I fancy an E34 540i Touring, can anybody give me any info?

[bob1179]

Hi folks!

After looking through the 'Show me your BMW' thread, I happened across a picture of a PHers really rather nice E34 540i.

I've always liked these and I'm hankering after one as we need to replace the family hack (errrr, a Rover 214i...) I think it would be a nice wafty bargain barge to carry large(ish) objects at speed.

So, the 540i. I believe they are 286 bhp as standard, come with a 5 speed auto and make a nice woofly noise (most important bit).

What are the points to look out for on these, I'm more used to buying and running older BMW's so this will be my first 'modern' one. I understand the earlier V8's can suffer nikasil issues, did this affect these engines? I know bodywork is fairly robust, but is there any areas I should look for rust? And anything else you can think of would be helpful!

I've already found one for sale, a nice 111,000 miler in Calypso red, I need to know the right questions to ask as it's more than 200 miles from my home (they're a bit thin on the ground) and more than 3000 miles from my current location!

Thanks for your help in advance!

[MK4 Slowride]

If you give me the original reg I can give you the build sheet for the car & cost from new so you can gauge how much you'd be prepared to pay.

[Hammerhead]

bob1179 said:

Hi folks!
So, the 540i. I believe they are 286 bhp as standard, come with a 5 speed auto and make a nice woofly noise (most important bit).

Yup, bang on the money for output plus a nice meaty 400NM of torque. You can, if you're very lucky, find examples with a 6 speed manual box but they're very rare indeed. The 5 speed auto is pretty good. It's an adaptive unit which sort of gueses your driving style and shifts accordingly. Or you can flip it into sport mode where it locks out top and drops gears nice and snappily.
As for woofly noise, there is some though it's quite subtle most of the time. Mash the throttle and you're left in no doubt there's a V8 under the bonnet

bob1179 said:

What are the points to look out for on these.. I understand the earlier V8's can suffer nikasil issues, did this affect these engines?

Yup, that's the main thing with these variants. I'd definitely take up the offer above as I had a contact at BMW which gave me all the info above plus all the history concerning warranty claims including having an Alusil block fitted at 45k. I personally wouldn't chance a car with a Nikasil engine as it still could die a spluttering death.

bob1179 said:

I know bodywork is fairly robust, but is there any areas I should look for rust? And anything else you can think of would be helpful!

The 530/540 Tourings were fitted with self leveling suspension. Check that's all tickety boo as it can be expensive to fix. The other option, if it's knacked, is to convert back to normal springs (so I've read).

Apart from those bits, just all the other usual questions really

bob1179 said:

I've already found one for sale, a nice 111,000 miler in Calypso red, I need to know the right questions to ask as it's more than 200 miles from my home (they're a bit thin on the ground) and more than 3000 miles from my current location!

Pity you're so far away - would have offered a mooch/ride in mine if you'd been nearer.

Good luck!

Steve

[Hammerhead]

Actually, remembered a couple of other things to look out for.
Sloopy steering - could be tired steering box
Steering wooble at 55-65mph - various bushes up front can cause the front end to be a bit vague.

Happy hunting!

[bob1179]

Thanks for the information guys. It's really appreciated.

(Also apologies for the late reply, my internet connection died yesterday and only came back this morning!)

I sent you both a PM too.

Cheers again.

Rob

[belleair302]

Read Dec '07 BMW Car Magazine, there is a buying guide to the E34 range, excluding M5's. Buying a back copy is simple if you contact Unity Media, the publishers.

[Hammerhead]

Hi Bob - replied