely.

Probably not something that will be on your immediate 'to do' list but in due course consider adding some protection beneath the fuel tank and rear subframe, too. Whilst jacking points, sills, rear arches and fuel filler are the well known E39 weak spots, the above mentioned areas can develop some nasty hidden rot over time on otherwise pristine cars:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Enjoy the car!

d_a_n1979

8,096 posts

71 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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Looks a fantastic car & project Jim thumbup

You've already commented on my previous project thread for my Jap import E39 Touring, feel free to drop me a line any time if you've any questions re the Jap import E39 side of things smile

I'd also highly recommend joining the BMW 5 forums too

https://forum.bmw5.co.uk/

Carlososos

976 posts

95 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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Very cool.

Somerset Jim

Original Poster:

161 posts

62 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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Thanks everyone for the lovely warm welcome.

The m badges are coming off. I have already removed 4 from random places. There’s one on the gear lever surround identical to the one on the boot (go figure) and the one on the boot of course. I will have likely removed about 100hp by the time they’re all off 😂

Thanks for the heads up on the fuel tank and protecting that. It’s best to get as much done now before it gets covered in crud on the roads. I have some low level drive on ramps which will be christened by this car shortly I hope.

For the moment the plan is only to use it during the summer months and sorn it from the end of October through April like I do with others.

Somerset Jim

Original Poster:

161 posts

62 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
d_a_n1979 said:
Looks a fantastic car & project Jim thumbup

You've already commented on my previous project thread for my Jap import E39 Touring, feel free to drop me a line any time if you've any questions re the Jap import E39 side of things smile

I'd also highly recommend joining the BMW 5 forums too

https://forum.bmw5.co.uk/
Thanks Dan. I shall take a look over there and will best you in mind if anything crops up. Looks like this is a great community.

Somerset Jim

Original Poster:

161 posts

62 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
trails said:
Looks lovely, M badges are bit itchy teeth for me though, what’s that one on the boot doing over there? biggrin

Would you mind sharing the company you used? Ta smile
Provide cars was who I used. There are lots out there and even some who will take care of doing the paperwork back here in the U.K. so it’s worth looking around.

https://providecars.co.jp/


e28525e

462 posts

140 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
Lovely. My second car was an E39 540iT and it was epic. Almost as good as my M5. Brilliant cars.

Somerset Jim

Original Poster:

161 posts

62 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
e28525e said:
Lovely. My second car was an E39 540iT and it was epic. Almost as good as my M5. Brilliant cars.
Thanks. I’m itching to get out and put some miles on it.

I used to have a 525d manual which was sadly written off by a lady texting and not looking where she was going until it was too late. It was a great drive (until then of course!)

On another subject, I am considering changing the hifi/screen to something more modern. Does anyone know if the unit below would be plug and play or would it involve some wiring?

https://audiotechdirect.com/pba-bm3153b-7-android-...

I want to avoid any sort of wiring because the car is in such good order.

Court_S

12,764 posts

176 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
That’s a lovely thing; looks to be in good order too.

That head unit should be plug and play; looks like it comes with the harnesses needed to let it plug into the existing wiring.

trails

3,624 posts

148 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
Somerset Jim said:
Provide cars was who I used. There are lots out there and even some who will take care of doing the paperwork back here in the U.K. so it’s worth looking around.

https://providecars.co.jp/
Thank you, I have a few irons in fires, but a personal recommendation is always worth a shout.

Good luck with it…need photos of the M badge detritus though smile

gregs656

10,818 posts

180 months

Wednesday 9th March 2022
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That’s lovely.

sutoka

4,636 posts

107 months

Wednesday 9th March 2022
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Real Timewarp example, can you still say Jap in this world of workery?

d_a_n1979

8,096 posts

71 months

Wednesday 9th March 2022
quotequote all
Somerset Jim said:
e28525e said:
Lovely. My second car was an E39 540iT and it was epic. Almost as good as my M5. Brilliant cars.
Thanks. I’m itching to get out and put some miles on it.

I used to have a 525d manual which was sadly written off by a lady texting and not looking where she was going until it was too late. It was a great drive (until then of course!)

On another subject, I am considering changing the hifi/screen to something more modern. Does anyone know if the unit below would be plug and play or would it involve some wiring?

https://audiotechdirect.com/pba-bm3153b-7-android-...

I want to avoid any sort of wiring because the car is in such good order.
Does you E39 have DSP or similar Jim?

There could be a BM54 amp in the boot that any head unit you fit, needs to be connected to, which involves a specific loom & wiring etc

I wanted to avoid all that in my previous touring, so opted for the Grom Audio BT3 Bluetooth kit, which works with the OEM steering wheel controls & head unit faultlessly. Full Bluetooth hands free & A2DP music playback

It worked brilliantly