BMW 530i Touring (E34): PH Carpool
A manual V8 5 Series Touring is an elusive beast but one worth hunting down so it would seem
Car: BMW E34 530i V8 Touring
Owned since: September 2014
Previously owned: "VW Corrado VR6, Alfa Romeo 166 3.0 24V Sportronic, Porsche 928 S4, Porsche 944 Lux, BMW E28 525e, BMW E53 X5 3.0d, Citroen AX 1.0E, VW Touareg V6 TDi, VW Golf GTI Mk6, Honda Integra Type R (UK spec DC2), Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Iroc Z, Ford Mustang 5.0 GT Convertible. I'll stop there!"
Not bad for sight unseen purchase off eBay...
"My Porsche 928 featured back in Carpool in December 2013 and was a great daily driver for a year for me, but last summer I left the sanctuary of full time employment and set up my own photography business. So costs needed to be shed (no pun intended) and practicality suddenly reigned supreme. My brief was a tough one: 20 years old, estate, V8 engine, manual box for a couple of grand. There wasn't much to go at frankly. I'd just come through a ruinous three months of owning an Alfa 166 that needed it's engine out to fix an oil leak, so I really wanted to go German again, and I've always loved old BMWs despite their reputation for always passing through the wrong hands when their values bottom out.
"Having had a beautiful E28 I wanted to experience the much more modern E34, and needed a big boot to lug my studio gear around. Many E34s with bodywork issues have given up their internals for smaller BMWs to become track weapons, although it's not unknown for the E34 manuals to make it onto the drift scene with their diffs welded up. My car had been a cherished one owner car up to 2013 and spent a year up in Aberdeen being used very little as part of a BMW enthusiast's collection. I decided to fly up and bring it back down south to within 50 miles of where it spent its first 19 years. There's nothing like the rush of buying a 20-year-old car sight unseen through eBay and driving it 550 miles home!"
4.0 would have been nice but hard to find
"How great bodywork isn't everything when buying a 20+ year-old BMW, as despite it being a well looked after car, 20 years of motoring means things inevitably need doing. The knock on these E34s was always the vague recirculating ball steering that had plenty of play compared to more modern cars. It takes some getting used to, and when combined with a front anti-roll bar that's not attached (as I found after I got it home), this can make for an interesting 550-mile journey! Brake discs and pads have all been replaced along with a fuel pipe, all drive belts, microfilters, a slave cylinder, both rear shock mounts, thermostat housing and the Inspection 2 service it needed. Bodywork is mint aside from a couple of small spots on the tailgate but the fact it has no tow bar fitted is a good sign and rare for one of these old workhorses."
Things I love:
"The looks - when parked up next to something like an Insignia or even a new shape 5 it looks so perfectly proportioned. Not as angular as the E28 I had, but just classy and handsome. These were considered huge cars when launched, but it's a lot narrower than most new cars today. The rarity - I've only driven past one other E34 Touring since buying it in September, and according to HowManyLeft, there are only 16 currently taxed with the 3.0 V8 and manual box combo. The gear change - it has a lovely typically smooth BMW manual gearbox that's a delight to use. The ride - plenty of rubber between rim and road means a quiet, pliant ride that soaks up bumps in its stride but still has very little roll on cornering. The build quality - a squeak free dashboard is only part of it. It was made at a time when BMW were competing with the bulletproof Mercedes W124 range, and to compete it needed to be nailed together properly. This car wears its 125K as well as any car can with no loose trim at all, and a much more modern driving experience than you would expect."
Built like the proverbial with no rattles or squeaks
"There's nothing to hate, but like all cars, it does some things better than others. Yes I wish it were the 4.0 V8 with an additional 70hp, however there are fewer than 10 of these left (in manual form) and the good ones are being locked away by shrewd owners who know their time will come in terms of appreciation. The bad ones are not worth the many thousands needed to get them into the condition of my 3.0 V8. And I've only seen one 4.0 V8 for sale during the last nine months, and it didn't look to be a good one! It's not the thirstiest V8 I've had, but in modern terms the hp to mpg ratio does not swing in its favour (mid 20s average - high 20s on a run). If you're prepared to wring the V8 out, then the 218 horses will begin to feed, however it doesn't have the torque of a large V8 so doesn't do a lot of damage below 4,000rpm. Sub eight-second sprints to 60mph are still possible if you're feeling vindictive towards it."
Costs:
"I've plumbed £1,900 into her since taking ownership not that long ago, as I never skimp on maintenance. It's more than I would have liked to spend, but I use a thoroughly professional BMW specialist who use genuine parts and know these cars well. The Inspection 2 service is not cheap on a V8, and the brakes (pads and discs) set me back a big chunk of that. On the plus side it now wants for nothing!"
Opportunity knocks for both Rafe and next owner... 2
"Its first journey was obviously it's biggest and probably will be for some time. I've taken it to a few Classic Car pub meets, and it gets used daily to ferry my kids or photographic equipment about."
What next?
"I've just bought a VW Corrado VR6 to replace it as my wife is entering her company car scheme meaning we won't need two load-luggers. This has enabled me to tick another car off the bucket list and means it's now for sale. If I were keeping her, I'd probably get the exhaust subtlety opened up a bit to clear its voice and free a handful of ponies, but I love its stock look to wouldn't mess with it my lowering it or putting on big rims."
Want to share your car with PHers on Carpool? Email us at carpool@pistonheads.com!
Admittedly Rafe has played the system a little and Carpool has given him a nice sales pitch for the car he's selling. But we'll let him get away with it this once on the basis it's a very nice car, the photos are great and if he hadn't sent it in as a Carpool we'd have probably run it as a Spotted anyway!
If you're interested we'll leave a *little* bit of legwork for you but suffice to say you won't have to look far to find the ad...
Cheers,
Dan
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