Planning on getting a high mileage 150k e39 540i/6 as winter beater, how stupid am I? No problem working on the car myself but.....its a 13 14 year old car after all.
>>13901891
>winter beater
Why? unless you drive in a area that gets no snow, its like the worst possible choice you could get.
Also seeing as how good condition 540i's are still 7-8k+ there are much better choices out there.
>>13901891
Why do you want a winter beater that's more expensive than most people's cars here
not OP but i want to buy a 540i as a daily driver. how stupid am i? most of the ones in my area have 150k+ miles on them
>>13901952
Only own one if you're willing to do the work yourself.
Otherwise the cost of maintaining it could easily eclipse what you paid for it.
>>13901958
how often does shit break and what are the weak parts of the car?
>>13901975
Cooling system is the weakest part, I went through two radiators in the first two months i got it, lovely chinese quality OEM crap.
Ended up getting a zionsville all aluminum and have not had a problem since which was six months ago.
After that I had to replace a vapor purge valve, (~100$) and still have yet to fix the seat twist and broken headlight adjusters (10-20$ fix and ~40 for the aftermarket adjusters
The only other thing to look out for is vanos noise, If sounds like a quietish diesel its ok if its loud like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSxg8rfQj5o
Then you have a imminent engine failure.
>>13901975
Timing chain guides
>$1,500 in parts and tools alone
>20 hour job by the book
Water pump
>oem had plastic impeller that are prone to failure
Radiators are BMW quality
>BMW guys will understand
>Plastic expansion tanks that like to crack
Electrical gremlins like pixels on the dash failing
Suspension is getting up there in age and mileage so a refresh at some point. Might as well upgrade the shocks/springs at that point.
Some of the shit seems cheap but it will nickle and dime you to death.
>>13902019
>>13902035
fuck that doesnt sound fun. what about a 525/30, are the engines any more reliable
>>13902067
You can avoid the timing chain mess by getting a pre-vanos 540i, though it won't look as good as the facelifted 540i's, and Im not sure they'll be available in the 6 speed.
>>13901975
Not sure why you'd get a 540i as a winter car but,
Get a 97/98 model. Came with the more reliable prevanos engine that also made more power.
Pic related what mine looks like except for the m5 side mirrors.
>>13902112
They do come in six speed. I own one and just face lift it yourself.
you dont get a 540i/6 as a beater
you get a 540i/6 and love it so fucking much you winter-prep it so you can keep it safe
>>13902019
vanos noise and timing chain guide failure are not the same thing.
vanos can clickity click away forever and it wont harm anything else, you'll just lose vanos which means you lose some low end torque.
timing chain guides failing you can see (or hear) coming from a mile away but if it goes, your timing chain skips a tooth and your engine explodes. To do that DIY is about $1500 in parts and like 30 hours of work. you just rent a car for a week and go for it in your spare time
>>13901891
Pretty damn stupid. A Beater isn't supposed to be a complicated, expensive, maintenance intensive, good looking car. It's supposed to be something cheap, durable, reliable shitbox.
