E34 535i 5 Speed

Sat Jul 04, 2009 3:19 am

Going for a look at this car tomorrow, anyone had any experience with this model and can offer some advice on what to look for (particularly mechanical, rust is never an issue here).

http://cars.ebay.com.au/BMW-E34-535i-19 ... 0341321025

TIA

Sat Jul 04, 2009 9:50 am

The main thing is that the front wishbone bushes wear leading to judder at around 90Km/h...also the steering boxes do wear giving sloppy steering...

In Europe, airbags weren't fitted until 1993 when the model was facelifted...(and the 535 was dropped).

That would be *very* expensive in UK...Here anything more than £1500 ish for a non-sport M30 engined E34 would be buying you a very low mileage concours car...

Sat Jul 04, 2009 12:34 pm

Great cars.

Suspension issues are definitely something to look for, as above! It's a more complex setup than on an E30, with more to wear out & more weight on it. Steering boxes can sometimes be adjusted to get rid of the sloppiness - depends on whether the PO has already tried that.

Top end engine wear is possible (listen for excessive tapping) - the oil spray bar bolts used to work loose resulting in cam wear.

Windscreen wiper rack will wear - resulting in play, klunking noises in use and one of the arms hitting the bonnet. Rack's a PITA to replace - a dash out job in most cases I think? That might only be with certain aircon setups though. & I guess an Australian car will probably have seen less rain so less use of the wipers!

Heater valve will fail at some point - the heater controls won't do anything & it'll only blow hot or cold air (depending on where it got stuck!). Easy to replace, but expensive new.

Sat Jul 04, 2009 2:20 pm

The pic has an "M" badge - is this legit? What options would "m" typically have?

Sat Jul 04, 2009 11:19 pm

The M badges are moody. They never had them. It's no more an M car than any Holden you have out there.

Watch for central locking issues as well as the stuf listed above. Wipers slack, heater valves and front suspension especially. However all of them are simple fixes.

Apart from that they are near bullet proof. A great car, one of BMW's best IMO.

Sat Jul 04, 2009 11:30 pm

Also check the engine mount rubbers. When I pulled the M30B35 out of my 1988 E34 535iSE, I discovered the nearside engine mount rubber had completely detached from the mounting block, and I'd recently had that car up to top speed

Sun Jul 05, 2009 4:21 pm

These are very solid cars.

Given the climate you're in, it shouldn't be suffering from rust. Nevertheless, check the floor properly for any signs of rust or repair. Jacking points and inner sills are the principle weakpoints along with the fuel filler neck.

The engine is very solid. They can get a little tappy on the top-end on higher mileage examples. This of course can be quickly rectified with a slightly thicker oil or obviously get your hands dirty and get the head off.
The cooling system is a weak point. Again, given the climate out there, you need to check that it's tip-top as these are a bastard to bleed properly. The cooling capacity is 12 litres and it's a big engine, so it's not hard for air to get trapped. The pump is pretty robust, but check the history for a change of that and the stat. If it's done over 100,000 miles and nothing's been changed, it's worth getting the work done. Check the rad for leaks/damage too.

The car will eat bushes if driven enthusiastically. This will give the shimmy from between 45 and 65 mph. Track control arms can be bought with the bushes fitted, so it's easier (and sometimes to cheaper to change the whole item. They are available in steel and aluminium although the ali items are more expensive - naturally.

There are the occasional electronic glitches like most BMW's, but nothing that can't be solved quickly and cheaply. They still represent a worthwhile purchase so be sure to do your checks and haggle as much as you can.

Good luck with it.