Tell me about...

[cms206]

... BMW E34s. Particularly the diseasil 525tds. Anyone on here had one/know the good bits/bad bits?

 

Looks like I may be moving about 350 miles for work and the fleet will have to be reduced and I can't take the Mondiesel with me, been looking about for various different options and an E34 is an itch I'd like to scratch. And I've been offered one at not a lot of coin with tax and test. Might just be that swaying me, actually.

[Spiny Norman]

Don't know too much about the Dizzler, but I had a 530i (straight 6 version) for a while which was a lovely old bus. I think by now quite a lot of them will have serious tinworm issues although they were pretty good in their day, so that's probably the main concern.

They suffer the usual BMW suspension bush wear & tear, the rear subframe bushes go too which makes them a bit 'wandery'. The fancy wiper linkage (Some of them have a sort of variable pressure system which is supposed to pull the blades harder onto the screen at speed) can cause trouble too, both 5 series I had needed new wiper motors.

 

They're heavy old buses and the old Dizzlers aren't that powerful so get used to being overtaken, and I don't even think they're that economical either, certainly don't expect the 40+mpg you'd get from a modern turdo-weasel, but don't expect all the 'DPF/DMF ball-ache either.....

 

I'm allergic to oil burners but I'd have another E34 in a shot.

[HMC]

I took a gamble on a poorly described e bay listing of an e34 a few years ago- it was so cheap that I could cover my costs by cashing in the tax and weighing it in. Didnt come to that. It was a great car. The rear subframe bushes had just been done- prior to that the late owners wife said it had felt quite wandery before they were done. Mine was an 89 525i manual. TBH it was suprisingly economical, 30- 35 on a run and had a nice high top gear (CAR criticised the tall gearing of this model as it blunted the performance compared with the alfa 164 v6 they pitted it against)- didnt bother me. Rustwise I think mine had a bit on the jacking points and rear arches, which isnt uncommon. I took it to germany one summer, apart from an odd vibration at 50 or so (also apparently quite common) it was a lovely cruiser. It was black, and had a slightly chavvy private plate, so it came as no suprise when I was pulled on a visit to London on Pall Mall by the rozzers!!

[dollywobbler]

It's a very old school diesel compared to the later ones (this unit made it into the next generation of 5-series to start with) so don't expect uber-refinement or stonking performance. I'd quite like one though. They sound very muscular, if very, very diesel when cold. Something you'd be quite used to with buses!

[Pete-M]

525 TD isn't quick, TDS is a bit better but will still be left for dead by a lot of modern diesels. Having said that, the 525 TDS was about the best around at the time. 30-35 mpg in town, bit more on a run. They're a very "turbo" turbodiesel. Bugger all grunt off boost then they go ok.

 

E34s have to be properly maintained to be any good to drive. Get a bad one and it really will be horrible, but a good one isn't a bad thing really.

 

I had a '90 520i SE 12v in '94 and it soured me against BMWs for a long, long time as it was a truly horrible piece of underpowered shit I wouldn't wish on anyone. I've driven much nicer ones since, but the one I bought was a pup - a full BMWSH pup, but something I never wish to own again.

 

Basically if anything clunks or rattles then walk away. "Top hat" bushes (as mentioned elsewhere) on the back axle are a pain in the arse to change and they're more often knackered than not. Front end has lots of balljoints and bushes to wear out, which means that they're normally knackered and only get changed every couple of years for the MOT.

 

Engines are often knackered by 130-150k. Not a strong lump unless maintained properly, which very few are as they're diesels and diesels are bought exclusively by people who don't like spending money. Same engine as the Omega TD and the P38a TD - and in both the Omega and Rangie they're fucking useless.

 

Get a good one and it'll be a nice thing.

[cms206]

Cheers guys; been pricing what it needs (brake pad warning light is on), 142k on the clock, manual, towbar, original dealer plates and alloys. Seems pretty sound, small hole on the osr wheelarch and it could do with front shockers and a nearside front wing. Seems honest enough, four months T&T and my mate wants $£400 for it...

[Spiny Norman]

Doesn't sound too bad for 400 notes tbh, I had half a mind to have a swatch at THIS 520i on Gumtree. Bit gutless as Pete says, but no worse than the dizzler and probably not much in it economy wise either. Unless you can run the Dizzler on chip fat.

[messerschmitt owner]

cms

 

where you moving too - 350 miles is pretty much my drive to Glasgow.

[cms206]

At the moment it's still up in the air and pending results of checks and more interviews, but it'd be Oxfordshire.

[messerschmitt owner]

At the moment it's still up in the air and pending results of checks and more interviews, but it'd be Oxfordshire.

if you need a home for a few days or so while looking for pads to stay in, I'm just over the border in Gloucester.