Any thoughts on the best way to sell my 2002 540i? It has an extra set of winter tires mounted on bmw rims and I have the dinan upgrades so i really can't get the value out of a dealership.
Sell it through BMWCCA classifieds (you may have to hurry to make it for the July issue). You can also try roadfly.com. Stick or auto?
Stick - black on black, dinan, premium sound extra rims and winter tires i even have a 20 gig phatbox that i might leave in the car. $65K or so brand new - no real idea what its worth now and worse yet I can't really find a car i love to replace it. This is my 4th 5 series from that generation and i've never warmed up to the new 5. i like the 6 but its pricey and no moonroof. seriously considering the 335 or 335 convertible but i don;t know much about those. i also have an x5 that i love so i'd like to stay in the bmw family. Any comments are welcome.
Alot of people agree that the E60's aren't as stylish as the E39's. I drove a 335i last year and they are a blast to drive. They are almost E46 M3 quick . Get one with an oil cooler if you are considering a 335i. Remember that the newer bimmers have no dipsticks and have run flat tires, so I hope you won't get stuck with a faulty oil reader or you will be at the dealership for numerous times. I would stay away from the early production 335i, so try and get a 2009 335i. The bugs should be cleared out (hopefully). Good luck!
There seems to be a lot of action on craigslist.com lately. We found our 635 there, and several chapter members have had luck selling and buying at that web site.
I'll take a look out there. I am so conflicted on the sale of this car. It still runs great but i'm terrified of what the future might hold - clutch, brakes, etc.
In the six years of our 540 ownership there have been several major repairs and each time we ask "is this one it?" The only certainty is another repair is coming down the road, and we enjoy our 540 outfitted with a phat noise, V1, and dinan toys to the point where getting a replacement still costs more than fixing ours. That will be a tough call if the transmission goes... 168K without any service.
As he said, repairs are cheaper than a new car. Besides, it's not every day a transmission goes. And clutch, brakes; these are items that will go bad sooner or later in ANY car. If it runs like a champ, I'm thinkin' you should keep it. But I'm poor so I can only afford 2 cents on the issue.
Personally, I think BMW design topped out with E39s. There was no place to go but down after that. You have it fitted out the way you want it, why change? And, as someone else said, repairs (especially wear items like brakes and clutches) are a fact of life and will not/should not come close to car payments. You will have difficulty getting a Phatbox for anything new. I just sold a 2002 330Ci with a Phatbox system and loved it. Also installed Phatbox in an X5, just in case I got tired of listening to the cassette player that came with it. (I had three DMSs -- 80, 40, and 20GB. Guess which one went with the 330!). I have a 135 convertible on order and have been unable to find BMW Phatbox systems anywhere. I bought both of mine on eBay from a guy who kept getting them as (cough! cough!) gifts but he hasn't gotten any more (cough! cough!) gifts in quite a while. Don't know that it would work anyway so I ordered the iPod/USB adapter, hoping it will do. As you know, dealers don't consider subjective values. That 540 is worth more to you than to any dealer. If you do try to sell it, you hope to find someone who falls in love with it and I'd say there's a good chance someone will. Try Craig's List, Autotrader, cars.com, emphasize the extras.
Thanks for the reply. I do have the car listed on Craigs list but I just can't find a car that gets me as excited as I was when I got this one. The 335 coupe fully loaded is about as close as I can get. The phatbox is the greatest thing and i love the audio listing vs having to look down at the screen for the ipod adapter. I actually thought about trying to find a 2003 540i with low miles as an alternative. I just purchased a new x3 as well that I am picking up on june 30 so hopefully that will keep my interest away from selling my car for a while.
Take it off the internet, take it for a long drive and apologize to it for even thinking about selling it. I just went to the bank and after stopping at the ATM the 540 window is off track and will not go up!! We love this car! Thank goodness we have three of them....
I understand your pain Bob. As i too own a 2002 540i dinan s pkg. That i'm probably looking to sell. It hurts!
Wow..."selling" a BMW...that's a concept I have, unfortunately, not been able to get my arms around...
