oh the shame BMW 525e e28

[autofive]

had a phone call from an old mate this evening and to cut a long story short, i ve agreed to buy his bmw 525e its a very late (K reg) e28, thats been sat for almost 3 years, i know it needed a bottom arm on the front when parked, so.....what else should be wary of when trying to get it restarted?, its an auto (with the sports box) will it be useable after 3 years?

 

any snippets of info from beemer owners would be appreciated, as i ve never owned a bmw, let alone a 2.7 six pot with a slushbox

[dollywobbler]

Isn't that a fairly shite spec? Huge engine, low power to make it economical. I really like these and I don't mind admitting it. Can't help with any info about it at all, but I reckon 3 yrs would be ok for a slush box. A fluid change before too long is probably sensible.

[autofive]

 

 

it's this shape, with lattice alloys

[scaryoldcortina]

cloth or leather?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Are you sure its a K reg? Cos they finished on about an F reg.

[Cavcraft]

Are you sure its a K reg? Cos they finished on about an F reg.

 

 

What he said. Bloody nice cars that shape (pictured) and the next model seemed quite dull in comparison.

[Barry Cade]

I've owned a few of these and like them a lot- the 525e was quite a weird thing- the 2.7 eta engine is a really low revver and has huge long gear ratios, which gives great economy on a run, but feels pretty sluggish for what is a big engine.

 

I had loads of issues with vibration from the front end, which felt like warped discs, but turned out to be suspension issues, there are lots of arms and bushes on these- I don't remember the exact details, but some of the larger model bushes and arms fit, and help a lot- some 7 series stuff fits I believe.. I also had problems with the dash, which turned out to be the rechargeable batteries that are fitted inside the clock, I replaced them with a battery holder out of an old radio and got batteries from Argos, which I fitted on the end of soldered wires down to a much more accessible place.

 

Also the front seats seem to just disintegrate, they can rust like buggery and they have a tendency to spit you off the road if poked with a stick.

 

The last few cars I've resurrected have given me issues with stale fuel and spark plugs......

[autofive]

cloth seats, drivers seat a bit frayed, but he says theres a spare one to go in, and deffo a K reg as the 1st owner was an army bod in germany, then shipped to uk and sold to his grandfather, full maindealer service history until he sold it to my mate, with 37K on the clock, then he's had it for about 6 - 7 years and its been maintained by a local specialist. It had been well looked after until he parked it, and then not touched since.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

had a phone call from an old mate this evening and to cut a long story short, i ve agreed to buy his bmw 525e its a very late (K reg) e28, thats been sat for almost 3 years, i know it needed a bottom arm on the front when parked, so.....what else should be wary of when trying to get it restarted?, its an auto (with the sports box) will it be useable after 3 years?

 

any snippets of info from beemer owners would be appreciated, as i ve never owned a bmw, let alone a 2.7 six pot with a slushbox

 

Its unlikley to be on a 'K', the last of these would have been very late stragglers getting an 'F'. They're very nice cars, filled with character and enjoyable to drive. The 2.7 'eta' engine may sound low on power, but it is has loads of torque and the 525e goes really well - they feel much faster than a 520i and are nearer in performance to the 525i. 0-60 takes something like 9.6 seconds. All UK cars are automatics with a ZF4HP22 transmission which should be nice and smooth. Nearly all 525es have cloth seats, leather is rare, as is air conditioning which wasn't even built in, but sat under the dash. Earlier cars sometimes have a very meagre spec because pretty much everything was extra, other than electric tinted door mirrors. They even came with wind up windows as standard. The 525e was a fair bit more expensive than the 520i new though so tended to specced better, some 520s can be dire. Later cars had 'Lux' spec which was more generous.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

cloth seats, drivers seat a bit frayed, but he says theres a spare one to go in, and deffo a K reg as the 1st owner was an army bod in germany, then shipped to uk and sold to his grandfather, full maindealer service history until he sold it to my mate, with 37K on the clock, then he's had it for about 6 - 7 years and its been maintained by a local specialist. It had been well looked after until he parked it, and then not touched since.

 

I posted before I had read this, so now understand why the car is a 'k'. I'm surprised the driver's seat is frayed at 37,000 miles though. My dad had an E28 in the mid 1980s which he sold at thirty-odd thousand miles. The interior had no wear on it at all, but I guess the car was only a couple of years old.

[autofive]

the drivers seat is frayed now, wasnt when he bought it, he managed to put quite a few miles on it before it was laid up.

 

scary: just realised DOH why you asked if the seats were leather

[cort16]

I just sold my 525e.They're GR8 and I happily got 35mpg out of it. They're great around town as the engines a torque fest. They've got cam belts rather than chains so that's worth doing but I think it's pretty straight forward.

The rust like anything though. Infact I'm welding up an e28 525e tonight. The jacking points rot out as they're a water trap. Think twice before trying to jack it up on these or you might end up with a very bent floor. The rear subframe bushes also wear out and make it clonk at the back. My old m535 was really bad and because the bolt for the subframe goes up through the floor and bolts under the back seat t the flexing weakened the floor causing the floor under the subframe to rot out, which is pretty much terminal. The subframe bushes are a pain in the arse to change too.

[autofive]

well, after going to look at it last night - i have gaffed

 

its not the e28 hes trying to sell me, its his e34. he just said its been laid up for 3 years...the silver one....K reg...auto, and i just assumed it was the e28, totally forgot he had this one too.

 

doovla says:

The vehicle details for K*** *** are:

Date of Liability 01 04 2012

Date of First Registration 04 03 1993

Year of Manufacture 1993

Cylinder Capacity (cc) 2494cc

CO2 Emissions Not Available

Fuel Type PETROL

Export Marker N

Vehicle Status SORN Not Due

Vehicle Colour SILVER

 

are these the right wheels for the e34?

 

not as interesting as the e28, and not something i would want to drive, i might still have it though and break it, the engine is good (regular servicing and a box full of receipts for parts) and the interior looks okay

tow bar worth anything?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Doesnt look terribly appetizing, I must admit

[trigger]

Are these of any interest to those banger boyz?, If so it might be worth a few quid to one of them?.

[autofive]

looking at the price of 2nd hand spares on ebay, i think i ll break it, and then either offer the shell to racers, or just weigh it in

 

shame really, as when i last drove it, it was a responsive old barge.

 

it has already been suggested i drop the engine into my cortina, i'm hoping that was a tongue-in-cheek suggestion

[kinkersaab]

I think those wheels might be of an 525 Ix (4x4) but not sure.....

[kinkersaab]

[autofive]

thanks

 

i think there are centre caps, but he removed them so they wouldnt get nicked

 

just doing a bit of googling, it seems their was an engine upgrade at some point, so not sure if this car has the old motor, or the upgraded

[Owain-328i]

These e34 525i's are cracking when they are in good nick, the 2.5 M50 is bullet proof, and has just enough power for the e34 to make it entertaining and reasonably brisk. That one doesnt look too appealing though i must admit. Those alloys are standard on non 'SE' spec e34's. If it was an 'SE' it would have the cross spoke style BBS fitted.

[Owain-328i]

thanks

 

i think there are centre caps, but he removed them so they wouldnt get nicked

 

just doing a bit of googling, it seems their was an engine upgrade at some point, so not sure if this car has the old motor, or the upgraded

 

Oh as for the engine upgrade, looking at the wing mirror's its a mid facelift, so late 92, early 93 K reg, so yes it will have the VANOS equipped M50 24v engine, as opposed to the non vanos 24v fitted from 90 to late 92.

[Lord Sterling]

Shame, it looks like it could be a nice car. I've always wanted one of those E34 525s on BBS alloys. Was looking for an E34 a few years back but I just couldnt find the one I wanted. Oh well....

[Pete-M]

Looks fucked to me.

 

If it's a 24v, the E30 boys like the engines.

[autofive]

Looks fucked to me.

 

i think your opinion is valid

[Futuramic]

It does look rather dead. All four doors will need re-skinning at least and replacing the missing trim will be a palaver. Add to this the fact that the front wings are boggered and multiply by the assumption that it's quite possibly damp inside.

 

It will probably be rusty underneath by now too. BMWs don't respond well to hanging about idle.

 

However the engine, if it is the early spec 24 valve (could even be single VANOS if memory serves) is a beauty. Nice and powerful though not as good as the later 2.8 as that was torquier. The autobox isn't worth very much but some of the interior probably is if in good condition. Being a standard 525 I would guess it does not have a LSD.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

It's absolutely worthless, apart from on the bridge. They're useless breakers and the only thing of any value is the plastic inlet manifold which will make about 80-100 quid on Ebay. If you can buy it for 100 quid (and no more), remove the manifold, cut the cats off and weigh it in - should make 250 on the scales. The alloys are standard ones and are worth a tenner each if you can get the tyres off. You could go through the aggro of removing the engine, but Vanos or not, it's going to be a crappy looking old thing with loads of miles which may be worth 200 quid eventually. they're only worth removiong and selling if they are really nice with decent mileage and a service book. I've sold a few over the years and only the nice low mileage units sell.

 

Other bits to remove if you can be arsed - instrument cluster, engine ECU...er...........

[autofive]

im hearing you

 

did a quick ebay search for parts last night, and found not much sells unless its in exceptional condition. still a bit of profit in picking it up though, and i never like to turn down a cheap car