I already talked to Struka but I know there are other BMW guys on here. Here are a couple im considering. This is for my wife to drive the wee one around in and not much else.


http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/1053896907.html


http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/1054081920.html

These are in my cash money range

That E34 525i is going to be a great choice for fuel consumption and the fact that that M20 motor is effing solid. I think the M50 is what replaced it once the later E34s and E39s started up.

The 528i is good but I can only speak on a short basis with it. The car rides well, handles well and is a great car to own with such features as weather band radio and power urr thang. The car is amazing, the only thing I DON'T like about the 528i and most E39s is that they're super duper supple. Like, borderline soft. If it's for the wifey and she's into that, then she'll love it.

The E39s take far less "effort" to drive than the E34s do, that said, the E34s, in my opinion, provide a LOT more feedback and "sense of the road" than the E39s do. The E39s tend to cost a little more per mile to own but, from what I hear, it's usually marginal at worse. The E34 is pretty cheap to own if you stay away from the V8s. The V8 models (in E34) are the 530i and 540i.

The problem with the 540 and 530 in the early E34s is that the cyl walls were line with Nickle, this corroded and wore out quickly rendering the motor useless. Most E34 540/530 owners swapped for the Alusil motors so that's most likely not an issue now adays (if it is, I believe BMW gave 15 years for the recall to stay in effect).

The 530 (E39) is a derivative of the M30 motor from the 535i (dropped for the E39 model). It's smaller displacement means less torque, but they balanced that engine really well and it's a stout performer. It's very reliable and gets AWESOME gas mileage.

HAHAHAHA! Wow, I can go on about the BMW 5 series forever, especially the E39 and E34 models.

Yeah I do say that

from some bmw dude on another forum.

ask if the valley pan has ever been replaced, t stat, water pump, driveshaft guibo, aus fan, and blower motor final stage.

valley pan is the valley pan under the intake manifold between the heads, they leak like crazy. if its never been replaced, look for wet coolant, and/or white powerder down the front of the engine, between the heads. there are also water pipes that go over top of them that the seals go bad on. its an expensive job if you cant do it yourself, labor intensive if you can, but have never done it before. try to use it as a bargaining chip if it hasnt been done.


check for oil leaks at the valve covers and timing covers. if the valve covers and upper timing covers are leaking, its not to bad, if the lowers are leaking, its like a 12-15 hour job book time, big money.

bmw t stats suck. water pumps usually do to.

the blower motor resistors go all the time, so do the aux fans.

check the front end over real well.

driveshaft guibo is a rubber piece of shit between the driveshaft and trans that goes bad, and will cause clunking and what not.

its a pretty big job cost wise, gotta drop the exhaust, heat shields, etc, like 5 hours book time i think?

check the rear diff seals, they leak.

other then that, just normal things.

oh, check the floors for moisture, and the bottom of the door panels for water/water damage.
the vapor barriers on them suck ballsack and will actually channel water into the car instead of out the bottom of the doors.

roll the windows up and down, and listen for clicking, and watch for smooth movement. if they click/pop/jerk the regulators are going bad.

check the battery tray for rust and corrosion. people put in aftermarket batteries, and dont hook up the vents, and the battery gives off corrosive vapors. worst case scenario, the battery will fall out of the trunk through the rust and drag by the cables.

check all the ball joint boots, drag link, steering box, rear control arms.

shit. its so hard to write it all out. if i had the car here i could go over it in 15 minutes.

if it were me...and hearing all the shit from the bmw mechanic, i wouldnt get a e39, esp a V8.
i wouldnt get a V8 in general.

Toni Shortz's E39 528 sport is pretty nice.

I say.. go for it.. get one at a good price.. if it's not your thing.. flip it.

Honestly.. why would anyone be scared of repairs on a BMW when they own a drift car.. drift cars require much more maintenance and upkeep.

Pics!!!

Well I went to look at the '95 and mechanically it was sound but they had put in an aftermarket radio and cut a bunch of other wires the hood was in really bad shape and the inside was NASTY. Also the floor pans where soaked.

the other one is really more than id like to spend. Im not worried so much about working on the thing its just the price and availabilty of parts.