Listing snapshot
| Spotted | July 2023 |
| Asking price | $15,000 |
| Mileage | 69,217 |
| Location | North Hampton, New Hampshire |
| Listed on | Craigslist |
| Drivetrain | 2.5-liter inline six, automatic, rear-wheel drive |
| Status | Ad expired. This page is our archive of the listing. |
We found this 1990 BMW 525i on Craigslist in July 2023, listed in North Hampton, New Hampshire, for $15,000 with 69,217 miles. The ad has expired, but we keep the record. Clean, low-mileage E34s don’t come up often, and a real asking price helps anyone trying to put a number on one.
What this car was
A light blue metallic sedan with blue-grey leather. The photos show glossy paint, straight panels, clean trim and the original BMW wheels. The leather looks lightly creased, with no visible tears.
The seller was selling it on behalf of a friend who runs an independent European car repair shop. According to the ad, the car spent most of its life in Florida, was garaged, had never been in an accident and had no rust. The friend was its second owner. A long list of recent work came with it:
- Oil service and transmission service
- New tires
- Front strut inserts and front calipers
- Rear brake shoes and hardware
- Valve adjustment, timing belt and water pump
- Spark plugs, distributor rotor, and air and fuel filters
Was $15,000 a fair ask?
It was on the high side for a 525i, but this car had the things that matter. A two-owner, rust-free, garaged example with under 70,000 miles and a freshly done timing belt and water pump is about as good as an early E34 gets. The automatic and the base six-cylinder kept it from the top of the market, which goes to manual cars and the V8 and M5 models. For someone who wanted the best example rather than the cheapest, the ask made sense.
A little 5 Series history
The E34 generation of the 5 Series launched in 1988 and was built until 1996. In the US, the 1990 525i used BMW’s single-cam 2.5-liter M20 inline six. For 1991 it switched to the twin-cam M50, so this is one of the last 525i sedans with the older engine. The timing belt is the key maintenance item on the M20, which is why the seller listed it first.
More cars from the archive
- Every BMW 5 Series we’ve spotted, with asking prices
- 1992 BMW 318i, another BMW
- 1995 BMW 325is, another BMW
- 1985 BMW 635CSi, another BMW
- 1984 BMW 633CSi, another BMW
