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In Reply to: 524TD Turbodiesel info please posted by uniberp on August 20, 2001 at 10:40:24:
I have owned my 524td since last October. Bought it with 133K miles, and it just turned over 145K. I love it, and probably will never sell it. It's the ultimate commuter- timeless E28 style, looks great from 20 feet, but has enough door dings and scratches that I'm not worried about parking it anyplace. Gets 30 mpg consistently- I usually fill up ($18-$20) just before the light comes on, and get 400-420 miles between fill ups.
Once you are underway, the driving experience is much like any other base-version E28. The car handles very well considering its age and 195/70-14 Michelins, and the brakes are phenomenal- perfect for countering the car's natural understeer. I trail-braked deep into an offramp the other day, much to the surprise (amd amusement) of the guy in the new 911 behind me.
The car has been very reliable so far, with only one problem that kept it off the road for a while- had a glow plug go bad in February, but it went bad in such a way that the mechanics couldn't diagnose it using the normal electrical methods. They had to pull the glow plug out and watch to see that it wasn't functioning, which cost me extra labor charges. As the other gentleman noted, make sure you have a good diesel mechanic nearby. You never know when you might need him.
I have not had transmission problems, and nothing in the car's service history indicates that the transmission has been replaced. For now, I'm doing what I can to extend the tranny's life, i.e. not revving in neutral or park, and shifting to neutral before setting the handbrake when I stop. I then place it in park.
I anticipate having to replace the transmission around 175K-200K, but I will budget for it. The engine itself should be bulletproof through 300K.
A 524td is definitely an "enthusiast's" kind of car. Like me, you probably will very quickly have more in it than it's worth on the open market, but if you're planning to keep it long term, it's worth it. I keep telling my wife that the longer I keep the diesel, the longer we can avoid those $800 payments on the new 540i I want. :-)
Speaking of td's, I just spied this one on eBay. "Buy It Now" price is WAY overpriced for the condition and mileage, but it'd be a good buy at $2750 or so.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=594403353&r=0&t=0
Good luck and have fun,
Pat Newton
'85 524td 145K
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