The Cybergenica Blog

Meet My Dream Car – A $700 BMW e39 540i

BMW 540i e39 Front TagThis post has been a long time coming. It starts with a digression that dates back to 2009 when I lived a life driven by pride…

Back then, Elizabeth and I were striving for fame, power and prosperity through my business, our church and our home.

My business, Cybergenica was thriving, my pivotal role at a part of Idlewild Baptist Church’s marketing team was a driving force in my ministry endeavors and, our family’s health & growth was at the root of my motivation to buy a car we clearly had no need for, but desired with a passion far outside the humility we were called to embrace.

Buying our first BMW 540i for $3,500.00 proved to be the first piece of a divine puzzle that drove my wife, our girls and I down a tremendously humbling road.

Shortly after I made the purchase, and started showing off the opulent automobile, God started making His will be known onto us. A devastating decrease in income, a miscarriage and overwhelming spiritual challenges forced us to move from our luxurious, 1,800 square foot deed restricted home to a 900 square foot dive where we surrendered to God’s plan.

Soon after, I got rid of my BMW, an instrument of pride that, upon the cash sale provided a few months worth of rent, utilities and food for my family and I.

I never forgot about my favorite car ever, in spite of many other epic vehicles that don’t measure up to the +280HP accelerating experience I felt in the 540i, which was indeed love at first sight.

So, for years, I talked about this epic car with zero expectations of ever owning another one since the car is a 5 passenger vehicle, and my family consists of 6 people…

That was until December 23rd, 2016.

I had been researching the web for a 540i, only not for myself but on behalf of my friend Stephan who was looking to acquire a German engineered automobile after he decided to sell his Diesel Golf back to VW after the infamous emission scandal.

He was initially looking for a Benz, and after a fair amount of convincing, he placed his focus on a 6 speed BMW 540i, the closest thing to a BMW M5, the world’s best sedan – ever.

While I was researching Craigslist for BMWs in the area, I came across an automatic 540i in Eustis, FL that needed some work. The car had been sitting for over two years, was not in running condition and had some body damage.

While Stephan was not interested in a project car, he did want to invest in  parts car since BMW parts are not exactly cheap and, because he was positive on getting a 540i for himself, a $500 parts car he could leave on my property seemed like a good idea.

The plan was to tow the car back to my place for free using my AAA membership, and see if I could get the pile running. If I did, I would keep the $500 German beauty. Otherwise, we had a parts car.

One Week and $105 Later…

I put a $75 used battery in the car and wrenched on the turd for about a week before I finally got the car started, pouring gas in the air intake which confirmed my guess that the issue was fuel related.

I pulled the back seat and disconnected the lead hose that led to the fuel pump, cranked the engine and saw that there was nothing coming out of the pump. I pulled the fuel pump out of the fuel tank and noticed it was locked up solid. I then ordered a $30 fuel pump off eBay, dropped it in the fuel tank and cranked the M62 motor… Low and behold, the car started right up!!!

For good measure, I added a $20 Bosch fuel filter. Later, I replaced a $57 tie rod linkage part to tighten up the frond end and get rid of some wiggles.

To bring glory to the One who made all this possible, God lead me to an eBay auction for a custom German license plate scheduled to end a few hours later that day, which I won for only $4 plus $10 express DHL international shipping (half the going price!).

So I ordered a custom German tag from Munich and 4 days later, our 540i was ready for her maiden voyage.

1997 BMW 540i e39

$700 Out Of Pocket

So there. To date, the daily driver is costing me about $700 out of pocket. Ice cold air conditioning, leather interior, 18 speaker sound system but more importantly, 0-60mph in 6 seconds and euphoria beyond measure.

Is she perfect? Not even close! But my wife Elizabeth and four daughters Grace, Trinity, Faith and Mercy don’t seem to mind the few bugs too much as the bimmer has now replaced our Dodge minivan as their transportation of choice around town.

Of course, I get to drive the 540i also, but ironically, not as much as my girls… #Blessed

 

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2 thoughts on “Meet My Dream Car – A $700 BMW e39 540i

  1. Awesome post Daniel! Looks like you got yourself a great ride here. I really appreciate how you give praise to God, and choose to display your gratitude front and center with that German license plate. I wish I knew how to work on cars like you do… #kudos

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