1990 BMW E34 535i, Anyone have any experience with these? Options

[WannabeGT4]

I'm looking at an E34 Bimmer 535i Auto Transmission for a daily while I fix up the Celi. Does anyone have any experience with them? I like the idea of an FR platform but I'm worried about prices on parts if anything needs fixed/replaced. I don't want another project just something reliable and somewhat fun to drive.

[WannabeGT4]

Most of that sounds like normal wear or lack of maintenance especially the transmission issue. Seals and gaskets get old and that's just expected. This is a pre-1996 so it doesn't have the oil separator issue if what I'm reading is correct. I'm still going to go look at it but I'll definitely be going over it with a fine toothed comb.

[samir0189]

Most of that sounds like normal wear or lack of maintenance especially the transmission issue. Seals and gaskets get old and that's just expected. This is a pre-1996 so it doesn't have the oil separator issue if what I'm reading is correct. I'm still going to go look at it but I'll definitely be going over it with a fine toothed comb.

well, the one i had was a 1994 with 76,000 miles. tread carefully is all i can tell you. The transmission issue is a common issue amongst the cars and is recognized amongst the community as a manufacturer defect, the new part is different and corrected from the OE part, along with the fuel sending unit iirc. the oil separator suffers the problem over and over again from what i understand every 80k.

You asked for advice, im just letting you know it was one of the biggest mistakes ive made in my lifetime. I know ultimately you will do whatever you are gonna do, so good luck, i advise you do a lot of research on the issues i mentioned before you sign.

http://www.bmwe34.net/Wiki/tiki-index.php?...What+will+break

compared to my celica, its the most unreliable thing evar.

This post has been edited by samir0189: Oct 30, 2010 - 7:54 PM

[WannabeGT4]

Most of that sounds like normal wear or lack of maintenance especially the transmission issue. Seals and gaskets get old and that's just expected. This is a pre-1996 so it doesn't have the oil separator issue if what I'm reading is correct. I'm still going to go look at it but I'll definitely be going over it with a fine toothed comb.

well, the one i had was a 1994 with 76,000 miles. tread carefully is all i can tell you. The transmission issue is a common issue amongst the cars and is recognized amongst the community as a manufacturer defect, the new part is different and corrected from the OE part, along with the fuel sending unit iirc. the oil separator suffers the problem over and over again from what i understand every 80k.

You asked for advice, im just letting you know it was one of the biggest mistakes ive made in my lifetime. I know ultimately you will do whatever you are gonna do, so good luck, i advise you do a lot of research on the issues i mentioned before you sign.

I'm definitely researching everything you've mentioned. I'll definitely be very cautious about it. Most of what I've seen about the I6 535i hasn't mentioned anything like your experience. I know the 540 has a different transmission. Do you know if the 535 transmission had the same issues? Do you know what kind of maintenance was done to it?