Ownership Experience of Old BMWs

[TexaZ3]

I don't miss my e9x or e60 at all. I really miss all 3 of the e39s I had.

... and about twice a year miss the e36 M3's I had.

I mean, yeah - some are better than others. Some I drive more because of that. But all of them have something special - otherwise I wouldn't hold on to them.
Plus, with the way car world/industry is heading - the more analog, no-screens, no-connected anything, no-cameras cars I have - the better.

[Cubieman]

The E6x cars are definitely special, I would try to own if your able to, even if its not going to be a long term thing.

They are so tempting as the initial price point is so low but they generally do cost quite a bit to maintain and I would not trust one on any long road trip.

Especially with the SMG system they just have so many problems, not to mention all the weird electrical type issues that can be hard to figure out.

That said, if you one could buy a 6spd (or even SMG) that someone did the TBA's and maybe even rod bearings if done correctly/documented you have a special car.

Uncork the exhaust ever so slightly and the sound is ever bit as nice as CSL induction imo.

I love my E63 SMG, but man are parts expensive, especially E63 specific parts, like headlights.

[tnord]

E34Ms are still out there and I'd say way underappreciated, still. Even on BaT you can still snag good one for under $30-35k, which is a steal, compared to what E30 M3s are going for - and I repeat - they are better driving cars than E30. Most of the E34Ms will need work these days, but mechanical parts are still available, for the most part, so one could easily (perhaps, not cheaply) keep one on the road. Interiors are absolutely gorgeous on E34s.

Some eye-candy for you. I fully restored mine.

holy hell that is gorgeous. I have a particular fondness for blue BMWs.

I'm primarily searching E39s, but I love the E34s as well. My old baseball coach had an oxford green E34 540 manual he used to let me detail every year, and he let me borrow it for prom also. That was one of the primary cars that got me into BMWs.

Seems like most of them for sale are all rusted out below the doors and on the inside of the trunk. I assume that's a chronic issue and I shouldn't consider daily driving one in the winter in Kansas City? We don't treat our roads all that much, but it does happen. I do have an undercarriage sprayer attachment for my pressure washer I use in the spring, but still...

This one looks very nice, and I've always thought that dropping an S52 drivetrain into one would be a good idea. I know there's only so much you can do with a 3.2 trying to overcome a 3.8, but I'd imagine with all the aftermarket support of the S52 you could get close enough?

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2503934-1995-525i-Calypso-Red-Metallic

[dannyzabolotny]

I miss my two E36 M3's, both were well under $5k which is the right price for those cars IMO. When they're cheap you can forgive the craptastic interiors and non-special motor, because with an M50 intake and eBay headers they sound awesome and are super fun to toss around. But now that they're priced at almost E46 M3 levels, it's better to just spend the extra bit of money and get the E46 M3 with its better motor and better interior.

The E34 M5 has always been kind of a tough sell to me, even though I'm generally a big fan of E34's (I've owned 11 of em). The US 3.6L versions are barely faster than an E34 540i/6 but have a bunch of NLA parts and most of them have the early-style interiors with the door cards that delaminate and leather seats that fall apart. Now a 3.8L Euro M5 with cool cloth interior, that's more worth it.

As far as M5's go, the E39 M5 is the best all-arounder IMO, it's still got some oldschool BMW DNA but it's still a fairly modern car, and the interiors have held up really well over time. 400hp is still no slouch even by modern standards, and as far as ///M cars go, it's pretty reliable. E60 M5 has a great-sounding motor but I don't love the rest of the car, and once they went turbo with the F10 M5 they completely lost me.

[dannyzabolotny]

holy hell that is gorgeous. I have a particular fondness for blue BMWs.

I'm primarily searching E39s, but I love the E34s as well. My old baseball coach had an oxford green E34 540 manual he used to let me detail every year, and he let me borrow it for prom also. That was one of the primary cars that got me into BMWs.

Seems like most of them for sale are all rusted out below the doors and on the inside of the trunk. I assume that's a chronic issue and I shouldn't consider daily driving one in the winter in Kansas City? We don't treat our roads all that much, but it does happen. I do have an undercarriage sprayer attachment for my pressure washer I use in the spring, but still...

This one looks very nice, and I've always thought that dropping an S52 drivetrain into one would be a good idea. I know there's only so much you can do with a 3.2 trying to overcome a 3.8, but I'd imagine with all the aftermarket support of the S52 you could get close enough?

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2503934-1995-525i-Calypso-Red-Metallic

The door bottom rust is mostly on the 95 model years, because they have the painted lower door trims that seem to trap more moisture. If you keep the insides of the doors clean and make sure there's a way for the water to drain out + keep the door cavity waxed, they hold up fine. My last E34 540i/6 was from Vancouver, BC and had lived in Seattle before that, zero door rust because the owner took good care of the car.

S52 swapping an M50 car is the move for sure, once you OBDI convert the S52 and put on the M50 intake manifold + a chip tune, it kinda rips. I've built a few of those back in the day, it's a very easy swap and it makes the car fairly quick while still being super easy to maintain. Plus it visually passes most inspections which is nice in places that care about emissions and whatnot. 240hp in a car that weighs a lot less than either an M5 or a 540i makes for a fun time.

My old 540i/6, it had 300k miles in this pic:

[TexaZ3]

holy hell that is gorgeous. I have a particular fondness for blue BMWs.

I'm primarily searching E39s, but I love the E34s as well. My old baseball coach had an oxford green E34 540 manual he used to let me detail every year, and he let me borrow it for prom also. That was one of the primary cars that got me into BMWs.

Seems like most of them for sale are all rusted out below the doors and on the inside of the trunk. I assume that's a chronic issue and I shouldn't consider daily driving one in the winter in Kansas City? We don't treat our roads all that much, but it does happen. I do have an undercarriage sprayer attachment for my pressure washer I use in the spring, but still...

This one looks very nice, and I've always thought that dropping an S52 drivetrain into one would be a good idea. I know there's only so much you can do with a 3.2 trying to overcome a 3.8, but I'd imagine with all the aftermarket support of the S52 you could get close enough?

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2503934-1995-525i-Calypso-Red-Metallic

Thanks.
I think there are a lot of clean E34s for much lower price point, if you are not looking for an M. $15k is a bit much for a 525i imo.

[tnord]

S52 swapping an M50 car is the move for sure, once you OBDI convert the S52 and put on the M50 intake manifold + a chip tune, it kinda rips. I've built a few of those back in the day, it's a very easy swap and it makes the car fairly quick while still being super easy to maintain.

that was basically my build plan, but that plan was hatched probably 15 years ago when I had way more time on my hands and engine swapping a car didn't sound like a big deal. Back then, I wouldn't have thought twice about using something like this every day, but now I really have to consider time and effort to maintain. I also go back and forth between buying a "project" that I can build back up the way I want it to be, and buying something like that red one I posted that's clearly been cared for. I can't even find a decent body shop in town that will touch a rust repair, so the projects car candidates are limited.

this whole debate is how I ended up with the F30 in the first place.

[dannyzabolotny]

Thanks.
I think there are a lot of clean E34s for much lower price point, if you are not looking for an M. $15k is a bit much for a 525i imo.

There are, but finding a clean factory manual one is actually kinda difficult these days. $15k is still ludicrous in my mind, but there really aren't too many to choose from anymore. E30 people chopped up all the cheap M50 manual cars for their 24V swaps. I miss the days when I could get into a 525i/5 for $1500 or less, drive it for a year, and sell it for more than I paid for it (because I'd fully sort it out mechanically while owning it).

[Bimma360]

Nah, they are like different suits or shoes you wear for different occasions - I can't imagine owning just one pair. Each one is different and better at certain things than others. Same with M3's. I have 10+ cars and not once I thought about selling something just because its not the best at something or because I don't drive every day. They all have something special that you will miss once its gone. Over the last 25 years I sold two cars, only to replace both with better versions of the same cars within a year.

I guess never say never, but like I said I am a weirdo hah. I have a bunch of watches, and mainly only wear two of them b/c I like them best. Your analogy makes me think, I am kind of the same way with shoes and jeans haha.

Anyway, that is a gorgeous e34 man. It's the level of car I would want!

[tnord]

does anyone daily one of these older chassis or do people primarily have a fleet of older cars and drive whichever one is working at the time?

[George Hill]

We daily drive an E46 touring, did a major external engine refresh when I swapped a ZHP engine into it 35k miles and 3.5yrs ago, no real issues. Its been rock solid, knock on wood.

[Obioban]

does anyone daily one of these older chassis or do people primarily have a fleet of older cars and drive whichever one is working at the time?

I’m DDing the M3 when there’s no salt on the roads,
so 9 months a year.

put 130,000 miles on our e39 M5 DDing it.

[dannyzabolotny]

does anyone daily one of these older chassis or do people primarily have a fleet of older cars and drive whichever one is working at the time?

The newest car I've owned in the last 10 years was from 2003, so yeah I daily drive old cars. I cycle between E46, E34, and E39 usually, as those seem to be my favorites. I generally only have one or two cars at a time since I don't have the space nor the budget to devote to keeping multiple old cars at a good level, mechanically and cosmetically. I've got a AAA membership but I've rarely ever had to use it, as my cars have been generally quite good to me. And it's not like I buy nice cars either, I've had so many salvage title cars and cars with 300k+ miles on them.