Old Bmw 5 series

mcirl2

Hey,

I'm thinking of buying a BMW 5 series ( 1990-1992) era to replace my 96 escort.

I was looking on the buy and sell and reckon I can pick one up for about 500 -1000 (it'll be on the cheap). It prob wont have nct or not long left but I reckon once a i get it checked before buying + and I can do a lot of the work myself.

Just want to know if this is a crazy idea?? Not 100% about it yet. Would that type of car be a gas guzzler completely - what mpg would it do? (2 liter model)

My insurance would be 1300 TPFT and I only 21 - not a bad deal i dont think?

I'd appreciate some advice!

thanks

Mike

mike65

Its a bit of a risk in that it'll almost certainly have NO history, I was in the market for one of the same age/engine about 3-4 years back but could'nt find a good un and ended up in a Merc 190e. The engines are a bit imfamous for blown head gaskets. Expect 30-ish mpg.

Mike.

AsphaltRisin'

mcirl2 wrote:

Hey,

I'm thinking of buying a BMW 5 series ( 1990-1992) era to replace my 96 escort.

I was looking on the buy and sell and reckon I can pick one up for about 500 -1000 (it'll be on the cheap). It prob wont have nct or not long left but I reckon once a i get it checked before buying + and I can do a lot of the work myself.

Just want to know if this is a crazy idea?? Not 100% about it yet. Would that type of car be a gas guzzler completely - what mpg would it do? (2 liter model)

My insurance would be 1300 TPFT and I only 21 - not a bad deal i dont think?

I'd appreciate some advice!

thanks

Mike

Sounds like a good deal for the insurance considerin your age, who's it from and which engine did you ask them about?

The bit of advice i'll give you is get the combination of most expensive one you can afford/ best condition, and certainly stay away form a €500 one, it not worth the hassle. If you stretce to the 1500- 2000 bracket you'll find a good one much more easily.

But AVOID the 518i, It's not that it's bad, just slow and the 4 cylinder engine doesnt suit the old E34 5series.

Good luck with gettin one, they're savage cars, and super comfortable.

Con

unkel

mcirl2 wrote:

reckon I can pick one up for about 500 -1000 (it'll be on the cheap)

*grinding teeth even more than I do already in my sleep*

You could be lucky. But what if you're not?

unkel

Don't get me wrong though, I've owned old big BMWs with big V8 petrol engines for more than 6 years now and I have not come across a single serious problem yet

mcirl2

hey thanks for the response.
Insurance was unreal - with quinn direct. I just checked for the 7 series too, almost 3L and it was 1300!! unbelievable.

Does the 5 series give mcuh trouble after 140-150k on average.

if something goes wrong will it be extremely costly for parts?

thanks anyway

mike

bazz26

Your talking about 15 year old cars here. It really depends on how much or little of a hard life they have had. At this stage a service history may be patchy at best.

The engines may be sound but other parts may need repairing or replacing at that age. I don't think you will run one of these on a shoe string budget, you would need to put some money away for regular maintenance and repairs.

You could get lucky and pick up a clean one but there is also a high probability you could buy a money pit especially the €500 ones from the buy and sell.

Lex Luthor

mcirl2 wrote:

Does the 5 series give mcuh trouble after 140-150k on average.

I just sold mine with 130k on the clock although it was the E39 5 series.

Again it comes down to service history. The guy who took my car should be ok for anything major for at least 3yrs as it was well maintained.

If the suspension hasn't been looked after at that mileage you could be looking at a bill more than what you paid for it to rectify it.

Get ot looked at and any serious problems costed before you jump in.

Seth Brundle

If you are planning on buying this or any car (even brand new!) then get it looked at by a competent mechanic to look at the mechanicals and bodywork!.
An old car such as the E34 can bring huge amounts of pleasure or huge amoounts of pain. Make sure you choose the right one!

Lex Luthor

kbannon wrote:

can bring huge amounts of pleasure or huge amoounts of pain. Make sure you choose the right one!

I thought this thread was about E34's, not wives...!!!!!!!!

AsphaltRisin'

The E34 is actually very durable and can handle HUGE miles if they're maintained well. The trick is to get the best one you can afford, then make sure you keep it well serviced and always use good oild, as they really dont like crappy oil

Mc-BigE

you'd find a bigger selection in the UK, heres a couple on autotrader, all under 1000 stg. and under 100K miles.

VRT would be 700 to 1000 euro max. for say a 520i


http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www/cars_search.asp?searchform=&modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&photo=1&state=none&sort=5&hassearched=Y&make=BMW&min_pr=75&source=0&model=5+SERIES&max_pr=1000&miles=1500&agerange=4&mileage=8&postcode=sw19+3rq&variant=&bodyid=0&trim=&fuelid=0&colour=&transmissionid=0&keywords=&ukcarsearch_full.x=33&ukcarsearch_full.y=11&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH