Some said that once you hit the throttle of a BMW, there is no turning back. You would be a Bimmer for life. I would say that if one grows up in a BMW, he would also become a Bimmer.
Or even more than that. He would learn his first German word “UHR” from the trip computer, go on an exchange student in Germany, and finally study somewhere in Germany for a master's. That is the story of me.
My father owned this 1988 E34 520i when it was 7 years old. It then accompanied us for another 20 years until 2016. It was the very first batch that was exported to Taiwan. With production time “The year 1989 Month 0” on the license, it was probably built in 1988 and sold as a 1989 model. Though the carried-over M20 SOHC 2-liter engine in it was considered too weak for the new E34 body, it was still extremely luxurious and athletic compared to most cars produced in Taiwan.
The design and the materials used on it are still the standard of the luxury class. The center console was covered by solid yet soft-touching plastics, in contrast to the normal hard, scratchy ones. The trims were not so fancy but more than subtle. The interior space may be considered scarce today, but the seat design would still be comfy and sporty enough under modern standards. The most eminent shortage of the interior design was the lack of storage space e.g. no cup holder at all. Engineers back then probably did not want anything potentially contaminating to be inside the car.
In terms of the BMW DNA, it never disappointed anyone. Though the riding experience was not as soft and comfortable as the M-Benz, its maneuvering was the best of the time. Also, the M20 was more than enough for the freeways in Taiwan, which have the highest speed limit at only 110 kph. Its sharp brake is the one that my father keeps talking about. We encountered some danger in the freeways for few times, but it always manage to stop down before anything could take place. Passengers would feel steady even if the speed goes up to 130 or 140 sometimes. In terms of the speed record, it had once reached 200 kph on the speedometer, illegally of course.
I really enjoyed the R6 revving sound of it. I could feel it singing as the meter sprinted all the way to 6,000 rpm. At that rev, it was able to take over more than half of the traffic on the freeway. However, it would be exhausting when climbing the curvy mountain roads. The engine would sound tired and heavy-hauling. After all, the M20B20 came with only 129ps and 160Nm in stock. From the poor torque number and the acceptable power, one can imagine how strong it was at high revs.
In terms of durability, it was impressive. For the first 18 years, it had traveled over 310,000 km, using only one oil pump. I remember the day when my dad and I went to the supplier's office asking for a new oil pump, the staff gave an ovation when they heard that the original one had been used for 18 years, 310,000 km. Considering the scorching-hot weather in Taiwan, it is still impressive today that a European engine part can last that long. Also, the four window motors worked for 27 years. Purely amazing.
However, it still suffered many problems during its life. The timing belt, axles, gearbox, oil leak, and wearing of the cylinders. My dad decided to fix all of them since the overall structure was still solid, and this was still a better choice compared to buying a cheap domestic car. In 2016, when it shut down again and we were told that it needed a large overhaul, we decided that it was time to say goodbye.
So that is the story of the BMW E34 520i and my family. I always want to own a 6-cylinder, rear-wheel-drive 5-Series again (currently only the G30 540i meets the standard), and this would always be a goal of my life.
