1990 525 and 1988 E30 325 - Father & Son Rides

[coastdog]

Just bought my 1990 525 in September and my son picked up an '88 E30 325 last weekend. I guess there's no turning back now ....

[Blackice]

Nice looking cars boys

Who is the photographer ?

These photos rock !

[Mr. Red]

wow! nice cars man! is that 525i a japanese import by any chance?

[s_a_c]

Wow really nice cars they both look well maintained.

[nuts4bmw]

that e34 looks an awful lot like the one they had for sale at Tyee imports on the island.

[coastdog]

All photo credits have to go to my handy Nikon point n' shoot ....
and yes, this was the very one from Tyee Imports, direct from Japan. 75000 kms on the dial. The body is straight, interior is a 9, you can't tell from the pics but it needs paint. Did a bunch of preventative stuff right away, timing belt, belts, hoses, ignition harness, rotor & 'cap, LCM, valve adjustment and the big one - rear camber kit for the lowered suspension (couldn't get the alignment right). Bought all the parts online much cheaper than expected - Pelican, Auto Parts Online, BimmerParts, etc. even found a couple of decent mechanics not afraid to work on the Bimmer (and a couple not willing to touch it ..!?!) So far it seems to be a great car (could use a bit more power and some more low end torque ...)

[Cacciatore08]

Nice E34, looks clean...

Deffinetly a J Spec car tho... Is it M50 or M20?

Originally Posted by nuts4bmw that e34 looks an awful lot like the one they had for sale at Tyee imports on the island.

Do you own a M540I ? Post some pictures, I think I know the car. There's not many around.

[coastdog]

If I didn't run out out and buy the first decent BMW I found, I might have looked for a M540. Prior to September, if anyone asked me about a 540 or even an 'M' I would have stammered like an idiot. It's funny how much you learn after you buy something!
Still it is a very clean car and drives great. I'm starting to think that by the time I paint this puppy I could have gone out and bought an M540 ..... BTW it's an M20

[phantom]

Both your E34 and your son's E30 look super good to me. Nice work with the camera!

[nuts4bmw]

Do you own a M540I ? Post some pictures, I think I know the car. There's not many around.[/quote]

Yes I do own an M540i.......there were only 32 ever built!There are a few pics of it in the forums from the meet we had on Nov. 2nd.

[Cacciatore08]

Originally Posted by nuts4bmw Do you own a M540I ? Post some pictures, I think I know the car. There's not many around. Yes I do own an M540i.......there were only 32 ever built!There are a few pics of it in the forums from the meet we had on Nov. 2nd.

Ya, that's the same car, you bought it from Splendid Auto? Bob owns the company?

I think the car has like upper 200,000kms on it? I think it was traded into Parkshore BMW, I saw it being detailed at a local place back in August, I think.

Sorry, I don't mean to thread jack, but at least it's E34 related content.


I might be looking into buying a 1990 535i or a 1994 530i, I can't figure out if i like the E34 or not yet, mixed feelings.

While it has decent power, the weight dicourages me (1600kg). I've been told the V8's are great for reliablity reasons...

[nuts4bmw]

yup that's the one, and yes it does have some K's on it, 285, which still only averages out to just under 21,000 km/year,......and yes the V8 is a great motor, I love it with the 6 speed manual.

Personally I've always loved the e28, e34, heavy or not & I really like the e39 as well. To get an M540i the model choice was pretty limited LOL

[Cacciatore08]

Originally Posted by nuts4bmw yup that's the one, and yes it does have some K's on it, 285, which still only averages out to just under 21,000 km/year,......and yes the V8 is a great motor, I love it with the 6 speed manual. Personally I've always loved the e28, e34, heavy or not & I really like the e39 as well. To get an M540i the model choice was pretty limited LOL

That M540i is really nice, I considred buying it when I first saw it. But then I saw the price tag ( I think he wanted $16,000 or something) ahah... I coudn't believe the condition for the milage! It was detailed at Blitz in North Vancouver, they do good work. Bob is a super nice guy, he has an amazing inventory of used German cars.

I like everything on the M540i but the mirrors, not a fan of those.

What a small world ahah, is there any performance increase over a stock 1995 540i, is it just appearence?

There's a lot of E34's around, they seem like decent cars.

Cheers

[nuts4bmw]

Basically the M540i is all M5 componentry except the motor. The M60 V8 motor in the M540i is no different than a standard M60 in any other model.

As for the price of the car I thought it reasonable for the fact it is basically an M5, the overall condition of the car, and most importantly it one of 32 cars EVER produced! I can see this car only appreciate over the years to come. As an added bonus, the car is eligable for collector plates at age 15 instead of 25 because it's a limited production car. So Starting in 2010 I'll be paying about $350.00 per year for insurance!!!!How cool is that?

[marrymathew21]

Wow the car really looks great.