Some E34 Advice Please.

[petrolveins]

Hey Guys

I've been trying to decide what car to buy for sometime now, and have decided to wait a while longer till I'm around 21 before getting anything too lairy, so in the meantime I'm considering getting a nice E34. I'd prefer a touring and have my eye on a few in the classifieds, what I really want to know are what are the major things to look out for on these that will cause major bills, and which model is best to get. I'm undecided on whether its a 24v 525i or a 530i V8 I want. Most of me thinks the 525i is the better one, just seems right to have a nice straight 6 in a BMW that makes that classic wonderful sound, but the child in me wants the V8, is it worth the extra cost in fuel over the straight 6? Also what do I need to look very carefully at when buying one?

Budget is around £1k, as I would prefer to get as near a mint one as I can. Rest will be going on the insurance.

Any other advice also appreciated.

[Ozzie Osmond]

I'd start by checking you can find an insurer who is happy with the figure "21" and the letters "BMW" in the same sentence.

[TheEnd]

I'd say aim for a late 525i Sport, ie

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1996-BMW-525i-525-5-SERI...
^might be be a true sport, and I don't like the wheels either...

or if you are into a fixer upper-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-525I-SPORT-/23071239...

[Zerotonine]

I had a 1990 E34 once upon a when. It was an absolute wreck, but a nice drive. The problems I had were as follows:
OS Wiper striking bonnet
Fuel pipes corroded beyond recognition - Kept spewing petrol all over the exhaust - It had passed an MOT like that...
Steering that would make a black cab jealous... Bit busted methinks...
Handbrake fked,
Headlights wouldn't switch off unless you popped the bonnet and jiggled the LKM in the fuse box
With exception of fuel lines leaking, had crap mpg

Would I own another? Absolutely. But make sure you get a very looked after example, they hate neglect. Make sure fuel lines are good as it is a tank off job to replace them.
They are brilliant for taking out pigeons at 70+ though. I evaporated one and all it did was knock one number plate screw out.

[NavSat]

Ozzie Osmond said:

I'd start by checking you can find an insurer who is happy with the figure "21" and the letters "BMW" in the same sentence.

I think you'd be surprised. In most cases BMWs are cheaper to insure than some superminis for young 'uns!

[pits]

To be honest I have found mine excellent and nothing really niggling to worry about.
Tourers
check that the sunroof works in both directions if it has the double one
Rear tailgate probably wont stay up, and so far I have found it is a BMW only job to replace the two inner struts
Found that the tailgate can rub through wires, so if your rear wiper or reverse lights don't work check the wiring at the hinges

General E34
Service history
Drive it and watch for the E34 shuffle, front end wanders, usually the stab bars I would advise replacement with genuine BMW items, pattern parts do not last, also check the lower arms, they are ally and they are not cheap

Actually just go here
http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Trouble/What_will_br...



That said I have put around 20k miles on mine since owning it, it cost £450 so far it owes me
Exhaust (surprise surprise Kwik Fit one fell off 3 years to the date (near enough))
Brake pads front and rear
Fuel pump (132k it went not bad for a 1994 car)
2 sets of 4 tyres
Prop shaft seal
Plastic water flange
2 shocks
ISCV

Preventative maintenance
Track rod ends
Sway bars
Lower arms
Rear drop links on ARB(sorta, one snapped)

It has let me down once, fuel pump, and when you take out all the consumables a £450 17 year old car it owes me nothing.

Buy a good one, look after it and it will do you well, and try not to buy pattern parts, BMW are usually just as much as the pattern stuff, sometimes fractionally more but the parts fit, work and last.


And get a Tourer they are soo much nicer than a saloon.

[petrolveins]

Ozzie Osmond said:

I'd start by checking you can find an insurer who is happy with the figure "21" and the letters "BMW" in the same sentence.

Do you really think I'd be posting this here if I hadn't already sorted out the insurance? I'm 19 and they will happily quote me in anything upto a 540i. I really don't know people struggle so much with insurance, it's a B5 S4 I'm looking to get someway further in the future, but they'll already quote me £1900 tomorrow on a B5 RS4 Avant if I had the money to buy one. Just need to shop around everywhere for insurance.

Thanks for all the replies so far guys

[Hudson]

Mine used to "shudder" at 60~mph, apparently a common problem?

my solution was to simply drive faster (it goes away at 70ish) but im sure theres a proper fix for it

[petrolveins]

pits said:

That said I have put around 20k miles on mine since owning it, it cost £450 so far it owes me
Exhaust (surprise surprise Kwik Fit one fell off 3 years to the date (near enough))
Brake pads front and rear
Fuel pump (132k it went not bad for a 1994 car)
2 sets of 4 tyres
Prop shaft seal
Plastic water flange
2 shocks
ISCV

Preventative maintenance
Track rod ends
Sway bars
Lower arms
Rear drop links on ARB(sorta, one snapped)

Cheers for all that. How much did all that cost you? Specifically the suspension bits.

[ShampooEfficient]

I had a 24v 525i. Cracking motor, absolute banger but I loved it.

[mad4amanda]

wonderful car I use my 540i tourer as my work daily its lovely!

[strangehighways]

I would just go and get a 540, like I did!! No point in getting a V8 530. The 540 is probably the same in fuel economy and much faster. I get 25mpg combined, which includes some right foot action. Easy 28 - 30 mpg on a run. Mine is an auto too.

I can't imagine that an auto 525 would get more than 30mpg combined..and a 530 or 535 is probably mid 20s... just get a 540! They are very quick cars as well, 280 bhp, 0 - 100mph is around 16 - 17 seconds.

Steering on the 540 is a little vague on dead centre but weighs up nicely though the bends, way better than my B5 Audi A4 that I had some time ago.

Brilliant cruiser. Savage overtaking ability with kick-down or sport mode. Or just be a lazy sod and ride the torque in Eco mode.

Mine cost £900 and I am totally happy with it.

[dome]

Get yourself onto www.bmw5.co.uk It's a really useful forum. They are old cars now but they are pretty decent to work on and parts availability is good. I'd say a 525 sport is a good bet too, 192 ish horsepower I think. You might get a 530 v8 cheap or even a 535 6 cylinder too if fuel costs aren't an issue?

[strangehighways]

Hudson said:

Mine used to "shudder" at 60~mph, apparently a common problem?

my solution was to simply drive faster (it goes away at 70ish) but im sure theres a proper fix for it

Mine does this a bit at 70. Balancing and tracking has sorted it about 50%. Still there a bit though. As you say, just drive faster..

[wackojacko]

Get a 540i ! You can get 30mpg pretty easily out of one if driven carefully.

A manual 540i would be the one, you wouldn't look back !

If not then 535i straight six is a nice engine but quite thirsty compared to the V8's.


The main problem is rust to look out forany thing else (within reason) is fine as so many E34's are broken for spares other parts are pretty readily available at reasonable prices.

[petrolveins]

Cheers guys, I want a manual that's for sure, 540i would be cool, but I haven't seen many come up for sale much. Fuel isn't a massive issue, though I'd like to get above the 30mpg mark when crusing. I think I'll probably just be swayed by a nice 525i Touring. Though there is a lovely '01 E39 540i SE Manual going for under £3k elsewhere.

I should explain further, currently I'm driving a Skoda that will soon go to my sister when she passes her driving test. I was therefore looking to spend around £5k on a nice decent quick car, very keen on the S4 B5, but I think it's a bit soon in my driving career to step to something that fast. So I thought why not tick a cheaper German barge off my list, do a bit of shed motoring for 6 or 12 months, then when I've got another years NCB and a bit more money upgrade to a nice mint Uber-Saloon. Or should I man up and just get the S4? So indecisive when it comes to spending money, especially cars.

[sparks_E39]

Ozzie Osmond said:

I'd start by checking you can find an insurer who is happy with the figure "21" and the letters "BMW" in the same sentence.

It will be fine, from memory the E39 528 I purchased for £3500 in 2008 when I was 21 cost about £700 to insure fully comp on 10,000 miles per year.

[pits]

petrolveins said:

pits said:

That said I have put around 20k miles on mine since owning it, it cost £450 so far it owes me
Exhaust (surprise surprise Kwik Fit one fell off 3 years to the date (near enough))
Brake pads front and rear £30? a set
Fuel pump (132k it went not bad for a 1994 car)
2 sets of 4 tyres
Prop shaft seal £ No idea garage did it
Plastic water flange £12
2 shocks £90 a corner
ISCV £150 (not genuine BMW but genuine Bosch part, BMW were £150 more for identical item)

Preventative maintenance
Track rod ends £25 IIRC
Sway bars £25 each IIRC
Lower arms £150? I can't remember
Rear drop links on ARB(sorta, one snapped) £12 each I think it was

Cheers for all that. How much did all that cost you? Specifically the suspension bits.

You're looking at a good couple of hundred quid to sort out the suspension, but again pattern parts for these seem to be utter st, I tried pattern part stab bars and they died within a year.

The good thing and I believe also the problem is that 90% of E34 share the same parts over the whole range.

But really a good E34 is so good to drive, as you can see some people have had some real dogs and still think they were amazing, on top of that they are quickly becoming a collector car decent ones getting hard and harder to find, so they are worth spending the money on.

Realistically excluding tyres, I think mine owes me around £1300 including the car, over 3/4 years and 20k odd miles, which when you take fuel, tyres and insurance out equates to around £400 a year to run.

Mine is only the 518i, but you know what I wouldn't swap it or sell it at the moment, brilliant car it does everything I want it to do, and I just can't find anything better to replace it with.

Get a good one, look after it, don't fk it up with crappy mods or a rattle can paint job and it will do you well, though check insurance first even though mine is a 518i I am paying £700 fully comp a year at 24 with 5 years NCD on a cat B postcode, put that in perspective my Mitsubishi VR4 which was a group 20 car cost me £730 fully comp

[chorus]

Zerotonine said:

OS Wiper striking bonnet

I've a Spanish end-of-the-line 525. Touch wood, very few problems. The wiper problem is familiar.

Wheel judder is a common problem- see the E34 link as suggested above. This is usually due to play in the suspension, but here's another little nugget. Many- mine included- came with the infamous Metric wheels (390 or 415mm diameter) and the tyres are poor as well as being ruinously expensive (see the excellent barges 1-5 large thread for more on this.) So a change to E39 wheels is common because it allows you to run currently available tyres- but the E39 wheels have a larger diameter centre and won't fit properly without spigot rings. At first I couldn't understand why balancing the wheels made so little difference, but I soon found out it was because they simply weren't centred.

I've owned mine for ages and generally it's been great. I've had two bizarre electrical problems. The first was a nightmare- I travel for work and the car was fine if I left if for a few days, but it wouldn't start if I left if for a couple of weeks. Not the best. It turned out to be the torch in the glovebox draining very small amounts of current, and simply removing it fixed the problem. Easy if you know...

The other came shortly afterwards, and it turned out to be the key losing its ID. Two hours at a specialist diagnosed it, and it was fixed by reprogramming.

They're all quite high mileage and at least 15 years old now so you've got to be prepared for a few lumpy bills. But you can buy them for standing out of the light and they're beautifully built cars. Interiors are very solid, and bodily they should still be reasonable if looked after at all. Rust is most likely over the wheel arches, or around the fuel tank.

[petrolveins]

pits said:

You're looking at a good couple of hundred quid to sort out the suspension, but again pattern parts for these seem to be utter st, I tried pattern part stab bars and they died within a year.

The good thing and I believe also the problem is that 90% of E34 share the same parts over the whole range.

But really a good E34 is so good to drive, as you can see some people have had some real dogs and still think they were amazing, on top of that they are quickly becoming a collector car decent ones getting hard and harder to find, so they are worth spending the money on.

Realistically excluding tyres, I think mine owes me around £1300 including the car, over 3/4 years and 20k odd miles, which when you take fuel, tyres and insurance out equates to around £400 a year to run.

Mine is only the 518i, but you know what I wouldn't swap it or sell it at the moment, brilliant car it does everything I want it to do, and I just can't find anything better to replace it with.

Get a good one, look after it, don't fk it up with crappy mods or a rattle can paint job and it will do you well, though check insurance first even though mine is a 518i I am paying £700 fully comp a year at 24 with 5 years NCD on a cat B postcode, put that in perspective my Mitsubishi VR4 which was a group 20 car cost me £730 fully comp

Cheers for that. I want a really nice one, not one that's been dragged backwards through Halfords. All mods will be BMW ones to make it look factory fresh. Yeah insurance is a little more than I hoped. I'm 19, my own policy and it's gonna be £1600 fully comp. Same price as an RX-8 would be to insure. But oh well that's life just gotta take it and keep earning those NCBs.