Need some advice on buying a BMW 97 540i

Congratulations. I hope all our warnings and doom-mongering in this thread are to no avail and that it proves to be a good one for you - please do enjoy it :)
 
as above^^

hope you get a bargain not a shed for your money. if so it will probably the best 2.5k youve spent! :D

now enjoy the petrol bills :)
 
Pinter75 said:
Thanks guys.

I do hope it works out, but for 2.5k it should be a load of fun.

Again thanks for all you help.

Photos to follow when I pick it up on thurs.

:-)
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Hell for 2.5k it should be a blast for awhile tbh...Can't really go wrong there..Just run it till it stops :cool:
 
Pinter75 said:
I have to start ordering stuff then. I just bought it for 2.5K!

Wheeeeeeeee!
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Welcome to proper BMW's !

Sounds like a FAR better price. :)

I sincerely hope my doom mongering is wrong - it sounds like it in that case! - Your first port of call should be a good service, you may well get your 10K of mileage from it.

Don't worry about the pixels on the dash too much, they are an issue I have a few dead ones on my e38 and my dads e39 is getting nigh impossible to read the mileage. - An expensive thing to fix, leave it would be my advice there.

I look forward to your "passed the 200k" post. :cool:

Pics !!!
 
Pics to follow shortly. Hopefully gonna pick it up Thurs or Friday. I drove upto it tonight to have a look again, and it certainly looks sweet :-)

I think it needs some nicer wheels, but what size is sensible? (considering bearings etc 17 - 18"?). I am liking the stock M5 wheels, or maybe the alpina style (R124/LA420 like the one you have.)

Another plus point is it has the de-chrome package, but I really do need to get rid of all that fake wood inside - carbon fibre or brushed aluminium me thinks :-) I think it would look better with the grey leather.

Whats the deal with the dead pixels, I read somewhere that it is a duff connector? If so, Ill have a bash at that. On my e36 I built an interface board to connect a full auto close alarm to the central computer - so electrical stuff I am comfortable with.
 
Style 37 18's are the best for the E39 - the blue one I posted above has them.

Dead pixels is a common thing and hard to fix although there is a guy on one of the BMW forums who claims to offer no fix no fee service for £100.
 
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I think I meant theis style.
 
my whole clock display sometimes doesnt even light up sometimes.

maybe like once every 2 months. switch the car off and on and comes alive again.

now thats fun :p

Cant wait to see pics of your new beast :)

Edit. I have those on mine they do loom sweet, mine are shadow chome m5 ones
 
Yeh 18s Got them with some kumho tyres instead of some random tyre for 585 including delivery so was reasonable.

got the lights aswell as part of a package deal. Plus I can take them with me when I get a 530d just got new job motorway muncher needed now lol
 
That is a very very good deal. At this money if anything seriously expensive goes then you should be able to at least make a lot of your money back by ebaying it.

Rilot knows his stuff with them, and is probably right about it being pretty shot, but for this money you cant really lose :)
 
DAvE18 said:
got the lights aswell as part of a package deal. Plus I can take them with me when I get a 530d just got new job motorway muncher needed now lol
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You don't want a 530d, they are rubbish.
 
Pinter75 said:
Pics to follow shortly. Hopefully gonna pick it up Thurs or Friday. I drove upto it tonight to have a look again, and it certainly looks sweet :-)

I think it needs some nicer wheels, but what size is sensible? (considering bearings etc 17 - 18"?). I am liking the stock M5 wheels, or maybe the alpina style (R124/LA420 like the one you have.)

Another plus point is it has the de-chrome package, but I really do need to get rid of all that fake wood inside - carbon fibre or brushed aluminium me thinks :-) I think it would look better with the grey leather.

Whats the deal with the dead pixels, I read somewhere that it is a duff connector? If so, Ill have a bash at that. On my e36 I built an interface board to connect a full auto close alarm to the central computer - so electrical stuff I am comfortable with.
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My wheels are BMW not Alpinas.
wheel.jpg


As for the pixel issue, a guy at the 7 Series (E38) Message Board posted this...

PIXEL restoration instructions-for MID speedo/tach (23493 views) (26538 thread views)

Instructions for removal and cleaning of MID (multi information display center)(the in dash unit containg the speedometer and tachometer) to restore pixels.

1.Remove 2 screws above tach/speedo with a T10 torx driver.

2.Pry out upper lip of housing with a flat blade screwdriver.

3.Disconnect 3 wire harnesses in the back of the housing and slide assembly toward passenger side of vehicle. (Make sure steering wheel is down and telescoped fully)

4.Place assembly face down on some type of soft towel and find and remove the wire harness going from the speedo/tach assembly to the module attached to the back. (Black plug at the top of assembly).

5.Push button on the bottom of assembly and slide the module sideways to free it from the front assembly.

6.Locate the five “X” type connectors holding the front onto the main housing. Twist these connectors slightly so they line up with the holes on the housing.

7.Press the four clips (2 on top/2 on bottom) and slide the assembly out through the back of the assembly holding the front clear covering (that covers the faces of the gauges).

8.Now lay the tach/speedo assembly face up on the towel and remove all of the torx screws on the face (about 8-10), this will NOT allow you to open the housing, but it will loosen it enough so you can get a spray nozzle into the circuit board under the cover.

9.Spray any and all connections you with the contact cleaner (non-residue/quick drying/plastic safe). Quickly dry the connections with compressed air (be sure to hold can upright to prevent liquid from being expelled)

10.Spray all holes and connectors and the connectors that plug back into the dash board. I also sprayed the actual connectors in the dash as well.

11.Reassemble the entire unit and make sure it is DRY before reinstalling in the vehicle.

This is what worked for me, it restored all of the pixels to 100% brightness.

Good Luck to all, BE CAREFUL!!!!
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The above applies to the e38 7 series. Its pretty much the same procedure for the e39.

As I say, I'd leave it personally!
 
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