Buying my first E34.

[Michael999]

Story about motor:
Lady noticed car was running hot, she thought she would just take it to a mechanic, drove it up the highway and it overheated.
Turned out the radiator hose had fallen off..
So the car has a new radiator, and and the motor was completely fixed (unsure what they did, ill need to ask further questions when i get there).

[Michael999]

Okay i saw the car today and poked around at everything, and took it for a 20minute drive.

Exterior was very good, duco looked well looked after.
1 small dent in back left door, about 40mm across, and 1-2mm deep, it was a very small shallow dent, no scratched paint on it and it was hard to notice until he pointed it out.
There was a small 30mm long crack on the rear bumper (someone must have been a bad parker?)
Tyres looked near new, rims were stock and boring but free of any obvious gutter marks.
Gas lifts on the boot only seemed to work once the boot was fully open, otherwise it fell down, is this normal? (when fully open they held it open firmly)
Gas lifts on the bonet seemed to work fine.

Inside the cabin:
Car is alot smaller than i thought it would be, im 6'1", and i was close to the ceiling unless i put my seat back (far enough to severely cramp rear passengers).
The seats were all full black leather, back seats looked very unused, front seats were worn but nothing major. Shown up more because it was black as well i beleive.

ALL the wood trim in the car was faded cracked, and pulling away, especially the gear nob, how hard is this to replace?

The top dashboard vent was buckled out at the left and right side (coming away from the dash), can this be replaced or repaired?

Glove box hinge was half broken, it worked fine but you could feel there was something broken, im sure i can repair this.

There were no floor mats, and the driver side floor was worn with the plastic coming away.

Windows were all tinted, but the rear window was bubbled enough to look unsightly... and the side windows has slide marks from going up and down, the guy told me that the car can get a complete retint for $200AU.

Steering wheel was worn but not falling apart, though the little blue/purple/red part was almost completely silver and looked very worn.
http://www.bmwmovies.net/albums/user...eel_mtech1.jpg

The dash and all black surfaces had no damage or cracking (unlike the dash fan grill).
Some buttons looked worn, but likely needed a good clean, there was alot of dust and grime in the car.
Front windscreen looked slightly unclear, man said it needed to be polished or buffed, i havent heard of this being done, is it cheaper than a new windscreen?

Ok after all that i finally drove the car.
The car was parked and he said it had not been driven since the morning (this was at 2pm), it was 13oC outside and the car started quickly without any fuss at all, no accelerator needed (unlike my current 79 volvo).
I found the rear visibility to be poor when trying to get out of the carpark, i had no idea where the rear bumper was, and the carpark was rather cramped!
At idle the car had a very slight vibration, the man said an engine mount had hardened (will confirm this when i get the bmw tech to inspect it).
As i drove off the car felt VERY smooth, i heard almost no engine noise, and the gear changed were silent and i could barely feel them even when pushing the car hard. (its an automatic btw)
The acceleration was steady and smooth, not as powerful as i had expected, but i was going alot faster than it felt as well.
The suspention was perfect, never driven a car that felt as nice on the road.
I found a quiet road and took the car to 110, which it did very easily and seemed like it just wanted to go faster.
at that speed i heard a little road noise (thus far it had been a near silent experience). 110 did not feel fast, the car was stable, and the there was no wobble or any kind of handling issues.

I did not get a chance to do any manouvering as the roads were wet, i didnt know the area, and there was a little traffic.
But the corners i did take i tried to take quickly, and the car stayed nice and flat, no roll, and no dramas.
Brakes seemed good, didnt pinch or anything uncomfortable like some asian cars seem to. Didnt get to test them at high speed tho as i didnt want to hurt my passenger.

When we got back, i opened up the bonet and had a poke around.
The Radiator was deinately new, along with alot of the hoses.
The bay was VERY clean, and you could see on the block that new gaskets had been installed, all the hoses that i gave the sqeeze test to seemed very firm and supple.

Im happy with the car and am going to get an inspection done by a bmw tech this week.
The interior is very grotty and i will work on what i can and hope to get some feedback from you guys and the tech on how much trouble it will be.

Im very excited, the cosmetic issues seem to be fixable, and should give me considerable bargaining power on the price.

Feedback at this stage is really apreciated
(Sorry for the long post!)

[rob101]

the seat can be adjusted up and down, the guy probably has it full up like the dude that i bought mine off did
i am 6'1" as well and i can tell you my head is nowhere near the roof.

[Michael999]

ooo okay, thanks rob.
Is it a mechanical adjustment like it is on older cars, or is there a lever somewhere?

[Paul in NZ]

i am 6'3 with a long body and with the seat all the way down i have no triuble with head room...i am close but not really close.Sounds like quite a good car!
Try to determine wether it has a good service history,its one of the most important things with these cars,but it certainly sounds as though it has been looked after,if not just lately

[Michael999]

Yeah, if i cannot get hold of the service history then i will contact the previous owner, and then get the name of the mechanic who has worked on the car.
If i can get verbal confirmation from a few ppl that it had regular service then ill be satisfied.

Anyone got any comments out fixing that interior trim?

[rob101]

ooo okay, thanks rob.
Is it a mechanical adjustment like it is on older cars, or is there a lever somewhere?

well it depends on the seat some of them are mech, like mine other electrical. anyway i think its either the front or the middle lever on the right side of the drivers seat, you push it down and the seat will sink down when it has weight on it.... i can never really remember which lever is which.

[mamilapon]

is known to be just great, but does require it's routine maintenance intervals be followed... I'd be VERY hesitant or else very sure what that engine rebuild is all about... there are lots of M30 engines w/tons of miles and still strong and tight... (granted I've an M50 engine... but ask other 535 drivers...)

At 190000ks with just routine maintenance the M30 just doesn't break. So the car must have been neglected/abused. It's not only the engine that has suffered but other parts of the car as well such as suspension,body,interior,and maybe even the chassis. If it was me, I'd stay well clear of that one; there's plenty of others out there. Be patient my friend.

[mamilapon]

get paperwork on everything he said he changed.. buying a used car is dirty work... buying a used car from a dealer is FILTHY

A little detailing, a little sweet talk and you're sucked in. Be careful.

[Yiorgos]

Gas lifts on the boot only seemed to work once the boot was fully open, otherwise it fell down, is this normal? (when fully open they held it open firmly)

This is how my car is as well -- lifts don't really do their job until the lid is at least 90deg up (doesn't have to be all the way). Not sure if this is correct or not, just letting you know that you're not the only one.

The top dashboard vent was buckled out at the left and right side (coming away from the dash), can this be replaced or repaired?

Did this look like as if someone tried to pull the vent out, or if someone had clipped something onto it?

There were no floor mats, and the driver side floor was worn with the plastic coming away.

You can get BMW mats if you like (I got mine for around AU$250, BMW part), I could either choose black which was in stock, or order grey ones which would be a 4 week wait and double the price. The BMW original part that I got didn't have any stomp pad for the drivers', so I used the driver mat of an $8 set that I bought a couple of weeks prior to protect the carpet. The BMW mats that I got came with the clipping pins as well, so that they clip into the holes in the carpet and stay put. I can provide you with a part number if you like.

it was 13oC outside and the car started quickly without any fuss at all, no accelerator needed (unlike my current 79 volvo).

It's a fuel injected car, you should only be pressing the accelerator when starting for cars that are carburetted.

I found the rear visibility to be poor when trying to get out of the carpark, i had no idea where the rear bumper was, and the carpark was rather cramped!

Welcome to the E34. I have had my E34 for more than a year, and I still don't know where the rear bumper is. Whenever I park my car back-to-front on my driveway, I always line it up to my front yard lamp post, I have discovered from trial and error that distance is the safest -- any further and I would crash my rear end into my garage door.

But the corners i did take i tried to take quickly, and the car stayed nice and flat, no roll, and no dramas.

Welcome to near 50/50 weight distrubution

Well, looks like mechanically the car seems fine. Of course, a BMW inspection should be able to show you any flaws with the vehicle. Good luck on the purchase if you decide to go through with it.

(Sorry for the long post!)

Sorry for the long reply!