i quite fancy a 24v 525i early 90's model, anything i should look out/avoid in particular? do they have a lsd is the next question or was this just on the sports?

next thing is a 525 the right choice for a rwd car or would i be better of getting a 518 to learn what rwd is all about?

how thirsty are they is the next thing in day-day driving? & does anyone know much about the 525ix other than it's 4x4. was it just estate autos? permanent 4x4 or what? - can find very little info on the net about them. or is there a good reason for that?

 

Seing as no one has replied yet!

Steer clear of the 4cyl engines, they jus dont have the grunt for the size of the car!

6cyl are much smoother and are upto the job although not blinding performance.

Rust shouldnt be a prob, unless been ina shunt before, full bmw sh is a bonus, but a fsh is equally as good.

about as much as i know

 

Diff would be an option, so unlikely its going to have one. Sport models would be more likely to have one, although even then I'm sure its only an option. Not always standard fitment.

If you want to learn to slide, I'd buy the 525 over the 518. The 518 isnt going to have any power to have much fun with.


4wd would probably be nice, but also consider repair costs if things go wrong. I'd stay clear.

If you do happen to buy one, I have a set of M5 replica alloys+tyres appropriate for a 94 car.
I used to have them on my black 525tds. It was a nice enough car, but was very sore on front suspension bushes.

 

Great cars, I've had mine for years and it just wont go wrong.

I've got the 525sei auto and it drives faultlessly. Watch out for over heating and fecked auto boxes as there expensive to replace

Have a read on this as well:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/index.ph...ycar/index.htm

Moose130 from here does all my work if needed. I was tempted to get a latter 5 series but this one just wont die

Fuel wise I get anywhere from 15-20 round town and up to 35-38 on a run. Nice cars to drive but a bit dated in looks IMO. If you need to know anything else then just ask

 

if you want sideways action you would prob be better off with a E30 325i, the Sport model does come with lsd as std

 

problem with the 3 series is insurance, for me anyway the 525 is about the same as what a 318 would cost to insure. how the fook insurance companies work out they're pricing i will never know.

what kind of miles are these good for? as theres loads around in the 100-130k bracket, are these likely to be completely tired and fecked or is it worth paying the extra and getting one with 80k on the clock?

 

Anything smaller engined than the 525 will be a snail. Well built cars and very comfy and easy to drive. Buy on condition not on mileage these cars are capable of doing quite silly mileage. Friend of mine got rid of his 520 auto last year with over 170,000 miles on it. Engine still sounded sweet as

 

525i 24v are 193hp but the power is quite high up the rev range and so is the torque.535i's are 12v and 211hp,but have a lot more torque low down.
all sports had lsd's as far as i am aware,525 or 535.no other 5 series had a sport option.not sure on fuel economy,my 540 has avaraged 19mpg over the last 12 months.
the engines are bomb proof.the 525i engine is the one that gets turbo charged a lot in sweden and norway.they make 400-500hp with just a piston change .
bryan

 

theres always the 530 with the 32v v8 (theres also a 6cylinder 3.0 aswell so you have to look hard.)
i think these made about 210bhp but lots and lots of tourque!!!!!

red ones look nice with black m5 wheels.

 

yeah, the 2.5 is about the max i can go on insurance, and i know someone who had a 633 which drank a gallon of fuel in under 2 miles, i was fooking shocked and would never have believed if i wasn''t with him when he put in a gallon and then ran out of juice at the next round-about

sooooo going on that bassis i doubt i'll be able to afford to run anything bigger than a 2.5!