New member says "Hi!"

[pundit]

I'm an Aussie looking to purchase an E34 so I thought I'd find out as much as I could before I take the plunge. I'm an ex motor mechanic (used to work on Mercedes - now work in the electronics field).

The catch is here in Australia E34 prices are 2 -3 times higher than in the US or England even allowing for the exchange rate.

Over here a long-in-the-tooth early '88-'89 E34 would start at around the equivelant of $7,500 USD with a top condition '95 E34 525i going for at least $15,000 USD. A late 540 E34?... upwards of $20,000 USD!

Part of the reason for this (apart from our low population here) were the very high import duties our government applied to luxury vehicles approaching close to 100% at their peak many years ago.

I'm leaning towards a '94-'95 525i auto. I drive about 500-600kms (300 - 400 miles) per week to work. So fuel economy is fairly important (approx $3.50 US per gallon here). If it wasn't a work commuter I'd go for a 535i 5 speed. The only catch with the auto is the cost of an overhaul which is $4,000-$6,000 AUD ($3,000-$4,500 US) over here!

I've seen quite a few 5 speed 535i's here but almost no 5 speed late 525i's.
If I could find a '94-'95 manual 525i I might consider it.

Cheers Pundit

[Scott C]

I suspect that a 525i manual might not be too much fun to drive as it is a heavy car and "slightly" underpowered and you would be shifting a lot unless you do highway driving. The auto is very convenient and the performance is very acceptable (just my humble opinion)
Scott

[Dan in NZ]

Hey,
I never realised e34's were so expensive over that side of the ditch, over here I see plenty of 89-90-91 525i autos with around 175,000km, most priced around NZD$6-8000. I've heard autos use around 10% more fuel than an equivalent manual, so perhaps a 535i manual wouldn't even use much more petrol than a 525i auto. I find mine quite economical on the open road, about 9L per 100km, but around town more like 15.

Good to see another southern hemisphere driver on the board!

[Paul in NZ]

the 535 is fairly thirsty in my opinion,but in reality the 525 will be thirsty too in comparison to modern cars..in short if you enjoy a smooth tourquey engine and a manual gearbox get a 535 manual.Being a mechanic you will be able to do the maintenance work yourself,and the extra money you spend on petrol will be worth it everytime you follow BMW,s instructions after driving below 3500 rpm for a while.There are a few aussies on the board,i think every capacity/gearbox combination is just about covered

[Reidal]

Welcome. We do have a number of Aussie based posters here.

As a recent import to Melbourne from NZ (six, fish and chips (a local accent joke for the non-oceanian's here)), I was sorry I didn't get into the BM's before I moved over the Tasman.

I recon no matter which one you chose, these babies will tend to be a little thirsty, but it's hard to get back in a Ford or a Holden once you've done some miles in a well maintained BM.

Soul and personality.

[pundit]

Welcome. We do have a number of Aussie based posters here.

As a recent import to Melbourne from NZ (six, fish and chips (a local accent joke for the non-oceanian's here)), I was sorry I didn't get into the BM's before I moved over the Tasman.

I recon no matter which one you chose, these babies will tend to be a little thirsty, but it's hard to get back in a Ford or a Holden once you've done some miles in a well maintained BM.

Soul and personality.
What he really meant to say was.. "Sex, fush and chups" :D

[Reidal]

And Baaa ;)


What he really meant to say was.. "Sex, fush and chups" :D

[Mr Project]

I would agree that you should check into the fuel mileage issue further. My 535i 5-speed is getting quite good mileage now that I've gotten it in good tune and done the chip & new fuel injectors.

I got 27-28 MPG (US) on an all-highway trip recently, and I get around 20 in mostly city driving these days. Not sure what a 525i auto would get, but I have a feeling it would only be 2-3 MPG better on the highway, which is only around a 10% improvement. Might not be worth the extra trouble of finding the 525i if a good 535i 5-speed is available? Also if you consider:

535i:
12,000 miles/year @ 20 MPG @ $3.5/gallon = $2100 fuel cost

525i:
12,000 miles/year @ 22 MPG @ $3.5/gallon = $1909 fuel cost

Annual savings of around $200. So, also consider that the purchase cost of a 535i is likely to be at least $2k cheaper based on your examples, and it would take 10 years of ownership before the extra gas mileage of the 525i pays for itself.

Obviously there are other issues to take into consideration, like depreciation, insurace, maintenance costs (probably very similar), and the like. My mileage figures may be too critical of the 525i automatic as well, so it may shorten up the 'time to pay off' equation. (if you get 25 MPG average in the 525i, it's just under 5 years)

But still, for those several years while you wait for the 525i to pay for itself, you could have the M30 torque and that fun 5-speed tranny. :)

Not trying to knock M20s and M50s...I'm envious of the frugality myself!

[bill g]

A few comments from another Aussie - my 535 E34 manual uses 10.6 litres per 100k on long freeway trips at 110 kmh, mostly on cruise control. I do not think it possible to improve on that much. City driving uses considerably more fuel but I have not checked it accurately. The 535 manual is a magnificent car to drive on open road or away from traffic but I find it a pain in stop go heavy traffic. First gear is pretty dramatic but you can save some shifting by taking off in second gear - no problem on flat road with just driver in the car.

[Zeuk in Oz]

I think you will find that BMW stopped importing manual 5 series cars into Australia in 1992 or thereabouts (except for M5s, of course). The exception might be some grey imports from South Africa, Japan or NZ or any that have been converted. This lack of manuals actually caused me to buy an older car than I had initially considered. As an aside, there are no Mercedes 230E / 300E (W124) manuals in Australia at all except private imports or conversions.
My 1989 525i manual regularly uses less than 10 litres per 100km in mixed driving and consumption falls to about 8 litres on a trip using 98 octane. This is the M20 engine but the driving experience is still wonderful.