Looking for a family car to fit 3 kids, e34 or e38?

[slippery]

e34 fits 3 normal sized adults pretty comfortably in the back, let alone kids.

Booster seats are at least 17.5" in width ... try to fit three in a car, lol. Having three kids, I have looked at this in every way I could as I wanted to stay out of a minivan ... I ended up selling a beatifull 2003 540ia with low miles and getting an MDX with three row seating.

But then again, maybe the op's kids dont need booster seats, so it might not be a problem.

J

[Nick_S]

Two E30's.

[stevetrocs]

My kids are all in car seats right now. I am driving a honda pilot right now and have all 3 seats in the second row with the 3rd row down for storage. My wife has a gmc acadia. We need to down size one of the cars. The bmw would be needed for mostly around town driving with an occasional trip. So I would need to fit a car seat and two boosters. I would really like to sell my car to get rid of my payments and save some gas. Most importantly I would like to be driving a BMW and have some fun doing it.

[5ickride]

I have an e34 and i feel that that back seat is roomy. Not sure if its enough space for your needs but you should def take a look for yourself and determine that. Where in NJ are you?

[delorean9912]

The e34 is comfortable for adults in the back. It has a fairly large trunk, but its not crown vic sized. I don't know how much better gas mileage you are going to get with the 3.5 or the V-8s. Avoid the 3.0 V-8 it suffers from the same problems and maintenance cost of the bigger one but lacks in performance. A later five speed 525i maybe the way to go for you.

I have a 535i 5 speed, parts are reasonable, its easy to maintain and work on. The e39 may be a better car but its a whole lot more complicated

[slammin.e28]

E39 530i

/thread.

[agent]

E39 530i

/thread.

Excellent choice.

[UNCL3AN1]

I hate sayin it, but minivan all the way. Honda Odyssey or Toyota. Just don't get ricer with it. :0)

[pureaudio]

3 car seats across the back seat of an e39 will be tight if even possible (safe). I have 1 in a car seat and 1 in a booster and besides my 9 year old niece, not much fits between the two of them.

[Vivek]

I hate sayin it, but minivan all the way. Honda Odyssey or Toyota. Just don't get ricer with it. :0)

I see zero benefit in an Odyssey over his current Pilot. OP-all I really fear is that the space (even cubic) in a BMW sedan won't be enough with 3 kids. Unless your kids are amazingly quiet and never touch each other, them kicking everything, fighting, screaming, is going to get old fast when they don't have enough room to stretch out. Even the larger cubic space (headroom, etc.) of a bigger car may make it feel less crammed, even if the space doesn't directly benefit smaller people.

[stevetrocs]

Thanks for all the helpful info. I really wanted to get an e34 or an e38, but it looks like I am going to have to keep my pilot :(
I drives nice but I wanted a new project that could be my dd with my kids.

[mr.vang]

93-95 525i is your best bet. 20 city and 30 highway, plenty of parts for cheap, and cheap insurance.

[UNCL3AN1]

I see zero benefit in an Odyssey over his current Pilot. .

True. I somehow missed the part where he said he had a Pilot. I thought it was someone else that said they had one.

Yeah, I wouldn't ditch a good SUV for a Minivan. I've got a minivan, and it's awesome for everything, especially family. But I wouldn't trade an SUV for something that has just a slightly different layout.

Good choice OP, stick with the Pilot for a while.

[bowtie2bimmer]

Jabber you logged at x5? They have an optional third row seating, and drive really nice fire a full size suv

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