Considering BMW e36/e34/e39 TDS or Merc W124 TD... ADVICE?

[UNCLE SILVIA]

Hi all....... its been a while lol.

I currently have a small fleet of classic cars (1977 Mini Clubman, 1978 Datsun 140Y Coupe, 1981 KE70 Corolla) but I drive a 1996 Nissan Terrano 4x4 as a daily.

I no longer need a 4x4, so fancy a more comfy estate car with better mpg but still having a little style and grunt for under £1000

I am Considering either a BMW e36/e34/e39 TDS or Merc W124 TD but being more of a Jap man normally I dont know much about these?? I have always had a soft spot for a German barge tho just never owned one lol.


Is there any better than the other or anything I should be looking out for?

Ide prefer a manual but will consider an auto, so whats avaliability like?

Even though its a "daily" I normally "play" with my cars so whats avaliability of lowered suspension parts and sports exhausts etc for these? (I quite like the grunty sound of a 5 or 6 pot derv )

I have however spoke to a mate of mine who is a car trader and says the BMW TDS engine suffers from headgaskets and warping heads commonly????? Anyone have any experience of this?
However Ive seen loads over the 200k miles mark so they cant be that bad can they??

He also said the Merc would be the best option as its much simpler and has a much tougher built engine!!

Basicly my shortlist is as below: (Yes I'm using modded pics just because I think their cool. ;D)

BMW 325TDS e36 Touring:


BMW 525TDS e34 Touring:


BMW 525TDS e39 Touring:


Mercedes W124 TD Estate:


Thanks

[Face for Radio]

You are not going to get a car looking like one of those for less than £1,000

Be interested in the responses though,

[UNCLE SILVIA]

Face for Radio said:

You are not going to get a car looking like one of those for less than £1,000

Be interested in the responses though,

Yes i know that im not silly! LOL

I just used pics of modded ones to make the thread look more interesting lol.
I can always bung on a set of ebay rims and lower it a bit for effect

Under £1000 is just the purchase price....... Ive seen some of the above cars in standard trim for as little as £600!!!

Im happy with one thats tidy-ish even if its a bit high miles as long as there is still a reasonable amount of life still in it. Everything has potential

Edited by UNCLE SILVIA on Sunday 17th March 16:50

[clarkey540i]

My 328i used to do around 38mpg. I would get one of those to avoid turbo explosions and so on. I would guess a 528i would get slightly less, but the E39 is a much nicer place to be, especially on long journeys.
I can't see a 325tds getting much more than 45 mpg. Once you factor in the higher cost of fuel and the higher cost of servicing, they probably cost the same as the 328i, and will be slower.

[JREwing]

I don't think that many people will help you to choose one if you're going to do that. Much in the same way that few of us would send our children to your house if you're planning to bugger them.

[g3org3y]

JREwing said:

I don't think that many people will help you to choose one if you're going to do that. Much in the same way that few of us would send our children to your house if you're planning to bugger them.

Er...

Unexpected post is unexpected.

[JREwing]

g3org3y said:

Er...

Unexpected post is unexpected.

Have you seen the general animosity on this site regarding modifications like that?

I'm not really stating my opinion, but someone's bound to say something similar soon.

[HustleRussell]

Forget the diesels, they aren't like modern common-rail lumps. They're thirsty and unrefined where as the 6-pot petrols made in 1990s Bavaria are legendary.
I gave up looking for a decent 525TDS and bought a 525i instead, and I haven't looked back. I'm looking into converting it to LPG which'll give lower running costs than the TDS and I'll get to keep the sound, power and smoothness of the I6 petrol.

Edited by HustleRussell on Sunday 17th March 18:23

[HustleRussell]

P.S. the 525TDS suffers costly fuel pump problems, and good luck finding a decent manual diesel W124, especially on a £1k budget and especially with a decent spec.

Edited by HustleRussell on Sunday 17th March 19:02

[0a]

Buy the BMW as this means you won't ruin the merc.

On a serious note consider the petrols as well.

[UNCLE SILVIA]

Im not going to be "ruining" a drivers sports car or anything, they are big lumbering estate cars and IMO if your just cruising about and not carrying much weight (I wont be) I dont think a set of nice wheels and a bit of lowering will hurt. I wont be going daft!! (not as low as the top e36)

Anyway, besides what I want to do with it, its just info about what these cars are actually like and what to look for when buying that I need!!!

[corvus]

E36's are cheap to run, easy parts availability. There is plenty written about all of them in the BMW section. The E39's will be quieter, more refined than an E36 but more complexity with things like suspension means they're more expensive to look after. E34's are tough old beasts - someone at my workplace has a '91 520i auto as a daily runner and he bought it for £400. No rust as far as I can see (and I've had a good nose underneath!), never seems to age and he loves it. Wouldn't mind running one as a daily myself, but I'm not sure about parts availability for these - they're getting old.

No doubt Hustle Russell would know more

I'd agree about diesels - the petrols are so good and it's not like you're going to be saving money considering how cheap the cars are to buy.

Edited by corvus on Sunday 17th March 18:38

[UNCLE SILVIA]

corvus said:

E36's are cheap to run, easy parts availability. There is plenty written about all of them in the BMW section. The E39's will be quieter, more refined than an E36 but more complexity with things like suspension means they're more expensive to look after. E34's are tough old beasts - someone at my workplace has a '91 520i auto as a daily runner and he bought it for £400. No rust as far as I can see (and I've had a good nose underneath!), never seems to age and he loves it. Wouldn't mind running one as a daily myself, but I'm not sure about parts availability for these - they're getting old.

No doubt Hustle Russell would know more

I'd agree about diesels - the petrols are so good and it's not like you're going to be saving money considering how cheap the cars are to buy.

Edited by corvus on Sunday 17th March 18:38

Thanks for that

I do prefer the size and comfort of a 5 series over a 3 but im not going to discount one!! I used to have a 4.0 Jaguar XJ40 and loved having a big 6 pot barge...... I didnt like the fuel drinkingness of it tho LOL.

If I can get some of that feel with an mpg of 30 ish round town and around 40mpg on a motorway run ide be happy! My Nissan 4x4 gives low 20s round town and 29 on a run!!
I know people give a big range of figures but I want to try and be realistic as I am on a bit of a budget hence looking for a cheap but wafty car. Servicing costs arnt really an issue and I do my own work as much as I can. Parts avaliability have got to be better than my old Datsun which is now in single figures in the UK I believe lol.

Whats the Merc like Petrol Vs Derv?? Always loved these too but no one seems to mention figures on them?

[HustleRussell]

While they'll both average over 30mpg, the Mercedes diesels are slow and the BMW diesel will land you with a substantial bill for repairing the fuel pump seals at some point.
My 525i does simular mpg to your Terrano.

Regarding parts availability, no problems to report as they're at that age where plenty are dying off though poor maintenance. Whenever I buy parts I contact BMW for a quote and I haven't found any to be unavailable yet.

[UNCLE SILVIA]

HustleRussell said:

While they'll both average over 30mpg, the Mercedes diesels are slow and the BMW diesel will land you with a substantial bill for repairing the fuel pump seals at some point.
My 525i does simular mpg to your Terrano.

Regarding parts availability, no problems to report as they're at that age where plenty are dying off though poor maintenance. Whenever I buy parts I contact BMW for a quote and I haven't found any to be unavailable yet.

What £££ are we looking at for fuel pump seals?? Any way of telling if they on the way out? Is it a hard job to do ??

[HustleRussell]

UNCLE SILVIA said:

What £££ are we looking at for fuel pump seals?? Any way of telling if they on the way out? Is it a hard job to do ??

I've never owned a diesel one myself but i've picked up on this by regularly browsing forum.bmw5.co.uk. I think the repair cost is several hundred although a replacement pump or refurb could be attempted DIY at a saving (if successful). The location of the pump makes this a bit of a pig. I think the symptoms are an underbonnet diesel leak and hot starting issues. Cold starting issues indicate the in-tank lift pump.

[clarkey540i]

UNCLE SILVIA said:

Thanks for that

I do prefer the size and comfort of a 5 series over a 3 but im not going to discount one!! I used to have a 4.0 Jaguar XJ40 and loved having a big 6 pot barge...... I didnt like the fuel drinkingness of it tho LOL.

If I can get some of that feel with an mpg of 30 ish round town and around 40mpg on a motorway run ide be happy! My Nissan 4x4 gives low 20s round town and 29 on a run!!
I know people give a big range of figures but I want to try and be realistic as I am on a bit of a budget hence looking for a cheap but wafty car. Servicing costs arnt really an issue and I do my own work as much as I can. Parts avaliability have got to be better than my old Datsun which is now in single figures in the UK I believe lol.

Whats the Merc like Petrol Vs Derv?? Always loved these too but no one seems to mention figures on them?

I would still suggest a 328i, you're maybe looking at 28 around town and 40 on the motorway, depending on how you drive. My 38mpg was achieved over 5000 miles of mostly low traffic motorway and A road driving, but my commute also consisted of some pootling around town. The performance to fuel economy ratio on these really is astounding. 1000 pounds will buy you a reasonably tidy example nowadays, and they're really pretty reliable for an older car. Keep on top of the cooling systems and the engines are bulletproof. As usual, bushes and ball joints can be on their last legs on some examples but they're cheap to replace.

[anonymous-user]

my e36 323 got 27mpg, maybe 30's on cruise. i find it hard to believe in the real world an 100k miles e36 328 will average 38mpg, I would say mid 20's.

[corvus]

The Spruce goose said:

my e36 323 got 27mpg, maybe 30's on cruise. i find it hard to believe in the real world an 100k miles e36 328 will average 38mpg, I would say mid 20's.

I averaged 28mpg with my 323 touring, a mixture of stop/start town and dual carriageway commute, driving briskly. I managed 43 to one tank once, but I was driving around 65mph for the whole time.

[crosseyedlion]

corvus said:

The Spruce goose said:

my e36 323 got 27mpg, maybe 30's on cruise. i find it hard to believe in the real world an 100k miles e36 328 will average 38mpg, I would say mid 20's.

I averaged 28mpg with my 323 touring, a mixture of stop/start town and dual carriageway commute, driving briskly. I managed 43 to one tank once, but I was driving around 65mph for the whole time.

Had similar mpg with my old 328 coupe, only went down below 25 mpg if i drove it like i stole it for the whole tank.

The 328 is less strained than the 323, usually leads to better mpg. (my old 530i v8 was 2-3mpg worse at 70 than my otherwise identical 540i)

Superb cars tho.