Hi there,
[UK posting - quid = pounds]Noticed an e34 525i se, 24 valve on a J plate at a local garage (which specialises in 4WD tonka toys) a couple of weeks ago - it had a flat near side rear tyre but apart from that looked in pretty good nick. When I passed the garage again yesterday I decided to take a closer look. The tyre was still flat and the battery was dead, but a mechanic put air in all the tyres and started the car with a charger (apparently the car hadn't moved for 3 weeks).
I got my friend to blip the accelerator as I watched the exhaust. On each blip the exhaust gases were initially clear then much darker then white then clear again.
Then took the car for a run - absolutely fabulous, felt like a new car, quiet, taut and responsive. After about 5 miles I pulled into a car park to test all the electric gizmos, leaving the car ticking over.
I then took the oil filler cap off and noticed a slight whiteness on the filler cap, a bit like cafe latte, but not very thick (prior to the test drive I had checked the filler cap and it was completely black). I checked the temp gauge and it was sitting about one or two millimetres to the right of the middle position. Got my friend to blip the accelerator again, and again on each blip the exhaust gases were clear, then darker, then white, then clear. I wiped the cap clean and drove another two miles back to the garage where I took the cap off again - this time no whiteness and the temp gauge had returned to the middle position.
So a few questions:
Could the whiteness have been due to condensation after standing for 3 weeks?
Did the temp gauge go too high? My e30 320i stays well away from the middle position.
Do the exhaust gases seem OK?
Or does all of the above indicate a head job?
The car has done 133K, has a pretty good service history, lots of bills,
3 previous owners, immaculate interior (not leather), and the head gasket and water pump were replaced by BMW in 2002.Bodywork is good but not immaculate - stone chips on lip of bonnet (touched up), bit of rust just showing thru the underseal on the edge of the sill next to the offside rear wheel arch, two bits of bubbling (20p size) on the edge of both near side doors. Not bad for a 13 year old car.
I can get the car for 1100 quid (sticker price 1295) with a new MOT and a month's warranty on engine and gearbox.
What do you think? Any advise greatly appreciated.
Rob
PS - if anyone is kind enough to respond could they email me at snipped-for-privacy@open.ac.uk
*remove the ZAP*