Thinking of buying a E34
Hi guys, I know someone who is selling a 1989 535I Automatic with 135,000 Miles on it. I might be buying it. Wanted to ask you guys some questions.
* Is Services/Maintaince/Repairs on these cars expensive?
* What kind of reliability should I expect?
* If I put one of these nice performance chips in it, do I have to refuel with 91 octane? Arent there any chips with good performance that can take regular fuel? With todays gas prices I would like to throw the cheapest stuff available in, and this car is quite thirsty already.
* Can anyone guess at the 0 - 60mph and quarter Mile times for these cars?
* How much does it usually cost to respray the car? Would maybe want to change color and get that "brand new out of the factory look".
I must say im impressed with the love you guys have for your cars, even more so than usual car enthusiasts sites, which makes me consider buying this car even more. Thanks for any advice.
Big, Big Time Poster
If you have not had a german car to maintain before, then yes it is expensive to maintain and do not underestimate that!Originally Posted by PdT
Bruno's site has a good guide on what is going to fail - read it - it is very accurate. I can send you a list of what I "had" to do...
http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/troubl...will_break.htm
1995 BMW 525i w/139K miles, EAT Chip - (Gone)
07 525i 22K, 07 328xi (41K)
1982 Mazda RX-7 w/147K miles (Back again!)
2 Grand Master
0-60 is not where the e34's shine. Quater miles are respectable with the 535i and 540i, but they really come alive at higher speeds. Think autobahn curiser rather than turboed-rice rocket. The combination of a nice amount of power, superb handling characteristics, and powerful braking make the car what it is, a BMW. BTW, the e34 had the best braking of any sedan produced in 1990, this includes cars such as smaller lighter acura integras, etc...
Lowered with blue h&r(?) springs, Bilsteins, tint, 19# design 3 injectors, Dual Magnaflow
southwest WA
3 Grand Master
A presentable, dependable, somewhat tuned E34 costs $10k. You can spend that upfront, or pay for it as you go along. I'm at ~ $6k and I still have bodywork to do, which will easily cost me $4k -- there's no such thing as a good, inexpensive paint job (unless you know how to and can do it yourself). Granted, I bought a car that sat in a field for a few years.
If the price of gas affects you, it might be smarter to buy a different car. These were fuel efficient for their time; they're not these days -- I get 19mpg, mixed city/rural route driving, running 92 speedway or 93 vpower with an EAT chip and plenty of maintenance and upgrades. Got ~ 16.8mpg on regular with the same habits. One could acquire a later 525, get mid 20s under similar circumstances, but the car still wants higher octane fuel, knock sensors and all.
Maintenance is assrapingly expensive if you go to a dealer. It won't be "cheap" unless you do it yourself. My $6k consists mostly of parts -- I did 90% of the work. Example: thrust arm job costs me ~$200 + time on a good day, but it's a $500 affair from an Indy.
These cars weren't built for off the line acceleration, although it can be found with a little tuning. It's around 8 seconds for an earlier automatic 535
Check the buying guide on http://www.bmw4life.com for other details...
best, whit
* Is Services/Maintaince/Repairs on these cars expensive?
Yes and No. It all depends on what has been done. At that mileage, there are a few key factors. Suspension and cooling. Chances are that the suspension pieces in the front end of the car have yet to be changed. Upper and lower control arms, and tie rods can be an expensive job. No fault of the car, it just has to be done.
Water pump, radiator, thermostat, new hoses, etc, etc, along with new belts while you're there. Again, if it's been done disregard.
The 3.5 is hearty, you can't kill em. However, in the later years, the 3.5's did not have adequate cooling to the rear of the cylinder head causing what some call pre-mature failure of the head gasket. I know a few M30 engines that have over 300k without the head ever being off, but they are all in e28/24/ and 23's. If the head gasket hasn't been replaced, plan on it.
* What kind of reliability should I expect?
When properly maintained, these things don't die. the only issue you'll potentially have is replacing the transmission. If the fluid has not been serviced regularly, be pre-pared to have to buy a new transmission at any given time.
* If I put one of these nice performance chips in it, do I have to refuel with 91 octane? Arent there any chips with good performance that can take regular fuel? With todays gas prices I would like to throw the cheapest stuff available in, and this car is quite thirsty already.
You should run 91 regardless. That engine is 10:1 or 10.5:1. Motronic 1.3 can compensate a bit for pre-det, but not a lot. So you'll need to run 91 no matter what. If you are in CA, make sure you hold on to your stock chip, otherwise you'll probably fail Smog.
* Can anyone guess at the 0 - 60mph and quarter Mile times for these cars?
If you're concerned about 1/4 mile times an e34 isn't hte right car for you. The 3.5 is good, but the car is heavy and it's an auto.
* How much does it usually cost to respray the car? Would maybe want to change color and get that "brand new out of the factory look".
A very good paint job should cost at least 6k. An excellent paint job should run you about 10k. A crappy job that will look decent can be had for about $1500-2000. These are southern cal prices I'm throwing out there.
Good Luck
Big Time Poster
go newer IMHO
The last iteration of the body style is a 1995, you get the M50 engine 2.5 liter 24 valve and interior upgrade plus traction control if you hold out for the last year. If you want to smoke 'em at a stoplight the 1995-only 540 is the way to go, but remember to bring your wallet when repairing this complex beast or fillin' the tank for that matter. My choice? 5 speed 525 of 1994-5, and forget the stop light grand prix....and yes, German cars can be expensive to fix, especially if you are catching up on somebody else's differed maintenance...
BR,
John
3 Grand Master
That's actually not the case at all. Even the late M30 has a 9:1 compression ratio and can run 87 just fine. That's one of the reasons why BMW sells a thicker head gasket for those who've had to shave metal off of the deck. Motronic 1.3 is a single sensor system with no knock sensors or anything to retard ignition beyond what the AFM and O2 sensor tell the DME (and, I might add, that information concerns achieving lambda = 1).
best, whit
Last edited by Kalevera; 10-17-2005 at 05:10 PM.
Grand Master
Whit really covered everything.
Yes a nice, clean sorted E34 will owe you $10k U.S. either up front or by the time it's sorted in the end.
As far a reliability goes, buy a well maintained example and maintain it.
Sure there are some common quirks, thrust arm bushes, expect some auto trans issues over about 150,000miles especially if poorly serviced etc. But the M30 engine will last several hundred thousand miles providing you maintain the oil and coolant changes and don't overheat it.
Yes they are not particularly economical especially in traffic. Highway cruising is what a E34 is really about and the economy is much better. A new chip may give you slightly better economy if you don't drive like it's been chipped, but if you chip it you will need to use higher octane fuel.
The autos are not quick off the line (these are heavy cars) but once above 3500 RPM things begin to happen. Manuals are quicker off the mark as you can get the revs up into the sweet spot before releasing the clutch.
As far as a repaint is concerned I wouldn't entertain it unless you have money to burn. Budget $3-$5K for quality repaint in the same colour or $5-$10k for a total colour change. You would be better off buying what you want in the first place.
Be careful of buying a 'bargain' that just needs a little 'TLC'. With these cars there's really no such thing as a bargain. Though spending extra up front on a good example will most likely give you better value for money in the long run.
If buying a well worn example you'de better be able to do most of the work yourself... but if it was me, I'd just look for a decent one!
Last edited by pundit; 10-09-2005 at 12:39 AM.
1990 E34 535iA, 215,000kms (130,000 miles).
Dual Climate, Rear Headrests, Rollerblind, M-Tech Wheel,
Memory Seats, EAT Chip, T-Stars.
2 Grand Master
I have an 89 535ia. I've had it since July, and have put roughly 3500 into it, getting the front suspention rebuilt, new brakes, headgasket, among other things. The car is running real well finally, and I'm happy with the money that I had to spend to get it in the shape it's in. The owner of a local body shop thats well known around here told me it would be 5 grand for a color change that wuold be of "show" quality, which meant the entire engine bay, door jambs, everything. For a non color change, 2 or 3. My car isn't cheap to maintain, but it's worth it. Now that I'm learning (slowly) how to do stuff myself, it's helping a lot. Good luck with your decision on the car
Green Beret Special Ops
LMFAO....
Hi Pdt!
you going to return?
95 E34 530I V2.37
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