my experience (long) (archive)

my TD has been very reliable. i use it as a daily driver and mainly use it to drive between boston, ma. and wash, dc. (~500 miles). i have a very heavy foot and it consistently returns 30-32 hwy/25-30 city. these figures are per tank: hwy=a whole tank used only on the hwy between 70&100mph; city=a whole tank used in boston. my car has 240,000 miles on it with the original engine and auto tranny (neither rebuilt, no major issues on the tranny - with only 115bhp/155lb.ft, i can't imagine the tranny sees too much stress).
issues with the engine: it doesn't leak oil, but it leaks fuel from the injector pump. with diesel running through the fuel lines, a leak looks like an oil leak, but it's diesel. the pump is a $1,200 part, but my mechanic says it's leaking from a small cover on the side, which is a ~$10 part. i haven't bothered fixing it because it's very minor, and as a commuter car, i only need it to get me where i'm going, it's not like it smokes when i come up to a light. it would be a different story if i had a driveway to park it on, but i park on the street. other issues are the usual e28 suspension common problems (bushings, shimmy, ac, etc.)
this car isn't all that slow. around town it's fine. but with an auto, and with 115hp AFTER the 11.6psi boost, it's REALLY slow off the line before the turbo spools up, but after that, it actually goes. a friend of mine has a 528e, and we both agree that my car is faster once the turbo gets going.
overall, this is the perfect commuter car if you have long distances to drive. better gas mileage than the "economy" 528e, and faster. they are rare, which is good and bad. good: when i went to the BMW CCA's Oktoberfest, i was the only one with a TD. it's pretty neat to be the only one at a national event with this car. bad: not many people know about this car, so you must find a good mechanic if you're not a diy'er. also, parts are not readily available, so expect to have your car off the road for at least a few days while the parts get shipped. lastly, it's harder to find gas stations who sell diesel, but the extended range per tank somewhat offsets that.
forgot to add that my mechanic swears that the car will go for another 100,000 miles as long as i keep fluid in it.
i'm pretty happy with mine.

-james

Considering/seeking a 524TD. Pitfalls? Experience? Specific concerns include gas mileage, transmission reliability. I don't care about acceleration performance or lack therof. Thanks much.

Follow Ups:

Thaks for info..compared to 300TD? uniberp 13:23 8/23/2001 (1)
- Re: Thaks for info..compared to 300TD? james 15:00 8/23/2001 (0)

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