treone 648 Report post Posted July 13, 2017 How cool is this! http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1368233544 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TermiPeteNZ 1318 Report post Posted July 13, 2017 That is cool Nicely presented - but could have done with a vacuum eh! Should have a black stereo in it too methinks. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LemonHunter 583 Report post Posted July 13, 2017 I'm trying to go check it out, but while the car is around the corner from me, the actual Vendor is in auckland, and his chch car sitter seems to have been waylaid by the snow. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LemonHunter 583 Report post Posted July 14, 2017 Checked it out today, thermostats bung so temp never left the blue, makes me wonder how long it's been driven, possibly thrashed while cold. its fairly straight, but not quite as straight as it appears in the trademe photos. Had a recent buff I think that looked vaguely like over spray. on a flat road at 95Kph I couldn't get the consumption under 12.8L/100 which seems high, unless that's just a fun auto feature. started fairly happily, all cylinders at once after about 4 second of winding first start, less than a second the second start. factory exhaust. interior is pretty rough, maybe an ex house painters wagon... Felt very lazy handling wise, my 98 Landcruiser with similar mileage feels more stable In the front while cornering, not loose per se, but lazy and wallowing, seemed to have a vibration in the steering wheel that came and went over 70k. gearbox very smooth, once it warmed up, shifted happily both manually and in A and S, including really nice down shifting which I've missed in my landcruiser. power was smooth but underwhelming, but it is a vanos free 4L. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LemonHunter 583 Report post Posted July 14, 2017 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lord_jagganath 421 Report post Posted July 14, 2017 Charlie, you da mvp. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LemonHunter 583 Report post Posted July 14, 2017 I'm also hoping Someone outbids my 4K feeler bid as this car isn't so exciting now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted July 14, 2017 Cool machine, but like most E34s little rough around the edges. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TermiPeteNZ 1318 Report post Posted July 14, 2017 Nice report indeed Charlie - yes it isn't quite as nice as it looks on TM - needs some TLC from a committed owner Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coop 261 Report post Posted July 14, 2017 (edited) Yeah cool wagon and could be worth the tlc to bring it up to scratch as not many around. Painters wagon sounds about right. There is a house painter in Wellington who used to own this with the number plate PAINTR or similar... Parents had him do work on the home when I was a teen and he had it back then. Around ten years ago. Last time I saw it with the plates and gear in it would have been a couple of years ago. Edited July 14, 2017 by coop Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
treone 648 Report post Posted July 14, 2017 (edited) 4 hours ago, coop said: Painters wagon sounds about right. There is a house painter in Wellington who used to own this with the number plate PAINTR or similar... Aha - I've wondered where the PAINTR's wagon got to. Used to see this all the time on Lambton Quay. Seems to be getting bit pricey considering its age and the updated condition (thanks @EURO V8) but still has a cool factor me thinks. I also wonder whatever happened to the 1994 E34 525ix manual touring (also in silver) that used to reside in Welly... Edited July 14, 2017 by treone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted July 14, 2017 As above you kinda expect some suspension wear and\or paint\panel imperfections unless its owned by someone who cares for them. Shame that the engine appears to be neglected tho, no excuse not to replace a $30 thermostat. Consumption on the open road should be at least 10l\100km if everything is working ok. Power wise they should give you a decent tug once you get the rpm up, they are more of top end power motor. Im guessing the tyres he put on it were the cheap as possible type, which is probably one of the factors is inferior handling, 17"\18" rims with decent tyres and non worn suspension goes along way. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coop 261 Report post Posted July 14, 2017 41 minutes ago, treone said: Aha - I've wondered where the PAINTR's wagon got to. Used to see this all the time on Lambton Quay. Seems to be getting bit pricey considering its age and the updated condition (thanks @EURO V8) but still has a cool factor me thinks. I also wonder whatever happened to the 1994 E34 525ix manual touring (also in silver) that used to reside in Welly... Yeah last time I saw it was down Featherston Street. Def beats jap sh*t ute/van as a company car. I could manage mid 8 l/100km in my old E34 540i akl-wgtn being sensible and going with the flow. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted July 14, 2017 Yeah i get 9.5-10L at 120kph. Diff ratio and thermostat are probably the main contributors in this case. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LemonHunter 583 Report post Posted July 15, 2017 11 hours ago, Eagle said: Im guessing the tyres he put on it were the cheap as possible type, which is probably one of the factors is inferior handling, 17"\18" rims with decent tyres and non worn suspension goes along way. I never pushed it enough to test the grip of the tyres, but, with my hand at 12 O clock on the steering wheel, i could move my hand rapidly back and forth from 10 to 2 and f**k all happened, tracked straight. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LemonHunter 583 Report post Posted July 15, 2017 11 hours ago, coop said: I could manage mid 8 l/100km in my old E34 540i akl-wgtn being sensible and going with the flow. 11 hours ago, coop said: I could manage mid 8 l/100km in my old E34 540i akl-wgtn being sensible and going with the flow. That was the kind of L/100 I was expecting, but I'ts been a while since i drove an E34 540, and never an Auto or Touring one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SmallFordRacing 3 Report post Posted July 15, 2017 Are the fuel economy gauge's on this model normally fairly accurate? Not prone to fail or anything like that? Neat car for sure! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aja540i 1906 Report post Posted July 15, 2017 If the temp isnt getting out of the blue zone it will be running a bit rich, also the wagons are heavier and thirstier anyway. I think this is the model that BMW developed the tailgate wiring loom problem for, but its probably been sorted by now. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted July 16, 2017 i would be absolutely rapt with 8-9 l 100 k from a 4.0 v8!I think this is ultra cool 4.5 is too much imho.4.5 would be pretty much tops for a nice one i reckon.they are an old cr now so some wear and tear is to be accepted.E 34 front suspensions are not the most heavy duty ,The vibration is pretty std for an e 34 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted July 16, 2017 Being a touring its probably not as popular but a tidy well sorted E34's are increasing in price like other older machines. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BLACK DORIS 9 Report post Posted July 17, 2017 The painter that previously owned this car lived in Kilbrinie and I'd see this parked on the street with paint tins, drop sheets and all sorts of gear in the back all the time. It was his daily and work wagon which was kinda cool. I've seen one other in Welly that was pampered, garaged, mint condition, black and manual. Not sure if it was NZ new though... 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lord_jagganath 421 Report post Posted July 24, 2017 closing stages. looks like the highest bidder may just pull out yet. it's probably going to be relisted unless someone else comes to the party eagerly. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BLACK DORIS 9 Report post Posted July 25, 2017 Sold for 3.8k.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LemonHunter 583 Report post Posted July 25, 2017 Probably hasn't, the leading bidder was the person I outbid, they also purchased an alternative vehicle and asked for their bid to be removed (as did I), but I doubt the vendor wanted to let it go for the next lowest bid around the 3K mark, probably going to be a FPO in the next day or so for 3.5-3.8K Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3317 Report post Posted July 25, 2017 I remember this car, he was doing work on my street with it as recently as last year, used to see it parked in Mt Vic too. I carjamed the pers plate, odd it's not on another car yet. As others say, with some TLC it'd be a cool car. Friend of mine had one of these in UK in a dark charcoal colour, followed by an e39 540i wagon. He loved them both. Did you end up buying it, Charlie? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
