OT BMW 540i Owners???

Regular maintenance can get pricey on older BMWs.  That is a great car though.

Check your in-box.  Not sure what the prevailing $$ is for one these days, but that seems high.  Give the car web-sites a look.  

Any idea why he wants to sell?? 

That's not the full blown M, but the appearance package. Either way that's a super clean car. 

I like that and would pay a premium for a perfect car but there must be a bit of haggle room on the asking price. Do all of the toys work on it? Understressed engine, simple by modern standards. These are quiet too ( or should be, anyway).

I'd buy it if it's been receiving maintenance - at least the fluid changes - on schedule.

I do my own maintenance and repairs on everything.

The good - low mileage.  The bad - 17 years old. 

You should expect problems will crop up with electrical components, just because of the age.  I had a used Audi A8 and the guy I bought it from averaged 10k a year in service - mostly repairing electrical issues.

If you get on top of it, do full service and stick to the schedule, you shouldn't have any major mechanical issues for years. 

The stuff that haunts you on older cars that didn't get proper service are things like leaks in steering system, water in brake fluid causes all kinds of issues, breakdown in lubricants if they weren't changed on schedule (there is mileage and time constraints).  

None of that stuff scares me...my service costs are parts and my time.

Anyway, looks like a fun car without the super high performance issues you may have with an M5.

I had a bunch of 60s/70s cars and they're much harder to keep running properly.  The OBDII system coming from the ECU keeps the engine running better and diagnosing most common problems are simply a matter of evaluating the error codes.

Maintaining carburetors vs fuel injection is much easier with fuel injection.  Not many mechanics now days want to tune points and timing on old cars, and many don't do it...because it's becoming a lost art.

nolaegghead said:

I had a bunch of 60s/70s cars and they're much harder to keep running properly.  The OBDII system coming from the ECU keeps the engine running better and diagnosing most common problems are simply a matter of evaluating the error codes.

Maintaining carburetors vs fuel injection is much easier with fuel injection.  Not many mechanics now days want to tune points and timing on old cars, and many don't do it...because it's becoming a lost art.

Engines are definitely easier to keep running now, gone are the days of carrying spare ignition components in case of failure, or a can of eeze start or jump leads (even batteries seem more reliable). I've fitted EFI to my old camper. No more jetting trial and error / dark arts of carburetor tuning. 

If you want old school carb tuning now, historic race prep people are the ones to see in the UK, they are the only ones left who can do it.

Make sure you check the rubber bits on a 17 yo car. Plus stuff like the timing chain guides and other plastic whatnots that are going to degrade on a car that sits most of the time(<4k miles/year).