e34 530i touring whats it worth?

[david106]

I've got a chance to buy a 1995 e34 530 touring 140k lots of history,auto, leather full mot and 3 months tax comes with a set of 17in bmw alloys (modern type) just need an idea on what to offer he wants £1500

[BMracing]

Thats a reasonable price providing it's in good condition

[david106]

he says he paid £2200 for it 6 months ago but that was before petrol prices hit the roof

[BMracing]

Well yeah, petrol V8 and auto in heavy estate car equals poor fuel consumption, not as bad as you might imagine though.
What about an LPG conversion?
£2200 was a little bit much unless it really is mint and he's piled miles on it since he bought it.
Like I say it really depends on the condition, and history, what colour is it too?
Also I think most of the M60B30s had the nikasil bottom end from new, bare that in mind!

[david106]

dark blue not sure of colour name I've heard about the nikasil problems but do you know what the signs are?

[BMracing]

Copied from Wikipedia:

BMW used Nikasil, an aluminium, nickel, and silicon alloy, to line the cylinders of the M60 engines. The cross-hatched Nikasil linings react with the high sulfur content found in lower-quality gasoline, such as that used in parts of the United States. This reaction causes damage to the very top of the cylinder bore, where there is the most contact of the burning mixture and the cylinder lining. The damage prevents a good seal from forming between the piston and the cylinder wall, causing a loss of compression in the combustion chamber. This "leak down" will cause M60s with worn linings to exhibit a rough idle, and if the problem continues unchecked, the engine will not start.

The only permanent fix for this problem is the replacement of the short block with the equivalent block using Alusil linings, which do not exhibit this corrosion problem. After the problem was found, BMW issued an extended six-year, 100,000-mile (160,000 km) warranty to cover these engines at no cost to the owner.

The composition of the engine can be found by checking the serial number stamped into the engine block:

M60B30:

1 725 970 - Nikasil
1 741 212 - Nikasil
1 745 871 - Alusil

[david106]

cheers for that his adert does state car is lumpy on idle i thought that was one of the reasons. the car has done well to get to 140k if this is the case

[DanThe]

Leave it alone...

[pacerpete]

That is about as desireable as bum cancer.....steer clear !

[BMracing]

Lol, its plenty slower but almost as thirsty as a 540i, and sounds like it could have major engine problems brewing.
Yeah i'd walk too! There's plenty about mate

[78dude]

Well first of all you need to look into eBay and Autotrader and search up a 530 and see what people around the nation is selling them for, if they are asking 1500 quid, well then the price is for me an okay price....
So then, does it have a MOT and Tax? What is wrong with it, is there any issues like oil leaks, rust, electrical problems, interior is shabby etc... And the last question is, what do I need to sort out before the next MOT?
Just to let you know, a E34 530 V8 Touring is a cheap car in Sweden and I can get one here for around £1100 with a t&t, mainly because if its un ecconomical petrol use and they are starting to be old who means things are going wrong with them...

But good luck with your choise!

[Alex]

lovely cars we had one but it used to throw oil every where big style, correct me if im wrong but this is a common fault with the m60 3.0 v8s

[maxfield]

Sounds about right. Nikasil biteds again

[Alex]

Sounds about right. Nikasil biteds again

what exactly is nikasil all i know is that it wrecks engines and is some sort of fault from the factory lol

[maxfield]

It's the bore linings.

And I think it's the sulphur (??) in petrol that wears this away.

Leaving a bigger gap for oil to come past the rings, therefore that's why it smokes.

It wasn't so bad if the car was always used on long journeys.

[Alex]

it wasn't smoking it was chucking all the oil out some where in the engine and we could't find where it was comming from neither could a few garages, it was litrally emptying all the oil out, it was probly fooked it had 200,000 miles on clock but it was in good nick lyk