Member
Hi Guys,
I purchased a sight unseen 530i manual at an auction. The car was rear ended in an accident. In addition to a new bumper and trunk lid, I will need part number 41118209463(for both sides) 41347032413(and #5 on diagram). Those are the main parts needed from my observation. The car will also need a new paint job because the person prior re-painted the car in a different color but the color is very close to the original color. The original color is Steel Blue. To get the car back in good shape, I suspect it'll need 6-7k in work including the paint job. I would also have to do the normal maintenance
The only thing that's drawing me to this car at the point is the color and the fact that it's a stick shift. The color is unique especially in stick.
Would you:
1. Keep the car and fix it up.
2.Buy an automatic and do a transmission swap by using the parts from this car.
3.Get rid of it and buy a different stick shift car.
Member
To be honest, not sure of your situation with time and space. I would personally just manual swap an auto car. Then part out the remains of the other car. In the part out alone you would probably recoupe all the money from purchasing the car.
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Originally Posted by seagreen323i
I'm leaning towards that. As much as I like the steel blue and also as a manual, I find it hard to spend that much money fixing it up.
Member
I am reading the following
-East coast car = exposed to salt and has rust somewhere
-Manual trans
-significant rear body damage- possible salvage title?
-already been repainted a non-original color.
-You want to repaint the whole car.
-mileage ? Color of interior ? sports package ?
No way I am repainting a whole E39
I would buy an automatic from a salt free state - one that still has decent paint - and manual swap it.
For $5,000 and a plane ticket you can buy a nice, mostly garage kept E39 from a salt-free state and drive it home.
Part out the rest of your car to defray expenses.
I might spend a $1,000 getting your car road worthy and drive it while I look for a good E39...
Last edited by effduration; 01-15-2023 at 07:52 AM.
Member
It's Tennessee car so it's rust free. Sport package. Steel blue on Beige interior. Mileage is 160k. But still not worth it IMO.
What's the average cost for a paint job? I'm guessing around 3k.
Last edited by TheRide; 01-14-2023 at 10:46 PM.
Member
Try 7-8k for a paint job equal to what came on the car new, and that's only if the respray currently on it doesn't require a ton of work in prep. The car you describe isn't anywhere near worth just the work you're considering putting into it much less the asking price of the car originally.
As an example which is pretty typical of the new E39 owner, we knew we wanted a 2003 540i/6 from a rust free state. It took 2-3 months of waiting and one popped up in Texas just south of Dallas for $6500. It had 171k on the clock, a few dings, paint was fine, no rust, black interior. We got on a plane the next morning, inspected the car in daylight, the car was light on records but drove and presented like a well maintained car. We made a deal and drove it back home the next day.
Over the course of a year we've put another 5-6k into it.. new suspension, quality tires, 100% new cooling system, and misc this and that. We even did a few extras included in that 5-6k like a new steering wheel, padded leather sliding center armrest, matching leather wrapped shift knob. Oh, and I spent weeks removing oxidation and severe water spotting to correct the paint before finally ceramic coating it. The car looks great, drives great, and I'd take it anywhere.
Reading the forum this is how it usually goes. You spend for a good base car, then spend some more to bring the car up to your standards of no deferred maintenance and reliability, and then spend a bit more for whatever bothered you about it during the time you were working on it.
You could go to BAT and buy a car that claims to have all this stuff recently done and pay a lot more.. and maybe the work was done. I dunno.. I think you take some heavy chances buying on an auction site. Take your time, look around, and don't be eager to jump on the first car that comes along.
Oh, and from the amounts listed you might have noticed I spent more on this car than this car is probably worth.. though we're in crazy times so who knows.. could be close. I have about 12k into it.. I wish I could have bought this car for that much with proof that all the work I did was done. This is the value of documentation. This car has a Super Sprint exhaust and inside the engine is very clean (I posted a video from a bore scope some time back) with the sprockets and chains you'd normally replace in a T/C service showing them to look like new. If I had documentation of the same the car would be worth considerably more but I don't. Personally I think it's been done except for the VANOS which I plan on dong this spring.. This car fully documented enough so you know the work was done, 100% every option and feature works, that's the car you want to buy. You probably won't find one though for a reasonable price, if one is for sale it will be over on BAT for twice what it's worth because people pay big for a sure thing they can count on. But the closer you can get to it.. the better. And you are very far way with a car that needs paint and there's no documentation of any work done. Be patient, one will pop up that you can feel good about. If you already bought such a car, polish the heck out of it, apply lipstick, and sell it to the next guy too eager to shop around.
Good luck.
StateFarmClassic-20.jpg StateFarmClassic-17.jpg StateFarmClassic-26.jpg StateFarmClassic-11.jpg StateFarmClassic-33.jpg
Last edited by SW530; 01-15-2023 at 01:24 AM.
A great ending is all you'll see..
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Large Member
I would lean towards #3 as first option, maybe #2 as a close second. But I have a shop and a lift. #1 would be out of the question.
@SW530 nice clean car!
Member
No way does performing a bunch of body and paint work on one these make any financial sense. The reason it was auctioned off. Add all the might as well wear parts when doing a manual swap and you'll be buried in car that likely has a branded title on top of it all.
Either find an uncrashed auto-box car and swap the manual bits (you might just find a clean manual car), sell this one** or, depending on your tolerance for such projects, part it out.
** If drivable to Chicago and priced right I might buy it for a manual swap. PM if that interests you.
Last edited by ross1; 01-15-2023 at 09:49 AM.
If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue
Member
Thanks, you should have seen what I started with after it sat in the Texas sun with the sprinkler falling on it. The paint correction itself took weeks, regulars to the forum might remember my frustration trying different products that promised to do the work for me.. of course none of them did. I ended up going with 2000g and then 3000g 3m sanding discs that in retrospect should have started with, it would have saved me days. I'm a sucker for a quick fix..
A great ending is all you'll see..
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Member
I wouldn't trust in driving it to Chicago. Because of the rear end hit, the rear door wont slam shut. That area was crunched a little.
I have to decide if I want to deal with parting it. So sad though because I love the steel blue on beige interior and it's a sport package.
Member
Sounds like you really like this car. To become good with the considerable $$$ you'll need to pony up, I'd like to suggest using the "fixing this will cost far less than buying a new car of similar caliber" rationale. Then take a deep breath, put 10K into your project account, and go and save it!
Last edited by sleuth255; 01-15-2023 at 06:12 PM.
Member
I like the car for the unusual package(steel blue, beige interior plus sport package and stick), but I will not spend that kind of money fixing it up.
Member
I'm sure you could find a steel blue autobox. Even if it was a non sport you could swap all the goodies over, you've got an entire car to do so with.
Who cares if it's a "real sports package"
Mine isn't a "real M sport" it's just a standard sport package but I've ripped out every part that makes a preformance difference and replaced it with aftermarket solutions. Who cares right. Mine handles significantly better then the M sport package and that's all I wanted.
Heck, My 540 will blow the doors off of a stock m5 on a technical twisty road, but the m5 of course will blow me away in a straight line, and I sacrificed ride quality to get here but everything in life is a trade off.
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Last edited by seagreen323i; 01-16-2023 at 07:37 AM.
Member
It got hit hard. Abandon hope.
Sent you a PM
Last edited by ross1; 01-16-2023 at 08:37 AM.
If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue
Member
Seems like your decision is already made then. Drill a few holes, wire-tie that door closed, and drive it over to Chicago... Heck, I might stop by myself too since I'm always on the hunt for parts. What shape is the center vent in? Does it have a black interior?
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