advice on a 1995 540i

[e34_540i]

Hi,
I need an advice in purchasing a 1995 540i; I hope I'm posting into the right section.
history: the car is now with the second owner, 8 years with the first one, dealer maintained; second owner had it for 2.5 years, no maintenance done except for brakes, shocks, a/c and muffler
Mileage: 284000km
The car is in a very good shape, I had the opportunity to drive it and it drives better than many new cars that I drove. It was rust-checked 3 years ago, no visible rust except for the trunk hood (around the lock). It drives very smooth, interior looks great, no visible wear, everything works inside&out
Known problems:
- weak a/c
- "clunk" noise sometimes when you go over potholes
- tail brake lights errors sometimes
- 1 time the alarm went off when it stayed in sun on a very hot summer day, engine immobilizer engaged, had to wait for it to cool down to start it
I think these are all the problems.
If I buy it, I plan to have the maintenance done by a dealer (assuming it doesn't go to 1k$/month, but I will be happy to do some small jobs myself (I don't have specific tools and not too much time)
The asking price is $8k CAN, final. I know well the seller, I can test drive it for a couple of days.
Any thoughts?
thanks for any replies & advices

[Evan]

Auto or 6 speed? Check out this car before you buy a 540i Auto http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=18845

[Traian]

It sounds like the car has been loved, which is nice. Make sure the motor idles smoothly and revs freely, you don't want to have an incoming Nikasil issue. Some people might recommed a leakdown or at least a compression test to make sure, thought at that mileage I think it would just be money for confidence's sake. I bought my 540 and did neither and haven't had problems. The clunk noise might be worn sway bar links. If the steering wheel shifts out of your hand over bumps, it might be steering end links. That the a/c works at all is nice, do you know if it leaking big time or just needs a recharge? No rust around the door bottoms is impressive, it means they must have been replaced, which again suggests the car was loved. The price is a tad high, I would try to take $1K off the top or so, but that is a personal issue more than anything else and depends on each individual car and how you feel about it. Don't let anyone tell you you got ripped off after you buy it! Btw, there is another fellow from Montreal selling his 94 540 for only $6k (US I believe) here on the board, might wanna check that out.

[Evan]

$8000 CDN is around $6800 USD and 284K Km is about 175K miles -- it's on the high end in mileage and money for an auto trans.

Also, by his own admission, the second owner spent the bare minimum on maintenance for 2.5 years.

If it's a 6 speed... which I'm sure it isn't -- the price is perfect. Buy it tomorrow.

Seriously... you'll need to spend a few hundred (minimum) to make the A/C cold... the clunk noise you hear is at least another couple hundred, and the alarm and tail lights are another few hundred... that's $1000 minimum to get the car right... is this the first car you looked at?

Best,
Evan

[e34_540i]

Auto or 6 speed? Check out this car before you buy a 540i Auto http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=18845

6 speed.

[GJPinAU]

Known problems: - weak a/c

Might be the micro-filter is clogged with crap, easy DIY

[e34_540i]

the motor idles smoothly, revs ok (as far as I ca tell . anyway, I will try to check the serial #.
the a/c was refilled last summer, but by September was weak again, so I think it's leaking somewhere.
the actual owner had the shocks replaced hoping this will fix the clunk noise, but it didn't help. the guys who installed the new shocks are not too good, so this might have something to do with it
the stearing wheel doesn't shift over bumps & the cars drives straight always.
I should be able to take 1k off, and usually I'm not looking at prices after I buy something
my problem is that I drove it, and it just runs great! the concerns are the high mileage and the maintenance costs.
thanks for the reply

[e34_540i]

yes, it is a 6 speed. I'm sure I will have to spend ~1k for the beginning but I am just concerned about the reliability at this age and mileage.
yes, this is the first car that I looked at, but again, also drove it ~4k km and it seems to be running perfectly.

[e34_540i]

I'm sure nobody checked that in the last 3 years, thanks for the reply.

[SharkmanBMW]

that is a lot of mileage...
weak ac can be very expensive...
buy my 540, in Montreal! $7250 Cad$
213k