Hey guys, I want to buy a E28 to use it as a 3rd car. Now I work 35 miles away so I might use it 1-2 days out of the week, will it handle it? What yr should I look into buying? Any other tips are welcome.

Should be fine. I've put 56,000 miles on mine in roughly 16 months, so they can more than take it. E28's didn't change much year to year, it's more just which motor you want. 3.4 and 3.2 M30s, and Eta and Super Eta motors were all available.

ditto. e28's are very durable. my commute is 47 mi ea way. about 4 days a week. no problems.

We drove our 275k mile 86 528e cross country and back, no problems. Definitely reliable when taken care of, sometimes reliable even when neglected.

Like any other car, and as others have said, as long as the everything (cooling system, etc) is in good working order then there shouldn't be any problem.

My old e28 --1987 528e, 5spd-- was used as a daily driver since year 1. Racked up 210k miles and was still going strong. You're going to have to keep up with maintanance, but once she is in good working order, you'll never have to look back again.

Me, I like my '88 535iA very much. Despite the auto trans, I find it quite fun because the transmission has the E-S-3/2/1 switch.

An older car like these will likely be subject to the $2000 rule. If you pay less than $2000 for it, plan on spending at least $2,000 to bring it up to spec. Mine did. It had 154K on it when I bought it, and I did:

4 Bilstein Touring
spring pads
end-of-travel cushions
tie rod ends
center steering rod
ilder arm
stabilizer arms links, front & rear
lower control arms
upper thrust arms
4 Brembo OEM-style rotors
4 sets PBR pads
rear parking brake shoes
manifolds-back complete exhaust
stereo head unit (Blaupunkt Indiana)
4 speakers (Infinity Reference)
and lots of other little doo-dads

Still needs front and rear windshield seals, new mirrors (motors and heaters not working right), subwoofer, new carpeting would be nice, etc.

After all that (and the $1900 purchase price), it's been a stone-reliable and fun car to drive & own.

Yes you can make them handle well, imo. What do you want? Something with some pep?.........535i/is

You want something still fun, not as quick, and somewhat better on gas?...........528e

You want fast.........M5!

It's quite simple actually. :D

For good measure, here is a grossly whored pic of my old 535i. Miss it like crazy.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v359/E28535i/IMG_0578.jpg

If you have any mechanical skill, go ahead and get one.

the 533i is notorious for head integrity (metalurgy) issues, but the later M30B34 (535i) is not known for this at all, it seems to have been thoroughly corrected.

in addition, just be realistic in your expectations and be prepared to do a suspension-bushing overhaul on whatever you buy, price that into your assumptions.

I miss mine terribly...

I'd attach a couple pics but they are too big and I'm too lazy to resize at the moment.

i love my 83 533i. m30's kick ass and take tons of abuse.

I agree with all other comments posted so far. My E28 1986 525e is solid and reliable. It has done 235,000 klms and is still going strong. No oil leaks, and no rattles. It starts first time every time and servicing isn't a problem. Parts are a bit hard to source if you want them cheap but here in Oz there are a few places that still have second hand parts and are much cheaper than new items. Just make sure you service it regularly, using coolant not water and a good quality oil.

You should already know the E28 was built in an era when quality really mattered so expect a solid and reliable machine. When settling on one you fancy get it checked out by a good mechanic. Bodywork should be straight with little to no rust. The climate here is not as harsh as most other parts of the world so check for major accident damage and a poor service history as well.

Hope this helps.