what classic bmw for £5000?
Discussion
Looking at getting a new car and I'm considering a number of options, but I'm sorely tempted by several of munich's finest.
I've got up to £5000 to spend, and I'm looking for the right balance of being a fun drivers car, not too thirsty, reasonably simple to maintain and practical. It's going to be a daily driver.
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.
I'm not a fan of driver aids, nor do I have much interest in gadgets. I'm not a fan of power steering. I just want a well built, balanced, precise, fast and stylish motor.
Of course, feel free to chime in with something I haven't thought of.
Cheers guys.
I've got up to £5000 to spend, and I'm looking for the right balance of being a fun drivers car, not too thirsty, reasonably simple to maintain and practical. It's going to be a daily driver.
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.
I'm not a fan of driver aids, nor do I have much interest in gadgets. I'm not a fan of power steering. I just want a well built, balanced, precise, fast and stylish motor.
Of course, feel free to chime in with something I haven't thought of.
Cheers guys.
raw1981 said:
Looking at getting a new car and I'm considering a number of options, but I'm sorely tempted by several of munich's finest.
I've got up to £5000 to spend, and I'm looking for the right balance of being a fun drivers car, not too thirsty, reasonably simple to maintain and practical. It's going to be a daily driver.
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.
I'm not a fan of driver aids, nor do I have much interest in gadgets. I'm not a fan of power steering. I just want a well built, balanced, precise, fast and stylish motor.
Of course, feel free to chime in with something I haven't thought of.
Cheers guys.
How about a tidy 2002, I think 2002tii is probably outside of the budget.I've got up to £5000 to spend, and I'm looking for the right balance of being a fun drivers car, not too thirsty, reasonably simple to maintain and practical. It's going to be a daily driver.
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.
I'm not a fan of driver aids, nor do I have much interest in gadgets. I'm not a fan of power steering. I just want a well built, balanced, precise, fast and stylish motor.
Of course, feel free to chime in with something I haven't thought of.
Cheers guys.
raw1981 said:
, e34 525i sport, e34 m5, and an e24 635csi.
I had an E34 535i, which I like to think of as all of those mashed up without the slowness of the 525, the expense of the M5 or the all-of-them-are-rustyness of the 635. I loved it, and would gladly have one again. Although if someone could show me a rust free Dolphin grey E30 2 door 325i Sport for less than £5k I might have to buy it immediately. I have a spare set of the BBS wheels for one sat in my shed just waiting for the right car to come back into my life.
In the same vein as a couple of the other answers £5k isn't going to get you a 635CSi that doesn't need half as much as that spending on it very soon. If 5k is the limit then I would go for a minty E34 525i Sport or 535i or perhaps look at E36's; decent E30's seem to be thin on the ground at that price point but I wouldn't rule out uncovering a nice 318iS - the baby M3.
I have to agree with the comments above, sadly the days of buying something like a 325i Sport that won't require some form of restoration ( even if not immediately obvious) for 5k are over...If you find one at that money that doesn't then snap it up.
You could perhaps get a non sport, add an LSD and a few other bits to make it more what you're after.
The truth is that at that budget something with E36 in the title would probably be a more achievable and safer bet.
You could perhaps get a non sport, add an LSD and a few other bits to make it more what you're after.
The truth is that at that budget something with E36 in the title would probably be a more achievable and safer bet.
Edited by mark.c on Tuesday 15th April 18:58
Thanks for the responses people, much appreciated.
Is an e34 m5 really that troublesome? I've seen a couple of 3.6's on G plates for around 5 grand.
The 535i sport is a seriously tempting possibility. That is if I could find one! talk about hens teeth rare! all I can find is one thats been fire damaged and an SE.
The e36, I dunno, there's something lacking from them style wise. There's something I find very appealing about late 80s/early 90s cars, particularly with bmws. They got the styling of the e34 spot on, ditto the e30. Quad headlamps look good. The snubbed, squared nose, the lines and proportions make them look sleek and purposeful and a little different from a lot of the s
te you see on the road these days. The 6 even more so, except high prices and automatic gearboxes are putting me off.
Thanks for the advice guys, certainly given me food for thought.
Is an e34 m5 really that troublesome? I've seen a couple of 3.6's on G plates for around 5 grand.
The 535i sport is a seriously tempting possibility. That is if I could find one! talk about hens teeth rare! all I can find is one thats been fire damaged and an SE.
The e36, I dunno, there's something lacking from them style wise. There's something I find very appealing about late 80s/early 90s cars, particularly with bmws. They got the styling of the e34 spot on, ditto the e30. Quad headlamps look good. The snubbed, squared nose, the lines and proportions make them look sleek and purposeful and a little different from a lot of the s
te you see on the road these days. The 6 even more so, except high prices and automatic gearboxes are putting me off.Thanks for the advice guys, certainly given me food for thought.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...
Slightly confused advert....but looks okay, seems to need a good home.
Slightly confused advert....but looks okay, seems to need a good home.
As mentioned above, E30 sports are heading north in price now and E34 M5s are even more so. £5k will get a E34 M5 that will have big bills looming. I wouldn't discount the E36 M3, although the styling is considerably more modern than the E30, it is a lovely car. How about the 7 series? Wafty bargeness and £5k will buy a lovely classic example.
E36 328i - if you can find a good one. They seem to be quite economical & can manage around 35mpg on a run. Quite high-geared for motorway cruising. Nice torquey engine at lower revs, compared to the M3. Cheaper to run & insure than an M3, does not have astronomically expensive M-specific parts and can be easily tweaked via an M50 inlet manifold and remap to give around 215-220hp.
E30 is getting overpriced, particularly the 325i, and there's a lot of rubbish out there.
The E34 is well built and less complex than the later 5s so would make a good daily driver, but it's heavy and so the 525i would not be that fast unless worked hard and then economy won't be great.
The E34 535i is by all accounts a gas-guzzler. I looked at a good one once and was tempted but 18mpg in urban driving and mid-20s on a run put me off a bit. It's a bulletproof but old engine design.
The E24 6 series was know to rust pretty badly and I think would not be as cheap to run as the other options, though of course it's much cooler.
E30 is getting overpriced, particularly the 325i, and there's a lot of rubbish out there.
The E34 is well built and less complex than the later 5s so would make a good daily driver, but it's heavy and so the 525i would not be that fast unless worked hard and then economy won't be great.
The E34 535i is by all accounts a gas-guzzler. I looked at a good one once and was tempted but 18mpg in urban driving and mid-20s on a run put me off a bit. It's a bulletproof but old engine design.
The E24 6 series was know to rust pretty badly and I think would not be as cheap to run as the other options, though of course it's much cooler.
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.Slightly confused advert....but looks okay, seems to need a good home.
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.Slightly confused advert....but looks okay, seems to need a good home.
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