BMW 5 Series E34
BMW 525I/535I (E34)
There’s a great appeal to a classically elegant BMW – jutting brow, sharpedged lines, slim pillars, beautifully-balanced chassis and surging straight-six power. Problem is, the likes of the sharknosed 6 Series of the Seventies and Eighties have proven themselves to be woeful rotboxes. More recent BMWS are thuggish things, lacking that old finesse.
Thankfully, the 1989-96 E34-generation 5 Series bridges the gap, combining Nineties solidity with older design and engineering values.
We suggest you consider a 525i, pre-1993 530i, or a 535i. These M30 and M50-engined cars offer the same kind of driving appeal as an old 6 Series. The smaller-engined variants struggle to shift the car’s bulk, while it transpired that the post-’93 V8-engined 530i and 540i suffered Nikasil breakdown and premature bore wear.
The straight-sixes in the 525i, 530i and 535i are all chain-driven, so listen out for rattles as a sign of impending replacement. But they’re all robust engines, mated to equally durable gearboxes, which should pass 200,000 miles with ease provided they’ve been properly serviced.
Pre-1993 cars – so, all 535is and straight-six 530is – avoided BMW’S use of water-based paint, and as a result their bodywork tends to have survived in far better condition than the later cars, which includes half the 525i’s production run. Even so, lower body rust can be a problem, especially around door bottoms, sills, wings, jacking points, and a crossmember running underneath the radiator.
A badly rotten car simply won’t be financially viable to put right – a full body restoration will run to £12k alone – but a nicely-kept, regularly wax treated pre-1993 car, used sparingly rather than subjected to the daily grind, will be an easy thing to preserve.
Prices are low at the moment because the M5 gets all the attention, so £1600-£4k will get a nice privately-sold car for you to cherish.
‘As intoxicating as a Ferrari, yet no more intimidating to own than a Civic’