e34 or e36 diesel.
e34 or e36 diesel.
Author
Discussion

pitbull turbo

Original Poster:

663 posts

211 months

Monday 12th October 2009
quotequote all
hi
looking for a really cheap diesel hack to see me throught the winter so m fiat coupe doesn't get even more ruined.
i ideally would like a cheap diesel that would get over 40 mpg on the motorway cruising at 70 and that is well mannered on the motorway without my tramlining or effort needed to guide it down the m25 and m4. i would like it to be balanced and fun to so ideally rwd but on my budget i know its a tall order.
would want to spend between £500 and £1000 max. i woul prefere manual as i recon most autos in this price will be hidious boxes but im don't mind a auto if its a good one.
i would love leather and air con but again for my buget i doubt its going to happen.
the main thing though above all of this is its must be hard wearing and not likely to cause me any grief i can't be dealing with a unreliable bag of poo as it defeats the idea of keeping the fiat for sundays.

do you guys think i could get a good e34 or e36 diesel for that and what models are there? am i asking for trouble looking at such old car with maybe high miles?

buggalugs

9,288 posts

267 months

Monday 12th October 2009
quotequote all
I ran an e34 525TDS manual for 6 months or so last year, it was a nice place to do miles in and didn't need any money spending on it in that time. It was surprisingly un-economical though and would struggle to average 40mpg.

Plenty of sideways action to be had in it on wet roundabouts, and I got the wheels of the ground a couple of times trying to keep up on a PH run biggrin


sniff diesel

13,127 posts

242 months

Monday 12th October 2009
quotequote all
I've had my 325tds touring for a couple of years, cost me £1600 to buy then had new injectors before adding a tunning box. It's now on 150k and nothing has gone wrong with it, the same can be said for my GF's 325td auto that's now on 183k.

The manual will give 40mpg on a run, even cruising at 85mph, more like 45mpg+ if you dropped the speed a bit. My GF's auto returns about 33mpg on her 20 mile A road commute but I don't think the torque converter is locked up below 45-50mph so it should do a bit better on the motorway.

Great cars, if you can get one for about a grand without ridiculous mileage then go for it.

pitbull turbo

Original Poster:

663 posts

211 months

Tuesday 13th October 2009
quotequote all
so basicly if i get a e34 as it appeals more to me, it should be reliable and sturdy without much maintance costs but i will really only get 40 mpg?
anything i really need to look out for on these?

buggalugs

9,288 posts

267 months

Tuesday 13th October 2009
quotequote all
I used to get high 30's in mine day to day mixed driving, allthough to be fair it had 310,000 miles on it at the time. Mine needed the rear beam bushes doing (not that I did them mind, I just put up with them)

pitbull turbo

Original Poster:

663 posts

211 months

Tuesday 13th October 2009
quotequote all
so if i hit mainly motorway miles do you think id get over 40 mpg as it seams unlikely.
also waht are these like for a bit of sideways action?
i see they have 146bhp but is this enough to move such a hevey car about?
any bits i need to look out for when looking at them?
i have seen some 525tds for under a grand but they have between 150k and 230k on the clock. are these going to be a money pit?