Discussion
Can I get everyone advice here please.
I'm looking to get an older BMW for occasional use, has to be at least 30 years old (to qualify for classic tax here in Ireland).
I currently have a 2003 325i Saloon, which is garaged and registered off the road due to the restrictive tax (€1050 per year) and the fact that I have now added my youngest to my insurance. So it's not being used and unlikely to be used in the next 1 or 2 years.
If I can get something that is 30+ years old, I will be able to tax (€56) and insure (€350? ish) it on a limited mileage policy as well as keeping my normal car taxed and insured with my youngest on the policy.
I'm torn between an E32 and an E34, I have had a couple of E34's before and they are fantastic machines, but quite fancy a 7 series as I'm getting to that stage in life where I'm more interested in cruising and comfort rather than out and out performance, but it needs to be suitable for the whole family and a 7 would just be a little bigger and more comfortable.
So:
E32 or E34?
Budget would be about 8k sterling.
Anyone have any suggestions on what one I should go for and why?
I'm looking to get an older BMW for occasional use, has to be at least 30 years old (to qualify for classic tax here in Ireland).
I currently have a 2003 325i Saloon, which is garaged and registered off the road due to the restrictive tax (€1050 per year) and the fact that I have now added my youngest to my insurance. So it's not being used and unlikely to be used in the next 1 or 2 years.
If I can get something that is 30+ years old, I will be able to tax (€56) and insure (€350? ish) it on a limited mileage policy as well as keeping my normal car taxed and insured with my youngest on the policy.
I'm torn between an E32 and an E34, I have had a couple of E34's before and they are fantastic machines, but quite fancy a 7 series as I'm getting to that stage in life where I'm more interested in cruising and comfort rather than out and out performance, but it needs to be suitable for the whole family and a 7 would just be a little bigger and more comfortable.
So:
E32 or E34?
Budget would be about 8k sterling.
Anyone have any suggestions on what one I should go for and why?
Edited by Olivergt on Monday 27th September 15:54
Kawasicki said:
I much prefer the E34. The E32 always felt like a fatter, overly complex E34 to me.
I'm inclined to agree with you, deep down I really want an E38, but they are not 30 years old yet, so not on my radar.There is also a lot more choice of E34's. They do tend to be a little more pricey though, although neither of them will really loose any money anyway.
Thanks for your suggestion.
E32 is a seminal car for BMW, finally trumping Mercedes as a luxury car maker. Automatic gearboxes of that vintage are slow, sap power and increase consumption, especially in slow city traffic, but for occasionalnuse who cares. As with all old BMWs, rust is number one concern.
In case you're still having second thoughts on E32...
https://auto-didakt.com/cars_blog_leser/bmw-e32-er...
:-)
In case you're still having second thoughts on E32...
https://auto-didakt.com/cars_blog_leser/bmw-e32-er...
:-)
Edited by naturalaspiration on Monday 27th September 18:46
Edited by naturalaspiration on Monday 27th September 18:47
Had limited experience with the E32, but even that was enough to realise it's just a more refined car, different market, different buyer etc.
If you are not bothered about finding full spec examples or retrofitting thousands of pounds of rare kit, you might well find E34 enough for your use case
If you are not bothered about finding full spec examples or retrofitting thousands of pounds of rare kit, you might well find E34 enough for your use case
I worked in a dealership when they were current models.
They are very different machines, the E32 being far more special and rare. The E34 always looked like a scaled down 7 series and wasn’t as well resolved.
The 750iL was a truly amazing machine.
The E32 is one of the best looking cars that BMW have made and would certainly be my choice.
They are very different machines, the E32 being far more special and rare. The E34 always looked like a scaled down 7 series and wasn’t as well resolved.
The 750iL was a truly amazing machine.
The E32 is one of the best looking cars that BMW have made and would certainly be my choice.
They are basically the same car with the E32 being 10% or so bigger. The interior, dash etc is virtually identical. Even today the E32 is very quiet and refined with a superb ride. It made the W126 Merc look like the overrated wallowing turd it actually was. The V8 version with the 5 speed auto is much better than the old 6 cyl 4HP auto. E32's suffer much less from sill rot - E34's can be terrible for that.
Given a choice, a 24v 525i auto is the one to have. They feel quite wieldy, handle and ride very well indeed and the 192 bhp M50/5HP18 powertrain is really good. In fact you'd be surprised how nice a later 520i is. I had a really good one a couple of years ago - a 1994 auto - and it drove sooo well. 518i's and the tds are taxis.
Eight bags will buy a lot of either car, but more E32. It's all about mileage, condition and avoiding the overpriced s
te.
Given a choice, a 24v 525i auto is the one to have. They feel quite wieldy, handle and ride very well indeed and the 192 bhp M50/5HP18 powertrain is really good. In fact you'd be surprised how nice a later 520i is. I had a really good one a couple of years ago - a 1994 auto - and it drove sooo well. 518i's and the tds are taxis.
Eight bags will buy a lot of either car, but more E32. It's all about mileage, condition and avoiding the overpriced s
te. Thanks everyone for you words of wisdom.
Personally i'm veering towards the E32 at the moment, the ones on sale do seem to be better preserved and I just think it would be a better fit for occasional use as it will be a family car and the extra space/comfort would probably be appreciated (especially if it's a slow old bus!)
MPG won't be a concern, given the expected mileage and usage.
I'm happy to keep looking and would be happy with either an E34 or E32 if it's a nice well presented and sorted car.
P.S. I do have a garage and I'm happy to do minor mechanical work, disc/pad/calipers, suspension bushes etc, and hopefully will be keeping it for a long time.
Personally i'm veering towards the E32 at the moment, the ones on sale do seem to be better preserved and I just think it would be a better fit for occasional use as it will be a family car and the extra space/comfort would probably be appreciated (especially if it's a slow old bus!)
MPG won't be a concern, given the expected mileage and usage.
I'm happy to keep looking and would be happy with either an E34 or E32 if it's a nice well presented and sorted car.
P.S. I do have a garage and I'm happy to do minor mechanical work, disc/pad/calipers, suspension bushes etc, and hopefully will be keeping it for a long time.
Either. E34 an be nearly as complex as a e32 or really simple like a 518i middle class poverty spec.
Rust is the main thing. If the body on car is good then everything else is fixable but the more complex the car the more time and money it will cost. The climate control systems in these car can be troublesome. I had to a climate control a/c delete in my e34 as it never worked.
The engines are generally very reliable but if the service history is patchy either model will give you problems.
E34's are easily modified. Buy a good and loved 518i or 520i and a m52b28 and shove that in. Or get a m62 from an x5 and do the ews delete and get that in the car.
8k will buy a solid car. I'd get the e34, well that what I have for the above reasons.
Rust is the main thing. If the body on car is good then everything else is fixable but the more complex the car the more time and money it will cost. The climate control systems in these car can be troublesome. I had to a climate control a/c delete in my e34 as it never worked.
The engines are generally very reliable but if the service history is patchy either model will give you problems.
E34's are easily modified. Buy a good and loved 518i or 520i and a m52b28 and shove that in. Or get a m62 from an x5 and do the ews delete and get that in the car.
8k will buy a solid car. I'd get the e34, well that what I have for the above reasons.
Thanks for the comments.
I wouldn't be interested in doing any engine swaps, bit out of my league in terms of skills.
I'm happy to do basic maintenance.
I'm probably looking for the best one I can get for my budget.
I did see an E32 730i at the weekend, rust wise it was very clean, I was very impressed, but it was a little tired in other areas.
I think I'm kind of settled on an E32 now as you can get a lot more for your money. E34's especially the manual ones are starting to get a little pricey.
I wouldn't be interested in doing any engine swaps, bit out of my league in terms of skills.
I'm happy to do basic maintenance.
I'm probably looking for the best one I can get for my budget.
I did see an E32 730i at the weekend, rust wise it was very clean, I was very impressed, but it was a little tired in other areas.
I think I'm kind of settled on an E32 now as you can get a lot more for your money. E34's especially the manual ones are starting to get a little pricey.
Just an update.
I have hopefully managed to get an E32, 1988 735i in grey. 74k miles, with decent history, has been garaged all it's life, managed to get a look underneath on some ramps and it's very clean. no rust at all.
It does need a few small jobs doing, but nothing major, will keep me busy over the winter...
It's not quite in my garage yet, needs to be collected. But once it arrives I will put up some photos.
I have hopefully managed to get an E32, 1988 735i in grey. 74k miles, with decent history, has been garaged all it's life, managed to get a look underneath on some ramps and it's very clean. no rust at all.
It does need a few small jobs doing, but nothing major, will keep me busy over the winter...
It's not quite in my garage yet, needs to be collected. But once it arrives I will put up some photos.
Olivergt said:
Just an update.
I have hopefully managed to get an E32, 1988 735i in grey. 74k miles, with decent history, has been garaged all it's life, managed to get a look underneath on some ramps and it's very clean. no rust at all.
It does need a few small jobs doing, but nothing major, will keep me busy over the winter...
It's not quite in my garage yet, needs to be collected. But once it arrives I will put up some photos.
Very nice choice!I have hopefully managed to get an E32, 1988 735i in grey. 74k miles, with decent history, has been garaged all it's life, managed to get a look underneath on some ramps and it's very clean. no rust at all.
It does need a few small jobs doing, but nothing major, will keep me busy over the winter...
It's not quite in my garage yet, needs to be collected. But once it arrives I will put up some photos.
Hi,
I picked up a 1988 e32 in lachs silver. I'll get some pictures up eventually!
It has 74k miles on it and the body work is pretty much perfect both on top and undernreath.
It has a few issues, the drivers seat on reclines on one side, apparently a typical issue and not too difficult to fix. It also has another common issue with the aircon fan only running on full speed.
Biggest issue at the moment is a drain on the battery that i am trying to track down, hopefully it wont be too expensive.
And by far the most frustrating issue is the fact that I can't drive at the moment due to double vision! It's going away slowly, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to get out in it in the new year, but it has plenty of little things to keep me busy over the holidays.
Intention is over the next few months/years to get everything working correctly and just enjoy it for a good few years.
Oliver.
I picked up a 1988 e32 in lachs silver. I'll get some pictures up eventually!
It has 74k miles on it and the body work is pretty much perfect both on top and undernreath.
It has a few issues, the drivers seat on reclines on one side, apparently a typical issue and not too difficult to fix. It also has another common issue with the aircon fan only running on full speed.
Biggest issue at the moment is a drain on the battery that i am trying to track down, hopefully it wont be too expensive.
And by far the most frustrating issue is the fact that I can't drive at the moment due to double vision! It's going away slowly, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to get out in it in the new year, but it has plenty of little things to keep me busy over the holidays.
Intention is over the next few months/years to get everything working correctly and just enjoy it for a good few years.
Oliver.
Just a quick picture.
I might start a reader's car thread, but I'm not the best at doing updates and things tend to happen slowly in my world.
Just to add, I have a set of Style 5 wheels to go on it as the 18 that it came with are not quite right, they work from some angles, but I think Style 5s will finish it off nicely.
Edited by Olivergt on Monday 20th December 13:14
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