Comments: 1-15, 16-20
Most repairs have been the standard kinds of things that all cars require replacing.
Changed original clutch at 220,000.
Replaced struts at 275,000.
Replaced starter at 275,000.
Replaced electrical switches for power windows at around 300,000.
Without a doubt, the best car I have ever owned. Purchased it for $3200 in 1995 and have been driving it nearly every day since. The engine has never failed to start. Never. It is a tank. While it is not as comfortable a ride as it once was, it is a great, reliable means of transportation and still is good for a bit of fun every now and then. I don't beat it up, change the oil every 3,000 miles, and pretty much pay attention to it when something is up (like the other day one of the antifreeze hose had a slight leak, I replaced it in minutes). Two mechanics I know say this engine in the 528e was the most bullet-proof of all the BMW cars. I have to agree. I mean, the car is sitting out in my driveway ready to go. And, if you can believe it, it has very little rust (some underneath) showing! My goal right now is to hit 400,000 miles.
I have to agree about the 528e (E28's) being built like tanks! I own a 1983 528e with over 560,000 miles on it! I've replaced the front brakes 3 times and rear twice. I've also - in the history of the car since new only had to replace a muffler and catalytic converter once, one fuel pump, two water pumps and one alternator - otherwise - I haven't touched the engine, other than religious oil changes.
Mine has never failed to start in the 20 plus years I've had it - and I live in "the frozen northern wasteland" known as Canada - and I have never plugged it in! Keep going and I'm certain you'll make over 400,000 miles!
(I have yet to see any other gas powered car come close to the mileage I have on mine)
I own a 1984 BMW 528e and I must admit it is the best car I have ever owned. I bought it three years ago from a retired Doctor who had stored the car for approximately 10 years. It has 250 thousand kms on it and looks like new. Parts are easy to obtain and install, even with my limited mechanical knowledge.
After reading about the mileages on other 528e's I guess mine has a long way to go. I think the most amazing part of this car is the solid body and lack of rust. I live in Canada, and the City I live in dumps salt on the roads every winter. Even though this car is 20 years old, I feel I can get another 10 years of use out of it. The last point has to be the unique Bavarian shape and styling. It still turns heads after I clean and polish it.
I bought a 1985 with 70K and a blow auto transmission. How can this happen? Shop said the clutches were shot and god knows what else.
Regarding your auto. trans. situation: It is very common for ANY vehicle (American, Japanese, German, etc.) to have it's automatic transmission have issues by this mileage (70K+ miles.). I strongly advise NOT having a BMW automatic serviced at an ordinary or commercial repair shop. Stick with Original BMW Parts, and a mechanic who is familiar and enthusiastic working on them. My 533i is now on it's 3rd automatic. The original went at 90K, and the original owner took it to a well-known commercial transmission shop and spent $2K for a re-build. Then a year later they developed problems. They spent $1K more fixing it. I purchased it a year or two later, and the transmission was fine. But, I noticed an annoying vibration in the driveshaft after a year or two since purchasing. My mechanic showed me what this well-known shop did wrong: Wrong transmission mounts installed (throwing off alignment of drive-shaft), and stripped 1/4 of the trans. bracket. A new bracket, mounts, diff. mount, and drive-shaft solved it. Then 2 years later the trans. had trouble shifting when cold. My mechanic said it makes most sense to replace the entire trans. with a BMW Re-Built unit, for less than $2K. It's been trouble-free after five years and proper fluid flushes (less than 30K intervals).
These cars are definitely tanks. I remember my dad getting 2 and we were doing 170kph easy, and one day he got hit by a small truck and did little damage to the car.
I have an 84 528e my dad bought brand new from a local Atlanta BMW dealership. I bought it from him after I graduated college in 95 and needed a reliable car. It's now a second car, but it is by far the most reliable car I've ever seen! When my other car goes in the shop, a friend needs to borrow a car, or whatever, this car has never failed me. Amazing... they certainly don't make them like this anymore.
I bought my 85' 528e 12 years ago. I have to agree: this car is a tank. I have replaced a lot of stuff (rubber can only last so long), but my car drives as good as it did and better than when I first bought it. It has 245,000 miles on it and looks great.
Every year I go through everything and replace anything that needs to be replaced. I spend maybe $300-400 a year making sure everything is well maintained, and maybe $600-700 if there has been a major repair. Compared with a car payment, this car is very cheap to drive and much more unique than most of the cars on the road.
I do almost all of the work myself thanks to my Bentley manual. Major repairs include replacing the fuel pump 10 years ago, new driveshaft, replacing some rubber fuel lines and coolant lines, new struts, and regular maintenance like brakes etc. I change the fluid regularly.
It is the original engine and transmission - no rebuilds.
The only few times it has not started were due to corroded battery terminals or dead battery.
The way this car drives, I could be driving it for a long, long time.
Enjoyed finding this page. I agree with the positive comments on 528e BMW. Mine is a 1984 now with 584,400 miles. I took a few years to let it rest but now am driving it again 2,000 to 6,000 miles a month traveling. Original engine never opened up. I change the oil every 1500 to 2500 miles. Have used slick50 since 110,000 miles. I change the timing belt every 100,000 or so. Adjusting the valves is simple and really keeps the efficiency up. My mileage on the highway has increased over the years and is now nearly 30 mpg. I have changed brakes three times, fuel pumps twice, my exhaust and cat converter 4 times. Am in Florida so replaced the A/C system last year. My goal is 700,000 before I do the engine. Am working on improving the sound proofing as the new cars set a higher standard. Am on my 3rd clutch and the original 5 speed manual tranny. I can hear some bearing noise that was not there a few years ago so am looking for a used replacement. Have seen the 6 speed which would likely drop my 80 mph cruise rpms by 300 and give me a few more mpg's. Will redo the clutch when I change the tranny next year. What a great car. I have friends who have worn out 5 or 6 vehicles since I bought mine. I bought mine new in 1984 and estimate over 12,000 hours in this drivers seat. I still love this car like the day I bought it. Henry Maclin Destin FL 850-654-1294.
88 supereta and I love mine too.
I have owned my 528e for several years, but in the last 3 I have experienced a serious electrical problem - there is a short somewhere that drains the battery. I've had it into several garages looking for the source of the short, but no luck.
Does this sound familiar with anyone, and if so were you able to solve the problem? I need help!
I am second owner of an 87 528e and agree with above comments. I too am experiencing a short that drains my battery. I couldn't find it so did next best thing to stop draining the battery. I removed the fuse that supplies energy to the radio, door locks and computer. It stopped the drain issue but have not solved the problem. I too would love to hear a success story on this issue. HELP Please!!
Jon Schaefer
St Louis Park, MN.
Regarding the battery drain on the two different 528e vehicles. It's a very simple car, not much there to drain the battery- while some of the fuses do have more than one load on them, testing for the drain is easy. Just remove or disconnect the loads on the circuit, while watching your amperage draw with a multi-meter hooked up (set meter to AMP setting) between the negative battery cable and the negative terminal of the battery (meter is wired in series to read amperage going through it to the car).
You want under 50 milliamps drain, the less, the better.
Getting to the On-Board computer is probably harder than removing the radio, but seriously, unless your drain is very intermittent, any shop keeping a meter on the vehicle for 8 to 24 hours should find it on an old 528e.
Common culprits when the vehicles were newer, radio draw, On-Board Computer draw (rare though) The heater for the Drivers door Lock (It's a small relay, mounted in the drivers door, stays on, drawing power to the heating element of the door lock heater) Stuck/sticking relay for either the Main Relay or the Fuel Pump (with the fuel pump, you're going to hear the pump running unless it's intermittently sticking in the middle of the night!)
Instrument cluster circuit boards, esp the infamous SI board inside the cluster that controls a lot of the gauges and has battery power to it to keep the NiCad batteries soldered to the SI board charged up.
Ant. motor in the trunk pulling some power even though it's off or doesn't work (if the motor isn't unplugged, it can pull power)
Seat switches/relays mounted in the center console, or under the seats (I've seen switches stay slightly engaged from soda or coffee being spilled on them)
Last one, rare, but water related. A slow water leak on the right side of the windshield can allow water to leaking down into the vehicle. It catches the harness for the centeral lock control unit, and wicks down till it bridges a battery hot pin in the connector and another pin. Slow drain, and goes away once the water has dried.
At any rate, hope this helps you out.
Great comments. I purchased this abused 87 528e aprox 18 months ago, the car was in poor condition. Paint gone, body damage all over, reaped front leather seats, reaped head liner, broken front grill, broken clutch. But I like the design have respect for the brand, they're known for quality and reliability, so I took the challenge to get it in shape. fixed all of the above with an expensive paint job well all of it was very expensive, however if I'm gonna drive this thing it's got to look good. I'm very certain that I made the right choice by buying this car looks great, drives great, love the end result, mechanically it's in sound condition, freezing cold A/C, no regrets. Plan to keep for life even if I have replace the engine down the line beats making payments every month. By the way mine has no rust and yes it looks like brand new.
I shall put another positive comment for this car. I owned an '84, and it is by far the best car I have ever owned. I bought it from a used car dealership just over 2 years ago, but ended up wrecking it approx. 6 months afterwords. During the time I was driving it, I have had to replace a few things such as the master and slave cylinders, and starter, but there were no other problems with the car. I did race it a few times, against a few friends of mine with v-8's, and the 528e really surprised me. The only downfall feel is how far I had to shift from 1st to 2nd, and so on. Then again, all one would have to do to fix that problem is install a short shifter. I plan on buying another 528e once I get back in the states!
October 5, 2008.
Regarding battery drain on 528e. I have a 1988 which has started to occasionally lock or unlock the door locks by itself, and has drained the battery when the car has not been used for a week or so. This self activation is often a double--an unlock followed by a lock about 1 second later (or visa versa). I think that it is a problem in the driver's door--probably a faulty switch or intermittent faulty contact, but I have not tracked it down yet.
I bought my 528e used in 1990 and have enjoyed it a lot. There have been only minor problems. It is the best car I have ever owned also!