E34 535i

[StylesM5 0]

This guy wanted to swap for my 325i. Looks pretty mint.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...on-94321104.htm

[Yuen 16]

Definitely looks well taken care of. We need more owners like him!

[SpidersWeb 0]

I recently purchased a 535i with less kms, and granted not maintained as nicely as your example, but the transmission died within a week. After doing some reading I found that many folk have problems with the 4H22 4 speed in these cars at around the 200-250,000km mark, front clutch pack blows, mine only works in reverse now. I've purchased another 2nd hand gearbox for mine but we went out and got a loan to buy a newer 325i which has been a great purchase. The 5 speed gearbox is a lot nicer than the 4 speed which has a very long 1st gear.

I'm not a mechanic, but I wouldn't buy another 535i unless it was manual, you'd be a lot better off with a slightly later 530i which has the 5 speed transmission, same power and better economy + wood trim!

[rxsumo 33]

The E34 isnt that problematic, after having owned a manual 535i, I wouldnt go back to one unless it was something special...maybe M5 or an Alpina B10 TT.

We also brought a E34 535i with slightly less kms, for around a third of the buynow of this car (price reflects the condition), and yep its got a trannie issue, but the clutch/torque convertor problems are probably more associated with the age of the box (and the loads put on it ...towing) rather than the outright mileage. I'm guessing that these early cars are now getting to the stage of having an average of 200K+ on the clock.

The big sixes are thirsty to run, although the auto on a trip whips my old manual (18 MPG for the manual vs 25 MPG for the auto according to the trip computer), and it doesnt matter whether its a 2.5 litre engine or a 3.5 litre engine.

My old E3s run similar MPG as the E34.

The good thing with the big sixes is that there is no VANOS, and no cambelts, and so long as you keep the oil filters changed (so the head gear doesnt run out of oil), the engines will "run forever". We recently pulled the bearing caps on a E23 3.5 litre that had been owned by some not so caring guys in Gisborne, and the was virtually no wear at them at 220K.

We brought our "new" E34 as a daily driver "hack", we brought the car because we knew it was NZ new, and the 535 spec for NZ new cars was very good. The price we paid was low enough that a replacement/repaired trans wasnt going to be an issue. I'd be wary of buying a 2nd hand transmission without receipts for work on the transmission, as you are likely to be buying another transmission with the same issues as the one you have in the car.

Based on the owners claim's the car mentioned here would appear to be in very good (mint?) condition, although in today's market may still be a little overpriced. If you were interested in the car I would suggest having the car's transmission checked out by a transmission speciallist, as from what I'm told there are usually warning signs that the clutches are on their way out, and if that was the case then you could have the price renegotiated with the owner.

[StylesM5 0]

All good comments. In reality I'm not interested in the swap, just looking to rationalise the garage somewhat with some hefty treatment bills coming up. I could probably never have one of these after the E34 M5. Such a let down!!

When the time is right again, the garage would still have a fairly new, common (read Ford) as a daily driver and a Z3 M Coupe breadvan as the fun car. Oh to have money <sigh>

Edited April 15, 2007 by StylesM5

[wms 1]

I got 89 535i SE Auto - owned for 2 years and changed oil once since, about a month into ownership.

She rattles her rockers and I think the cats are clogged up but she still ticks like a swiss watch, pulls like a schoolboy, but most importantly has NEVER missed a beat. Oh yeah, almost 400,000 miles on her - beat that.