E28 as a daily driver?

[blueovercream]

Anyone who does it or has done it?

They've really caught my eye recently, being a classic that seems to be relatively affordable still. I'm thinking a 6 cylinder manual of some sort. The car would not be garaged and would be used during winter. I mainly cycle to work so it would maybe be used once or twice a week.

Any idea what sort of running costs I could expect and how likely is it to rot away, assuming I get a solid one to start with?

Edit to say that I've found a few old threads on this but I'm looking for something a bit more recent!

Edited by blueovercream on Wednesday 22 September 19:57

Edited by blueovercream on Wednesday 22 September 19:57

[g3org3y]

blueovercream said:

Anyone who does it or has done it?

They've really caught my eye recently, being a classic that seems to be relatively affordable still. I'm thinking a 6 cylinder manual of some sort. The car would not be garaged and would be used during winter. I mainly cycle to work so it would maybe be used once or twice a week.

Any idea what sort of running costs I could expect and how likely is it to rot away, assuming I get a solid one to start with?

Edit to say that I've found a few old threads on this but I'm looking for something a bit more recent!

I daily drove an E30 325i cabrio for a number of years when I finished medical school. Was an auto, mpg not fantastic compared to modern models, but not terrible.

Mechanically reliable (M20 6 cyl engine) but it was the body that really suffered - started to rust down the sills especially. Took it to 190k miles, did routine servicing and brakes myself. Had a cambelt done at a BMW Specialist. If you're not using it during winter, that would make a big difference.

Was surprisingly decent in the snow!


Road trips to Scotland and also down to Monaco and the Italian Lakes.

[blueovercream]

Thanks for the info. That looks quite fun...

[olliete]

^^ that is good to hear.

I am restoring an E21 (320) and intend to use that as a fairly frequent run-around. Good to know that others are also considering similar endeavours (for me, it makes sense with ULEZ coming in)

[Ziplobb]

just had my 88 320i MoT'ed but It wont be a DD
drove it theis afternoon its so small but it has no rattles and drives superbly - these older BMWs are inn a different league.
I have a 81 E28 520i and this winters project is to get it sorted as it 40 YO now and has benefits.

[g3org3y]

blueovercream said:

Thanks for the info. That looks quite fun...

It was.

Would I daily the E30 cab now? Probably not as a Mon-Fri commuter grind car. I'd miss my creature comforts of good aircon and heated seats (must be getting old). Also I remember the headlights being pretty poor. Things like the stereo are easy to upgrade for this modern Blaupunkt which is in keeping with the interior:



Wheels are smaller so tyres a lot cheaper. Also with the higher profile rubber, ride comfort is really good.

But it's the body more than anything. Come autumn/winter you've got to be on top of cleaning it and reducing the risk of rust. Mechanically though, I'd have no concerns.