I've been looking for the right black E34 525i for a few months now, and today my patience paid off. I just purchased this 1993 525iA, black on gray (what's the official name for this interior?), 120,xxx miles, maintenance records, two owners, and it the best shape I've seen in my four months of searching. I believe it has most if not all of the options available, including the OEM keyless entry. I was able to negotiate from $3900 to $3400.
I'd rate the exterior an 8/10 and the interior about the same. It has it's fair share of blemishes, but I'm hoping most of them will buff out. The interior is about as clean as I can expect for a light gray interior this old. I'd say it's in good shape, the leather just looks kind of dirty. Those of you who have this color interior, any way to bring it back to life?
The one thing that made me really have to debate purchasing this car is the achilles heal of E34 automatics; the trans program error. It's also the reason I was able to talk him down $500. I have another E34 in excellent condition that hasn't driven in a year because nobody can seem to figure it out. The guy I bought this car from said it happens very intermittently, on average about once a week, but sometimes doesn't happen for six months at a time. He's already spent $1500 trying to diagnose it, replacing both transmission computers, the shift console, and the throttle position sensor. The thing is, my eventual goal is to turbocharge this car, so the auto would have to go anyway. If I have to put $1k-1.5k into a swap, then I'll have a clean, lower mileage 525iM for around the price I would have been willing to pay if I could find one around here ($5,000-ish).
As I always do when I purchase a car, I love it; but I also wonder if I got a good deal, did the right thing, etc. Because of this, I'd really like to hear what you guys think of the whole thing.
Does anyone have any idea what these wheels are worth, including tires? They won't be on this car for long. I have a sweet set of M-Parallels sitting in my garage, though I have to wait until I can afford rubber for them to put them on this.
Anyways, without further ado, pictures. I apologize, I hate low resolution photos.
Here are the pictures of the negative aspects of the interior and exterior. Comments?
I'd rate the exterior an 8/10 and the interior about the same. It has it's fair share of blemishes, but I'm hoping most of them will buff out. The interior is about as clean as I can expect for a light gray interior this old. I'd say it's in good shape, the leather just looks kind of dirty. Those of you who have this color interior, any way to bring it back to life?
The one thing that made me really have to debate purchasing this car is the achilles heal of E34 automatics; the trans program error. It's also the reason I was able to talk him down $500. I have another E34 in excellent condition that hasn't driven in a year because nobody can seem to figure it out. The guy I bought this car from said it happens very intermittently, on average about once a week, but sometimes doesn't happen for six months at a time. He's already spent $1500 trying to diagnose it, replacing both transmission computers, the shift console, and the throttle position sensor. The thing is, my eventual goal is to turbocharge this car, so the auto would have to go anyway. If I have to put $1k-1.5k into a swap, then I'll have a clean, lower mileage 525iM for around the price I would have been willing to pay if I could find one around here ($5,000-ish).
As I always do when I purchase a car, I love it; but I also wonder if I got a good deal, did the right thing, etc. Because of this, I'd really like to hear what you guys think of the whole thing.
Does anyone have any idea what these wheels are worth, including tires? They won't be on this car for long. I have a sweet set of M-Parallels sitting in my garage, though I have to wait until I can afford rubber for them to put them on this.
Anyways, without further ado, pictures. I apologize, I hate low resolution photos.
Here are the pictures of the negative aspects of the interior and exterior. Comments?
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