BMW 5series - what to lookout for?

[Stormhammer]

hey - I'm looking at nabbing a mid 90s BMW 525i - and just seeing if anyone knew what to look out for? I heard that the 5 series are the most reliable of the BMWs, but I've looked at one that has had its tranny replaced, another has a weak reverse, and nothing mentioned of the sort in other ads - just a red warning flag to me, so I thought I'd come on here and ask away :D

much appreciated, and reps to helpful responses

[Z U L8R]

most early 90 european cars were using biodegradable wiring harness, therefore overtime the insulation around the wires becomes very brittle and if you go moving harnesses that have been in the same place for 15+ years, you're gonna have electrical woes.

the transmissions aren't notorious, you get one with a bad one here and there. the older bmw's are in my opinion more reliable than the new ones, cause the new ones are so plasticy, a lot more metal on the old ones.

most common thing on any bmw is the power steering lines always leak. other than that u might have to replace a lower control arm or radial arm bushing, both are fairly easy and not that expensive. first thing i'd do if i were looking at buying that car is i'd take off the oil cap and look for signs of sludge/not changing the oil enough. if it's been pretty well maintained as far as oil changes go ahead. if he says "car's fine, it's just overheating and i haven't had time to fix it" the head gaskets probably blown.

good luck
Dave

[chuck]

most early 90 european cars were using biodegradable wiring harness, therefore overtime the insulation around the wires becomes very brittle and if you go moving harnesses that have been in the same place for 15+ years, you're gonna have electrical woes.

I had a 94 318 and had SOOOOOOOOOOO much trouble with the electrical system, I even went as far as taking the car to the bimmers south and 'test ran' common failing components and we could never narrow down the problem, ended up selling the car, current owner is still having same issues.

[Z U L8R]

lol @ chuck ^

i have all 4 brand new eibach blackish grey springs for an e36 bmw, i'll let em go for $75 lol