Eagle

Its clear you'd be able to get it for less than 6k Personally i don't mind the wheels at all and love manual seats, electrics are heavy and pointless unless you got multiple people using the car. Its got no sun roof also so its about as light as E39 6 cyl can get. K's dont hold much weight at this age. Guessing the 25k would be covering manual conversion, wheels, headers, coilovers etc and if you paying someone to do the work then its easy to rack bills. Someone in Auckland should go look at it

General E34 stuff isnt worth much and doesn't normally sell. BMW generally used durable electronic parts those days and you can also repair most things without replacing. Window regs, motors and switches rarely fail themselves but guess easily enough to store. Doors and panels are always good if you got the space. All exterior lights, heater valve, fuel pump\sender, instrument cluster, LKM and CCM module (if its digital), door cards maybe is all i can think of Guessing its just got the basic manual vent control HVAC system?

Not ideal but wouldn't say its a deal breaker, seeing it in person is the only true judgement. Id usually take a look but voluntarily driving to Auckland these days is the definition of insanity.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1951987246.htm?rsqid=32b8cd07f6a643b48c3bbf57f8fc203d Rare spec with a number of goodies on it. Looks a little neglected but still could be a decent buy provided it not excessively worn. Real shame that interior colour really shows up the wear, looks like leather center console also courtesy of BMW individual.

No i dont know where to get it from a tap. Ive used rainwater which comes out a tap here for every car ive owned or worked on. Tap water quality has a huge variance, NZ's soft water would be nothing like China's for example. There is an actual specification for water quality to be used in cooling systems. If you want to use demineralised water for whatever reason then knock your self out, im not saying not to use it. Ive pulled apart enough of my own cars and seen enough pulled apart that having proper coolant and changing it when required is far more critical here. Be surprised if the average garage is charging out customers for demineralised water.

Im sure its been looked after. I was more meaning whats been replaced to get it to those those k's.

Be interesting to see the service history. I think age is more the cruel mistress when it comes to cars, its the true measure of quality and reliability.

Should be 2x sensors off the same connector, 1 for each bank of cylinders ie 1-3, 4-6. Im assuming 3 relates to this without having seen it.

Doesn't say what brand it is but aftermarket sensors are well known to cause many issues in BMW's Forgot to say it but euro spec E36's never had check engine lights as far as i know The OBD plug can access all the systems. Unless you are asking where the physical TCU module is located? You don't have the second scan printout im guessing?

Sounds ok on the scanner front then. Is the car a jap import? They did fit a OEM or genuine sensor? The cam sensor fault may of been masking the current one or caused the current one, maybe something else malfunctioning but not throwing a code but causing the transmission to act up, maybe someone the disturbed sensor wiring etc when working on it. Are you saying the knock fault code appears in engine computer but triggers the transmission light,limp mode etc but with no fault code in the transmission computer?. Your description of what its doing and when is hard for me to follow but internet diagnosis with problems like these isn't very good i'm afraid Either way make id sure all the ignition system is functioning properly first, check the sensors, wiring and plugs for components etc

Depends on source of said tap water.

What are you scanning it with?

General rule - Unless an old BMW its been owned by a true enthusiast (typically one that can do work themselves) its going have lots of issues present.

If you can't do the work yourself then having a warranty looks like good value for money if the car has no history.

Out of interest what an average mechanical warranty cost on one of these? Id think with all the well known issues around BMW cooling systems, leaks etc they would have all that priced in so the wouldn't be exactly cheap. But maybe that's not the case judging from other posts ive seen?

Had many dreams about putting my M120 into a 5 series. Such great engine.

Did you do clean the idle valve as well?

Just drained did a bit of cooling system work on my friends M44 which had been filled with the Nulon LL (HOAT) for over 10 years. Looked very clean inside. Probably use Zerex G-05 from Partmaster when i refill it as its the same price.

Yeah its a gamble isnt it, you don't know what its really like to open it up to see what really required, i don't know how good the sprockets hold up either if its been left too long. If it was picked up quickly enough id think you'd likely get away with just the guides seals, tensioner kit and not have to worry about chain removal. That would simplify things in regards to tools and time needed.

Depends what you mean by cheap and what the car is worth if its fixed. IIRC the full timing chain kit it self was $1000-$1500 depending on how far you go + shipping and taxes. Then you need to buy or borrow the timing tools and have the tools and time to do the rest of the required work.

Very nice. Always liked the idea of a 7 series manual purely for uniqueness. Have seen a couple of factory E32 manuals here for sale a very long time ago.

Yep one of the reason ive never bought anything that was too quick. Just a 5 min drive to hit top speeds limiters around here.

Out of balance would cause vibrations. Bad bearings usually cause rumble which decreases in volume when turning left or right. Id check the wheels bolts are tight first but once its jacked up it should be easy to pinpoint when spinning the wheels. Could be a bad tyre or even something is rubbing on wheel.

As much as i can respect big power figures there is a point where its just overkill for your average legal usage here in NZ. Sport bikes are a good examples as the only place you can fully utilize them is the track.

K's are no issue at all as long its in good nick. Its probably better getting a higher k example as it would be cheaper than those low k garage queen types that go for 20k+, either way you are going to be paying up for a mtech2. You may or may not need some head work over 300,000km but these are simple and cheap cars to run compared to all that came after. Appreciating assets are always good to have.