Feeler: 1999 E39 540i/6

[naickers]

Hypothetically let's say I needed to raise some cash for a Business opportunity, would R120K be a reasonable asking price for my pride and joy? It now has E60 M5 rims and a OEM Clutch fitted a month ago,
Spared no expense in maintaining this car, please note that this is still in the extreme feeler stage.... I have a few other avenues to explore first....
I will upload current pics tomorrow,

 

[Legacy]

Due to the current petrol price I doubt you would be able to raise R80k by selling the 540i let alone R120k. The E39 really isn't worth allot of money these days, which is good and bad at the same time.

 

[RAArmstrong]

I would love one of these! :inlove:

 

[naickers]

@Legacy...I get 550 to 600 on a full tank (65lt) conservative driving,
400 to 450 Hooning it, which is how I drive (Nikhil can vouch for me here)

 

[SP33DYV]

Doesn't matter. People are looking at cars that can achieve 1000km on 50liters of fuel.


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[Nikhil]

Shane dont do it:nonono: this car is awesome raise:

 

[anton-sa]

having recently sold my facelift 2001 525i in manual form.

to me and you a 540i is superior because for a petrolhead not everthing is about economy.

but for the masses, a 525i facelift is almost more valuable/do-able from a economy point of view. bottom line i practically had to give the car away for 55k. it also had a impeccable maintenance history and had every single thing replaced. even had beisian systems double vanos seals upgraded.

a e39 these days, gets bought by an enthusiast! or somehow the car "grabs" the person and they are sold and consequently, so is the car.

the rest of everyone, they buy 3 series. for most a 5 series is too big.

very few go through the effort of driving a 5 for long enough to discover than once you get going it doesnt feel big at all.

my 2 cents is the general market value of your car right now is around 50-65k.

its as another guy said above, the market wants cars that get 1000km on 50litre of fuel.

Its really such a pity, the e39 is really one of bmw's best cars ever. ive just done a head to toe "restoration" build on a e39 530d which i spent 5 months on and off which is now complete, and in the process i stripped 3 e39's...
and man the build quality is something else. exceptionally well built cars, from a build quality point of view if you compare to an e46, you simply cant...

i have a feeling in another 5 years time their value will start climbing again.

 

[cOlDFuSiOn]

Oohhh 540i.. Manual :rollsmile: Would love one!

So wait... who get's 1000Km on 50l of fuel in town/combined? I don't :fencelook: Open roads don't count..

 

[zaleonardz]

Yea bud,

The sad thing is, at 120k you are almost entering E39 //M5 playing fields.

While the car is worth that at then some more, you simply wont get it which is heart breaking.

Same reason why I cannot get more then 140k for an E65 750i 2006 model fully specced.

Same reason why I cannot get 120k for a E60 530d in immaculate condition.

There are two things counting against your.

1. The age of the car, meaning that you cannot get finance, meaning that the type of guy that has the cash laying around for this type of car would not consider it, as he could buy something else for the money.

2. The pre-conseived notion, that OMG its a V8, so it MUST be heavy ony fuel, and it it breaks its going to cost you gazzilions, which is moronic, becaase a well driven V8 BMW with equal the consumption of a 330i, i have proven this by my average 12l/100 consumption on my 540 with manual.

50 to 60k is what market percieves that its worth, which is the saddest thing on this planet, cause the car is worth FAR MUCH more then that.

Now I would give you 60k in a heartbeat for this car, but quite frankly, have more profitable things I can do with 60k, which is exactly your problem, everybody feels that way

Keep her, she aint worth squat, but in the same breath, people would go pay 50k for a 1993 toyota conquest....

Boggles my mind...

A collector will pay you that 120k, cause he knows what its worth, but that quite frankly is 1/100 people viewing this car...

 

[Yuben]

Eish I was damn lucky to get R110000 cash for my 540i A/T in 2011.

But then again it was an enthusiast who paid me in full without seeing the car and fetched it 2 weeks later.

Sorry Naicker, it is an awesome car. Still remember the road test in Jan 1999 vividly.

At best I would say R59995.00

 

[ChefDJ]

I'd love this car

 

[RAArmstrong]

I'd love this car

+1!

 

[SP33DYV]

Love the car.
Please don't sell it. It's not worth selling. IT IS WORTH KEEPING.


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[Gregmeister]

Yup, have to say 120k is not going to happen. I paid 10K less for my 2001 LCI model 3 years ago, with 125K km on the clock. However, I feel with a bit of patience and the right sales approach, you could get more than the suggested 60k for this car. Just remember to get rid of anything that is not original to the car, like those V8 badges... Ditch em. That rear spoiler...can't remember that being original to the car? Give her a good wash, maybe polish up those headlight lenses and hit those rims with some mag cleaner and a toothbrush and then go and take some really nice quality pics of the car, and include the engine bay and all your service records etc. Make the car look as desirable and exciting as someone looking for a R80K Family V8 beast wants it to be. Pay attention to the finer details, but don't try and oversell the car. Don't try and get more than retail value, as no-ne wants to buy a car of this type, and then not be able to insure it for at least the purchase price. Be patient. There will be someone out there....

Just my 2 cents worth. In my biased opinion, there is no better all round car out there today with a V8 engine and manual gearbox for the money. And with todays german cars getting ever bigger, the E39 is not really such a big car on the road anymore. I know I won't be selling mine anytime soon unless I have to for financial reasons, because, unless I can afford an exotic classic to replace it with one day, this car, to me anyway, is everything I want from a road car. And who knows...perhaps they actually DO start gaining in value, in years to come. (many..many...years) You never know...GLWS :thumbs:

 

[anton-sa]

Yup, have to say 120k is not going to happen. I paid 10K less for my 2001 LCI model 3 years ago, with 125K km on the clock. However, I feel with a bit of patience and the right sales approach, you could get more than the suggested 60k for this car. Just remember to get rid of anything that is not original to the car, like those V8 badges... Ditch em. That rear spoiler...can't remember that being original to the car? Give her a good wash, maybe polish up those headlight lenses and hit those rims with some mag cleaner and a toothbrush and then go and take some really nice quality pics of the car, and include the engine bay and all your service records etc. Make the car look as desirable and exciting as someone looking for a R80K Family V8 beast wants it to be. Pay attention to the finer details, but don't try and oversell the car. Don't try and get more than retail value, as no-ne wants to buy a car of this type, and then not be able to insure it for at least the purchase price. Be patient. There will be someone out there....

Just my 2 cents worth. In my biased opinion, there is no better all round car out there today with a V8 engine and manual gearbox for the money. And with todays german cars getting ever bigger, the E39 is not really such a big car on the road anymore. I know I won't be selling mine anytime soon unless I have to for financial reasons, because, unless I can afford an exotic classic to replace it with one day, this car, to me anyway, is everything I want from a road car. And who knows...perhaps they actually DO start gaining in value, in years to come. (many..many...years) You never know...GLWS :thumbs:

The e39 is truly a great car, I had one for 4.5yrs, what did i buy next, another one, this time
in diesel guise.

one of the reasons the e39 hasnt appreciated yet is there are so many of them, pick almost any model bar the m5 or the diesel and you have choice, the debateable phrase "best car ever made" was used by journalists alot during the e39's time, ive read articles where they reckon it took mercedes almost a decade to reach the level with their competing e-class.

clean e39's are starting to become harder to find, on another note, these cars age quite well another 5yrs or so will help seperate the WELL cared for e39's from the abused ones.

 

[sash]

Yup, have to say 120k is not going to happen. I paid 10K less for my 2001 LCI model 3 years ago, with 125K km on the clock. However, I feel with a bit of patience and the right sales approach, you could get more than the suggested 60k for this car. Just remember to get rid of anything that is not original to the car, like those V8 badges... Ditch em. That rear spoiler...can't remember that being original to the car? Give her a good wash, maybe polish up those headlight lenses and hit those rims with some mag cleaner and a toothbrush and then go and take some really nice quality pics of the car, and include the engine bay and all your service records etc. Make the car look as desirable and exciting as someone looking for a R80K Family V8 beast wants it to be. Pay attention to the finer details, but don't try and oversell the car. Don't try and get more than retail value, as no-ne wants to buy a car of this type, and then not be able to insure it for at least the purchase price. Be patient. There will be someone out there....

Just my 2 cents worth. In my biased opinion, there is no better all round car out there today with a V8 engine and manual gearbox for the money. And with todays german cars getting ever bigger, the E39 is not really such a big car on the road anymore. I know I won't be selling mine anytime soon unless I have to for financial reasons, because, unless I can afford an exotic classic to replace it with one day, this car, to me anyway, is everything I want from a road car. And who knows...perhaps they actually DO start gaining in value, in years to come. (many..many...years) You never know...GLWS :thumbs:

Dont do it..., but I have to agree with sentiments above. Proper clean up will make the car more desirable(although i think your car is much cleaner than the pics depict)

On the other hand, if you have no other choice, consider selling the M5 wheels to me :evilish: :rollsmile:

 

[naickers]

Thanks guys for all the comments and support, now just to print this and prove to my wife that it is just not worth selling this car, So I guess I'll have to keep it, will have to look at other avenues to raise the capital for my new business venture,

 

[anton-sa]

:rollsmile:

Thanks guys for all the comments and support, now just to print this and prove to my wife that it is just not worth selling this car, So I guess I'll have to keep it, will have to look at other avenues to raise the capital for my new business venture,

:rollsmile: well played! if I get told oneday to sell one of thefamily.then ill also collect the whynot evidence on the interwebs

 

[Nikhil]

Thanks guys for all the comments and support, now just to print this and prove to my wife that it is just not worth selling this car, So I guess I'll have to keep it, will have to look at other avenues to raise the capital for my new business venture,

Sell the wifes car and get her a tazz :fencelook:

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

Keep it, its a proper jewel you have there