My 540/6 For Sale/Trade, again...

[onewhippedpuppy]

I'm throwing my 540/6 up for sale. I'm by no means motivated or desperate, this just isn't the right car for me right now. I love the car, it's just not right for a broke college student with a family. If I were single and had no responsibilities there's no way I would part with it.

1995 540 6 speed, 140,XXX miles. Oxford green over tan leather. Overall in excellent condition, interior is nearly mint except for usual wear on the driver's side seat bolster. For those that don't know, the E34 540/6 was a one year only sport edition of the 540. It had upgraded brakes, suspension, bodywork, the sweet M5 sport seats, and was pretty well loaded. This is NOT an M-Sport, but still a fairly rare car.

Excellent running and driving car, never had any trouble with it. Records back through 70k or so. What I've done in the last 7k: thrust arms with 750 bushings, tie rods, center link, 3mm spring pads, rear dogbones, Racing King subframe inserts, rear sway bar links, Hella clear corners, new chrome kidneys, new roundels, new 17x8.5 M-Contour reps with polished lips, 235/45 Avon Tech M550s, both oxygen sensors, Royal Purple in the transmission and rear diff, as well as a ton of little stuff. I am anal as hell about cars, I removed all the door panels, replaced the broken clips, tightened the wood and armrests, re-glued the pockets. Also tightened every screw I could find, lubed everything lube-able, etc. Thus, it's a very tight car. It also has a Jim C. chip (have original), Bilsteins, Hella OEM clear corners, E39 M5 shift knob, Sony ES head unit with CD changer, and a B&B cat back that sounds awesome.

Exterior is nice, from five feet it looks nearly perfect. It has a clear title and clean Carfax, but has been in a minor accident. The hood, driver's side fender and front door has been replaced with OEM R-DOT parts, fit and finish is like new. The entire car was also re-sprayed, not a show car job but not Maaco either. One dent on hood, one on trunk lid (see pics). Also very light hail damage, just a few dents that you have to look very hard to see. Minor door dings as expected, they don't even show up in pics. None of it is anything a little PDR wouldn't take care of.

Mechanically it is awesome, very reliable, rides and handles great. With the suspension rebuilt there's none of the typical E34 shimmy/shake, it's just tight and smooth. No oil usage, perfect reliability.

I'm asking $9000 obo, or would consider trades for something with 4 doors and a manual gearbox. Car + cash trades would be ideal, I'm doing this because I'm in college, have a family, and am broke, but would consider whatever. Post it up here, or email me at jessup3 at cox.net.

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/5448/199ui.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/2612/17bh2.jpg

[Macv]

Mine and 3 grand sound good? ;)

[onewhippedpuppy]

Thanks for the offer, but I'm looking for a manual. Plus, I was hoping to go downwards on the miles.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Up....

[Macv]

Haha, yeah I expected that. I'd love a 540/6 ... and yours looks gorgeous.

Good luck on the sell.

[bimmerd00d]

how about mine + $4k ;)

[TheEndIsNear]

I'd kill for that car... Hey, do you need anybody offed? LOL

[onewhippedpuppy]

how about mine + $4k ;)

Sold!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Good morning to all of you.....

[onewhippedpuppy]

I'd kill for that car... Hey, do you need anybody offed? LOL
There is this one guy at work.......

[onewhippedpuppy]

Buy me!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Please?

[onewhippedpuppy]

It's OBO......

[Gayle]

Oh Matt

Are we going to have to throw a fund raiser so you can keep that car?

[MBXB]

Gayle, you ought to buy this car! A V8 in SoCal would be a blast.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Two good ideas here Gayle, feel free to Paypal me, or just come on to KS and take it home with you.:D

[onewhippedpuppy]

Good morning!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Now featuring a brand new microfilter! What a pain in the ass that was.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Getting a fresh coat of P21S today.....

[onewhippedpuppy]

Damn it looks pretty. New pics coming soon.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Weekend bump....

[GoldenOne]

PM sent...

[onewhippedpuppy]

Replied.

[Macv]

Post whore. (Me too I guess)

I'll give you 4k, my car, and the right to name my first child.

[Gayle]

For those that don't know, the E34 540/6 was a one year only sport edition of the 540. It had upgraded brakes, suspension, bodywork, the sweet M5 sport seats, and was pretty well loaded. This is NOT an M-Sport, but still a fairly rare car.




Very interesting. I didn't know that. So short of a pain in the ass M5, this is the hotest of the hot. Nice.

[Paul in NZ]

oohhh no dont start an m30/m50 argument between the S38 and M60 owners

[Paul in NZ]

is an 540/6 automatically an "M540"/540iLE/insert US model here????

[onewhippedpuppy]

No, we had an M-Sport 540 here in the states, it was a essentially an M5 with the M60 motor. There were only 200 M-Sports imported into the USA, available as autos or 6 speeds. Pretty rare, so they're pretty pricey. I wish that's what I had.:D

[DABIMR]

Go here (http://www.kindel.com/bmw/)for a full explanation of the different 540i/6 models available for the last year in the States and Canada.. And if it's old news my bad.. :)

Here's (http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?rdpage=thumb&car_id=199226722&dealer_id=56335027&car_year=1995&mod_bookmark_id=null&search_type=used&make=BMW&transmission=Manual&distance=0&model=540I&address=30127&make2=sel_one&certified=&advanced=y&max_mileage=&max_price=&bkms=1150630414857&min_price=&end_year=1995&color=&start_year=1995&drive=&isp=y&engine=&doors=&fuel=&lang=en&cardist=365) one of those rare M540i's. BTW, I have no affiliation with this dealer, just found it during my search for a 540i/6.. Couldn't afford that one..:p

[onewhippedpuppy]

Lots of new pics!
http://www.imageshack.us/user/onewhippedpuppy

A quick tease......
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5663/ext62rf.jpg

[MBXB]

Nice ride! especially the seats.
Good Luck with the sale.

[Macv]

In my eyes, most likely the best looking e34. If it were silver like mine, it would be my dream BMW.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Macv, in regards to your earlier offer, if I can sell the rights to your first born's name on Ebay, you have a deal!

[Gayle]

Macv, if I can sell the rights to your first born's name on Ebay, you have a deal!


I would bid. It would be worth it to win and offer the name Mille Miglia.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I was thinking more commercial, maybe Google.com?

[Macv]

haha ... google is gonna own the world soon anyways, why not start with children.

[Gayle]

I guess it is not so bad giving up your special, special 540 if you get a merely special 540 + cash in exchange. You are still in the family that way.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I want a BMW, but I don't know if it's the best choice right now. College student, married with a two year old son, money is a bit on the tight side. I love E34s and BMWs as much as anyone on here, but we all know that they require more time and money than something boring like an Accord. It becomes a choice of what's best for my family vs what I want, pretty damn tough. On top of that, I know in the back of my mind that it's only temporary, because in two years I'll be able to much more easily afford another BMW.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Top...

[onewhippedpuppy]

Morning bump

[onewhippedpuppy]

Insert excuse for bump here.....

[Scott H]

surprised it hasn't been moved yet.


Insert excuse for bump here.....

[Gayle]

That guy that was at the Chicago who was planning to sell his 535 seemed to think he was going to get top dollar for it on EBAY. He said that based on what he was seeing cars go for. Is that true? How come you aren't putting your baby on the bay?

I am sort of curious from other people who have sold their cars. Sharkman, how did you sell yours and how long did it take?

[liquidtiger720]

I think you should give your car to Gayle to sell. :) Leave the door open and have fliers and all. :)

[cableface]

That guy that was at the Chicago who was planning to sell his 535 seemed to think he was going to get top dollar for it on EBAY. He said that based on what he was seeing cars go for. Is that true? How come you aren't putting your baby on the bay?

I am sort of curious from other people who have sold their cars. Sharkman, how did you sell yours and how long did it take?Selling cars on ebay can be the easiest thing in the world or your worst nightmare... Cars are arguably the most difficult thing to sell on ebay strictly because of the hassle and the complications that arise. You never know who you're selling to, and it may turn out 3 weeks after the winning bid, you still havent been paid. Do I sound sour?

[angrypancake]

i think onewhippedpuppy is trying to see it go to a good home via here and bf.c and other enthusiast sites... ebay can = people that wont give the car a good home, and who wants that for their baby? certainly not me.

[DABIMR]

Plus, over the past few years, Ebay has become the defacto selling site for dealerships, making it that much more harder to sell. The dealers just want to move the item, so they can offer their cars at much lower prices/reserves, etc..

At least that's been my perception.. I have listed about 4 cars on ebay at various times but only 2 actually sold through the Bay of E.. :)

[onewhippedpuppy]

i think onewhippedpuppy is trying to see it go to a good home via here and bf.c and other enthusiast sites... ebay can = people that wont give the car a good home, and who wants that for their baby? certainly not me.

You got it. I've been going for the enthusiast sites because I would like to see it go to someone that will appreciate it, and enthusiasts are the only ones that realize the worth and rarity of the E34 540/6 anyway. Like someone on Bf.c said, on Ebay it's just another 540. Plus, I've heard too many stories about what a pain in the ass Ebay can be, especially with cars.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I think you should give your car to Gayle to sell. :) Leave the door open and have fliers and all. :)

Though it's a good idea, Gayle has better luck than I do. That would only result in someone urinating on my seats.

[Gayle]

Though it's a good idea, Gayle has better luck than I do. That would only result in someone urinating on my seats.


Yeah, I only got away with doing that because of where I live. But have you tried putting it in a high traffic location with a sign? (Locked of course. That is the preferred way of selling cars here in So Cal.

For example, last week there was a really sweet looking old vette in front of the Nokia building that is next to my office.

[onewhippedpuppy]

That's the plan for this weekend, but very much locked.;) Even in a nice neighborhood, I just don't trust people.

[Gayle]

That's the plan for this weekend, but very much locked.;) Even in a nice neighborhood, I just don't trust people.

We had the code on so it wouldn't start and it was in view from our house. And we brought it home every night. This car is not high on the hit list of car thieves in San Diego. And the potential vandals are too busy surfing or skateboarding during the day to bother. Those are the unique things about our situaton that made it ok to do this novel strategy. Most of the people in our neighborhood have new bimmers, so leaving it unlocked was about the only thing we thought would get people around here interested.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Leaving mine unlocked would certainly interest people, but probably not in a good way. It's a shame we all can't just leave our cars unlocked, people suck.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Still for sale...

[onewhippedpuppy]

Sold, to the first person to look at it. Very much a bittersweet moment, but the best thing for my family right now. So if anyone knows of an excellent 535/5 or 328/5 near KS for a great price, let me know. If I can't find a well maintained BMW that will still let me stick some cash in the bank, it's off to economy car hades I go. Thanks to everyone for all the help, this is a great forum. It's not goodbye, just see you later.:)