GhostDini

Anyone on here wanna trade their sc400/300 for my 540i bmw? It has 104,000miles auto trans lots of cosmetic mods

Let me know most interested in a 97+ sc300 stock lower miles

Thanks

Vadim540i

Nice car, I had one of those.

1JZPWRD

iTrader: (59)

What the heck? Are you tired of it? It even has the V-8. Try also the classifieds also.

You blacked out the back tag but forgot to do the front one..

718murdoc

Why would you want to trade???
Your car looks mint.

TankMR

iTrader: (2)

Only if it was an M5

scENFORCER

LOL thats the first thing I said when I saw this post

BostonSC4

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, whats wrong with the BMW? It looks great! I'd rather have one than an SC I think.

Vadim540i

M62 sucks in reliability, i had one

TLDriver

iTrader: (4)

I have an M52/E39 and from the bimmer forums, both are really reliable if you keep up with the cooling system.

lexhere27

I live in MN with a 97 sc400 black on black, hit me up I might consider it

kingdunke

funny that you asked. i owned a 2002 530iA sport pkg, which is more reliable than a 540i, yet of course much less power. i had both cars at the same 2 years span. the number of issues on my 02 is 5 times more than my 1995 sc300. that's why i sold my bimmer and kept the sc3. your car looks mint. good luck with the trade/sale

boostd4

I loved my old 540i 6-speed. It got the same gas mileage as my SC300 but with 100 more foot lbs of torque

I work for BMW and have had many. If you do your own work, it's not too bad of a car to own. Pelican Parts sells OEM parts at deep discounts. There is no denying that E39's are expensive to own. Especially cars in the ~100,000 mile area. I can garauntee that the vast majority of V8 E39's with that mileage need/will need/have had replaced recently:

Front control arms (w/ball joints)
Front thrust rod bushings
Front swaybar endlinks
Rear ball joints
Rear diff side seals
Vapor Separator
Intake manifold seals
Valley pan
Valve cover gasket
A host of misc cooling system parts (Tstat, waterpump, exp. tank, upper/lower hoses, recovery hose, radiator, etc)

...and God forbid if your water-cooled alternator goes out on you. List on those is ~$1,000 (+ core, of course).

Aside from the alternator, you can get all the suspension stuff on eBay (chinese copies or manufactuerer direct) for 25% of what the dealer charges.

I could take a warn out E39 540 and have it tip-top and ready for another 75,000 miles with $1,000 and a bunch of elbow grease.

If you rely on dealer service... BRING YOUR WALLET

BIGCTY

iTrader: (2)

Expensive to own, but I'd have to respectfully disagree with M62's sucking in reliability. I've has two e38's, a 97 740iL and an 01 740i sport. I never had or heard of any major issues with the M62. Now the Nikasil M60 was a different story.

Man I cant tell you how true this is! I've been a mod over on the e38 forum or Bimmerboard for a LONG time and I've seen all of this about a 1000 times. Those suspension parts do wear out and squeak like crazy. At 100k all that stuff needs to be replaced, not to mention an equivilant of an inspection II, and the never ending to flush or not flush the "lifetime"fluid debate.

I's probably give up my SC for a 540i 6 speed IF I wanted a sedan. I wish they made the 01 740i sport in a 6 speed, that would be perfect!

GhostDini

I love the car and maintaining it is expensive but I need to trade it in or sell it. I have new student loan payments that are killing me I could refinance which is what I want to do but they will not let me. I want to trade it in so I will not have to pay taxes but I am also trying to sell it for $8200 if anyone is interested. Valve cover gasket is leaking but that is an easy DIY and a $60 gasket set. I am most interested in a nice sc with maintence done and some cash becauce most Sc's are higher miles and an older car. TRUST ME THIS CAR WILL NOT DISAPPOINT.
Thanks

and Lexhere27 pm sent I would love to al least look at your car for sale because I do have some potential buyers

boostd4

There should be no debate, its VERY straightforward. Working for a BMW dealer I get people in there ALL THE TIME with their new-to-them 100k mile E38/E39 autos and want trans flushes done.

This is my advice: If you have documentation that the original owner changed the fluid every 30-40k miles, go ahead and flush it.

If it has never been done, LEAVE IT ALONE. Changing the fluid will only hurt. The old dirty fluid is basically large ***** of detergent trapping dirt particles. The extra heat and dirt from 100k old fluid causes leaks. The trapped dirt particles PLUG those leaks. Yea, it will eventually fail. If you leave it alone, on average they'll last to 150k (many have gone more, I'm speaking of the average). If you change 100,000 mile old fluid, I give the trans 6 months. Just what me and others at the dealership have seen over the past 10 years.