Buying my first E34.

[Michael999]

Ok i jsut got home from the inspection.
The guys there were really good, and went though everything with me.
He showed me that the car has clearly been looked after, HEAPS of stuff has been replaced, lots of new parts under the hood, new head, radiator, hoses, master cylinder, suspension arms, bushes.
The tryes have heaps of tread, it has brand new disks, and very think pads on atm.

There were 2 oil leaks he found, so small that it didnt drop, but.
He said it would cost about $120 to get him to fix them, but they werent urgent at all.

The rear muffler cover had a TINY little rust on a join, nothing to worry about.
Cruise control wire was broken, front and rear badges have had it, front was upside down.. and painted with nail polish.
CLEARLY a woman owner.

He said to me that he did not often see one in this good condition and that it was clear that it had been looked after and well serviced.

He siad the front shockers would need to be replaced within 6-12months, he gave me a price of $170 for the pair, or $500 installed.
The left side (passenger) heater was broken, $250 to fix.

And he said it needed a dyno tune $300
And a wheel alignment $50?


'Im going to the bank now

[Paul in NZ]

sounds a good un....

[Jehu]

The engine mount will cost close to a grand if you can't fix it yourself. That is not a small item. Yes, an inspection would be necessary if you are serious about this car. If the engine mount is toast, odds are the guibo is also toast.

a grand for engine mounts ? I had one installed on my 540 recently . He used one i had been supplied by the seller from which i bought the car. But at most you should pay about $100 each for the parts . Anyway he found the fan shroud was cracked and broken and one radiator bracket was missing. He isntalled the one engine mount, ordered and installed the new fan shroud and radiator bracket for under $100.00 One Hundred Dollars.....This was an independent BMW shop near by.Don't scare the guy like that ,lol. I ended up in total,so far having to spend about $1,500.00 in additional parts and labour to get it to driveable and to pass state satefy inspection.That included installing belts, engine mount,replacing the aux. water pump,replacing a fog lamp,trueing a wheel, adding hubcentric rings and replacing the two front tires.

[Michael999]

Okay, ive decided to purchase the car.
Talked to the previous owner and she said it was serviced every 6 months, and she gave me the name of the mechanic who fixed the head, and the name of the shop where it was taken to regularly. "BM City" in adelaide for anyone interested.
Im registering it tomorrow and picking it up 2 days from now

Ill get my friend with a good digital camera to take a stack of photos, and ill post em all up.
Thanks HEAPS for all your advice! all of you have been great, and i hugely appreciate it, hope to become one of the crowd over the next few months!

I worked out the price today with the seller, $6300.

[GJPinAU]

You've done well. Enjoy the car and stay in contact with us.

,
Greg

[dennyg]

Just bought my 1989 535 from ebay. car had only 43800 miles on it but mehcanics were not attended too. I had to replace rear brake lines front rotors engine and tranny mounts ...this week i will replace upper and lower control arm bushings idler arm front struts front and rear sway links pitman/dog bones.....today I had throttle body cleaned via IV and she smoked for about twenty minutes......big improvement!!! Car idles a little rough but I think that is common in these. power is not great but not too shabby. Cant wait for suspension to be fixed so I can actually use the power.

[angrypancake]

43,800? wow!

[ILoveMPower]

From the information I have gathered from this thread, I would tend to look around for a different E34.

I'm sure it rides real nice, but I just have a bad feeling they did a real good job of cleaning up the bay and whatnot when in reality maitenence has been lacking.

Either way, this might not be the one, but there's tons more out there! Make sure to at least drive a manual before you go choosing

[Ross]

Hallelujah!