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Re: Advice on buying 95 540iA? (archive)
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Posted by Geoff Leonard on March 14, 2001 at 22:10:27:

In Reply to: Advice on buying 95 540iA? posted by Giles on March 03, 2001 at 12:16:33:

You should take advantage and see all records, use the forum and spec out regular stuff you want done before buying. Alignment problems? Bad tire, insist that they make it go away. Last year of the E34?, I think so and may enhance value. Look aroung at Lexus, Infiniti and Acura to see that nothing comes close fot this kind of money . Sounds exciting.
This message board is a great resource!. I've been trying to learn as much as I can about these wonderful E34 cars in the past several weeks.

I have the opportunity to purchase a 1995 540iA from a local BMW dealership for ~$20K. It was a leased vehicle (2 owners). The short block was replaced in June of 2000 (9 months & 3K miles ago).

The car has 59K miles, with 9 months left on CPO warranty.

I reviewed all the records. Mostly minor repairs and routine maintenance.

A couple things that seemed strange:

1) Brake pads just replaced (all 4 wheels) but not rotors. Doesn't BMW recommend replacing rotors w/ pads?

2) Transmission serviced last fall (new fluid, etc.). I thought this was normally a "no service" item by dealerships. Does this indicate a potential big problem?

The car drives nice, but I noticed a bit of vibration at 50-60MPH. Is this some type of front suspension wear item I should have them fix?

Anything else I should have them fix/replace before buying? Water pump, bushings, etc?

Any other advice?

Thanks in advance for any knowledge you can share w/ a hopefully soon-to-be bimmer owner. :-)

Giles




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