Faults:

The air conditioning did not work. I have not had this repaired.

The car would stall a few seconds after starting (235000 miles). This was a simple repair - the injector leak off pipes needed replacing.

It has always been difficult to start when warm. The injectors are nearing the end of their useful life.

General Comments:

These cars initially seem slow. This is because they have an immensely long accelerator pedal travel. However, this gives you precise control of the power. Once you learn how the car responds, you can gain a real advantage from it's performance - enough to upset drivers of "warm hatches", especially on the motorway.

The interior on the car is in excellent condition. The leather steering wheel and gear-knob are showing signs of wear. The carpet on the left-foot rest adjacent to the clutch pedal has worn through.

The engine bay is very clean. Unlike most that I saw before buying this one, it had not been steam cleaned. It does not leak ANY oil, anywhere.

Interior noise at lower speeds is higher than on the petrol models, but above 80mph it is amazingly quiet.

Economy is good, considering the way I drive the car. I have had 32mpg minimum and about 40mpg maximum.

These cars are best suited to long distance, high speed cruising - economically!

E34 5-series diesels are comparatively rare, so the cost of engine parts is very high. For all, but the most basic items, dealer parts are the only option.

A full dealer service history is essential. Budget for keeping this up to date. Note that there are two scheduled oil change services between major inspections.

There are no D.I.Y. repair manuals available for the diesel models.

General Comments:

I love this car.

I bought it in immaculate condition and despite the high mileage it runs like a dream.

One drawback is that you have to keep the revs up to get any fun out of it - it is definitely underpowered in the lower gears. But then it's a big car, not a nippy speedster, although it can wheel-spin with the best of them if you choose to drive it that way.

It eats motorways for breakfast - it's at its best accelerating from 70mph.

The interior is very comfortable, definitely king for a day.

Mine has beautiful alloys - everyone admires the car.

Tyres are laughably expensive - £130. Each.

Faults:

The guy I brought the car from was absolutely useless, didn't want to know about problems with the car even when it was under warranty.

Let's start with the transmission, automatic gearbox was cream crackered when I brought the car, I couldn't tell on the test drive as I didn't take it very far. The car insisted doing 60 mph in second gear, this sounded dreadful.

Then, the air conditioning was coming out hot in the middle of summer, it was basically bloody useless.

Then the double sunroof packed in 1 year after I brought the car, just after the warranty ran out. The guy at the garage didn't want to know, of course. I went to my BMW garage and they told me it would cost £1200 to fix, so I have disconnected the motor.

General Comments:

Apart from those problems, the car is great. The guy at the garage fixed the air conditioning and the transmission, I knew he didn't want to, but I just kept arguing with him.

The leather seats are total luxury.

Full electrics, loads of speakers dotted around, great sound.

I had a bit of trouble finding the button for the total closure, but I got there in the end.