Fellow e34 enthusiasts,

I will apologize in advance for a long post (and for this being a crosspost from another forum), but I would like to lay out my thought process and factors in my life so that I can make a good decision (with the help of random strangers on the Internet).

I'm a 2nd year college student and at the end of the summer, I'm going to buy a car. I need one for a few reasons:

-I will be living in an apartment and will need it for grocery runs among other things. There are no stores within walking distance, and I fear walking around in Worcester, MA (I'm a resident of PA) at night.

-I will have a co-op next summer that almost certainly will not be in my hometown (Pittsburgh) and will need the car to commute to and from the job.

-Since I live so far away, it's extremely hard for my parents to come pick me up for holidays and breaks.

-My girlfriend goes to school in D.C. and I hate dealing with trains and planes.

-I just like cars and my parents have terrible taste . More seriously, my sister is now of driving age and having 2 cars between 3 people gets tedious.

I have a few things going for me that makes this purchase a reality:

-I will be working all summer and will be able to save up around $5000.

-In addition, I have made some smart investments and have anothe $1-2000 to work with. No, I'm not selling a large part of my savings for a car. I plan to replace it next year anyways, adjusted for interest.

-I'm extremely lucky in that my parents will be covering the insurance and my 2nd year of college tuition (my 3rd and 4th years are my responsibility).

Now, here are my criteria:

-Rear wheel drive.
-Manual transmission.
-Comfortable for long hauls (multiple 600 mile treks).
-Sporty enough to have some fun.
-It has to be practical and get acceptable gas mileage.

I pretty much have my heart set on an e34 BMW 525i (that would be 1988-1995). Preferably one from 1993-1995 since it has the updated M50 engine but I would be satisfied with a 1992. I don't really care about dings and scratches and the only people who will be riding in it respect me enough that they won't **** up the interior. In other words, I wouldn't be uptight about taking it to college.

Everything I've read (and it's been a lot) has lead me to believe that the e34 BMWs are very reliable cars, and if taken care of, last a long time. I'm a little worried about maintenance costs, but I've been browsing online parts stores and from what I can see, the only reason BMWs are more expensive to maintain is because mechanics and dealers charge more for labor "just because it's a BMW".

I do have some backup plans in case I decide that this is a terrible idea and my cunning plan has not been thought through; a Volvo 240/242/244/740/940 or if it REALLY comes down to the nuts and bolts a Crown Vic/Grand Marquis/Towncar (I hope it doesn't, because I really want an e34).

So tell me, am I right, or am I ?