I am currently looking for a car which I can just use at weekends (and to haul a boat with). Bearing in mind I don't drive a great deal of miles, high mileage and low miles per gallon aren't a great concern.
One of things that has appeared on the radar in recent weeks is a couple of old 520's. These seem nice enough (for the age - 1990, 125K miles). My only concern is the cost of parts.
I realise that if I was crazy and took it to a BMW garage it would cost an arm and a leg, and that it is likely to cost more than a ford fiesta to run. However does anybody know how much more these cars cost to run, in terms of deposable parts?
I imagine body panels will cost a lot, but with cars of this age, whether the part costs £400 or £1000 doesn't really matter, I am not going to buy it either way. What does matter is; Will I be paying £500 a brake disc at a local specialist or are basic deposable parts really not much more than your average ford mondeo?
Thanks for your help
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Nor……
I have owned my E34 525 SE for 11 years and 75000 miles, and have to say that in my experience it’s been an exceptionally reliable motor. German engineering definitely at its best, visible in the materials and the design, but the icing on the cake is that most replacement and service parts can be sourced cheap as chips from German, Swedish and French (GSF). Check out their website www.gsfcarparts.com/
Ive always done my own servicing/repairs and most normal wear-and-tear jobs (cambelt, water pump, rear bushes etc) are well within the scope of the home mechanic.
My brake discs have done at least 60K but replacements from GSF are £19.50 plus VAT and look simple to change.
At that age you may have to look at replacing the rear electric door actuators (the rubber shroud rots and allows water ingress to rust the internals- door fails to lock/unlock), which are only available from BMW at approx £25 each.
Another common fault at that age is intermittent lighting problems caused by dry joints in the Light Control Module (LKM module), but the fix is fairly easy with a soldering iron and a steady hand and is well documented on the various E34 web sites.
Sometimes I wish mine would break, just so Id have the excuse to buy something else….
Andy
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If you can get a 1991 or later model 520i or 525i you'll get the 24v chain-cam M50 engine as opposed to the 12v belt-cam M20 in earlier models. It means you don't have to worry about cambelt changes and you get an extra 20-30 BHP.
I had an M50 525i SE for three years and it was a joy to drive. I took it from 100000 miles to 125000. The work I had done in 3 years was:
New viscous fan clutch (overheating in slow traffic)
New steering box (steering play)
Various front steering linkage parts (steering play)
Rear electric window something-or-other
New ICV, Air Flow Meter and Lambda probe (hunting idle)
New windscreen (my own stupid fault)
New tyres (metric-sized so not cheap at all)
Most of this stuff was done under warranty, but I was horrified at what it would have cost if I had to pay for it. If you're a competent mechanic though, parts are pretty cheap. Bear in mind that the 5-series Haynes manual only covers the M20 engine - not the M50. Engines are bulletproof and should outlast the rest of the car.
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>metric tyres
Go to a scrappy and buy some imperial wheels, and save yourself the expense of the metric ones.
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If I were towing I would go for the 525. The extra power would be noticeable. For more go for a 535i. I drove one: manic!
madf
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For independent garages, depending on where you from you can check out 'Total BMW' magazine, they have a section where they have ads of independent garages around the country, you can try them for spares maybe?
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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Very easy cars to work on and has been mentioned, parts are cheap. Just bought an oil filter from a BMW main dealer for £4.60. Also recently bought an oil filter for a Fiesta from a Ford main dealer and the price was £10.09. So much for Fords being cheaper to service.
I have done all my own servicing on my driveway with basic hand tools. I have a Bentley manual and while it is written for the US market (LHD pics and references and no 520i specific info), the cars are basically the same and it has been a great help.
To date I have I done the following:
Viscous Fan Clutch
Water pump/Coolant change
Belts
Thermostat/Thermostat housing
Front Brake discs and pads
Exhaust system (center and back section only £110 from GSF!!!)
Replaced Fuel line (Main dealer only item £15)
Main beam lamp (Main dealer £47)
Oil filter/oil changes
Air Filter
Fuel filter
Battery (New Bosch, £45)
Spark plugs
Sounds like a long list, but the first four related to cooling were changed as a precaution (car had been running fine) as the original BMW water pump with plastic impeller is a known weak point.
The exhaust back box had finally rusted and was slightly blowing after 10 years and 145,000 miles. I changed the center box too (which was fine) as the aftermarket back box I bought was made to be bolted to an afetr market center box and it was cheaper to buy the center box rather than pay someone to weld it to the original.
Main beam lamp was the victim of road debris, so while its not a service item its hardly the car's fault. I wonder what Ford would charge for a new headlamp for the Fiesta?...hmmm.
Fuel line had corroded and was leaking fuel (if I filled the tank more than half). Had to remove the back bumper and drop the tank to change it, but it was alot easier than it sounds. Also, BMW branded jubilee clips from the main dealer were less than half the price of Halfords ones.
Everything else would fall under regular service items and I doubt that the parts I bought (filters, plugs etc) would be much more expensive than for other cars.
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Mark5 Fiesta headlamps are £40 new on ebay..
cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=...1
So from Ford a great deal more imo..
E34 design iirc is much simpler - another good reason to buy one..
Prices above look very reasonable imo.
madf
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