The only advantage that car had over a w123 was that it did handle better, and there was more aftermarket support for the E28 in general. Especially in the suspension area. Parts are a total pain. Not worth it...

__________________
1987 VW Jetta Mk II - Daily Driver
1992 W201 2.3 - sold
1985 W126 380se - sold
1985 W123 OM617.952 - sold
1981 W123 OM617.912 - sold
1986 W201 2.3 - sold
1979 W123 OM 617.912 - sold

These are great cars except for a few things:

Bad Paint
Bad Brakes (warp easily)
Bad Steering Boxes (check that it doesn't shimmy when you brake)
Bad Front P/S Rack (leaks)
ZF Trannys can go bad (if it slips run away)
Timing Belt must be replaced- you see a lot of these with destroyed engines

I had one of these, and it was loads of fun. I payed $700 for it in maryland and drove it home (after another $500 to get a new strut installed.) Owned it for a year and a half- it was so much fun in the twisties- definitely a BMW at heart.

I averaged 38mpg- ran it on veggy oil/kerosene and drove it like it was stolen.

I finally sold it because it was about to turn 300k and it needed a rebuild BAD.

But this car was pretty fast- I maxed it at 115... But it was pretty quick off the line. and you would find yourself spinning in rainstorms if you weren't careful.

I would love to buy another one but I think that price is too expensive..

Also- either my car was hit the exact same way...or it was just that they all had bad paint...

As an owner of two E28s (528e and 535i), I can comment on some of the issues brought up.

knipdlo is right about the front end shimmy. At around 45-55, most E28s using stock parts will shimmy under braking. However, using aftermarket (or modified E32 7-Series) thrust bushings almost always eliminates it. Warped brakes are not that common, but any variability when coupled with the bushing issue will cause shimmy. I have 16x8 wheels on my 535i, and the shimmy didn't go completely away with the aftermarket bushings, but vanished for good when I swapped in E32 front brakes; on the 528e, the shimmy went away when I went to E34 5-series front brakes, even though the thrust bushings are stock. Thus, any shimmy shouldn't be a deal-breaker.

knipdlo is right about the transmission IF it were the 4HP22EH, but it's the 4HP22, which is not bad for reliability, IF it hasn't been revved in neutral after being in drive.

knipdlo might have had steering box and P/S issues, but those are aberrations.

They hold up better than any W123 I've seen, especially since they don't have wood that degrades. The interiors also don't age to strange colors like the MB Palomino does (my 300td has pink, brown, bronze, and light tan Palomino now).

Well, they're black plastic, so chips don't really show up in pics, and an application of Vinylex or a similar product makes them black again.

E28s don't have vacuum gremlins, parts are extremely easy to find and are not usually expensive (other than the diesel-engine-specific ones, that is), and the cars are very easy to work on. Handling is superior to W123s, and there are many stock and aftermarket brake, wheel, and suspension upgrades available. The A/C is inadequate, though, and it's not easy to upgrade for better A/C performance.

If someone ends up getting it, visit us at MyE28.com!

I recall seeing several of these on Houston roads, when you see one on the road its unmistakable due to the excessive black smoke they put out, its normal for that car but kinda embarassing when you see the expressions of other motorists.

Vahe
240d 77

I also own an E28 (528e)

here is my take on them.

Excellent handling -- a real BMW with that ride

Spartan interior -- a driving machine not a living room

The ZF transmission might be a problem. I needed a new one after ONLY 172000 miles. A seal went and tranny fluid went all over the place. I was able to limp it to my guy by pouring quarts of fluid into it every mile! Got me there but was toast (due to the seal) making it cheaper to replace than fix

Must watch for timimg belts and water pumps at least on the eta class engine

Overheating is common. The radiators are barely adequate and the engine driven fanis a joke.If you loose your electric fan you will overheat.

Climate controls are good. It uses the same monovalve as the MB, but i never hear of them going bad like they do on the W123/W126 Mine is currently 24 years old and has never been touched.

Rust can be a factor. these cars are much lighter than the MB and are unit body. you really have to make sure you have no structural rust issues.

Other than that they are a blast! fast, relatively sporty and just cool.

Plus they are from before Chris Bangle was born so no stupiud bustle trunks, weird lines, etc. They LOOK Like a BMW dammit!

I might stay away from the 524td just because of the engine not being as common as the BMW gassers. Oh and they were produced starting in 1983 not '85... My manual for the '84 has whole sections on the differences between the gassers and the 524.
That brings up another point. people bought the 524dt and tried to drive them like BMWs. I bet the opnes out there have been 'ridden hard and put away wet'

__________________
"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

Same engine was used in the Lincoln Town car of that vintage and in the Vixen motorhome. Vixen motorhomes are still pretty desireable so I would think that the dealer in Iowa(?) who specializes in them would have access to most parts.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I really like old BMWs (not so much, the new ricer styles) but I don't really "get" the diesel 5-series. These cars were designed and marketed as sports sedans (for folks too young to drive a benz), which does not seem consistent with running a diesel engine (the same reason I don't understand the point of diesel motorcycles). If I wanted an old 5-series, it would have to be a gasser.

Actually, overheating isn't particularly common, but when it does happen, it's often due to a bad fan clutch or clogged radiator. I autocross my 535i in summer Atlanta temps and have never had an overheating problem in those conditions, and the electric fan never comes on; however, when it was clogged, it'd overheat when it was only 60F out, even with a good fan clutch and the electric fan on high.

The BMW's valve is on the "hot" side of the core, whereas the MB's valve is on the "cool" side of the core. You've been lucky -- the monovalve going bad is probably one of the top three problems on an E28, and even using the MB part, my 535i goes through one every two years or so; I've only had my 528e for about nine months and have replaced the valve once.

That's certainly true in the US, but in Europe, the 524td is common. They also had 518i 4-cylinder and 520i 6-cylinders, so the E28s ran from mundane to sporty to high performance (the M5) over there.

At least the timing belt is easy to get to. Unlike a lot of the ricers.

Hmmm, I will check out the radiator this spring. I did a citric acid flush and replaced the antifreeze with the proper G05 I had been running G05 since I got it , but it had nasty green stuff in it when I bought it.
I will check out a replacement rad this spring.

I had it overheat twice on me. Both times were in traffic with no airflow. The first time the fan motor was burned out and the second time the wire from the fan to the resistor had come loose. Maybe running an autocross keeps enough air moving over the radiator to keep you cool.



I had no idea of this. I had not seen the amount of crying about monovalves on the e28 bbs as I have seen here... Of course now the stupid thing will fail and I will have to dig in to get it. How do you reach it as it is tucked under the brake booster and master cylinder. do you remove the MC?

__________________
"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

Nope, it's worse for cooling. It's a high-power, low-speed situation with low air flow, and it's when I've seen the highest water and oil temps. If I shut the engine off after a run, the temp will climb drastically as the heat goes into the coolant, but if I let it idle for a minute or so afterwards, everything will be fine.

Ha! You've been working on MBs too much -- it ain't that hard! There are two fore-aft 8mm head screws that hold the valve to the bracket, and once those are removed, you can easily move the valve and undo the top, without having to disconnect the hoses.

Unless you like the look of the E28 and the constant sound of the tires on the road, get the faster, easier to find parts for, more durable, and more luxurious '87 300Dt (one for sale on this forum for less $$).

Nothing against BMW, I used to like them too, nah, loved them, I still think the 6-series coupe is one of the most beautiful and well-proportioned luxury coupes ever conceived.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Yeah I wasn't bashing the car- I LOVED mine and I am on a lookout for another.

Mine also had the original tranny at 300k- shifted perfect. But I did drive others that had failing trannys..

Pretty much everything worked too- from the power antenna to the A/C (ice cold r-12 but not enough power for proper cooling) the only thing that never worked was the external temp reading.

As for cooling my car always ran on the 1/4 of the scale. On the hottest days in traffic with the A/C on it rarely made mid range. I got it to 3/4 and into the bottom of the red ONCE and I was WOT up a 10% grade racing a friend for about 2 miles... Also it was before I fixed the Aux fan (needed a fuse) After that it never did get hot.

Also brought it camping and it was loaded with everyones camping gear +2 people on the interstate for an hour with the A/C on @ 75-80 mph with no problems..

not counting driving it home from Maryland to Upstate NY ~700 miles...


Parts were always easy to find.


ALSO- while its true they were introduced in 1983 in Europe- the US only saw 1985 and 1986 model years. I believe the lincolns were either 84-87 or 86 and 87 only... I can't remember

And they are a sports sedan. They are capable of revving to a 5,500rpm redline and they make good power from 2k- 4,500 rpm. The transmissions are pretty adaptive- when you hit the kick down switch it gets up and moves

Someone Flogging one on YouTube Here