1987 BMW 5 Series M535i from UK and Ireland - Comments

Not a lot really. The viscose coupling from the fan to the water pump went, which in turn caused the water pump to seize, but this was all caused by a "friend" who over tightened the fan belt by a long way!!

The battery went and a couple of the electric windows were a bit sticky due to gunk in the door, and the rev counter stuck, but it was stored outside for a while before I bought it, these things will happen if you don't look after them right!

Really and truly, nothing major went wrong, but if it had been taken care of earlier it wouldn't have gone wrong at all.

Its your classic BMW tale, it won't go wrong, but when it does it'll cost you.

The water pump and coupling affair ended up costing me £270, which stung a bit for a "small job", should have done it myself!!

The "one off" Avon tyres were £140 each, and that was the cheapest quote.

It has the same fuel economy as a B-52, but you do get everywhere a lot quicker so there is an economy of sorts!

But the best bit is, you ready for this, I paid £400 for this car, a good deal for sure, but you can pick them up all the time for @ £1000, super cheap super-car? Not quite maybe, but fun with a capital F.

This car was great to drive, I loved it! BMW know how to make cars. With the sports mode engaged on the gearbox acceleration was simply awesome. Off the mark it wasn't the fastest, but that was due to the auto box (manuals are said to be good for 0-60 in @7 seconds) but for overtaking the gearbox would drop two gears (in sports mode) and man, wow, did it go!! Big grins all round!!

And the real beauty was that unlike little GTi's and other sporting saloons that flounder when any more than a 17 year old boy is sat in the car, you could fill this thing up to the gunnel with people and stuff, and it would still tear up strips of tarmac! Brilliant!!

Just be careful in the wet!

I'm almost afraid to ask, but how expensive is the insurance. I'm still trying to figure out if I can afford one or not.

I just bought a 1990 E34 535i Sport, and insurance is ~£400. That's fully comp, 33 yr old divorced male in edinburgh, software engineer, clean licence, 4 yrs NCB. Just one more reason why 5s give you the most bang for your buck!

I have an '86 535i, and I know what you mean by "grins all around"! Taking this car on the Sea to Sky Highway (twisty mountain road from Vancouver to Whistler) is a real blast... power to spare and great handling. Nice to have all that and fantastic reliability as well. Too bad you hadn't got the 5-speed, it adds a lot more venom to the bite if you can keep it in the powerband!

Shame about the auto, these things fly with the manual, IMHO the M5 is almost too powerful, the M535i has just the right amount of power for the chassis to be fun without being dangerous. Its the only car I've ever felt that I could live with the rest of my life and not get sick of it.

Mine is a '87 535i and I just love it! Gobs of torque, more acceleration than the '85 Toyota Celica GT it replaced. (Better gas mileage too). I was sad to see my Toyota get totaled, but than I wouldn't have found this beauty. I never thought that I would ever be able to afford a Bimmer, but here I am having the time of my life.

I can't wait for winter to end (-22 C) so I can slap on the summer tires and really put it through its paces.

Just grinning from ear to ear!!!

I also had a 89 535i SE auto, and it was nice and quick. Problem is I got bored, bought a 1986 320i took a week of work and fitted the 3.5 engine into the 3 series!

WOW!

Highly recommend, 0 to 60 is around 5 seconds. That's Auto as well.

A 3.5 into a space made for a 1.8 is a pretty good trick. I'll bet it's fast!

Insurance is fairly inexpensive.

My 533i has an automatic, and it's the best of both worlds. Easy to drive around town, responds very fast in the 25-40mph range. True, a manual would be far more enjoyable when not in traffic - but most of the time I am, so it works out well. BMW says a manual 533i, 535i, 535is will do 0-60 in about 7.7 sec. Equipped with a 4-speed automatic it will do about 9.4 - this is dead accurate (providing your car is tuned properly, and stock).

And yes, take extreme caution when driving in the wet or snow/ice. Good tires are VITAL! If driving in the snow/ice, it is mandatory to install the highest quality snow tires on all 4.

I would much rather have my Timing Chained 1999 Primera GT, then a Beemer. Put it this way, I have most Weekends free, cheaper Insurance and am just as fast as a 5 series, well apart from a 535 of course, which I can out handle on the twisties anyway. It also attracts much less attention from the good old drunk Chav Brigade. Basically a Thousand Pounds got me inside a 1999 Primera GT, with a full main Stealership History and less than 79k Miles on the clock. To my mind that is good Business in anybodys book.

In response to the previous comment: The US 533i, 535i, 535is and M5, all were timing-chain driven engines. Only the US 528e had a timing-belt. This is concerning US-spec. E28 5-series models (`82-`88). On another note, BMW cars are referred to as "Bimmers", while BMW motorcycles are "Beemers".

I have had 2 5's in my life thus far, my first car was a 1981 528i (e12) THAT CAR IS HEAVEN! then I got a 1987 528e, Both US spec, and I must say, the BMW 5 series is just the all around BEST car on the road. In response to always having the BEST snow tires on in winter, I must dissagree, I have on my 528e, with upgraded ship, I have Falken summer tires, and here in colorado, they jsut HUG the snow roads!!! but when pushed, she drifts soo perfectly, Its like a dream every time I get to drive anywhere! If the drives werent so fun everyday, I would have no incentive to et up in the morning for school every day!

Driving in the snow with summer tires in the winter? Wow! Can you get up hills? Do you put weight in the trunk?

When my Michelin TRX's (Summer) were brand new, I tried them out in the snow, with 150lbs. of sand bags in trunk. It performed quite well. I drove it very briefly though. It made it up one minor hill just fine. 4 years later it snowed early, and I had atleast 25K miles. on the tires by then. I drove about 15 miles. with no issues - though I was nervous. I had no weight in the trunk this time. I encountered a short steep hill, and it went a bit sideways, but made it up.

Comparing these tires to my Blizzak WS-15's is night and day. The Blizzacks are fantastic in snow and ice. They stop and turn like nothing else in the snow. When new, I had a heck of a time trying to make the car slide in a parking lot with 4". They now need replacing. Since Blizzack WS-15 and WS-50 tires are no longer produced, I have ordered a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi's - they are top-rated by Canadian and Swedish Journalists.

Note: when adding weight to rear of car, the tires/wheels negative camber increases, since suspension is being compressed. This means the tires will be riding on the inner edges, instead of the middle. Some say weight does nothing on a modern BMW, others say it does. Lately, I haven't heard of anyone adding weight.

I also have a 1987 535is. Best car in the world and I wouldn't give it up for any other car. Sadly very poor in the winter. I was driving the car in the snow and before I knew I had slammed into a curb doing about 30mph, but the car still held up, bent the rim a little bit and that's about it.