Highest mileage E34 on the road, on the forum

[HugeGernsback]

193k on my 535i. Everything is original from what I can tell, except for the controls arms and tie rods which I replaced shortly after purchasing it. Those babies were original, and good lord were they bad

[Old525i]

1990 E34 stick with M20 engine. 250,000 miles, daily driver.

[struka]

update on mine:
1992 525 5spd with 320,000 miles
Daily Driver

My miles wont go as much as they used to. I would drive about 27-30k miles a year but now I only drive 3-5k miles a year.

[uscharalph]

Funny the 89 525i that I sold years ago, the odometer only went up to 299,999. I guess they didn't figure that they would last that long. Problem was that with the M20 engine, that you had to change the timing belt every 60,000 miles, so I kept a mileage sheet in the car and used the trip meter to keep track. There was 310,000 miles on it when I sold it.

[XAlt]

Funny the 89 525i that I sold years ago, the odometer only went up to 299,999. I guess they didn't figure that they would last that long. Problem was that with the M20 engine, that you had to change the timing belt every 60,000 miles, so I kept a mileage sheet in the car and used the trip meter to keep track. There was 306,000 miles on it when I sold it.

The 299k bug was fixed in late 1989 or so, luckily enough.

[fo3]

Yeah mines the first of the m50s, sept 1990, and it now has 311,000kms

[E24man]

1995 4.6 Switch-Tronic Touring with just over 160k miles and still running beautifully.

[Tre0Tre34]

Born in June of 89. My 535/5 has 318,000 miles and I've been ramping up the mileage over the last year with about 4k in roadtrip action and many trips up the mountains for skiing. It loves to cruise at altitude never needing to leave 5th gear, and handles nasty weather with aplomb when equipped with the stock 15's with blizzaks.

I love these cars.

[XAlt]

1995 4.6 Switch-Tronic Touring with just over 160k miles and still running beautifully.

We all want to know how that autobox is set up

[davidgtrr34]

I have a 95 with m50 that is at 247k that still runs perfect even though the rear subframe is falling out because of corrosion, It didn't help when i welded the diff and had destroyed subframe bushings so the subframe mounting bolt got torn out. Oh and did I mention that I have daily drove this car for 4 years and never serviced it.

[BleedsBlue]

We all want to know how that autobox is set up

Not really

It's an Alpina, to be clear. They're pretty good.

[prash]

About to turn 249K miles ~ 398,000km. M60

[123zorn]

I've got 295K on my early 1990 535i/5. Never done an alternator on the E34, but have done the head and cooling system with a clutch (recently got rid of that annoying and heavy dual mass setup with an E28 M5 flywheel). It is a very robust car and pretty simple to work on, which makes high mileage repairs somewhat viable when/if they do happen. To be honest, its hard to consider a newer BMW as none of the newer motors are near as bulletproof as the ancient and admittedly archaic M30. The M30, if cooling is good and oil is changed, is virtually an unlimited mileage motor and its supporting systems (fuel, ECM, spark) are very strong as well.

My beloved E28 '85 535i/5 that ran like a champ was well over 550K and 80+ track days when I lost it to a deer. I did end up replacing the getrag 265 from a junkyard at ~400K in the E28 when second gear got too noisy and did go through 2 alternators and 1 clutch in its life.

My BMWs have been reliable to a fault. Now my Honda Civic, never had a car leave me as frequently as this car with under 130K on the clock and its a one-owner car with great maintenance, where did Honda get a rep for reliability after 6 cap and rotor failures, 3 distributors, 1 fuel pump, and 1 ECM. Why I still have it, I don't know other than its a throwaway car when it snows.

[kouks]

Update: Rebuilt top of engine and fully rebuilt trans, 246,000 miles and going strong, daughter drives the M50TU everywhere with no complaints.

Its great to see so many of these cars going forever, and so many above 300,000.

[XAlt]

Not really

It's an Alpina, to be clear. They're pretty good.

You know, the two little buttons on the steering wheel?

[mazzman]

1995 530i 5 speed 220,000 miles on a nikasil block. They all don't blow up and melt.

[The Chauffeur]

Got mine ('91 M50 stick ) with 198k in mid 2016; 202k so far. I'm just the second owner (), and the PO, although not mechanically inclined, was always very meticulous about maintenance. He gave me a big stack of files and receipts he kept from all the work done, and I don't see any major or concerning stuff.

So far, I've basically just replaced dry-rotted rubber, the muffler, and cosmetic stuff. Car feels healthy, especially for its age, and I hope it lasts at least another 27 years!!! (One can only dream... )

[moroza]

4/93 530iT, 266k miles on the body, ~210k on the 2/98 M62 and matching 6-speed. The engine is flawless, puts down 264hp/296ft-lb at the wheels, starts quick and strong down to -16C, consumes <1L of oil between changes (10-14k miles on top-shelf full synthetic), and over 8 years of fuel receipts gets ~16mpg city, ~23mpg highway, ~20 combined. Leaks nothing but the only original seals are the headgaskets. The transmission synchros are stiff when cold, but not crunchy. The diff has unknown miles, is dead silent except in tight turns (LSD clutch groan), and when filled with oil, has *zero* play detectable by hand. This is some well-made hardware! Wish I could say the same for the suspension and electrics...

[fo3]

gets ~16mpg city, ~23mpg highway, ~20 combined.

Better than my 525 which is 19mpg combined. It drinks heaps during acceleration due to lack of torque. It's happy at constant highway speeds but that's impossible with traffic, bad drivers and fast lane road hogs. So even then it's constant brake and accelerate but it could do 29mpg if not stuck behind traffic on highways and freeways.

[moroza]

Driving style has a lot to do with combined mileage. I don't normally use mine to commute, and even with the morons that (over)populate our roads, I rarely use my brakes on the highway. I used to get about 16 combined.

[jehu]

rolled 358,000 tonight.

next week going to try and have some things done.

Firm the rear Koni's a turn and re-weld one of the Moosehead mounts, replace the water hose at the expansion tank/ water manifold, swap in another cruise control, replace the right tie rod, find and fix an AC leak and straighten out a squealing parking brake.

in a few weeks once Snow has be banished again on go new Michelin Pilot Super Sports on the M Systems which hopefully I will clean up and re-spray with some Plasti-Dip [silver and black approximating the original]

[gcampz39]

Hi. I have a 1991 BMW 535i with M-Technic that I imported from Germany. It currently has 439,000 Kilometers which is about 272,000 miles. I love this car and am looking to restore it. I would like to keep this car until it falls apart. My car is stock with exception of Kersher 3 piece 17 inch wheels and an Eisenmann exhaust. Recently replaced the thermostat, water pump, alternator and battery. It now feels like my clutch is slipping. I will replace the clutch soon and the flywheel while I am at it. I think as long as the maintenance is done on these cars, they will run for a very long time.

[jehu]

already 362k bought it with around 150,000 in around early 2014 .didn't start driving it till August 2014.

[e32 lover]

370,000ks on a 89 525i just blew a headgasket for the first time.

330,000ks on 535is, has had several different heads and motors.

[moroza]

Jehu seems to get the award so far, at 362k miles (582 megameters).