Decisions decisions

[Coffee&Doughnut 0]

Hi guys, I am looking at getting a cheap second car, already have a E30 320i.

I am going to look at an 86 e28 535i auto or a 85 e30 323i manual 2 door, for around the same price. I would to like hear what some of you guys think is the best bang for buck.

Edited June 8, 2006 by Coffee&Doughnut

[smithy 0]

e30 323 manual :thumb:

[DCEIVN 0]

e28 535i convert to manual :thumb: :thumb:

[E30stz 0]

finding a manual box for a 535.. good luck . 323 all the way, those cars have good potential.

[bmwsparkle 3]

How do you know Andy? Have you had to look for one? Actually not that hard to find a box, considering all M30 range fits, and the 528s were often manual.

I may have a spare one for sale soon that might need some work. Depending on a couple of things.

Depending what you want at the end of the day, that E28 = heaps pf straight line power, lots of room, easy brake upgrades, yet handles suprisingly well with some work with the suspension. The E30 = more nimble, possibly better to do up for a track car, depending what you want.

Id personally hit the E28, but im biased

[pug'n 0]

yuh not hard to find. i know where there's a handful scattered around a few wreckers. wreckers think they're hens teeth though and charge a wee bit, but alas, not too much in alot of cases, seems standard gerbox pricing really.

[DCEIVN 0]

both mine and sparkles were converted :finger:

both are good choices anyway and i suppose i could be slightly biassed.

[E30stz 0]

'cheap second car' .. with gas prices right now.. surely buying an already manual'd 323 ... would be cheaper .. than buying a 535 and having to convert it .. and putting fuel costs ontop of that.

[*sic 1]

honda.

[cainchapman 0]

Try the pleasure of a 5 Series.

[bmwsparkle 3]

Try the pleasure of a 5 Series.

ftw.

Once again andy, how do you know the fuel consumption of a 535i? Mines actually quite good if you aint frashing it.

Yes damo, honda ftw. Preferbly EB on spinnaz

[DCEIVN 0]

yea on that point i only drive my bmw for the intermarques. but once iv cleaned it up that will be a different story.

[Coffee&Doughnut 0]

Thanks for all the replies, just spent the whole day driving around checking out some, Man, they were all pieces of crap. I should have interorgated these people over the phone. The 323i had been used to tow a boat, with the amount of rust in it I would say it was used as a #$?%*$#% boat.. I think I will go back to my original idea to get a late E34 or maybe ??

[JayKayNZ 0]

Me and me bro both had red e28s (mine an auto 520-a brick to drive- his a manual 528-fantastic car) for our first cars, so I'm biased towards the e28. They stand out far more than e30s I reckon.

But you can get e34s for damn cheap. The same brother just bought a black manual 535i e34 (1988) for less than $3.5! Couldn't believe his luck. I'll post some pics when I get my hands on some.

Edited June 9, 2006 by JayKayNZ

[Coffee&Doughnut 0]

The fact that used car prices here are inflated makes the desision process more difficult, some of the cars I looked at, the sellers were asking almost 4 geez, and I think

geez its little more than a parts car with 5 months rego. A decent E34 535i here is around 6 grand upwards, but I am sure there are cheaper ones.

On a side note has anyone had any success with LPG conversion, maybe an E32 or something.?

[BM WORLD 1283]

i have a nz new E28 1986 535iA high spec one . 3 nz owners FSH , done 186k .

will be for sale , also coming up soon a 1988 E34 535i 5spd ex uk , done 300k will have fresh motor in it soon , black leather recaro's.

call me if interested .

021433600 or 09-2997389

[Coffee&Doughnut 0]

Seeing you like the 5 series, I was wondering what would be your choice 93 530i or

90 535i are there any serious long term problems with the V8 in terms of running costs

or Nikasil issues? A 540i sounds good but I am scared of running costs.

[Jazzbass 1]

A V8 is going to cost extra to run - just cost of ownership - you want the power, you gotta pay.

My understanding is that the nikasil issue is not an issue in NZ?

[kiwi535 538]

I would say in the scheme of things there wont be much difference between the three in day to day running...But 8 spark plugs vs 6 etc etc and the v8 s are harder to work on if you need to do anything,but the 535 needs valve adjustments...so there are swings and roundabouts any way

[cainchapman 0]

If you are going to the effort of buying a BMW V8, skip the 530 and get the 540. Parts are not a lot different in price. You may as well get the power of the real 5 series engine.

[BM WORLD 1283]

buy the 535i , better power to weight ratio .

better balanced . i have driven both and owned both .

e28 is lighter than e34 and has more power 218hp , e34 has 211hp .

530i v8 has 218hp but less torque than 535i and car is about 150kg heavier .

[Coffee&Doughnut 0]

I am thinking about checking out a 88 535i that from talking to the owner has been very well looked after with full service history from new and only 1 previous owner. It is all original I am told and Manual with under 130Ks. The thing I find a little hard coming to terms with is that its got Velour interior. Wasnt Leather Standard? I was wondering what do you make of that?

[pink_e34 0]

The straight six 3.5 litre engines from the 1988-1992 aE34s are incredibly reliable, not to mention powerful (the M30 engines). THe V8 engines that replaced them are known for being average - generally don't achieve the same mileage, and the performance is not significant improved.

Heres some cheapies currently on trade me: red535i

This one presumably is the M20 engine, but still a nice car

red525i

And a very nice one here:

535i

What about this 5 series/8 series hybrid?!

beauty or beast?

[JayKayNZ 0]

Oops the above post was by me. The pc was logged in under me gfs username.

[Coffee&Doughnut 0]

Ahhh I see, the situation in NZ looks better than here, 1st your on a bunch of relatively small Islands, where here you got one big Mother of an Island. So I think cars here probally tend to be higher mileage and cop more heat, cracked dashboards and so on.

Also the NZ dollar is worth less so we are in fact paying a lot more, so theres an incentive to stay in NZ rather than come here! Just kidding.