1995 525i Fuel mileage

So I'm looking at buying a 1995 525i. Its in nice shape and I like the body lines. Up until now I have been a Mercedes guy (mostly a diesel Mercedes guy), but I think its time for a change. At any rate, the one thing that has me curious is fuel milage. From what I'm reading I can expect around 28-30MPG on the highway, is this realistic? What are those of you that have a 1995 525i getting?

I've read that the coolign systems are a bit fo a soft spot on these, but are there any other issues I should be aware of?

-thanks,
Dude99

Don't know about 525i but welcome anyways the answer is here regardless search archives

In US mpg terms, my '92 would do 28 at a steady 75mph. That is pretty close to what the handbook specifies from new. It was a 5 speed auto and had slightly better mpg than the manual 5 speed. I would think a later (vanos) motor would be more economical though I suspect some advantage may be lost if it is coupled to a 4 speed auto.

Plastic water pump impellers and thermostat housings really need to be treated with a little caution. Otherwise, the cooling system is like any other - let it overheat and it may well repay you by blowing the head gasket.

None of this is ground breaking information. As mattyb says, you will find more information if you do a quick search.

And welcome from me too!

Thanks for the info and the welcome! So were the 1995 models available with both 4 and 5 speed automatics? or were they all 5 speed?

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Originally Posted by Dude99

Thanks for the info and the welcome! So were the 1995 models available with both 4 and 5 speed automatics? or were they all 5 speed?

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It is purely a matter of market. Any E34 525i M50 auto built for N America got the GM 4 speed box. If it was built for the Europe, Japan or the S African market, it got a 5 auto speed. It is usually a ZF but there are a few Jatco boxes around. If it says PRND321 by the shift lever, it is a 4 speed. If it says PRND432 it will be a 5 speed. Manuals are 5 speed. If you put the last 7 digits of the vin in realoem.com you will soon find out which. Put it in a vin decoder like this and you will find out what spec it had when it was made:
www.bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html

It would be a help if you put your location in your profile because as you can see, there are market differences :-)

Updated my profile, sorry about that.... So N America got stuck with the 4 speed eh. bummer. Will I still be in the 28-30mpg(US) range with the 4 speed box?

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Originally Posted by Dude99

Updated my profile, sorry about that.... So N America got stuck with the 4 speed eh. bummer. Will I still be in the 28-30mpg(US) range with the 4 speed box?

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Try reviews at Edmonds for your specific car. Looks like 18-26 from peoples reviews.

I looked for mine the 530 vs 540 and they get the same mileage. 16-24

Looks like no benefit on the smaller engine thanks to the EPA. Wonder what these cars get in other countries?

http://www.jimstonefreelance.com/50plus.html

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Originally Posted by Dude99

Updated my profile, sorry about that.... So N America got stuck with the 4 speed eh. bummer. Will I still be in the 28-30mpg(US) range with the 4 speed box?

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With the stock chip, I'd expect 26-27 max at normal cruising conditions (ie 75mph, a/c on). With some kind of performance chip, the highway mileage potential will be greatly increased. About 10 years ago, I took a trip from Orlando to Toronto in my non-vanos 525i (when she was much younger) with a EAT chip using premium gas. On the way up, we were hauling ass (the economy--and the county mounties that come with it nowadays--won't allow for this now) but my sustained speed (including gas and bathroom breaks) was 78.6 mph. In short, we were going really really fast. On that northward leg, I got about 31 mpg with climate control running as I pleased (using cruise control). On the return leg, I let my sister drive the bit prior to Atlanta, so she didn't bother to heed my warnings to make it out of there before 4 in the afternoon. On that leg--with the bumper to bumper--we got about 28.5 or so. During this time, there's instances where I'd be a glutton for punishment and drive 55mph on the highway with the a/c on 25% of the time, and I could get 35 or 36 if I was making a trip over flat terrain. That was a long time ago, though. 10 years has passed, and the engine in your car isn't a spring chicken if it has been driven regularly, so I can't offer any firm figures for what you'd get with your nearly 20 year old purchase.

Best of luck.

EDIT: mine is the 4 speed GM box, not the manual, with a 4.10 rear end. I've never seen an improvement in city driving MPG with the performance chip; these cars are heavy.

Mixed/City driving, on the other hand, is slightly less than 20 mpg (US) with my 1995 5-speed,

John

Is there any noticeable MPG difference between the VANOS and non-VANOS engines?

thanks to all for the replies and info so far