I'm officially DONE with modern BMWs....

[Old'n'Slow]

Good grief! My favorite car company doesn't make anything I want to own!

More details:

My first BMW was a 16yo 325 Super Eta. It was ragged when I got it, but the drivetrain was sound. Soooo easy to work on, I restored it to primo condition while using it as a daily driver over a two year period. It never once failed to get me or my family where we needed to go! Loved that car, but the kids outgrew the back seat. I sold it to a friend and bought a 2000 323iT with only 77K. YES, it's a much nicer car if you have to drive 500 miles somewhere and spend the day in than the E30, but it is nowhere near as durable. All the BS plastic cooling system components that fail on a regular basis are making me crazy! The oil separator and it's ancillaries are plastic as well. The interior bits aren't as good as the '80s parts, either!

And now, with the new generation of Bimmers, you can forget about checking your own oil, or even properly draining your diff. NO %@^#& DRAIN PLUG!

So.....the 323 is for sale and I'm going back to the '80s with something like this:




Kids fit fine, and driver will be happy again!

[Charlie]

As I go out and fix yet another dead sensor on my E36, I find myself quickly agreeing with you.

E36 build quality is awful, talking to my folks, e46 isn't any better. Seeing the number of tranny failures in the e39s and the crap that the V8s spit out, I don't see them being much better. They obviously don't build them to go 250k+ anymore. The interior on my nearly 20 year old E30 & 30+ year old '02 is in real nice shape, my e36 is falling apart.

Judging by the difficulty in removing nuts & bolts on my 34 year old '02, I'd say the majority of stuff on there is OEM, and still works fine. It starts up and runs fine, it even manages to do 80mph on the highway and idle properly, my 10 year old e36 won't do that.

Maybe I'll find a nice e28 or e24 for a DD.

-Charlie

[BenM]

I'm going to suggest a 93-95 525i 5-speed, pre-EWS car. Their build quality is almost on par with E24/E28, but with much less of a tendency to rust. You still have the plastic cooling system bits to worry about, but the M50 is obviously a great motor.

Plus, at the end of the run, they had pretty much all the issues figured out.

[Old'n'Slow]

Hey Charlie,

There's a guy in Columbus selling TWO E28s. I asked for info on the 535i and he sent me some pics.

Here's the original ad.

I really want an -is for the sport seats.

BenM, I feel ya on the rust issues, but man the E28 body is just so IT. :)

[SpecM]

I love e28s, I wish I could find a nice one here

newer BMWs are nice, but the amount of crap that breaks on them is rediculous

[BenM]

Hey Charlie,

There's a guy in Columbus selling TWO E28s. I asked for info on the 535i and he sent me some pics.

Here's the original ad.

I really want an -is for the sport seats.

BenM, I feel ya on the rust issues, but man the E28 body is just so IT. :)

That one looks damn nice. But yeah, I love the E28 as well. I'm trying to get my buddy who lives up in Keene to get rid of his civic to get an E28 for a winter/DD car. This one in Concord looks like a decent project, just make sure the rust isn't terminal. Brake work and driveshaft work is easy.

My E28 is currently in hiding for the winter. :)

[E30 Cabrio]

I have a neighbor, an old German guy.

He has a nice, clean, late 80's, lo-mileage 535is

I always ask him when is he going to sell it so l can buy it from him and he always says the same thing: "Never"

Most people fail to appreciate the build quality of the E30's, E28's, E21's, etc...and think that newer is better.

Whenever people ride in my car for the first time, they are always amazed when they find out that it's a 21 year old car.

"This car drives better then my new Honda/Lexus/Toyota etc..." is common.

As much as I love my Cabrio, I'd love to have a late 80's M5 or 535is

[DCColegrove]

By 1996....

All cars were shit...

And it isn't getting better...

[PhillyG]

By 1996....

All cars were shit...

And it isn't getting better...

It's all about making money.

[cferb]

My dad's e39 528 and my brothers e36 328 have/had far fewer problems than my e30...Cooling system and all. Between the two, my dad's e39 needed a new air pump, that's it.

[Dave]

I'm going to suggest a 93-95 525i 5-speed, pre-EWS car. Their build quality is almost on par with E24/E28, but with much less of a tendency to rust. You still have the plastic cooling system bits to worry about, but the M50 is obviously a great motor.

Plus, at the end of the run, they had pretty much all the issues figured out.

Sure, if you dont mind crap quality door panels, headliners and such.

I have had 2 near 100 mile tows due to cooling system problems as well.

Truth be told, the e28 I just got for my son is so much more structurally solid than my e34, yet it is 8 years older.

[BenM]

Sure, if you dont mind crap quality door panels, headliners and such.

I have had 2 near 100 mile tows due to cooling system problems as well.

Truth be told, the e28 I just got for my son is so much more structurally solid than my e34, yet it is 8 years older.

Well my E34 Touring has 192K on it, and the door panels are still in fantastic shape. Have to agree on the headliners though, but most of the other interior stuff isn't really that bad.

As far as cooling stuff goes, I did an S50 & 5-speed swap into my 5/94 at 187K, and replaced the radiator, water pump & thermostat, but kept all the same hoses & clamps and haven't had a problem the cooling system other than that. The only real PITA is bleeding the damn thing. Took my close to an hour last time.

I will agree on the sentiments of build quality. The 80's were a pinnacle in BMW build quality. They don't make 'em like they used to.

[E30 Wagen]

i'm pretty impressed with my '85 535i. It was driven by some lady who i'm assuming did zero maintanence to it, then ended up sitting outside for how knows how long. I get it back to my place and it starts right up. I put some new belts on and a new air filter and that's pretty much it for a tune-up. It doesn't run perfect, but for having 227,000 miles on it, it still has plenty of power and responsiveness, the 5 speed feels great, has excellent brakes, and rides smooth on extremely cracked TRX tires.

My brother thinks i'm crazy. Then again, he thinks his Saturn L200 is hot.

[DCColegrove]

It's all about making money.

From a technological standpoint the most modern cars are a marvel...

But how fun is that?

And fuck... When the stuff breaks...

I spent a whole day trying to track down an intermittant electrical fault on an e90.... Was all over the CAN Buss etc etc... looked at all the TSBs... Turned out to be a software glitch nobody had seen yet...

[Old'n'Slow]

As I read these replies, I am reminded of being in a dealer in Atlanta while visiting relatives. I was having my wheels balanced and AFAIC, this is the only reason to visit a dealer post warranty-they balance to a tighter spec than the NTBs and such. I was enjoying my "free" coffee when the service writer came and told me my control arm bushings on my E46 Touring were torn. "Yes, I know", I said. "I'm planning on swapping them out with new arms when I get back to Ohio". One of the salesmen standing nearby overheard me and asked "how many miles ya got"? "About 100K" was the answer. "Time to get a new one!" was the response. "But", I protested, "my last one was nearly at 300K when I sold it to friend who still drives it everyday"! He looked away and said, a touch wistfully, "well, they don't make them like that anymore".

And there it is. :(

But the good news is I found a nice Lachsilber over Black 1987 535is. I'll post some pics shortly. By the way, the car in my original post is FOR SALE.