Cars - Considering early 5-series Touring

Kevin Rhodes wrote:

> Hello all, I am looking for some feedback on early 5-series Touring (station
> wagon) models. I am in the US, so I believe this would be 91-95 models? Either
> 525 or 530? I am looking to replace a 92 Volvo 740 Turbo wagon, which is a
> great car but a bit of a truck to drive. Looking for something a bit more fun.
> Better fuel economy would be a bonus as well, the Volvo only gets 20mpg when
> driven with enthusiasm.

The fun factor will really start to show in how well the 5 touring rides
and handles compared to the Volvo..

> What are the things to watch out for with these cars? I would probably lean
> toward the 525, though there is a very nice looking 530 on ebay at the moment.
> I have noticed that a number of them advertsed for sale state that the dual
> power sunroofs don't work - is this a common problem area? I would prefer no
> sunroof but that seems quite rare. Also, where any manual transmission cars
> sold in the US?
> Thanks!
> Kevin Rhodes

I have never seen or heard of a manual transmission 525it being sold in
the US. I don't believe they exist here. All of the 525it's were loaded
up, which always includes the automatic transmission.

OK - stuff to watch out for:

1. Do not buy the V8 unless the owner can provide proof that the engine
block was replaced with an Alusil one by the dealer. If you take the
VIN# to any friendly dealer - they should be able to tell you this. IF
you happen to find a Nicasil one that you're just dying to have - take
the car to a dealer and have them do a leakdown test on it. Then dicker
the seller down at least another 40% since the car is worth that much
less with the original engine. IF you happen to find one that hasn't
experienced the problem - it shouldn't be a worry. US gasoline has been
modified to have much less sulfur in it now, and that's what was causing
the problems.

2. Sunroof - the dual sunroof IS a problem area. If they work - I'd
suggest disconnecting the switch and just hook it up when you're ready
to sell the car. If they don't work - use it as a bargaining point,
fixing them is $1,000 and UP, sometimes WAY up if the entire "cartridge"
needs replacing.

3. Doors - check where the door-stops go into the front edge of the
door, especially the drivers one since this gets used the most. The
sheet metal there is VERY thin and WILL eventually crack since the
roller mechanism on the door stop likes to freeze up increasing the
force on the sheet metal. There are a number of kits out to repair this
damage, but it's a useful bargaining point.

4. Depending on the year - see if it uses Freon 134A or R12. You really
want one that uses 134A or has been correctly converted to 134A. A
system this old is likely to need repair at some point, and the
conversion from R12 to 134A is somewhat costly (usually involves a new
compressor.) I believe all the cars got 134A around '94 or so, but I'm
not certain of the exact date.

5. Auto-transmission - you'd ideally want some evidence the fluid was
changed in it at about 60k intervals. The auto-tranny is a GM design,
not a bad one actually - but to keep it reliable regular fluid and
filter changes are a very good thing. Also - if it appears to be leaking
from the front of the transmission on the '92-94 cars - this may be a
gasket between two sections of the transmission, costly to repair (about
8 hours labor, $10 part.) Check for leaks. There should be none.

6. All the goodies - make sure they work, that means check every window
for correct operation, make sure the power seats/mirrors/whatevers all
work. Fixing these can be somewhat expensive.

That all said - these were quite reliable cars and can easily last to
200k+ miles given proper care.

HTH