m60/m62 6-spd conversion kit on Ebay . . .

[gale]

(no affiliation)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-6...QQcmdZViewItem

[Boone.Msi]

I think thats our very own mod kelvera's

[markus]

how come used 6-speed trannies are so much? i know they are rare but lets get real here. if a 540i-6 is totaled how big is the supply vs demand for these trannies? im sure they are pretty bulletproof like most manual bmw trannies (excluding the 4-speed in the 2002) but how many BMW owners out there with a 540iA are ambitious enough to swap a 6-speed? Most people will either rebuild the automatic tranny or get a new car. I dont see how the price can be so big. Is the demand really that big for them?

[Sidney Rough-Diamond]

That is a lot of money for a gearbox. I only paid $2300 for my 540 6 speed with sport leather. I'll be thinking of selling mine and doing a 5 speed conversion if it does sell.

[Kalevera]

I think thats our very own mod kelvera's

yeah, it's mine but I'm not a mod

im sure they are pretty bulletproof like most manual bmw trannies

Actually, they're not. The S6S-420g, E39/E34 M5 version or regular 540 version, fails more often than most. This could be because of the way people who own them drive them. Since they can't be rebuilt, the only option is to buy new or source a good used unit. New is $5500 the last time I checked, used are somewhat rare.

Occasionally there are deals. I had one last year that was incorrectly removed by a dealer under warranty. We got it through a trade and it sat for years. I let it go for a grand and it went to New Zealand.

That is a lot of money for a gearbox. I only paid $2300 for my 540 6 speed with sport leather. I'll be thinking of selling mine and doing a 5 speed conversion if it does sell.

I think this statement is a little disingenuous. Because of MOT and other stupidities that afflict the UK and most of Europe, values for older BMWs are a fraction of what they are in the states.

Take, for example, a regular old M5 3.6. You can find one in the UK for less than 4 grand, and I've seen them go for less than 2 grand / 1k pounds. They're 7 grand to sky high (usually around 30/35k for the really low mileage examples) over here.

A comparable car to yours, assuming decent shape, is worth 6-10 grand over here. Not $2500. This is the reason why people over on m5board occasionally wonder about exporting their 3.8s to the states -- given that they were never imported here, it's a 25-35k car.


If you were to buy a $1600 540 with a bad transmission in the states and spend 3 grand converting it, you'd create a lot of value and save money on insuring the thing because the insurance company thinks it's an automatic.

Win/win situation for someone with the right opportunities.

[Boone.Msi]

oops

[jbraswell]

It all comes down to supply and demand. 6 speeds are worth $2k+ simply because people have and will continue to pay that much for them. There are just not that many of these around, I think you will see prices drop in the next few years as more e39 cars show up in junkyards and such.. But from my experience, the market is not to that point yet. I ended up getting my 6 speed for $1100 shipped with low mileage, but that is a definite rarity these days.

[Barney Paull-Edwards]

Agrree with it being a lot of money but it`s down to supply and demand. Mine in Uk cost a lot less via a stealer who had replaced it in error.Also fits a M51 engine with very few mods,what you in us call a guibo needed one from an aussie holden but nothing else odd.

[yaofeng]

I paid $2,000 plus shipping for the 6 speed package last year. Initially I thought it was steep too. I still do. But it is supply and demand at work.