Why did you buy your E34?

[pundit]

About a year ago I decided to look at buying a sedan to replace my Toyota van. I was beginning to feel that it was only a matter of time before an accident was due to happen as I had had a few close calls on the winding mountain road I travel to and from work on and the handling, braking and saftety aspects of the van (especially in the wet) we're beginning to play on my mind.

So then what to buy? I budgeted for $10,000-$15,000AUD ($7,500 - $12,000USD). For that I could have bought a 5-7 year old Ford or GM sedan with a few extras. But frankly the blandness and plastic interiors didn't do it for me. I am an ex-Mercedes mechanic so vehicle maintenance wasn't going to be too much concern as I intended to do most of the maintenance and repair work myself.

So why not get a Merc? Well frankly I find most Mercs functional but rather uninspiring unless you go for the later big dollar AMG equipped versions but that was out of the ballpark.

So it came down to these points...
Safety
Comfort
Performance
Quality
Reliabilty (not forgoing maintenance of course)
Asthetics
Value for money (In comparison with other vehicles at a similar price)
My car cost over $100,000AUD new in 1990!

My intention was never to say... "I'm going to buy a BMW so I can make people jealous thinking I'm loaded and then piss them off by tailgating them, cutting them off and never using my indicators!" In fact when I started looking the thought of buying a BMW had never even entered my head.

I simply looked for the car that filled my desired requirements and guess what? I bought a E34 535i BMW. Take note not any BMW... an E34!

What's the worst aspect of my car?... the fuel economy in heavy traffic. It's actually pretty good on freeway cruising. I thought about getting a 525i M50 but I decided to go for the torque of the M30 as I have plenty of hills to climb.

I laughed the first time I drove the E34 to work and heard one of the employees bitching that I must be getting paid too much. I asked him how much he had paid for his Ford sedan which he spent a fortune on giving it the 'bling' treatment and couldn't drive it every second week because of electrical & transmission problems. He wouldn't tell me. So I showed him the receipt for mine... and he went rather quiet. He now spends every second day asking me about M5's.

I rest my case!

[doogie]

LOL... I probably bought mine for a massively different reason than most people on the board...... it was what I found for the money I had in my pocket (£500) which didn't have a ford badge on it!

[pundit]

LOL... I probably bought mine for a massively different reason than most people on the board...... it was what I found for the money I had in my pocket (£500) which didn't have a ford badge on it!

Unfortunately if you want to buy cheap imported luxury cars in Australia you will have to overthrow the Australian Government and scrap import duties and taxes. Many luxury cars imported here in the '70's 80's & '90's were hit with 100% plus import duty! So a car that maybe sold for the equivelant of $45,000 in the U.S. cost here (buy the time stamp duty and on road cost were added) maybe $120,000!!
Plus our population in small (20 million in 2005) so there are less vehicles of this type around. On the plus side we don't having freezing winters, feet of snow and road salt!! So corrosion damage is not really a problem unless the vehicle has lived much of it's life by the sea and been poorly maintained.

[callen]

Yes Pundit yes.......

[dynamic_e]

I got mine for $1000, needed a bigger car then my 4dr integra for the family...10000 miles and $2000 later in maintence and wear items, it's my favorite car...

[Paul in NZ]

much the same reasons,i had a list of requirements,i would fit(i am 6 3 with a long body),it had to be manual,relatively lazy/torquey motor preferably rear wheel drive and definetly a manual.I found a e36 that fit all requirments except it was an auto,stumbled acrosss an e34 535 manual,never considered it would fall into my price range.Part of my reasoning was also to become involved in a car club and that the car was more than just a transport/consumer item.My single biggest dissapointment is the fuel consumption,but it doesnt worry me one bit.i agree the falcons and commodres i looked at tinthe same price bracket were bland in comparison and the fords ergonomics were terrible,same goes for 2.5v6 mitsi,ford/mazda,if nissan had a 2.5 primera/bluebird sized sedan i might have been tempted,manual maximas and v3000 yuk

[Javier]

car, my wife was in a crush with a Toyota Camry, I picked the 535i, she agreed, of course. Camry's that old these days look like shit, my e34 just looks superb.

Funny what you write about signals. I only use signals to tell the guy behind me that I'm intending a right/left turn, so to have him keep distance. For changing lanes is useless, as signaling is just an invitation to the guys in the desired lane, to speed up not allowing you to switch lanes. That's the way it works over here.

Javier

[califblue]

it was a good deal 9K w/64k and 5spd and my 73' 280 MBZ just turned 182,000 miles

Last of the Hand Builts baby...original Paint

[Kalevera]

how many cars do you have, man!?


Anyway, I totally agree with you, Pundit. A lot of people just don't GET IT.

The only downside to owning this car, besides the large costs that I've incurred due to the stupidity of the PO, is the insurance bill: this 15 year old car costs me about $50 USD less to insure per 6 months than our 2003 Chrylser Limited van.

Best, Whit

[Robin-535im]

It was a first generation 3 series. I drove it around the block once - with 300k Miles it was still a tank so I thought that would be a good brand to pursue.

I spoke with some local indies about BMW's. General consensus was that used 3's were more often than not beat all to heck (the kind of person who can afford a new three is different from the kind of person who can afford a new five... ) and 5-series are generally well maintained at the dealer by the original owner.

So a five series it was, but what engine? E39's were out of range, so an e34... again, the indy said to avoid auto transmissions and v8's if I wanted the odds in my favor, so it came down to a 535 or a 525. At that point... well, torque was the factor. It took a few months to even find a 535 5-speed to test drive, but I bought the first one I drove. Got a decent deal at the time (2 years ago, 6400US for a 91 535 w/100k miles) and haven't looked back since.