E28 520iA advice needed

[Nick.Hay]

Hey guys,

A mate of mine is considering an ??1986?? E28 520iA for his mrs as a runabout work car. They have a 4wd which is chewing the juice...

Its got 250k kms on it. Its an auto, and has a sunroof. Has been sitting for a while in a car yard. I haven't looked at it, nor has it been road-tested by my mate. The yard has about $3K AUD on it.

Anything to look out for on M10s?? Or the E28 auto box?? I know cold-start module is an issue.

Thoughts?? Things to look/listen for??

[shogun]

http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/bmw.html

Known Problems

Many of the larger engined E28s have TRX alloy wheels. These use a special size of tyre which is difficult to get and very expensive.

Electric seats can fail, especially headrests.

The 1800 engine in this car can suffer badly from valve tick if badly adjusted.

Ensure cam belts on the M20 engines are changed every 50,000 miles.

M30 engines can suffer from oil starvation on the camshaft resulting in damage. This is preventable with a new design of hollow bolt for the oil feed bar.

ZF HP 22 automatic transmissions can fail if revved strongly whilst in neutral or park.

Boot water leaks from the tail lights are not uncommon, check for rust here.

Carefully check fuel lines and tank for corrosion, especially where the filler pipe meets the fuel tank.

Flashing ABS warning light often means that wheel sensors are rusting badly.

Heating can stick fully on or off due to faulty heater control valve on the M30 3.0/3.5 engine, not that expensive to fix.

Check all the electrical goodies work, bits for these ain't cheap but they are generally reliable.