5Series.net - Forums - FS 2002 E39 540i M-Sport 6-spd

Complete car with parts -- needs work, selling as mechanic's special.

I’m selling my 2002 BMW 540i sedan with the M-Sport package and 6-speed MANUAL transmission. From what I can tell, this car was loaded with every option available on this model in 2002. I’ve owned it since spring of 2013, and during my ownership, it has been garage kept and has never seen snow, and has rarely seen rain. There are 138,301 miles on the odometer. Clean title in hand, in my name.

I’m selling this as a mechanic’s special as I’ve faced the reality that I will not have the free time required to work on this this car and get it back on the road. The spare time I once had to work on the car now goes to my 2-year-old son. In November 2017 the car had a drivetrain failure. I had it towed back to my house, and it’s sat in the garage since. At that time, I added a fuel/ethanol stabilizer to the gas, topped up the tank, and ran the engine for a while to circulate the treated gas through the system. I re-charge the battery, start it up, and move it around every few weeks. The engine has an occasional VANOS noise at start-up, but it starts right up and runs fine. Could benefit from a valve cover gasket refresh. No abnormal oil consumption. The car will drive up and down my driveway, but cannot be driven more than a few mph before the drivetrain vibrations materialize. The car cannot be driven on the road, and will need to be towed to its new home on a flatbed.

I believe the drivetrain problem is within the transmission, as the input shaft bearing had a whine for the last 10k miles or so. Also, there was a strong smell of transmission oil in the air when the breakdown occurred. I have not had the time to jack the car up and investigate. The good news is that I have a replacement salvage 6-speed transmission that goes with the car, which also came out of a 540i (i.e. was not subjected to the extra stress of an M5 engine).

The car also has some play in the steering linkage where the pitman arm attaches to the rest of the steering linkage. The car will come with the parts necessary to do this repair, as well as tie-rod ends and new upper control arms to freshen up the front end. I did the lower control/thrust arms about 12k miles ago (with polyurethane bushings) and they should still be ok.

I have a print-out and PDF of the Bentley service manual which will go with the car.

The bodywork and paint is in decent condition, with the small dings and scratches typical for a car of this age and mileage. The worst part would be the front bumper, particularly the driver’s front corner. Rims could use a refresh as well. No rust on body panels, frame… anywhere really.

Fix it up and enjoy it in its stock form, or use it as a blank canvas for customization, or pop a $6k VF supercharger kit in it for the ultimate sleeper.

Asking $1,900.00 USD cash. Car is located in Scranton PA. Please feel free to ask any questions (or share any criticism).... thanks for looking.

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