BMW 525 Touring any good?

[carlo]

I think I'm going to have a look at a local 1996 BMW 525SE Touring Auto tomorrow on Autotrader, looks like it's the last of the E34 series but appears from the ad to be well looked after. Up for £970 with 126K, anyone reckon this is about right/far too dear etc etc.? Heap of trouble?Just fancied something a bit different and an estate would be useful.

[dollywobbler]

I've only driven one that had a Type 3 VW on a trailer behind it. It was very sluggish! Nice motors otherwise though.

[r.welfare]

From what I've gleaned from the very knowledgeable BMW experts on this here forum, the 2.5-litre 24v engine is the best all-rounder in the E34 range. 5-speed auto is a good match too. See Tayne's sisters example for how long they can last mileage-wise!Check the double sunroofs (which I would expect to be fitted to a 525SE) work. Not sure if this era of 5-series suffers from the plastic water pump impeller issue - might be worth a peruse of the history or interrogation of the owner as to when it was last changed. I'm not sure if the engine in this car is an iron-blocked job - the later 2.3 and 2.8 with alloy blocks seem susceptible to overheating issues (probably down to a lack of maintenance as much as anything) if the number of non-running E36 323i and 328i models on eBay is anything to go by!If it's rust-free, has had a low number of owners and the 126k is backed up by a decent history, £970 doesn't sound too stiff.

[peter9000uk]

It shouldn't have the Metric wheels on it but if it has lose them asap

 

It will have VANOS which can be a problem area but not necessarily.

 

Cooling fans can seize, easy enough to change

 

They have 6 seperate coil packs which can go but not very often

 

Check all the electrics work on the tailgate!

rear wiper

remote lock unlock

HRW

Glass should also open seperately from the tailgate.

Problems with any of the above are nearly always caused by the wiring looms which run in plastic covers right next to the hinges. Repair looms are/were available from BMW at around £148/side. If you can find the break/shorts repair yourself with soldering iron and shrink tubing and take the wife out for dinner on the money saved.

 

As already mentioned the 2.5 M50 engine is the best to go for.

 

One of my old ones is still going strong with 276k on it and I would have another tomorrow.

 

Very good owners site at http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/

[carlo]

Cheers for that guys, it does sound from speaking to the owner that it's a properly maintained car. Presume these ones were less computerised than the E39, but then again I suppose it is German so you never know!

[Tayne]

.

[carlo]

Sorry, what are metric wheels?

[r.welfare]

The tyre size (as printed on the tyre) will be in mm, e.g. 255/60ZR390. Bloody expensive to get replacements for, but standard 16-inchers (or 15-inchers) will swap on.

[peter9000uk]

I remember trying not to burst into fits of laughter when in a tyre place once watching a "fitter" trying to get a 15" tyre on a metric rim

[r.welfare]

Oops! Good point. When I said standard 15/16-inchers will swap on, I meant you'll have to change the actual wheels back to an imperial type. But as there's a healthy market for BIG RIMZ on Beemers, you can score good deals on OEM alloys secondhand.

[ChinaTom]

China Tom of this parish has an E39 wagon and seems to like it.

I do have the E39 528 T and love it. I think you're looking at the previous model to mine. I think the tailgate probs were carried over to the E39 - they rust badly taking out the electrics. Nothing that can't be fixed fairly cheaply though. High mileage (180k+) autos can sometimes be reluctant to change gear, but this is nearly always the ECU, not mechanical.Look after it and will see 300k faithful service. Sure, some parts sound expensive, but the replacement should last the ultimate life of the car.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

A 1996 E34 525i will probably have (or have had) metric wheels. These are cross spokes like the BBS rimz but have smooth centre caps and take Dunlop SP TD tyres, the SP Sport 2000E iirc.These had plastic impeller pumps - nowhere near as bad as experts make out but they can last 15 years meaning a 1996 car could still be on the original. An utter piece of piss to change and about 10-15 quid new from a factors.Not a bad old turd at all, but I'd echo the comments abot the double sunroof which is a fucking disaster area - don't even be tempted to operate it as the bastard may not close again without something breaking.These E34's used the iron block M50 engine, E39's use the alloy block M52 which is the same engine, block material apart. The vanos units are very good on these. They can get a bit growly but just ignore it. A used one from a breakers is 20 quid but require specialist fitting.All Tourings apart from the 518i and 520i have rear self levelling so inpect the rear shocks and pipework. If it leaks or goes pop, you're into a pair of saloon rear struts and a saloon PAS pump. Not a major drama though.