Opinions please!

[strayts]

Hey all, some of you might remember me from my 1990 535i/5 I had until a couple years ago. I did quite a bit of work to it (bushings, wheels, struts, e28 m5 clutch w/ e9 flywheel, stereo, etc etc), and a drunk hit it outside my house and ran.

Long story short, I went bimmer-less for about 2 years then picked up a really clean E36 328i, but I've always wanted to be back in an E34.

There's a guy selling a 1990 535i/5 nearby with 215k on it for $1.6k. The car needs a headgasket, which is obv. a big deal but not unsurmountable. I've never done a head gasket before, but the idea doesn't scare me as I've done basically everything but a head gasket on BMWs at this point.

I checked the car out today and it is in pretty good cosmetic shape. The interior is CLEAN. The suspension definitely needs a refresh, but that's stuff that I've done before and wouldn't be super hard. Just a few weekends and a lot of beer :). The car starts right up and runs very smoothly. Clutch is good. Didn't drive it fast enough to check the condition of the thrust arm bushings.

Details about the HG: the seller showed me a split in the hose that comes down from the coolant expansion tank. He says that one day the low coolant error came up so he investigated and found coolant pouring out of the hose. He claims that he didn't ever let it overheat or anything, but I'm hesitant to believe him. The coolant that was coming out was milkshakey, so obviously the gasket has failed. I did notice that there wasn't any milkshake on the dipstick or under the oil cap, though. Anyways, it looks like it would at the very least need a head gasket and hoses to get running again. Again, I've never done this particular job so just looking for some feedback.

I'm thinking about offering him $1,050.

TL;DR; Looking at an E34 535i/5 with 215k and a bad HG. Overall good cosmetic condition. I'm handy and good at figuring mechanical things out. Seller has it listed for $1.6k.

[S61Dan]

215k with bhg? I would offer like 500 bucks...

[me78569]

worth way way way less than $1600 if it was VERY clean and a 5 speed maybe $1000 but really $800 or less sounds about right.


I wouldn't be worried about a hg job though.

[strayts]

215k with bhg? I would offer like 500 bucks...

Yeah after typing all that I'm tending to agree with you. The dude told me that he turned down an offer for $950. I think he's crazy but he'll probably get desperate in a few weeks.

- - - Updated - - -


worth way way way less than $1600 if it was VERY clean and a 5 speed maybe $1000.

Yeah it's not VERY clean. After a really good detail it's maybe a 6.5/10 or 7/10 and that's only b/c the clear coat is solid and everything works.

[me78569]

yea 6.5/10 with 215k means it is going to need $1000 worth of front end and the labor of a head gasket. $500-800 sounds about right.

[strayts]

yea 6.5/10 with 215k means it is going to need $1000 worth of front end and the labor of a head gasket. $500-800 sounds about right.

haha thanks you are the voice of reason. I won't do anything stupid like offer more than $800 then. I'd rather just buy a nice example from a forum member, honestly. Those just don't come around often :).

[S61Dan]

Just keep searching around, took me months to find one and it was in MD (I live in PA)

[ross1]

$1050, we are a bunch of high rollers here.

Assuming a HG failure and the head isn't warped you can be done for ~$200 in parts. There won't be folks in line at $1600 but the seller might have a hard time swallowing $500 as suggested. If you think the car merits repair do your best to get the price down. All done the car is worth $2500 on average.