Faults:

The near side rear strut failed, but was cheap and easy to replace.

Fuse box collected moisture, causing electrical problems with the headlamps.

The air filter box was difficult to locate in it's clips, mislocation of this item causing the accelerator to stick wide open (sounds strange, but it's true)

Drivers seats wear badly.

Dashboard cracked due to UV / Sunlight on the plastic.

The boot seal is poor, causing a build up of condensation in the boot, which got into the real lamps and caused problems with the connections, another easily cured fault.

General Comments:

For an older car, the BMW 520i was very reliable and what faults id did throw up were almost all roadside repair job's that took less than ten minutes.

The straight six engine produces plenty of power, the automatic transmission puts it smoothly onto the road.

A great budget drive, lot's of fun.

Faults:

New water pump last summer.

Minor welding needed at last MOT.

General Comments:

I've always fancied one of these cars and took the plunge on one last March (2006). It had been stored for a couple of years, yet managed the 180 mile journey home without any issues at all.

I love the character of the car, its not massively quick by modern standards, but by no means embarrasses itself against newer cars. The dog-leg manual sports box takes some getting used to and to be honest I think its not needed with the thumping torque of the 3.5 six. Ah yes. The BMW M30 straight six. What a glorious engine! It's a truly wonderful "heart" of the car, with its effortless pull and muted growl. You find yourself just blipping the throttle at the lights to hear it bark!

Interior is comfortable, and wearing well. Heater valve has packed up, but you can still get the cabin nice and warm by adjusting the vents. Dash instruments have also died, but that's a common e28 fault.

Bad points? The most obvious is the the fuel consumption! I'm getting around 21mpg, which ain't great. Also, some rust is beginning to show throw underneath the car. If I decide to keep her, I'll spend the money and get it sorted.

Faults:

Not a lot really. The viscose coupling from the fan to the water pump went, which in turn caused the water pump to seize, but this was all caused by a "friend" who over tightened the fan belt by a long way!!

The battery went and a couple of the electric windows were a bit sticky due to gunk in the door, and the rev counter stuck, but it was stored outside for a while before I bought it, these things will happen if you don't look after them right!

Really and truly, nothing major went wrong, but if it had been taken care of earlier it wouldn't have gone wrong at all.

General Comments:

Its your classic BMW tale, it won't go wrong, but when it does it'll cost you.

The water pump and coupling affair ended up costing me £270, which stung a bit for a "small job", should have done it myself!!

The "one off" Avon tyres were £140 each, and that was the cheapest quote.

It has the same fuel economy as a B-52, but you do get everywhere a lot quicker so there is an economy of sorts!

But the best bit is, you ready for this, I paid £400 for this car, a good deal for sure, but you can pick them up all the time for @ £1000, super cheap super-car? Not quite maybe, but fun with a capital F.

This car was great to drive, I loved it! BMW know how to make cars. With the sports mode engaged on the gearbox acceleration was simply awesome. Off the mark it wasn't the fastest, but that was due to the auto box (manuals are said to be good for 0-60 in @7 seconds) but for overtaking the gearbox would drop two gears (in sports mode) and man, wow, did it go!! Big grins all round!!

And the real beauty was that unlike little GTi's and other sporting saloons that flounder when any more than a 17 year old boy is sat in the car, you could fill this thing up to the gunnel with people and stuff, and it would still tear up strips of tarmac! Brilliant!!

Just be careful in the wet!