jac1d
07-06-2009, 11:43 PM
Hi Everyone,
Well after 60 days of moving 4000 miles, setting up at the new house and picking up the cars I bought over the net I am now sitting with two E34s in the driveway.
I've got the 1995 540i in Oxford/Beige with 140K miles on it. My wife has the 1992 525i in Kashmir/Beige with 87K miles on it. Both cars are auto boxes.
The 525 is a one owner, always dealer serviced car that (and I know this is thrown around a lot on the forums but...) drives like new. And I mean it. The previous owner was fanatical and I have the entire service history from the day he bought it, all the keys, manuals, everything. When you climb in you think wow, this thing can't be more than a few years old.
And the engine in the 525i. Smooth and creamy. I had read extensively that the 525i was a bit short in the power department. Driving both cars back to back every day I'd have to say I prefer the 525i. It's ideal as a family car in a suburban setting. It works great for short runs and it cruises effortlessly on the freeway.
I wanted to thank everyone who helped me prep the PPI form in my sig. It meant we purchased two excellent cars, sight unseen. The 540i is a bit more worn than the 525, as you might imagine given the difference in mileage. Mechanically it is still excellent and the entire front end and brakes were recently down, but the paint is about 7/10, with some of the clearcoat off around the edge of the windshield.
I seem to have a very mild rock in the seats when launching from a stop or stopping short, it strikes me as probably a loose bolt on the seat frame at the base. Has anyone else experienced this?
The only other thing that is mildly annoying on the 540i is that the car sat for a bit while I was moving and the rear window regulators have a tendency to stick. I tap on the door panel while operating the window switch frees them up and they work for a day or so and then stick again. Is there a way to lubricate them to stop this from happening?
Also, the 525i has a second cigarette lighter in the center console in the back, which is great for the kid's DVD player, but the 540i doesn't have it. Is that a common feature?
One of the factory remotes for the door locks is dead on the 525i (it lights up and I've tried swapping chips with the working remote and it still doesn't work). It's the square three button unit, looking very vintage mid-90's. Are these still available?
Loving the cars and I have full manuals for both so it anyone needs anything looked up, I can help. I also have things like the laminated one page OBC operation card etc that I will scan and post when I get a chance.
The best part of the 525i purchase (which was from the local dealer that sold it new) was that the senior sales rep who sold the car new was still with the dealership, loves the E34 and spent over a half an hour giving me the full tutorial they used to give on delivery back in the day. He went through OBC operation, lots of little features and facts about the cars. It was a great experience, especially for such an old car.
I'll try and get some picks up soon. I spent a few hours yesterday doing a Mother's three stage on the hood and trunk with a Mother's Powerball 4Paint, but I ran out of battery power along the way so I need to do the rest of the 540i on the next dry day.
-Jeff
Well after 60 days of moving 4000 miles, setting up at the new house and picking up the cars I bought over the net I am now sitting with two E34s in the driveway.
I've got the 1995 540i in Oxford/Beige with 140K miles on it. My wife has the 1992 525i in Kashmir/Beige with 87K miles on it. Both cars are auto boxes.
The 525 is a one owner, always dealer serviced car that (and I know this is thrown around a lot on the forums but...) drives like new. And I mean it. The previous owner was fanatical and I have the entire service history from the day he bought it, all the keys, manuals, everything. When you climb in you think wow, this thing can't be more than a few years old.
And the engine in the 525i. Smooth and creamy. I had read extensively that the 525i was a bit short in the power department. Driving both cars back to back every day I'd have to say I prefer the 525i. It's ideal as a family car in a suburban setting. It works great for short runs and it cruises effortlessly on the freeway.
I wanted to thank everyone who helped me prep the PPI form in my sig. It meant we purchased two excellent cars, sight unseen. The 540i is a bit more worn than the 525, as you might imagine given the difference in mileage. Mechanically it is still excellent and the entire front end and brakes were recently down, but the paint is about 7/10, with some of the clearcoat off around the edge of the windshield.
I seem to have a very mild rock in the seats when launching from a stop or stopping short, it strikes me as probably a loose bolt on the seat frame at the base. Has anyone else experienced this?
The only other thing that is mildly annoying on the 540i is that the car sat for a bit while I was moving and the rear window regulators have a tendency to stick. I tap on the door panel while operating the window switch frees them up and they work for a day or so and then stick again. Is there a way to lubricate them to stop this from happening?
Also, the 525i has a second cigarette lighter in the center console in the back, which is great for the kid's DVD player, but the 540i doesn't have it. Is that a common feature?
One of the factory remotes for the door locks is dead on the 525i (it lights up and I've tried swapping chips with the working remote and it still doesn't work). It's the square three button unit, looking very vintage mid-90's. Are these still available?
Loving the cars and I have full manuals for both so it anyone needs anything looked up, I can help. I also have things like the laminated one page OBC operation card etc that I will scan and post when I get a chance.
The best part of the 525i purchase (which was from the local dealer that sold it new) was that the senior sales rep who sold the car new was still with the dealership, loves the E34 and spent over a half an hour giving me the full tutorial they used to give on delivery back in the day. He went through OBC operation, lots of little features and facts about the cars. It was a great experience, especially for such an old car.
I'll try and get some picks up soon. I spent a few hours yesterday doing a Mother's three stage on the hood and trunk with a Mother's Powerball 4Paint, but I ran out of battery power along the way so I need to do the rest of the 540i on the next dry day.
-Jeff