GO FISHING, use SLABSAUCE Fishing Attractant
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 22

Thread: confession chair

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Bahrain
    Posts
    46

    Default confession chair

    mistakes i made when purchasing my 93 525i:

    -i didn't take enough time to look for a rust free e34, although it is very difficult to find a rust free old bimmer here in Bahrain (Bahrain is an island and the weather is very humid mostly).repairng rust and a repaint will cost me around 2k and still rust might came back.
    cheaper solution: drive the car as a beater till it falls apart and look for another one by that time

    -i didn't look carefully to suspension parts before purchasing the car which lead to some costly repairs to correct front end vibration.(strangly there was no vibration when i test drove the car! after few days of buying it all sort of vibrations kicked in.. all sorted out now exept for the 130 kmh and above vibration which is more to do with the drive shaft i think)

    -i should not buy a car with non original wheels.

    -i could wait a little more and get an e34 with leather seats.

    -my car is dolphen grey and it's a practical color (needs less washing) but i like black bimmers more.. again i should wait and look around a bit more.


    rather than that i am happy with my bmw and it has been very reliable (after changing all fluids, filter, fuel pump etc the moment i bought it).

    any one want to share this confession chair?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Wellington,New Zealand
    Posts
    3,868

    Default

    i bought the third one i saw but knew exactly what i wanted before i looked,thanks to
    1) some luck with my first look
    2)The help of this Forum albeit another time and place.
    So i ended up with a black on black leather,but like you the car was fitted with the wrong wheels,caused me some frustration at times.If you want another E34 you now know what to look for!
    Gone but not forgotten

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Connecticut, USA
    Posts
    676

    Default

    Yeah I wanted black/black or alpine/black but I ended up with island green :P

    I had been looking for 5-spd 535i for months to no avail when this gem randomly popped up with 160k. A couple grand later and she runs/feels like a champ... other than the thermostat I need to get to changing
    1990 Islandgrun 535iM Sedan

    3k oil changes | Euro lights + trim | Eibach/Bilstein | EAT Chip

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    NH
    Posts
    2,062

    Default

    I took my 540 to a professional BMW repair shop for a pre-purchase inspection where they told me not to buy it.They said it required aproximately $5,000.00 in repairs to be 100%.I bought it anyway.It has taken about that much over the last 9 months but other than a few days in a rental car during repairs and a few thousand more dollars on a Credit Card balance it has been great fun owning.The car was colse enough to my home when i found it for sale that i was able to at least do the Inspection so i knew ahead of time its true condition. Another 540 6 speed has not appeared anywhere within my reach in the time i've owned this. I didn't want to go for a smaller engine once I tasted the power in thr 540 and the same with the manual shift so if i wanted an E34 this was it. I felt it was in great shape other than needing these normal wear items. I just decided too many Summer driving seasons passed me by while i looked for the perfect car. If its been a love/hate relationship there's alot more love than hate.
    If you feel the car is a burden could you not sell it and wait for a better one to appear?
    Last edited by Jehu; 03-12-2007 at 09:24 AM.
    1995 540i Manual build 1/95

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Great Britain
    Posts
    446

    Default

    Only a couple of weeks after buying my 540 did I notice that it was just starting to rust around the windscreen (the windscreen was not the original BMW one so some monkey-brained cheapo glass place must have replaced a cracked windscreen and scratched things while doing so). Getting that fixed cost me £800.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    39

    Default I bought my 94 530iT and didn't know about Nikasil

    I bought my 1994 530iT with 37k miles and had no idea that there was any engine issue. It was from Florida, where it likely saw some high sulfur gas. I didn't know there was a potential problem until after the engine replacement program was over.

    Well. it now has 163,000 mi and idles fine and doesn't burn any oil. I never bothered to have a leak down test done, and I don't worry about it any more.

    Hal

    1994 530iT 163,000 mi Nikasil powered
    1999 528 iT 93,000 mi non-Nikasil powered

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    NH
    Posts
    2,062

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by pingu
    Only a couple of weeks after buying my 540 did I notice that it was just starting to rust around the windscreen (the windscreen was not the original BMW one so some monkey-brained cheapo glass place must have replaced a cracked windscreen and scratched things while doing so). Getting that fixed cost me £800.
    oh, thanks for reminding me. I did have some rust around the sunroof repaired and rot around the drain plug under the rocker panel.I have sence seen a bibble on the sunroof where it was repianted so i'll have to get them to redo it and now i see about a two inch long area of bubbling paint along the roof at the windshield too. Tha other job included a small patch of rust at the corner of the rear wheel cutout and totaled $500.00

    Ad by way of an update my shop just called and quoted me about $1,700.00 for Bilstien HD's $50.00 less fro the Factory ( Sachs) all around with all hardware parts and labor. he tells me Bilstiens will give me a firmer ride for sporty cornering and overall "much better" grip. Sounds like a lot but again i have not place to do the job or tools so though perhaps if i bought the parts myself like from BMA or another online place and had him install them i may save a bit but i believe he does add around $10.00/hr when you supply your own parts ,at least this is what the owners Son stated to me.

    Furthur updates include a $200.00 quote to fix the windshield rust and a new apx $1,000.00 quote to install the shocks from a different shop. I am being sent a coupon for a free oil change at an Independant BMW shop for the promise i will consider them for furthur service so i'll get their quote as well.. On a positive note today was way up into the low 60's and the car felt so relaxed and confident driving that i honestly couldn't really feel that i actually need new shocks and struts and hesitate to imagine how much more precise and controlled a ride it might proved when they're in..
    Last edited by Jehu; 03-12-2007 at 10:33 PM.
    1995 540i Manual build 1/95

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Chicago
    Posts
    378

    Default

    I bought a slush-box... ! Now that I've had that replaced, it's running pretty well. Especially with this warmer weather... my e34 simply does not like the cold.

    Nice surprise: My nikasil engine was replaced with alusil per the engine block casting number, even though seller didn't know, and i actually like kashmir-beige metallic

    Texas advantage: no rust went it came to me
    Illinois disadvantage: I noticed many new places of developing rust from a mere 2 winters

    Things I'm glad the PO did: replaced front suspension, installed cross-drilled rotors with brembo brakes

    Things I didn't realize going in: It DOES take a few thousand $$ to maintain these vehicles like an enthusiast... but how classy they are now... and how classic they will be even 10 years from now!
    _

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Vancouver WA
    Posts
    78

    Default

    It would seem to me that living in Bahrain would really limit the number of decent e34s for sale. We are spoiled in USA where you can still find a well kept inventory, although in the last 2-3 years they are becoming more rare I think.
    1994 530i

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    West Portland, OR
    Posts
    1,435

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Fahad
    mistakes i made when purchasing my 93 525i:

    -i didn't take enough time to look for a rust free e34, although it is very difficult to find a rust free old bimmer here in Bahrain (Bahrain is an island and the weather is very humid mostly).repairng rust and a repaint will cost me around 2k and still rust might came back.
    cheaper solution: drive the car as a beater till it falls apart and look for another one by that time

    -i didn't look carefully to suspension parts before purchasing the car which lead to some costly repairs to correct front end vibration.(strangly there was no vibration when i test drove the car! after few days of buying it all sort of vibrations kicked in.. all sorted out now exept for the 130 kmh and above vibration which is more to do with the drive shaft i think)

    -i should not buy a car with non original wheels.

    -i could wait a little more and get an e34 with leather seats.

    -my car is dolphen grey and it's a practical color (needs less washing) but i like black bimmers more.. again i should wait and look around a bit more.


    rather than that i am happy with my bmw and it has been very reliable (after changing all fluids, filter, fuel pump etc the moment i bought it).

    any one want to share this confession chair?
    Well, I do have an M20...
    I was looking at M30s or M60s at the time, and I still am becuase the ones I ran across either had bad trannys or were just hopeless - but this is a great college car so far, so I've got no complaints! I've fixed it up nice, so I'm quite happy with myself, and the car of course.
    EuroLux:. Private Detail
    E34 1/'89 ///M20 2.5i: Lachsilber

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Electric Chair!
    By bmwrp8 in forum 5 Series BMW
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 10-26-2007, 07:42 AM
  2. E34 Rear Brake Failure (some questions and a confession)
    By hoodsstalker in forum 5 Series BMW
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 11-10-2006, 02:14 PM
  3. e34 confession
    By kyleN20 in forum 5 Series BMW
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 09-01-2006, 06:24 PM
  4. Confession: Just bought genuine oem washer fluid...
    By Dan in NZ in forum 5 Series BMW
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08-25-2004, 02:40 AM
  5. Confession (head lowered in shame):
    By zmuff in forum 3 Series BMW
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 05-09-2004, 03:56 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •