Need some advice for first car purchase

[J.DeFeo]

Fellow e34 enthusiasts,

I will apologize in advance for a long post (and for this being a crosspost from another forum), but I would like to lay out my thought process and factors in my life so that I can make a good decision (with the help of random strangers on the Internet).

I'm a 2nd year college student and at the end of the summer, I'm going to buy a car. I need one for a few reasons:

-I will be living in an apartment and will need it for grocery runs among other things. There are no stores within walking distance, and I fear walking around in Worcester, MA (I'm a resident of PA) at night.

-I will have a co-op next summer that almost certainly will not be in my hometown (Pittsburgh) and will need the car to commute to and from the job.

-Since I live so far away, it's extremely hard for my parents to come pick me up for holidays and breaks.

-My girlfriend goes to school in D.C. and I hate dealing with trains and planes.

-I just like cars and my parents have terrible taste . More seriously, my sister is now of driving age and having 2 cars between 3 people gets tedious.

I have a few things going for me that makes this purchase a reality:

-I will be working all summer and will be able to save up around $5000.

-In addition, I have made some smart investments and have anothe $1-2000 to work with. No, I'm not selling a large part of my savings for a car. I plan to replace it next year anyways, adjusted for interest.

-I'm extremely lucky in that my parents will be covering the insurance and my 2nd year of college tuition (my 3rd and 4th years are my responsibility).

Now, here are my criteria:

-Rear wheel drive.
-Manual transmission.
-Comfortable for long hauls (multiple 600 mile treks).
-Sporty enough to have some fun.
-It has to be practical and get acceptable gas mileage.

I pretty much have my heart set on an e34 BMW 525i (that would be 1988-1995). Preferably one from 1993-1995 since it has the updated M50 engine but I would be satisfied with a 1992. I don't really care about dings and scratches and the only people who will be riding in it respect me enough that they won't **** up the interior. In other words, I wouldn't be uptight about taking it to college.

Everything I've read (and it's been a lot) has lead me to believe that the e34 BMWs are very reliable cars, and if taken care of, last a long time. I'm a little worried about maintenance costs, but I've been browsing online parts stores and from what I can see, the only reason BMWs are more expensive to maintain is because mechanics and dealers charge more for labor "just because it's a BMW".

I do have some backup plans in case I decide that this is a terrible idea and my cunning plan has not been thought through; a Volvo 240/242/244/740/940 or if it REALLY comes down to the nuts and bolts a Crown Vic/Grand Marquis/Towncar (I hope it doesn't, because I really want an e34).

So tell me, am I right, or am I ?

[632 Regal]

the cost is good, its the maintenance that can kill your savings, i think you should wait, a cool bimmer isnt cool sitting in a shop waiting for funds to get it out.

[Bleeding_Knuckles]

honda

[632 Regal]

fag

honda

[Bleeding_Knuckles]

cheese head

fag

[fujioko]

The E34 is certainly a robust car, however I think it would not be wise to buy a cheap one. You’ll get what you pay for.

I have come to the conclusion that the E34 is 10 pounds of **** in a five pound bag. That is to say the car is loaded with gadgets, modules and gee wiz stuff. The car has a lot of unnecessary junk that could go wrong and would cost plenty to fix.

Worcester is north east and plenty of snow. A front wheel drive would be better suited. Hondas suck because they are overrated and if you buy one locally it will more than likely be a rust bucket.

I prefer the Saturn for Michigan wintertime driving. Its cheap! It gets 38MPG and its CHEAP!. Mine is a basic station wagon (touring) with a five speed and air. Hauls plenty of crap and holds five people uncomfortably.

Never buy an automatic!

That’s my two cents

[SchnellE34]

First off, fellow resident of 'Da Burgh here.

No your not , just young and naive... like I was not long ago.

Have you ever performed a repair yourself on a car? I have found that the routine maintance for these cars is very easy once you know what you are doing (i.e. The Bentley repair manual) and have the right tools. And after hanging around this board for a while even tasks that I thought I would never be able to do myself, I have done and saved a **** ton of money.

Its your decision to buy an e34 or not, but be prepared to spend some money on it. I would buy a good car from a respected person. Minimal owners and service records are a huge plus. Meaning the previous owner took good care of the car. I know there are some people on this board that have the subscription to CarFax and could run some VINs if you need. I'm sure others will have some info for ya. Good luck and let us know what you decide on...

Oh and BTW, Jeff is right Honda's are for people who think they can buy a cheap car and put thousands of dollars into it to make it somewhat comparable to a bimmer. If I ever put a bumper sticker on my car (not likely) it would say 'It's not a Honda, but it'll do'

[J.DeFeo]

Oh and BTW, Jeff is right Honda's are for people who think they can buy a cheap car and put thousands of dollars into it to make it somewhat comparable to a bimmer. If I ever put a bumper sticker on my car (not likely) it would say 'It's not a Honda, but it'll do'

Thanks for the advice so far. I have worked on several cars, and I'm comfortable removing engines and taking them apart, so routine maintenance is not a worrying factor.

If I wanted a FWD econobox, I'd buy one and be done with it.

As for a good previous owner, I don't suppose anyone on this board is planning on parting with their 525 sometime around August 20th?

[632 Regal]

be forwarned, rebuilding these engines is a very rare occurence, most time is spent chasing strange suspension problems, and electronics issues. The engines well taken care of run 300k easily. The transmissions are a luck of the draw AND expensive.

[ThoreauHD]

If you were going to look at getting this model car, I would look through these and other forums(bimmerfest.com) for people selling them. I know there are a few for sale now. Search through the forums.

I would recommend you get it from one of these folks because more than likely they have kept the car well maintained. And that is what you will 'need' to make sure you don't end up with a $6000 paperweight.

The rest is a bonus. I wouldn't worry about model or whatever else. I'd worry about the owners full maintenance on the vehicle. At this mileage, some heavy duty things will brake and having the time and money to do it is essential- unless it has already been done. And it sounds like you won't have either.

The miles per gallon on these cars are not terribly good. But the miles do go easily. Don't feel a thing.

If you can't find a car from a forum member, you will be rolling the dice. Carfax report or not. At that point, be ready to trade in your girlfriend for your car. You will have to find time and money somewhere to get the repairs done.

You have good taste, and this car is definitely not a shitbox. It will probably outlast the gas supply. Just make sure that the guy you are buying from is a perfectionist and not a retard/jagoff. An intelligent person that takes pride in their car is worth more than 10 years of maintenance records. You'll find such people on these forums... the intelligent ones, I mean. I think.