To buy or not to buy, 94 540i

[tecrekka]

Hello everyone. New to the forum, been browsing a bit and thought I'd say hi and post a few specific question.
I haven't owned a BMW since my teens, which was a 1980 320i, and I had much fun with it. Since then I have mainly drove Mercedes and recently got into Jaguar.
Being that my XJ12 is now my primary car, I have begun looking for a more practical "daily driver" (ie: more reliable!!).
Today I test drove a beautiful silver 540i with 120k. The engine performed very well and ran very smoothly.
One thing I did notice is what appeared to be a somewhat hard shift, just after getting on the road. Upon driving a little further, everything smoothed out nicely.
Do you think this could be due to the fact that the car had sat for quite some time or is this something I should have inspected more closely?
Is there any specific known issues with the transmission on these cars? Are they uncommonly expenive to fix if there is indeed an issue?
The car is offered at around 9k but I believe I can get it much cheaper.
Other than 1-2 hard shifts, everything else works nicely. Nice paint and interior, factory spare, everything looks real clean.
FInally, I have been looking online for specific engine specs on this vehicle and only found the size (4.0l V8), does anyone have a source for more specific engine specifications?

Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to your input/suggestion/comments.

 

[Kybimmer]

Wecome...........While I can't speak for the 540, I do have a 94 530, also a V8. The ride and handling of the 5 series is great, but the engine is prone to problems. To much high tech built into and controling everything...........I also owned an 80's 3 series. (85 318) I had very little trouble with that car, but a great deal of trouble with this one.........Good luck whatever you decide.................

 

[tecrekka]

Thank you! Do you know off hand any of the specific issues with the engine? I know he said it will need O2 sensors (as I have found they require 2). Any other specifics?
It seems from what I see online this would be a pretty fair deal...I think I will probably eventually get it........

Thanks again for the input and welcome.

 

[Abdoman]

Make sure that the engine has been replaced. The 93-95 years had Nikasil cylinder liners and the higher sulfur content from the US gas caused the engines to fail at very high rates. There is a web page discussing the problems, fix and warranty, but I don't know the link.

Someone please post it.