My purchase of a 540 6 Speed

[Donn and Sally York <dyork@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This will be a two part story.  Part one will be the buying of a '98
540i 6 speed and bringing it back from Canada.  Part two will be my
first several days of owning the car.

After looking around Chicago at a number of 540/6s, I decided that I
wanted a '98.  Opinions that I solicited stated that some '97s had bugs
to work out, electronic gremlins, squeaks, etc.  '99s and newer were
more expensive than I wanted to pay.  So I focused on '98s.  I ended up
scouring the internet and looking around the country at cars available
for sale, since there don't seem to be all that many 540's with 6 speed
transmissions.  They're not rare, just not too common.  I guess you know
that.  Anyway, I was intrigued by a couple of ads I saw in the Roundel
for '98s, both of which were advertised by Will Zaraska in Canada.  We
started an email dialogue, and it turned out that he specialized in 5
Series cars, both M5s and others.  He had sold the cars I inquired
about, but had three new '98s coming in.  So as not to make this too
long a story, I'll cut to the chase.  In order to import BMWs from
Canada, you have to do several things: 1) switch the
speedometer/odometer instrument cluster to MPH from KPH; 2) pay a 2.5%
duty; 3) get a letter from BMW stating that the cars meet US EPA and
other requirements (they all do, in fact, even meet California specs).
Will explained the process in numerous emails, which were confirmed by
BMWNA, who said that I just had to fax the bill of sale, VIN, and title
to them and they'd transfer the warrantee to a US warrantee.  Anyway,
since one of the cars was just what I was looking for ('98, Cosmos
Black, 6 speed, Sport package, sport seats, Xenon headlights, digital
stereo, CD changer) with only 28,000 miles and 17x8 and 17x9 rims, I
started to think this might be worth the effort.  Will described all the
blemishes and features of this car, which he bought from a BMW Lease
auction, and sent many digital pictures and answered millions of
questions.  We decided to proceed, since the car sounded great and the
price was better than I had seen locally for less loaded cars with more
miles and less enticing colors (like metallic green, for instance).  We
agreed on a deal, contingent on me seeing the car and agreeing that it
had been fairly represented.  Will had the speedometer cluster replaced
at a Toronto BMW dealer.  I'll spare the gory details of wiring
instructions gone bad (one was my fault and one was my bank's fault).
We met on Monday in Windsor (Will is based in Toronto, but agreed to
meet in Windsor) and I must say, the car was even better than I had
hoped.  It was stunning.  It had been detailed and the body was in
better shape than any '98 I'd seen.  No dings, just a few chips in the
paint.  The wheels are virtually perfect.  I drove it and it drove well,
like most of the others I had test driven.  So I called my bank to wire
the funds.  Unfortunately, this did not go quickly and we had to wait
around Windsor all afternoon waiting to confirm that the wire was
received by Will.  In the meantime, we filled out the paperwork at
customs and paid the duty.  The bottom line is that we left Windsor at 5
pm and headed back to Chicago, with my wife and I switching between the
Camry and the 540.  The process itself went very smoothly, other than
the
inevitable waiting for the wire confirmation.  Will basically makes it a
turnkey deal, where all I have to do is have the day time running lights
programmed off, and send VIN detail to BMW USA for transferring the
warrantee.  The rest was the paperwork was ready to go and the car is
equal to a US car in every way.

The car is everything I hoped it would be, and looks like new.  Will
even brought a great selection of Canadian beers for me to bring back to
Chicago!  On the way home (a 300 mile trip) I got to play with all the
neat dashboard/steering wheel controls and everything worked perfectly.
The car is so quiet, you can be going 45 and forget to shift out of 2nd
if you're not careful.  I also forgot initially to shift into 6th on the
highway.  Anyway, we were cruising home, and I was really loving life.
I just couldn't wait to get the car in the garage, and get up the next
morning and clean it up after the drive and learn how everything works.
Ugh, now it's time for part two:

So we're about 40 miles from home, just in the NW part of Indiana,
surrounded by lots of trucks and some cars on I94, despite it being 10
pm on a Monday night.  I see some road debris in front of me and figure
it's just another shredded truck tire.  Whatever it is, it's way too
crowded on I94 to try to avoid the debris in the 1/2 second that I have
to
respond to it.  My wife, in front of me in the Camry, drives right over
it.  At the last moment, I think I saw a spark in the road, and thought,
"Oh my God,
I hope that's not a broken muffler sparking on the highway."  Anyway, in
that next split second that I have replayed in my mind a million times,
I hear
this bang, like a gun being shot, or two airbags exploding, as it turns
out.  Yeah, I know something's wrong so I flash the brights at my wife
and pull over right away.  The side airbag and higher side airbag (the
one that comes out from the pillar by the top of the windshield)
deployed.  I couldn't believe it.  I turn off the car and get out and
check the car.  There's oil leaking.  Son of a bitch.  I just can't
believe that I've been woken out of this dream.  Since I still get sick
thinking about this turn of events, and since this already is the
longest email I've ever sent to a Digest, I'll be brief (I know, too
late).  Two hours and $180 later, the 540i, which has now been owned by
me for about 5 hours, has been flat bedded to my local BMW dealer.

Here's what I know so far about the damages.  The two airbags are, get
this, about $5000 to replace.  Then the air bag controller, which either
has to be replaced or is likely to need replacing, is $1800.  It's a
fluke that the impact was just right to detonate them in the first
place, given that I didn't strike anything weighing more than a pound or
two.  Today I find out that the dealer put the car up on a lift and
not only is the oil pan punctured, but somehow the foreign object hit
the drain plug for the transmission, which I guess drained the
transmission fluid, and the transmission will have to be replaced too
($5000).  So we're up into the five digits for Allstate for a car that
they have only insured for half a day.  I'm glad they have a sense of
humor.  I guess I'm out the deductible and the towing.  And I hope that
the car is fine whenever I get it back.  And that Allstate forgives me.
And that nothing else happens to me or the car in the next few years.

The bottom line is that I'd be ecstatic about my purchase, if it weren't
for the bad luck on the trip home.  And I was very pleased with my
dealings with Will and the whole importing process.  I don't really feel
like I own this car, since I don't really get to see or drive it <sniff,
sniff>.  I think I'll really feel like I own it when I get it back from
the dealer, and I sell my '97 328i sedan (shameless plug).  Anyway, I
was all set to write a very happy, excited email of my dealings with
Will and buying this car, but unfortunately the Epilogue (as they used
to say on "The FBI") goes along with the fun part of finding and buying
what seem like a great, great car.

Thanks for all the advice on buying 540/6s.

Donn

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