what classic bmw for £5000?

[jon-]

matt21 said:

Here is my fairly rust free example well within budget.

SHE LIVES

How's she doing?

That's my favourite car I've ever owned. So happy it's on the road

[E63M6]

My vote would go for the E30 Sport, these are very balanced cars which you can have a lot of fun with and be very comfy at the same time. £5000 will probably get you a good example but the prices are increasing with excellent examples close to 10k.

[Pickled]

raw1981 said:

M3John said:

delboy735 said:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Slightly confused advert....but looks okay, seems to need a good home.

I really like that.

Oh baby! Look at that! 230,000 miles is pretty high though.

Something about that car doesn't ring true, yes I know the Autotrader auto-fill has added a lot of items that aren't present, including the V8 & 2 turbos IIRC Sytner Alpina conversions were only minor, and mainly cosmetic. And surely genuine soft line wheels have hidden valves under the centre caps?

Edited by Pickled on Thursday 17th April 18:19

[Pickled]

raw1981 said:

The contenders are: e30 325i sport, e34 525i sport, e34 m5, and an e24 635csi. The 8 series did catch my eye but I think they'll be too thirsty.

An 8 series will probably be better on fuel than any M30 or S38 engined BMW.

For £5k I'd go with the best E34 535i sport (manual) you can find, I've had a couple over the years (1 manual & 1 auto) and they really were very nice drives, easy to work on with a basic tool kit, parts are plentiful.

[delboy735]

Pickled said:

raw1981 said:

M3John said:

delboy735 said:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Slightly confused advert....but looks okay, seems to need a good home.

I really like that.

Oh baby! Look at that! 230,000 miles is pretty high though.

Something about that car doesn't ring true, yes I know the Autotrader auto-fill has added a lot of items that aren't present, including the V8 & 2 turbos IIRC Sytner Alpina conversions were only minor, and mainly cosmetic. And surely genuine soft line wheels have hidden valves under the centre caps?

Edited by Pickled on Thursday 17th April 18:19

Reading the Ad fully, you're right...something is amiss. However, I don't think it's about the car, it's the mileage..it now stands at 311k........ Best give that one a miss...sorry.

[matt21]

jon- said:

SHE LIVES

How's she doing?

That's my favourite car I've ever owned. So happy it's on the road

She lives, of sort.....

Don't want to hijack thread, but took it for an Mot yesterday (first time on road hence pic), and she failed.

Most significant was the exhaust, whole new system needed (pretty much fell off on the way) although having trouble sourcing one. Apart from that just bulbs etc.

She drove faultlessly, apart from exhaust to mot station, which was 50 miles away! Lovely car.

[nagsheadwarrior]

Second vote for the e28, almost seem to be the forgotten option and very cool i.m.o

[jon-]

matt21 said:

jon- said:

SHE LIVES

How's she doing?

That's my favourite car I've ever owned. So happy it's on the road

She lives, of sort.....

Don't want to hijack thread, but took it for an Mot yesterday (first time on road hence pic), and she failed.

Most significant was the exhaust, whole new system needed (pretty much fell off on the way) although having trouble sourcing one. Apart from that just bulbs etc.

She drove faultlessly, apart from exhaust to mot station, which was 50 miles away! Lovely car.

We knew the exhaust was blowing, needing an entire new one is a bit harsh

Have you tidied her up too? Glad the MOT was good otherwise!

[Leins]

Pickled said:

raw1981 said:

M3John said:

delboy735 said:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Slightly confused advert....but looks okay, seems to need a good home.

I really like that.

Oh baby! Look at that! 230,000 miles is pretty high though.

Something about that car doesn't ring true, yes I know the Autotrader auto-fill has added a lot of items that aren't present, including the V8 & 2 turbos IIRC Sytner Alpina conversions were only minor, and mainly cosmetic. And surely genuine soft line wheels have hidden valves under the centre caps?

Edited by Pickled on Thursday 17th April 18:19

That looks awful IMO, poor car needs to be put back to standard. Alpina roundels wouldn't be my thing either

Also, Sytner conversions vary, but many were quite extensive mechanically

Edited by Leins on Thursday 17th April 23:37

[matt21]

jon- said:

We knew the exhaust was blowing, needing an entire new one is a bit harsh

Have you tidied her up too? Glad the MOT was good otherwise!

Well strictly speaking it is middle section back required so virtually whole system. The rest is pretty corroded too, so a whole system is probably wise. Pricing up a custom built jobby but not cheap!

Not done anything major, just general TLC and time spent to slightly improve it.

Been dry stored since collection, so is very tidy still.

If it passes and it runs ok we may take it to Spa in September for the classic. If not regretfully it may get sold.