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I've been thinking about selling my car for a while now, and the thoughts have been more often recently. I searched for this car for close to a year, and it's exactly what I wanted, but I need something else now. I need something that I don't need to worry about as much.
The car is a 2001 540i sport. I bought it December 2010 with 103k on it, it's got just over 130k on it now, 75% of which has been highway. About 3 months after I got it the timing chain guide rails died, so I replaced all of that. The engine has always had full synthetic oil changes done at less than 5000 mile intervals, and you could tell inside.
The car is a sport, so it has the sport seats, wheel, and shadowline trim. It has OEM M5 front and rear bumpers installed (with a 540i M-sport rear diffuser) along with a replica M5 lip spoiler. The car also has the wide screen navigation system, upgraded from the factory small screen.
I've done a few upgrades to make the car more appealing to me. I replaced the factory mufflers and resonator with a bullet resonator and added dual tips (sounds absolutely perfect, no rasp, no drone, quiet while cruising and aggressive when you stomp on it). I replaced the suspension with BC coilovers with the stiffer spring option (8k front, 6k rear). They ride better than stock actually, and I have multiple people who would back me up on that.
The upholstery on the rear parcel shelf was in horrible shape so I recovered it in a brown and tan diamond stitched fabric. I meant to do other parts of the interior as well but I never got around to it, so it looks slightly out of place.
I also installed an ipod cable and deck. Those are the only mods I can think of.
The car does have a few issues however. The car came from Georgia, so the interior has some heat and sun damage. The front seats are faded and some small plastic pieces have broken. The seats still have good foam however, so you might be able to dye them back. The passengers side fog lens is cracked.
The car leaks a bit too (it is a BMW V8 car after all). The power steering return line got a pinhole leak when a motor mount failed, so it is wet. It takes about 3 months for the level to go from full to low, so I haven't changed. The oil pan is wet, but the level never goes down between changes so I never got around to doing that either. The Valve covers are corroded, so even with new gaskets they still leak enough for you to smell it. I've searched far and wide for a new set but there appears to be a shortage.
The traction control doesn't work. I believe it's just a wheel speed sensor as the ABS still works (ABS computer controls traction control as well and is a known failure point). I don't drive this car in a way that requires traction control so I never fixed it.
Also, the rear window has old tint on it that I cannot get off. It's fuzzy, but I learned to live with it.
That's about all the issues I can think of, they were all on my to do list that I never got around to. The car is in really good shape, however. It has been my daily driver for the past year and a half and has never let me down. I regularly get 22 mpg, and got 29 mpg on the trip to SoWo last weekend.
My reason for wanting to get rid of it is that it's too nice for me. I struggle to keep it clean and I'm always worried about it getting damaged. I want a car that I can just hop in and drive.
I'm interested in trades but they must be/have:
-Standard transmission
-RWD
-Reliable/maintained
-as good or better mileage
-NO RUST
I've been eyeing NA Miatas and e24's recently, so if you have one of them you've got a jump start already. I could use some money as well, so I'd prefer the value of the trade car not to exceed $5000.
If I had to sell it outright, the price would be $10,000. $11,000 if you want the 18x9 style 5's too. This is a feeler though, and it's my only running car at the moment so I'd really prefer a trade for now.
I don't have any good pictures at the moment, I might try to get a friend to take some soon though. These are a collection of ones I've found/shot with my phone.
and some I took back when it was on H&R's to show off the color
The car is a 2001 540i sport. I bought it December 2010 with 103k on it, it's got just over 130k on it now, 75% of which has been highway. About 3 months after I got it the timing chain guide rails died, so I replaced all of that. The engine has always had full synthetic oil changes done at less than 5000 mile intervals, and you could tell inside.
The car is a sport, so it has the sport seats, wheel, and shadowline trim. It has OEM M5 front and rear bumpers installed (with a 540i M-sport rear diffuser) along with a replica M5 lip spoiler. The car also has the wide screen navigation system, upgraded from the factory small screen.
I've done a few upgrades to make the car more appealing to me. I replaced the factory mufflers and resonator with a bullet resonator and added dual tips (sounds absolutely perfect, no rasp, no drone, quiet while cruising and aggressive when you stomp on it). I replaced the suspension with BC coilovers with the stiffer spring option (8k front, 6k rear). They ride better than stock actually, and I have multiple people who would back me up on that.
The upholstery on the rear parcel shelf was in horrible shape so I recovered it in a brown and tan diamond stitched fabric. I meant to do other parts of the interior as well but I never got around to it, so it looks slightly out of place.
I also installed an ipod cable and deck. Those are the only mods I can think of.
The car does have a few issues however. The car came from Georgia, so the interior has some heat and sun damage. The front seats are faded and some small plastic pieces have broken. The seats still have good foam however, so you might be able to dye them back. The passengers side fog lens is cracked.
The car leaks a bit too (it is a BMW V8 car after all). The power steering return line got a pinhole leak when a motor mount failed, so it is wet. It takes about 3 months for the level to go from full to low, so I haven't changed. The oil pan is wet, but the level never goes down between changes so I never got around to doing that either. The Valve covers are corroded, so even with new gaskets they still leak enough for you to smell it. I've searched far and wide for a new set but there appears to be a shortage.
The traction control doesn't work. I believe it's just a wheel speed sensor as the ABS still works (ABS computer controls traction control as well and is a known failure point). I don't drive this car in a way that requires traction control so I never fixed it.
Also, the rear window has old tint on it that I cannot get off. It's fuzzy, but I learned to live with it.
That's about all the issues I can think of, they were all on my to do list that I never got around to. The car is in really good shape, however. It has been my daily driver for the past year and a half and has never let me down. I regularly get 22 mpg, and got 29 mpg on the trip to SoWo last weekend.
My reason for wanting to get rid of it is that it's too nice for me. I struggle to keep it clean and I'm always worried about it getting damaged. I want a car that I can just hop in and drive.
I'm interested in trades but they must be/have:
-Standard transmission
-RWD
-Reliable/maintained
-as good or better mileage
-NO RUST
I've been eyeing NA Miatas and e24's recently, so if you have one of them you've got a jump start already. I could use some money as well, so I'd prefer the value of the trade car not to exceed $5000.
If I had to sell it outright, the price would be $10,000. $11,000 if you want the 18x9 style 5's too. This is a feeler though, and it's my only running car at the moment so I'd really prefer a trade for now.
I don't have any good pictures at the moment, I might try to get a friend to take some soon though. These are a collection of ones I've found/shot with my phone.
and some I took back when it was on H&R's to show off the color
need 4 more.
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