2001 540i V8 Manual. How much to pay?

[idfotou]

I have the opportunity to purchase this 2001 540i with V8 & manual transmission. Car only has 79K miles. No rust. M-Sport interior. Lots of records. No accidents. Runs great.

1) How much is a fair price? The reason I ask is I see prices on auto trader from 58 cents to 88 thousand. Okay, not that much but the prices are all over the place.

2) Looks to have Dinan exhaust?

3) What is that Dinan thing inside the engine?

Sorry for the odd questions but I am not familiar with Dinan upgrades or what they do. Is there a way to find out what this car has?

Thanks in advance for your help!

car1.jpgcar2.jpgcar4.jpgcar3.jpgcar5.jpg

[GotF1]

Depends, depends, depends. Exact maintenance makes a huge difference. Was the cooling system taken care of: radiator, water pump, hoses. Suspension links: deteriorated ball joints, etc. Typical E39 stuff that is not too bad for DIY but will get pricey quickly if you have to pay for it to be done. So a guess on a good price? $12-$13k. More or less depending on records. What is he or she asking?

[idfotou]

5.5K. they have a good stack of records but I haven't gone through them all. Everything was done at a BMW dealership.

[Santaclaus4]

Buy it, that's a pretty decent price.
It needs the cooling system refreshed.

[idfotou]

santa,

what do you mean "refreshed?" New radiator?

[R Shaffner]

I paid $6,000 for mine with 150,000 miles. And it had a few things (oil leaks and burning) that needed to be fixed.

Price looks good. Even so I'd take it to someone who knows BMWs to get it checked out. Would act quickly.

[JimLev]

santa,

what do you mean "refreshed?" New radiator?

Yes, radiator, expansion tank, upper and lower radiator hoses, water pump, t-stat are the typical things that will usually last 80-100K miles. If you do buy the car (5.5k is a good price) and replace those parts keep the old ones if they are still good.

[idfotou]

Yes, radiator, expansion tank, upper and lower radiator hoses, water pump, t-stat are the typical things that will usually last 80-100K miles. If you do buy the car (5.5k is a good price) and replace those parts keep the old ones if they are still good.

Wonderful. Thanks for the info.

[Olly84]

man, it's got some goodies in there! The dinan exhaust will sound amazing, and only $5,500 for 79,000 miles?? and a 6-speed. damn that's a good deal.

There's a gun metal gray 540iT with only 79,000 miles on Ebay right now with a buy-it-now price of $5000. Could the e39 v8's be tapering off in price now?

[DIRTe39]

Had a chance to cash out after a wreck for what I’d consider fair value at $7k. ‘02 540iA with the sport bits and pieces in SoCal. ~90k miles if that helps any.

[dannyzabolotny]

$5500 for an 01 540i6 with 79k miles and Dinan bits is a pretty good deal! Shoot me a PM if you have any more questions, I'm in Phoenix as well if you need any help with it.

[theWalkinator]

I paid $6300 for mine 2002 540i auto in 2012 at 100K miles, $5.5K is reasonable price to pay, looks like the car is in good condition but have pre-purchase inspection done before you buy it.

[Mless5]

That's a good price for this car.
Coolant system would be due as mentioned before, and don't forget valley pan.

Thanks.

[ross1]

As with any of these cars a pre-purchase inspection is a very, very good idea. Modified cars are always suspect of having led hard lives so especially important here. Expect to be spending some $ on top of whatever you might buy it for. Neglecting maintenance on these is truly a fool's errand so fix whatever the PPI reveals..
If as presented it seems a square deal and assuming most folks expect some price negotiation looks even better.
That Dinan thing under the hood is the air intake. If routed to actually admit "cold" outside air it is generally regarded as plus by most. I personally don't care for oiled air filters(nor do air flow sensors)and don't find these good for anything more than increased intake noise which equates to more power in some peoples minds. Personal preference I suppose, seems it hasn't ruined anything in 79k miles.
Nice car, good luck.

[jicaino]

$5500 for an 01 540i6 with 79k miles and Dinan bits is a pretty good deal! Shoot me a PM if you have any more questions, I'm in Phoenix as well if you need any help with it.

"I'm in phoenix if you need any help..." = "let me help you by sniping this car away so you don't have to go thru the troubles of buying it"

at least that's what it means down here.

- - - Updated - - -

OP, I'd just snatch it at that price

[dannyzabolotny]

"I'm in phoenix if you need any help..." = "let me help you by sniping this car away so you don't have to go thru the troubles of buying it"

at least that's what it means down here.

OP, I'd just snatch it at that price

Haha that's not what I meant. I don't need another 540i, I already have one that I'm happy with. I meant it in a genuine way, if he has any questions or needs any help with it, I'm available. When I bought my first 540i6, a fellow forum member (flounderasu) volunteered to help me look at it since he knew more about these cars than I did back then.

[jicaino]

Haha that's not what I meant. I don't need another 540i, I already have one that I'm happy with. I meant it in a genuine way, if he has any questions or needs any help with it, I'm available. When I bought my first 540i6, a fellow forum member (flounderasu) volunteered to help me look at it since he knew more about these cars than I did back then.

I know, I was just bustin' chops. Now the only one missing offering to "help" is a certain Dinan family member...

[Santaclaus4]

"I'm in phoenix if you need any help..." = "let me help you by sniping this car away so you don't have to go thru the troubles of buying it"

Omg, I almost had coffee come out my nose I was laughing so hard!!!

[jicaino]

Omg, I almost had coffee come out my nose I was laughing so hard!!!

"What's that sound? Do I hear a belt flapping or something got caught in the wheel or sum'tin?"

"Nah that's just the sound vultures make when they flap their wings..."

[easymoney]

I know, I was just bustin' chops. Now the only one missing offering to "help" is a certain Dinan family member...

Too far about 700 miles up north. Haha!