BMW E34 525TDS Touring Manual
Discussion
...I've been looking for a half decent one since the middle of last year. Where have they all gone? The only ones have been abused a bit too much for my liking- people run them on nasty veg oil, don't bother repairing rust or maintaining them mechanically so it seems most are now fit for the knackers yard. Obviously this is a workhorse kind of car- I'm not fussy about milage, only maintenance and corrosion.
All I want is a usable one which has some life left which I can tart up.
Where should I be looking? Does anyone here have one?
All I want is a usable one which has some life left which I can tart up.
Where should I be looking? Does anyone here have one?
They do seem very thin on the ground. Quite a few autos but I'm not old enough for that yet.
I know everyone who is in the know says the M50 525i is about the best engine in the world, evaaar and that the M51 525TDS is 'barely any more economical', and this may well be true. However, I intend to use this car mostly for long journeys and towing approx 1000kg on a trailer, so torque and quietness at cruising speed is what I want. I have gotten used to the bottom end shove of the TDCI engine in my boring Mondeo. I test drove a 525i and was disappointed- I felt that I'd have to rag the nuts off it to make progress and if I did so the TDS would be more economical.
I know everyone who is in the know says the M50 525i is about the best engine in the world, evaaar and that the M51 525TDS is 'barely any more economical', and this may well be true. However, I intend to use this car mostly for long journeys and towing approx 1000kg on a trailer, so torque and quietness at cruising speed is what I want. I have gotten used to the bottom end shove of the TDCI engine in my boring Mondeo. I test drove a 525i and was disappointed- I felt that I'd have to rag the nuts off it to make progress and if I did so the TDS would be more economical.
Yeah but even rubbish cars gather an enthusiast following after nearly 20 years... I refuse to believe there aren't good ones out there. My usual favourite source for cars for private sale is owner's club forums and classifieds- There seems to be a multitude of BMW forums but no one of them seems to be busy, so that leaves me with Pistonheads (old diesel not a very PH friendly car), Autotrader and eBay (attract scruffy trade cars and knackers) and Gumtree/preloved etc (don't attract enthusiast sellers).
I suspect that all the good ones are now owned by enthusiasts who have no intention of selling. That's the impression I got when I bought my E34 525i back in 2004 and I don't see how it can be much different now.
My only advice would be to be prepared to travel. Don't know where you're based, OP, but I found mine in rural Dorset. Probably outside the range of London buyers. Had to look at a lot of dogs before I found mine though.
Good luck.
My only advice would be to be prepared to travel. Don't know where you're based, OP, but I found mine in rural Dorset. Probably outside the range of London buyers. Had to look at a lot of dogs before I found mine though.
Good luck.
I had an E34 525 tds touring a few years ago, it was a lovely car with decent performance but, being a manual which has shorter gearing than the auto, the economy wasn't great. On my 100 miles commute I'd get max 37mpg out of it. By comparison on the same journey my passat tdi would get 63mpg and my E34 540i 6 speed touring would get 30mpg. All cars would be cruising at 70mph on the motorway/ A roads.
E34's are great cars and I'd always recommend buying one, just don't expect great economy out of them.
E34's are great cars and I'd always recommend buying one, just don't expect great economy out of them.
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