check out my e34 for sale.... [Archive]

HDhandyman

08-05-2006, 09:45 PM

Okay, so everybody knows that I don't need more cars, but I saw this listing last night and got excited. I've been looking for a five speed e34s for a while. I thought R. might want to sell the L7 and pick this baby up, but she seems pretty keen on keeping the L7. Anyway, I drove up to see this car today and have dinner with my Dad who lives in Cincinnati (half way for seller and myself). It is entirely possible that I may yet cram the driveway with another auto, but on the off chance that somebody else is looking to prance, I thought that I would relay my personal experience today with the car!

First off, I have no affiliation with the seller...I only met him last night on this forum, so if you're thinking that this is a personal plug, think again.

James (seller) is a very nice guy. We talked at about 1:30 and he was more than willing to meet me in Cincinnati, which is about half way for both of us, at 5:00pm this afternoon. He was prompt and accomidating to a location of my choice (dad's house). His demeanor was personable and he was more than willing to answer all my questions honestly. You may be asking yourself, why should I care, but I think the quality of the person selling the car says a lot about the car itself.

The car. I would rate the car an 8 1/2 out of 10. Paint looked fanatastic, was original, lots of polish and luster, was not fading on the roof, and seemed to have a long future ahead of it. Style 32 (i think) wheels were spot free with less than 2000 miles on them, new Michs, and camber seemed to be good.

The service records were as described and it is obvious that the car has been well loved in recent years (it was previously owned by his grandfather who is an enthusiast).

The car's interior is it's downfall, but was still clean, only suffering from strong cracking on the driver's seat and a small tear in the headliner near the sunroof. The shifter knob needs to be replaced, but I would replace it anyway in favor of the "classic" knob, and that's a cheap fix.

Mechanically the car was very nice. Compression seemed to be in excellent health. The car has been recently fitted with a superior new radiator and surrounding assembly (pristine). The tune from the cat-back produced an excellent hum despite an aging muffler. The engine was very clean, which says little about it's true condition, but it definately speaks for care and rust. Speaking of rust, the underbelly looked typical for this neck of the woods, but nothing stood out as over the top, or "rust belt" ish.

One of the most surprising things about the car was the condition of the electronics and wiring. All seemed to be in excellent condition. Grounds and contacts were flawless, as were fuse areas, links, upgrade wiring, etc. This area of the car was very very clean.

Driving: this car is a good runner. The car had plenty of pull in all the right places and was nice and tight up front. The car does not suffer from knocks or strays, shimmys, etc., or most of the other problmes typical with these cars. We drove through a fairly hilly area, and put the car through most of it's paces though not all, as traffic was horrible on the nearby interstate. Still, I would almost put absolute faith in near red line conditions at high speeds in this car. The car will need new brake pads up front, but rotors, etc. look good. Someone purchasing this car, would also probably like to upgrade the shocks and struts, but nothing is pressing---just as an upgrade.

At the end of the day, I would say that this was a very nice E34. The price of 5000 dollars is steep for the mileage but these cars vary arond the 3-6 range and to some degree, price is a matter of personal preference. In my mind, the condition of the engine/radiator, wheels, service records and extras (which were plentiful), state of electronics and wiring, along with the mods, more than make up the difference. For me, the biggest thing holding this car back is the color. It is very nice, but with my position in life (job,etc.), I can't really justify a bright red BMW. Someone purchasing this car would need to understand that this car is fantastic right now, but can be made into an almost perfect example of the E34 for another 1500.

I am unsure, as of this moment, whether I will purchase this car or not, but in any case, I would like to see this car go to a good home. If anyone other than myself is interested, and would like to hear more about a personal first hand experience, please feel free to contact me.

:)