E34’s in decline!

BMW crazy  Drew you sod 

I have had a woman, a perfect stranger, walk up to me in the street in the west end of London and spit in my face..beat that..

Easy tiger!  I'm sure Drew wasn't trying to be offensive, he hates everything, not just Scotland

Glasgow's a wonderful place with more culture than most parts of the uk.  The people there are amongst the finest in the UK so no need to go on the defensive about it.

Now play nice

I am on my second e34 '95 which is a fully loaded 540 touring with M suspension and sports kit. It's the best car I've ever driven and I've done a few working in the motor trade. It goes well, been 100% reliable (as have all 3 beemers through the years) and I've never spent any amounts of money on either of them. My future thoughts did lie with an e39 (maybe another 540 or M5) but owing to some comments on here and the fact I love my e34 so much, perhaps not. I don't have a problem throwing money at my baby. It does owe me now though because of some !"£$%^& *@?hole hitting it and driving away from the scene and being untraceable because he gave a false name and address when he bought his car but thats enough about that, I'll only get worked up! Insurance company gave me some stupid amount for it because to repair at BMW was quoted at £4500! which put is 'beyond economical repair' so I bought it back and repaired it for £1800. Still makes my blood boil!. That aside, I can't fault any e34 experience I've had. Bits are easy to come by and fairly cheap and they aren't too technical to work on compared to the e39.

I'm a big e34 fan and i'll keep mine until it dies and buries itself, that day will be a very emotional one.

paulfinucane wrote: Admittedly they have electrical probs & common probs like all cars but right now they represent superb value for money. Paul

It has to be said that the electrical problems on e34's are virtually always limited to the same things.......fractured fuse link (windows roof and wipers failing), central locking (always a door relay) and number plate lights (usually the loom where it enters the boot).

My e39 has had numerous electrical gremlins, not all of the cheap to fix. The dash pixels really is too common for BMW to walk away from. Thats just blatent poor quality that should not be on a car of this supposed quality. PDC sensors failing, Wheel speed sensors failing, airbag warning lights staying on (and it can stay on cos I'm sick of it), Bulb failure warnings when all the bulbs are okay etc. etc. etc. I may as well bought an Alfa. At least it would have had character. My e39 was approx. £37k when new and it's not like it's one of the expected "first of the new" models which always have a few teething problems.

Andy S, Stick with one of the last E34's and get one well specced with leather and air. You will not be disappointed. Theres a thread on the BMWCAR forum presently you may be interested in called "530i-Charisma bypass?" which does not just focus on the quality issues of the e39 but the total lack of character. Believe me this one hit the nail on the head for me.

Trevor