1983 BMW 5 Series Reviews - Page 2 of 2

Fan Belt, Central locking, air con needs re gassing. hard to start in the cold. cracked dash.

The car is slow unless really revved hard. comford it great. fuel consumption is average for a 6 cyc. looks good.

Radiator leaks.

Water pump problems.

Poor fuel economy.

Dash stopped working- lights and odometer.

Engine wear quickly with frequent oil changes, and if poor quality products are used.

Transmission issues- seal converter.

A/C works poorly when thick motor oil is used e.g. above 15W40.

Great comfort and stable at 140 km/h.

Excellent for city driving.

Reliable, but many mechanics have poor understanding of these cars and can easily stuff up.

Would buy another E28 provided its in good condition and serviced on time.

Excellent performance when high quality products are used- revs like crazy.

The car had been neglected mechanically, but the bodywork and interior were in a nice clean and tidy condition. Most important job was having the timing belt changed on the engine, this work was entrusted to a specialist. watch out for leaks from the front crankshaft oil seal, once this gets on to the belt, then it will fail., destroying the engine in the process.{M20 engines}. A new water pump was fitted, along with a new timing belt jockey tensioner. The car was soon put back into good order, with new gas filled dampers fitted all round, brake drums and discs and new linings. The rest was the expected servicing requirements, engine oil and filter change, plugs.etc etc.

A superbly set up car overall. Once replaced with an original item, the timing belt operated overhead cam was o.k. over 30k miles.I would have preferred the timing chain set up as found on the M30 engines, for peace of mind. Achieved 25mpg average all round fuel consumption.lovely ride, smooth and quiet. nice big boot, loved the styling of the 80's 5 series saloons. Nice car to live with.

Normal wear and tear.

In the twenty year's I've owned it, it has never let me down. It always starts, even at minus 40 without being plugged in.

It's not the fastest car, but still easily runs at over 185km/hr (115mph), and is rock solid on the road.

The most amazing thing - 860,000kms (approx 535,000 miles) - and with very little maintenance. In the life of the car I have replace the front brakes three times, the rear brakes twice (although it's just about time to do them again). It has worn out only one alternator, fuel pump, water pump and exhaust in it's life! Other than changing the oil religiously, and the timing belt every 100,000kms - it hasn't required much maintenance.

I have never heard of any other gas powered car come close to this kind of mileage! Treat one right - and it will repay you 100 times over!

Heater fan.

Thermostat.

Wiper motor.

Fuse panel (blew fuses at will).

Starter and or flywheel.

Exhaust leaks.

I bought this car when I was stationed with the U.S. Army in Germany. The body was in nearly mint condition when I bought it. The engine had the typical older BMW tick-tick-tick valve lifter noise. Typically Americans don't know how to take care of European cars, but this one was an exception. It was an excellent car while it lasted. Too bad some dumb lady rear-ended me with a Ford Expedition. Only after this was when the car started having many of the above electrical and exhaust problems.

The car had amazing power considering it had an auto transmission and such a small engine. My normal cruising speed on the Autobahn was between 95 and 105 MPH, and it always averaged at least 26 MPG or better at those speeds.