Automotive General discussion.

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Automotive General discussion.
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flag DaFreerider44
Posted: Jan 13, 2021 at 6:35 Quote
The G35 coupe is 2 door, rear wheel drive, and comes with a vq35. The standard sedan is basically the 350 as a sedan. There is a difference, it's just pretty negligible. Any 350z parts will fit on a g35 coupe which shows how similar it is. The sedan I can't really speak for, but I'm pretty sure it comes with the vq35 and 4 wheel drive. Also is the 325i pretty easy to work on? I know that the E46 and the E30's have good aftermarket support, but I've been looking at one from 2012. I'm a little nervous because BMW's are expensive to fix and really complicated.
flag mountainbiker929
Posted: 2 days ago Quote
Anyone have any experience with e39 540i s. I found a 6 speed one near me for a reasonable price with high miles but I have no experience with anything newer from BMW.
flag DaFreerider44
Posted: 2 days ago Quote
mountainbiker929 wrote:
Anyone have any experience with e39 540i s. I found a 6 speed one near me for a reasonable price with high miles but I have no experience with anything newer from BMW.
I've heard good things about any of the e series. That said I really don't like getting newer, high mileage BMW's. It's kinda a recipe for disaster.
flag jespinal
Posted: 2 days ago Quote
mountainbiker929 wrote:
Anyone have any experience with e39 540i s. I found a 6 speed one near me for a reasonable price with high miles but I have no experience with anything newer from BMW.
friend of mine has one, nice comfortable car, as far as I know he only did basic maintenance although for some reason his rear diff made a clunking sound under heavy acceleration, may have been a bushing
flag Nobble
Posted: 2 days ago Quote
540i is the V8 right?

I know the V6's are dead reliable as long as you do regular maintenance and take care of the cooling system.
flag greywolf999
Posted: 2 days ago Quote
A E39 540i is the v8 model of the 5 series. Incidentally, the "E" designation is just a name used within BMW for their different vehicles. They ran out of two digit numbers a while back, so now all the current BMW models are "F", as in F30, etc...

The E39 is, in my opinion, the last of the good 5 series. After that, they started getting a lot more complicated, like all more modern vehicles. The only thing I would say you need to watch out for, particularly on a higher mileage one, is the timing chain guides. the V8 they used in the 540i is known for problems with the timing chain tensioner. If the tensioner no longer provides enough force on the chain and guides, the chain slaps loosely around in the engine, and will eventually take out the guides (which are just lengths of metal with a plastic piece bonded to them, for the chain to move upon). Once the guides are destroyed, odds are the chain will skip teeth on the sprockets, and your engine will destroy itself. Pistons hit valves. Listen for any kind of ticking or knocking sound when the engine is running.

It's pretty rare to find a 540i with the 6 speed manual transmission, so if the price is right, and you're willing to spend a bit on repairs and maintenance, go for it! They're great cars. Just understand it is a BMW, so it will almost certainly have some oil and/or coolant leaks that will need fixing.
flag adm750
Posted: 2 days ago Quote
mountainbiker929 wrote:
Anyone have any experience with e39 540i s. I found a 6 speed one near me for a reasonable price with high miles but I have no experience with anything newer from BMW.

E39...def best chassis by far for the BMW lineup. 540/6MT....yes kinda rare....and a sh*tload of fun to drive but definitely be prepared to spend rightly to keep it.

greywolf stated the big issue with the M62 engine in the 540. the timing chain guides....

I highly recommend you take it to a dealer or a good independent and pay them to do a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) which will cover the few additional things I've noted...

other things to watch for and ask to see maintenance records on are:
check for fault codes
rust
vanos units..these can make that same rattly noise GW described...
leaking v/c gaskets.
oil control plate replacement (this is essentially the PCV system for the engine)
intake valley plate coolant leaks...you will pull the manifold to do this roughly every 80k-100k miles
entire cooling system overhaul....t/stat, radiator , hoses, heater valve...again, this is like 80-100k maintenance on these cars
suspension...those are notoriously hard on rear ball joints and front thrust rod bushings
wheel bearings....
sunroof operation...
catalytic converter and O2 sensor faults.
clutch operation

basically...get as much maintenance history on the car as you can. you can get a heck of a deal on one but sometimes baselining it will run you several thousand.

I'd budget no less than an additional $2500-3500K on top of what you are paying if you are doing the work yourself. $4-6 K if not.
or pay a premium for one that comes from an enthusiast...
flag mountainbiker929
Posted: 22 hours ago Quote
Thanks for the info! definitely something I would be interested in, but it sold before I could make it to see it.
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