e28 for daily driver

[Mendozart]

Does anyone here use an e28 for daily driving? I was given an 84'528e by my cousin and I'm really starting to like it. I figured I can daily drive it and get some projects on my car done ( oil filter housing leak, tranny service, full brake job including painting calipers, headlight upgrade, etc. etc.) Just wondering. Everything works on the 528e. The only thing I had to fix was the odometer gears. The people on www.mye28.com are very friendly and informative.

[KenB]

I bought an '85 e28 in '93 with 70k miles, 528ea. I drove it as a daily driver and long trips for 10 years until I got the e34. It had 253,000 miles on it and passed state inspection just before buying the e34, got $1,200 for it. Very dependable and comfortable, not fast but adequate. Loved it!

[granit_silber]

I had my pick between the 92 525i I bought and an 87 533i 5 speed. I loved the 533i it had 187,000 on hte clock and the only flaws were a tired heater valve, cracked dash and worn SI batts. We picked the e34 because it was larger and my wife didn't like the idea of buying a 20 yr old with no airbags. My friend still has it and I've decided that if the insurance company totales my e34 I should have just enough to buy the 533.

-ashley

[31Hertz]

Does anyone here use an e28 for daily driving? I was given an 84'528e by my cousin and I'm really starting to like it. I figured I can daily drive it and get some projects on my car done ( oil filter housing leak, tranny service, full brake job including painting calipers, headlight upgrade, etc. etc.) Just wondering. Everything works on the 528e. The only thing I had to fix was the odometer gears. The people on www.mye28.com are very friendly and informative.

I cannot give you any real feedback about the 2.8 L engine, but I had an '87 535is which I LOVED. It was a great daily driver. The car was totalled in December by a 16 year old with no insurance. He rammed the rear of my car at 40 MPH while I was stopped in traffic. It buckled the roof and broke my seatback, but I emerged with a wee bit of whiplash. He was driving a '93 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I had my foot on the brake and my car did not move but maybe 1 foot upon impact. This saved the folks in front of me from damage but possibly made mine worse. However this is why I now have an E34. I had thought about looking at other makes to save money, but my wife insisted that we get another Bimmer. Gotta love that!!! I personally like the styling of the E28 better but the E34 grows on me every time I look at it... The E34 is much more "refined" in terms of ride / comfort / and noise in my opinion. But there is something about the E28 styling which I feel is just about perfect. If you feel like adding a bit of pep, you could easily swap differentials for a lower ratio. Mine had a 3.91 LSD which could be a pain in the bum while in traffic. It made first gear almost unnecesary... Either way you look at it, I think maybe you have two projects now... Hmmm which one to work on first??? ENJOY!!!

[wingman]

The whole idea of the eta engine does nothing for me. We only got the 525e (2.7ltr) in OZ. The 2.8 in normal tune is a cracker. Smoothe acceleration and a beautiful sound track. The E28 was much aligned for its visual similarity to the E12 but it's a completely different car. It's lighter, more agile and has better suspension geometry. I'd say as a daily driver go for it.

[mholbrook]

528e makes a good daily driver. Probably the most pickup of horsepower by a chip of any BMW. Transforms the car. Handling is more like an E30 than an E34. That said, the cost to keep it on the road is about the same as any BMW. Brake rotors cost almost the same for E28 as E34, pads same, etc. The cars are a little less complicated however and are a much more tossable in character. If it is decent at all and the major systems are ok or can be made ok for not much $$ then go for it.

[Mendozart]

I won't have to do much to this car. After going through receipts, my cousin dropped a little over 13k into this car since 96'. My uncle (BMW master mechanic) had done all the work on this car at an independent shop. Things replaced: engine, tranny, heater core, all suspension, new dash, etc, etc. My cousin was just getting ready to sell this car when it had a slight mishap with hit and run driver. The body damage isn't even that bad, which I'm going to take care of. The car sat for a few months, cousin had no time for selling. I tried to convince my mother-in-law to buy this car, long story short, it didn't pass smog and she bailed on it. All it needed was a cat. So after my cousin found out all the help I've been giving to in-laws ( 2 years of 5 kids, sister-in-law & mother-in-law living at my house), she calls and says she wants to give me the car. I guess that old saying of " give and you shall receive" has some merit to it. Lucky me!

[wingman]

13k into this car since 96'. My uncle (BMW master mechanic) had done all the work on this car at an independent shop. Things replaced: engine, tranny, heater core, all suspension, new dash, etc, etc.

So is it the same car or not? Buy a hammer, change the handle and the head. Is it the same hammer?

[Mendozart]

Not sure what your asking? The same car as what?

[ssimms]

I have owned two e28 528e's in my 26 years of BMW ownership and loved them both.
The first was a 1983 that just had the smoothest, cleanest handling of any car I had driven to that point. I would average 28-30 MPG in that thing on regular (87 octane)unleaded. Inexpensive to repair really. Less than a Honda or Toyota of similar vintage. I drove this car on the track several times and was never out gunned in those days because of the torque etc. at low rpm. In fact, my introduction to the 528e came in 1982 when an SCCA instructor had just purchased one and took 4 of us for a lap or two in his new car. Wow, he had all four of us hanging in our seat belts the entire time. I knew then that this car was no slouch.
The second was the 'improved' last year (1989) 528e with larger valves and an overall smoother (that word again) feel. Much better low end grunt and again terrific gas mileage. I once got 36MPG driving from Denver to Rawlins,Wyoming. (360 miles on 10 gallons of gas exactly). Air conditioning was good, comfort over the long haul was terrific.
I would keep this as a daily driver. Especially, with all of the previous work that has been done to it. I would still have my second one if it weren't for some bozo who rear-ended me on the Interstate one night during the drive home. I was stopped he hit me doing at least 50MPH since he didn't even see me (looking elsewhere) until about 30 feet from me.
The car was driven home by me with a severly damages exhaust but, ran flawlessly to the body shop for the final rights. (floor pans were accordian pleated from firewall to gas tank from the impact and yet all doors opened and closed as normal.) Great car probably saved me from serious injury.
Enjoy the difference in your e28 vs. e34.

Scott

Not sure what your asking? The same car as what?