Buying a BMW 730iL E32 1994 as my first ever vehicle

[RansikaWimhan]

Will buying a BMW 730iL E32 1994 be a good deal . Both cars I found have really low mileage for a oldcar. Its 60K and 70K . Is there a catch? I really need help since its going to be my first ever vehicle and don't want to be stuck in a garage all day.

[kadsa98]

1 hour ago, RansikaWimhan said:

Will buying a BMW 730iL E32 1994 be a good deal . Both cars I found have really low mileage for a oldcar. Its 60K and 70K . Is there a catch? I really need help since its going to be my first ever vehicle and don't want to be stuck in a garage all day.

The catch is, you will be spending all your time at a garage and your wallet will be drained.

[kush]

it may be low mileage cos most of the time would have been stuck in the garage. 

Nice vehicle if you have deep pockets and do not run that much

[AVANTE]

2 hours ago, kush said:

it may be low mileage cos most of the time would have been stuck in the garage. 

Nice vehicle if you have deep pockets and do not run that much

Electronics aside, are the engines & suspension really that complex on those cars? Say, relative to an E46? 

[CNX]

Not that it's too complex. It's just that sourcing parts will be difficult, people trained to work on these are rare and most of the plastic and rubber bits would have aged and deteriorated/become brittle leading to even a simple repair taking a long time due to delays in sourcing parts and finding skilled labour. 

[tiv]

9 hours ago, RansikaWimhan said:

Will buying a BMW 730iL E32 1994 be a good deal . Both cars I found have really low mileage for a oldcar. Its 60K and 70K . Is there a catch? I really need help since its going to be my first ever vehicle and don't want to be stuck in a garage all day.

Lovely car, but not the recipe for a beginner. 

As a first car I believe you expect reliability 

A to b and all that, cheap to run 

None of the above in this car sadly 

More or less for a intermediate as a weekend project till it's in good nick. If you have the funds, buy it cheap as a hobby car, rebuild it slowly, while you have a main daily runner.

 

But if you are scraping savings and getting into loans leases, go far far away from these, 

The involved costs and requirement of parts and attention is far beyond an average user and investment point of view, just a black hole

Edited March 10, 2020 by tiv

[sathyajithj99]

E32  I saw at Ceylon Motor Show 

 

[ajm]

11 minutes ago, sathyajithj99 said:

E32  I saw at Ceylon Motor Show 

 

 

wonder what is the status of these electro mechanical systems under our weather after 26 years. I would expect at least 3 million additional needed to get it to reasonable running quality. lovely car though..

Edited March 10, 2020 by ajm

[AVANTE]

2 hours ago, sathyajithj99 said:

E32  I saw at Ceylon Motor Show 

 

You know you are in a german car when it has a fax machine in it.

Imagine take a smart girl out on a date and talking about those spring pressure controlling devices on the wipers. 

Freaking Deutsche nerds. 

[Devinda_Z]

3 hours ago, CNX said:

Not that it's too complex. It's just that sourcing parts will be difficult, people trained to work on these are rare and most of the plastic and rubber bits would have aged and deteriorated/become brittle leading to even a simple repair taking a long time due to delays in sourcing parts and finding skilled labour. 

@CNX there are specialist workshops that have both the expertise and experience with handling these for an example Ultimate Motorworks in Werahera, Boralesgamuwa

Concur with your point regarding the part sourcing lead times - the good news though is that BMW makes replacement parts for even these older models but it's the process of getting them down that's a nightmare now thanks to how overzealous local customs has become :( 

[Devinda_Z]

On 3/10/2020 at 11:42 AM, ajm said:

wonder what is the status of these electro mechanical systems under our weather after 26 years. I would expect at least 3 million additional needed to get it to reasonable running quality. lovely car though..

Come now @ajm i think we can all agree with the point you're trying to make that an older Euro car will cost more money than a similarly priced conventional (Japanese) option but let's not go around arbitrarily throwing around absolute figures without even having seen the particular specimen (i assume :D) in question.

It's not fair to scare off @RansikaWimhan - is it the Burgundy one that is at the care sale in Malabe?

Edited March 12, 2020 by Devinda_Z
typo

[speed8]

As the others have said, an older 7 Series is not the easiest car to own and maintain, more so as your first vehicle. Parts are going to be rare and will most probably need to be shipped from abroad. You could be looking at wasting considerable time at garages if you get particularly unlucky with things breaking at the most inopportune of times.

If you are looking at BMWs specifically, why not opt for a E36 3 Series model? Similar vintage, but more common. However, speaking in the Sri Lankan context, Euro cars are not as easy to own as their Japanese counterparts. You need to have dedication, patience and some cash as well to keep them on the road.

The driving experience ought to be worth it though!

Edited March 10, 2020 by speed8

[Twin Turbo]

14 hours ago, AVANTE said:

You know you are in a german car when it has a fax machine in it.

Imagine take a smart girl out on a date and talking about those spring pressure controlling devices on the wipers. 

Freaking Deutsche nerds. 

Don't get the v8 with the self levelling suspension,..

[Devinda_Z]

On 3/11/2020 at 4:40 AM, Twin Turbo said:

Don't get the v8 with the self levelling suspension,..

@Twin Turbo party pooper ??

[Supra_Natural]

If it's your first car, a 30 year old highly complex BMW would not be the ideal call. If you have your heart set on a BM, then an E34 5 Series may be a better bet as they are very solidly built and have a good support network worldwide and in SL. 

If you want something completely trouble free though, look for something newer, and preferably Japanese (Or even certain Koreans).

Man I cannot believe I just typed that... Age catching up, I guess.

Then again, if you don't mind some garage time and want to actively be involved in the running and maintenance of your car on a molecular level, by all means, go Euro.

[vag2]

It's a dream restoration project I would like to do, along with an S-class.... after I retire.