The Tourings of Oz

[Boom n Zoom]

Well, here is all that is on offer here in Oz in the form of Tourings at the moment (in fact for the last five weeks that I have been looking). We sadly only ever got the 525iT in (mostly) Automatic form, there are a few Manuals but they are few and far between.

The vehicles listed below are not in any specific order but it is probably in the order I am having to consider them as I need a replacement for the Wifes V6 Mitsubishi Verada MY'00. Believe me when I say it will be a step forward, the e34's have all the features and more that the Verada has and are far, far better to drive.

The BIG surprise are the last two, and in particular the final version, Yes they both 'only' have the Euro Spec 3.6, but I ain't buying the Wife a sensual Touring like this, as for starters she prefers to not drive a Manual. Not to mention that she is is not a, shall we say, car friendly person.

Before you all flame me on this I would like to bring to order the fact that both of the M5T's are built up from existing Australian Complianced 525iT's and 'imported' LHD M5 Sedans.


So either I forget about my Garage for another few years and get the '92 Avus Blue M5 (my personal pick as it has everything I want) but have nowhere to keep it out of the weather 24/7 and have to Re-Comfortize the 540 Sedan, or simply get the '94 525i and a garage to not only keep them both in but have somewhere to work out of the weather.

The 'Exclusivity' of owning an real M5 Touring (even if it is built up) is a big, big lure, but the prices are making my eyes water.

'94 525iT (http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=9148759&keywords=touring&tsrc=allcarhome&__Ntk=CarAll&__Nne=15&__Dx=mode%20matchany&__D=touring&silo=1011&seot=1&__sid=11FED5ACB799&__N=1216%201247%201252%201282%204294967079%2042947 29575%204294966850&__Ns=pCar_RankSort_Int32|1||pCar_PriceSort_Decimal |1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&__Qpb=true&__Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Cr=2&__Ntt=touring&trecs=3)

'93 M5T (http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=8321687&keywords=touring&tsrc=allcarhome&__Ntk=CarAll&__Nne=15&__Dx=mode%20matchany&__D=touring&silo=1011&seot=1&__sid=11FED5ACB799&__N=1216%201247%201252%201282%204294967079%2042947 29575%204294966850&__Ns=pCar_RankSort_Int32|1||pCar_PriceSort_Decimal |1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&__Qpb=true&__Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Cr=1&__Ntt=touring&trecs=3)

'92 M5T (http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=8994642&__Qpb=true&Cr=2&__Ns=pCar_RankSort_Int32|1||pCar_PriceSort_Decimal |1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&keywords=&__N=1216%201247%201252%201282%204294967079%2042947 29565%204294966843%204294966827&SearchAction=N&silo=1011&seot=1&tsrc=allcarhome&__Nne=15&trecs=5&__sid=11FED5ACB799) Read the description on this one as it explains the main reason we don't have M5T's here.

[zubbie]

An avus blue M5 is hard to ignore

[t.wak]

The Avus blue one is pure sex... A friend has seen it in the flesh at a show and he said it was a perfect conversion.

Here's my beast that I picked up for under 2k, made it back from Perth ;) ... As you can see without a lack of trouble haha.. Luckily I packed thermostat, waterpump, top and bottom hose.... :)

[ShapeShifter]

Be good to yourself, and buy the M5T and give her the sedan.
Pretty easy, no?

[JoeFVaz]

Be good to yourself, and buy the M5T and give her the sedan.
Pretty easy, no?

+1!!! The M5T is really hot!

[AquilaBMW]

What would be the major downside to No Garage? When would you be able to build the Garage if you got the Avus Blue M5T?

Not that it is my business, but if it means stretching the budget extensively to get the M5T, what about maintenance? Also, will the Mrs. be okay with the Sedan 540? And if she is not that car friendly, are you in a way condemning the 540?

Just playing devil's advocate here mate.

[attack eagle]

we only got tourings here as automatics too.

525 and 530 only...

[SSkoda]

perhaps you should import something from the UK. Gotta be cheaper than those insane prices!

[jingjoh]

I been looking for a touring for ages also, last year when I was not thinking about one I saw 2 of them both 93/94 in top condition for around 7 grand, since then nothing, the last 6 months only the one you have posted the URL for....

[CleanE34]

i think oz and uk got better tourings than everyone else,except germany of course.

[AquilaBMW]

perhaps you should import something from the UK. Gotta be cheaper than those insane prices!

Plans to expand your business mate? :evil2

[whiskychaser]

Just buy this 6 speed. Convert it to RHD and be done. Who else will have one?:
http://www.motorbase.com/classifieds/viewad.ehtml?a=1084093734;

[M Quick]

Just buy this 6 speed. Convert it to RHD and be done. Who else will have one?:
http://www.motorbase.com/classifieds/viewad.ehtml?a=1084093734;


:drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:

Black on black, 6speed, 95" etc etc, good damn, i think i'll put my cars up for sale and hope to god that it's still for sale if i get ahold of the cash :drool: thank god it's still LHD!

[rayzah blade]

That avus is just pure secks. good find!!

[Boom n Zoom]

Zubbie, Yes, very, very hard to ignore. It's just so bloody nice!

t.wak, Nice find man! So the trip back from Perth was .... eventful? Nice thinking on the cooling system items packed. That is a steal at 2K you bastard!! ;). So the Avus Blue M5T is that good, it certainly reads that way, thanks for the info.

PorscheDude, Yeah I am beginning to lean that way, but after all the work I have put into the 540 to bring it to trackworth status it would be a shame to have to bail out now and have it as a shopping trolly. Even so, maybe the 525iT will win the day.

JoeFVaz, you better believe it!!! :)

Aquila, Damn mate you do make good points. The major downside to no Garage is the hampered ability to work on anything and leaving the cars out in the extremely harsh Australian sun, yep even in Winter as we don't get anything like snow here.
As for the maintenance side of things it does concern me a little with the thought of having an S38B36 and an M60 to look after, but I do have the skillbase to do the work (Ex Toyota Dealership Mechanic by trade) so that is not a problem. The major concern is as you say, the stretch to purchase plus what 'could' happen in the first say two years of ownership before the Garage was purchased to make life easier to keep them both.

If I was to recomfortize the 540 (Pull the Koni's, possibly swap out the Eibach's, swap out the solid thrustarm bushes for 750iL units, swap out the RD Swaybars and maybe put some 16" rims on it. Work that I currently have no time to do until at least late November) At least I can keep a closer eye on it as the love would still be there, unlike the distain I have for the Mitsubishi currently. It's not that the Wife is hard on cars, it's just the lack of understanding that leads to me having to keep a closer eye on things. But when we are both on a show we're both doing some serious hours for at least a month at a time or more, 6 days a week. So the maintenance program goes out the window during that time.
Seriously Aquila, thankyou for making me think even more about the possibility of this purchase, even though it is a stunning example, it's made me consider the options a little more deeply and if it is a wise decision at this juncture. :)

AE, I thought you guys got the 540iT's as well? Wow! That is a surprise to me. Thanks for the heads-up. BTW I 'still' love the look of your Touring it is (was?) a stunning example. :)

SSkoda, Yeah I have been looking over that way, there was a e34 Alpina B10 (the 540iA based Sedan version) at Birds a couple of years back that caught my eye. The biggest problem to overcome is the import duties and taxes that Australian Customs place on things of this nature, but still it can be done if you have the time and financial abilities to do so, sadly for me this isn't an option at the moment.

jingjoh, Ha so your on the lookout too? There was a few of them about lastyear, but it has been quiet this year .... they will come about again just with even more K's on them, but that's ok. Good luck with your search are you on eurocca.net at all?


whiskychaser, Well that would definately be a super special M5T, we have two or three M5 S38B38/6 sedans in the country that were all privately imported, this would be great to add to the list. But it's about AUST$8K to get the importation then you have to 'deal' with Australian customs and that apparently can be very costly, then the conversion to RHD is around the 8-10K mark (Complianced) so whilst it would be a great thing to do I don't think I could consider it at the present time. Sorry mate, but thank you very much for pointing this one out, I appreciate it! :)

Miche, You should go after it mate, it looks like it would be a great buy. :)

In conclusion, guys thank you all very much for your information and opinions I appreciate them all. It's nice to have people that will give it to you straight and make you think again about something that you had given up as a lost cause.
Thanks very much guys.

[jingjoh]

Hey mate, no, whats euroca.net? aussie site? looking now...

I got Eibachs and boge gas in my 540 with 17's and it rides really well considering, its taken a few weeks to settle down since replacing every joint and bush in the front end again but its driving so tight and sweet I am itching to look into the 3.15LSD swap again, need to check my ratio first just to be sure its 2.86 (late model 1994) and would love to hear from any OZ forumers who have done this swap and what the real changes have been to off the line response and 0-100 times.

Also am looking for a rear muffler, Eisenmann is ridiculous priced here, 2400 bucks!! In Germany you can buy the rear muffler for our car for 740 euro, but they wont sell to me! :mad The US sellers want 1200 bucks for the can. Might have to ask a German friend to buy it and ship it to me...

Of course if anyone has a second hand exhaust to suit a 540 in Australia, remus or similar, I would be interested :eek::D

[t.wak]

3.15 LSD is the best thing about my car... DO IT!!! ;)

[jingjoh]

Have you timed it in off the line acceleration since fitting it? Or any well known aussie tanks you come up against that you couldnt stay with before the swap?? Its a lot of work so I want to be convinced :D LOL.

I made the first move to adding a Touring to the garage today, I ordered a set of Style 42 wheels while they were still available! Just over a grand to my door for a brand new set of 17's with hubcentric rings. Would have loved to have gotten more style 5's but they are all gone in the US and EU now. The 42's are a worthy second choice though :lol

[M Quick]

whiskychaser, Well that would definately be a super special M5T, we have two or three M5 S38B38/6 sedans in the country that were all privately imported, this would be great to add to the list. But it's about AUST$8K to get the importation then you have to 'deal' with Australian customs and that apparently can be very costly, then the conversion to RHD is around the 8-10K mark (Complianced) so whilst it would be a great thing to do I don't think I could consider it at the present time. Sorry mate, but thank you very much for pointing this one out, I appreciate it! :)

Miche, You should go after it mate, it looks like it would be a great buy. :)

In conclusion, guys thank you all very much for your information and opinions I appreciate them all. It's nice to have people that will give it to you straight and make you think again about something that you had given up as a lost cause.
Thanks very much guys.


Oh man, that car was so awesome it's already SOLD! :(
Damn, it had it all! And mhmmm, that would have been a great buy indeed!


I hope you get a nice e34 for yourself though! Go for a touring prefferably! 540i touring would be nice too! Aslong as you find a clean one in great condition! You got 540i tourings in austria, yes? Manuals too?