E30 Zone

The time has come to retire my E30 and get something a bit bigger and more practical
I'm going to want a touring, but I'm unsure whether to go for a late (1996) E34, or an E39.

I've a max budget of £2k, but the less I have to spend the better really. I've seen a few E34's that look quite good, and also E39's.

Having read some of the threads on here my impression is that the E39's have more "toys", but are going to be more expensive to repair, whereas the E34's have cheaper parts and are more DIY friendly.

Would my initial impression be right? Can I actually get a decent E39 for less than 2k?

Are there any issues with a E34 525TDS? I've never owned or had dealings with a diesel before so my knowledge is zero.

if it was me in your position i would be looking for the best 2k E34 out there,

the E39 has too many sad issues

e34 525tds have a bad reputation for diesel pumps packing up, also there horrid on diesel only around 30mpg on a run! with the price of diesel you would be better buying a 525i touring! i have 2 e34's a 525i sport saloon (27mpg) and an lpg converted touring (around 35-40 mpg via lpg), as with all e34s front suspension arms often need replacing as well as steering links. most have play in steering but can be adjusted out via the steering box. your best bet for 2k would be to buy a 540i auto lpg converted and it will be more fun and cost the same to run as a tds! on all tourings look out for the self leveling rear suspension is expensive to fix but most people bypass and put normal suspension on.

forum.bmw5.co.uk is a good place to find more info about e34's and e39's

personally i much prefer the 34 to the 39 as they feel like a big more refined e30 and after spending some money on my saloon (525i sport) they handle really well too!

you will get a mint e34 touring for 2k and an average e39 for 2k

i'd go with the e34 (last propper bmw if you ask me!) everytime!

The E39 is a better car...............when it's new and has a warranty. You're into alloy blocks and a cooling system designed by Renault, air suspension at the back with airbags and a comprsssor, a combined ABS block and ECU that goes wrong for fun, alloy suspension ££££, iffy ignition switches, pixels in the dash, wierd body electrics including a light control module that can go haywire and leave one light on even when switched off. They are a nice car and you might be lucky and never have a problem. But if you do, it's ££££££££££.

The E34 is old fashioned now in comparison but it's far more robust. The cooling system is better, electronics far less complex (do E34 ABS ECU's ever go wrong?), and the engine can be fixed if the head needs to come off. Downsides are rust behind the plastic sill covers (but so do E39's) and rusty/leaking self levelling rear struts and pipes. 518i and 520i wagons don't have this system (SLS), and it's easy enough to convert a 525i to standard saloon struts, remove the pipes and fit a saloon PAS pump. £50 in used bits and a day's swearing.

A good E34 is a car to maintain and run for the next 5-10 years on a budget. E39's just aren't as good as 'bangers'.

Looks like it's definately going to be the E34 then! Just got to find a good one now, seen a couple of 518's on Autotrader, would rather have a 525 but there don't seem to be many about..

Keep looking, there are some very good late E34 525i Tourings about. I had a beauty but it went to a new home several months ago.

I think you will find the 518i Touring pedestrian beyond belief.

You'd be surprised. The 518i is not remotely fast, but it's very driveable with a good torque curve and ideal gearing. 520i's with the Vanos engine are okayish but a 525i is no worse on fuel (maybe better) and they go a lot better. But they're all old now, and a mint 520i Touring for the right money is a contender. You can always drop a 2.5 in later.

Avoid at all costs the double sunroof! Either that, or remove the switch and all temptation to open it.........

Avoid at all costs the double sunroof! Either that, or remove the switch and all temptation to open it.........

Can confirm that this is very sensible advice

Ok, I'll watch out for the sunroof!
It may have to be the 518, the E30 isn't really driveable at the moment
I'm not too worried about it being fast, it'll be more of a family car. But I'll still take a 525 if I can find one !

I also do hear about autobox failures on E39. Maybe due to being sealed for life.

I'm sure E34 boxes had oil changes as part of the service.

Your a bit late but you should have seen some of the nice 518i's that were on ebay after new year.

Mauve purple with aircon

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1995-BMW-518-SE-T ... 221wt_1139

There was also one in calypso red with aircon.

P Reg 518i's

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

A decent scanner is a must with an e39! Most of the electrical gremlins are easy fixes once you know where to look after the scanner informs you. For example the air bag light came on the other day. Autologic suggested that it was the Passenger side pre tensioner harness. Disconnected that, sprayed in some brake cleaner, re fitted. Remove fault code and it is gone.

Without the scanner, you would have to look in umpteen places for the fault having around 6 airbags and loads of different triggering devices + all the wiring loom. And even after that you wouldn't be able to reset the code.

The rear airbag suspension isn't that clever, nor are the rear bushes on an e39 but neither are break the bank stuff IMO.

I've had mine 20 months now, replaced the following:

Radiator £125
Headlight adjustor £20
Rear subframe bushes £230
One rear airbag £160
2 tyres £158
Final stage resistor £60
Repaired fuel tank sender, needs doing again.
Fuel ££££'s
Repaired water vapour barrior NSR door


The plus sides are pretty obvious and you get used to all the toys and you'd have to spend some money getting all of them in something else.

Don't write an e39 off, but go in with your eyes wide open, a bad one will drain you quickly. If you get a nice one with all the bills you can roughly work out what it will cost you.

I keep umming and arring about selling it, but nothing else I get will do what it can. I only commute 26 miles in a day, so I think i'll just keep putting the fuel in it and avoid the depriciation killer of a new diesel.

e39 are nice but so many problems with the 528 touring i had . centre bearing first.then crank sensor.then autobox doing strange things.the stereo would not work sometimes until you opened the sunvisor mirror.with this fault came no brake light till the stereo came on.sold it to the father in law .on ebay now with blown head gasket.always wanted one and did but would not have another.cant talk for the e34 but they look nice now their getting quite rare

My E34 525i auto touring has served me very well, not far off clocking 60k miles in the 3 years ive owned it, was just over 100k when I bought it.
I got ram raided by an office jockey in a kia which wrote the car off for a rear door/arch and was thinking about switching to an E39 540 touring that I would convert to LPG, but after all the horror stories I couldnt be arsed.
Im getting around 200 miles to £30 worth of gas at the moment, 20 - 22mpg, but LPG will be 5p per litre cheaper next week
As has been said, the SLS and fuel pipes rust, I had to replace a vent pipe on mine, easy job. The SLS has been fine though, a valve at the rear sometimes chirps away when the boot is overloaded but it carries on regardless. Ive replaced rear beam bushes, front upper and lower TCA bushes, front lower arms and ARB tie rods, also fitted good second hand steering tie rods and centre rod and it drives fantastic with proper sized wheels/tyres.
I fitted a new waterpump and rad when I bought it, never had any engine troubles, autobox started to get a bit lazy after the first few thousand miles but an oil and filter change made a world of difference. Need to change the aircon compressor in the near future as its got a slight leak and the pressure is too low for properly cold air but its an easy and wallet friendly job.

The only niggle I have is the wiper linkage is badly worn so the wipers dont really work above 65-70mph, but I can live with this, its a nightmare to change due to aircon pipes/heater box being in the way and a new linkage is the best part of £500 now. I have an unworn second hand one for when it wont pass an MOT or for when im feeling brave or very, very bored...
Everything else is just great and much more than you would expect from a 15 year old car that gets used every as a workhorse

As DanThe mentioned the wipers can be an issue (especially on the ns) and my current turd has perfect wipers, no bonnet knocks etc - very rare on an E34

Anyway, I'd go for a late 525, or 518 - like mentioned above the M43'd 1.8 is a good little motor as it weighs the same as a small bag of pic n mix

There's too many things to go wrong with the TDS and economy wise they're not that much better than the above.

I've had a few E39's (2 x 523's) they are nice but I always felt the E34 was more solid/better built and had less sensors to go wrong!

I'd have another E34, for sure. Problem with the 518i is they all seem to be properly povo spec...

I'm still looking for a decent one. A nice 518i would do me perfectly, there's not many about though

I had a manual E34 520i touring a couple of years ago. Built like a bank vault and a very useable car. Absolutely dog slow though. Auto's are very, very flat.

I quite like the look of this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1994-BMW-525I-SE- ... 457wt_1141

I usea 540/6 e34 touring as an every day and it does the job even with 190k and both sunroofs work but i only tired it once.

The e39 is another level of complexity which makes a lot less diy(ie cheap) to run if it goes wrong

Jason

darkchild wrote:I had a manual E34 520i touring a couple of years ago. Built like a bank vault and a very useable car. Absolutely dog slow though. Auto's are very, very flat.

I quite like the look of this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1994-BMW-525I-SE- ... 457wt_1141

That looks potentially very nice indeed!

I probably wouldn't buy another m50b20 E34, but didn't dislike mine. Certainly wouldn't want an m20 version though or any <2.5l auto.

I like the m43 in my E36, but the E34 is a much nicer car overall. & as above, I've not seen a 518 with a decent spec...

It does look very nice, except that it's an auto..

I've never had nor wanted an auto, but I do think it could suit an E34!

Jackle wrote:It does look very nice, except that it's an auto..

A large proportion of E34s & E39s are!

Ziggy wrote:I've never had nor wanted an auto, but I do think it could suit an E34!

Neither did I until I bought my E34, I was prepared to convert it to manual if need be but I prefer the auto now, going back to a manual E34 after driving an auto for so long is pretty crap TBH

Ive just won a nice 525 touring E34 on the bay

Blitz wrote:I also do hear about autobox failures on E39. Maybe due to being sealed for life.

I'm sure E34 boxes had oil changes as part of the service.

From roughly 91 on, the e34 gained a sealed for life box as well. Surprised me, when i went from my 90 G M20 525i to my 93 L M50TU 525i. Needless to say although it barely had 60k up it was booked straight into Cronks (as it was then) for an oil change on the box!

I now run a 2000 530i sport and I have to say it's a great car performance and looks wise. But if you want simplicity and build quality, go for the 34. The last of the proper built BMW's for sure.

Be aware though. the e34 is no spring chicken and finding a really good one that ain't been abused may prove hard.

B7 wrote:

Blitz wrote:I also do hear about autobox failures on E39. Maybe due to being sealed for life.

I'm sure E34 boxes had oil changes as part of the service.

From roughly 91 on, the e34 gained a sealed for life box as well. Surprised me, when i went from my 90 G M20 525i to my 93 L M50TU 525i. Needless to say although it barely had 60k up it was booked straight into Cronks (as it was then) for an oil change on the box!

I now run a 2000 530i sport and I have to say it's a great car performance and looks wise. But if you want simplicity and build quality, go for the 34. The last of the proper built BMW's for sure.

Be aware though. the e34 is no spring chicken and finding a really good one that ain't been abused may prove hard.

Never knew that. One of the first things I'll be doing then.

spook wrote:Ive just won a nice 525 touring E34 on the bay

Show us then

My new work turd

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

spook wrote:My new work turd

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

What a great price - look at the t&t on that

Does it only need a bit of feed on the leather - very nice

I will get some pics next weekend, the owner informs me that i shall be pleased when i see it.

Its curtains for the moredoor now

A friend of mine has just moved his 2001 530d Touring manual on, in favour of a VXR8 ! He did 100k miles in 3 years in his car, and was forever moaning about it munching brake discs, a lot of them suffering from warping. The turbo also went at 145k and he bought a remanufactured one from our local turbocharger specialist, Turbo Technics - that failed after a week!

Pricey but nicey....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

snakebrain wrote:Pricey but nicey....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

Thats been for sale for ages.

After a year of e39 540 ownership I can say I would turn back time and but something else, when it runs is great, when it packs in its not. Having just fixed it again after my 3rd crank sensor failure I really want to sell it, but...... When they run good it's a crackin car and I don't want to sell! Real dilemma car!

A nice E34 on BBS RS in a dark colour is what I would get if I was one year ago.

Funny you should say that MrLEE, I was just commenting to my misses this weekend that we've had our bargain price (by Spanish standards) E39 Touring for a while now, and the only money we've spent on it has been tyres. OK so it has an oil leek which we'll have to sort out and it looks like some rear suspension bushes / links but it's hardly what I'd call a money pit.

I think I said before on another E39 thread that some of it is down to luck, but I would never buy an E39 without FBMWSH.